Subāhu

Subāhu was a rākshasa, one of the fierce beings who troubled the holy rites of the ṛshis (seers). Rāvaṇa sent him, together with Mārīca, to disturb the great yajña (fire ritual) of Viśvāmitra at Siddhāśrama.

Mārīca was hurled into the sea by Rāma’s Mānava astra (divine weapon) and was spared. Subāhu was slain. Rāma struck him with the Āgneya astra, the weapon of fire, and it consumed him.

Role in the disturbance of the yajña

Subāhu was one of the main rākshasas whom Rāvaṇa used to disturb the sacred work of the ṛshis in that region. He and Mārīca aimed at Viśvāmitra’s yajña at Siddhāśrama in particular. They rained blood, filth and flesh on the sacred fires, so that the yajña could not be completed properly.

This is why Viśvāmitra came to Ayodhyā and asked for Rāma by name. He needed someone who could defeat these powerful rākshasas. The Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa speaks of this in Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapters 19 and 30.

Slain by Rāma

The yajña was under way when the rākshasas attacked. Rāma discharged the Mānava astra at Mārīca. It hurled him into the sea but did not kill him. Then Rāma turned the Āgneya astra against Subāhu, and the fire-weapon consumed Subāhu completely.

With Subāhu slain and Mārīca gone, the yajña was finished without further disturbance. Viśvāmitra was greatly pleased that the yajña ended without being broken. This was the very reason he had sought Rāma in the first place. The Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa tells this in Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 30.

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 19
• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 30