Taraka or Tadaka or Thataka was a demoness in the epic Ramayana. Along with her children, Maricha and Subahu, Taraka would harass and attack rishisperforming yajnas in the forest. They were ultimately slain by Rama and Lakshmana on behest of their teacher, maharishi Vishwamitra.
''Ramayana''
Taraka was a Yaksha princess and daughter and only child of the Yaksha kingSuketu, she was a beautiful princess that was wooed by and married Sumali, an Asura King. She bore Sumali two sons, Subahu and Maricha, and a daughter, Kaikesi. Tadaka and Sumali schemed to marry off Kaikesi to the Rishi Vishrava in order to obtain progeny that would be all-powerful and rule over all the three worlds. They orchestrated their daughter's "chance encounter" with Vishrava, whereupon the Rishi, although already married, fell in love with Kaikesi and through her, fathered Ravana, the mighty Asura King of Lanka, Vibhishana, Kumbhakarna and Soorpanaka, all of whom would later play important roles in the immortal epic, the Ramayana. When Rishi Agastya cursed both Suketu and Sumali to death, Tadaka took it upon herself to wreak vengeance on the sage. This earned them both the Rishi's anger. Agastya cursed Tadaka with the loss of her beautiful physique, and transformed both mother and son into hideous demonic creatures with a cruel, cannibalisticnature. As revenge, Tadaka and Subahu attempted to harass as many rishis as they could, by destroying their Yagnas with rains of flesh and blood. Brahmarishi Vishwamitra was especially at the receiving end of Tadaka's harassment. Unable to cope with her mischief any longer, Vishwamitra finally approached Dasaratha, the King of Kosala, for help. The King obliged by sending two of his four sons, the 16-yr-olds, Rama and Lakshmana, to the forest, charging them to protect both Vishwamitra and his Yagna When Tadaka and Subahu both attempted to destroy yet another of Vishwamitra's yagnas, Rama warned them not do so. They responded by laughing at Rama, and deriding him as a 'mere boy'. The 'mere boy' retaliated by slaying both mother and son swiftly. This act gained the young princes the blessings of not just Vishwamitra but also the blessings of all of the assembled sages in the yagnashala.
