Tataka Forest
तत्र गात्रम् हतम् तस्य निर्दग्धस्य महात्मनः |
अशरीरः कृतः कामः क्रोधात् देव ईश्वरेण ह || १-२३-१३
अनङ्ग इति विख्यातः तदा प्रभृति राघव |
स च अङ्ग विषयः श्रीमान् यत्र
अंगम् स मुमोच ह || १-२३-१४
Translation: “There the body of Love-god is evanesced when that great soul Shiva burnt it down, and by the anger of that god of gods Shiva, Love-god is rendered as a bodiless entity. Then onwards Love-god is renowned as Ananga, as he is without body, and where his body is given up that is renowned as Anga province.
ताभ्याम् तु तावुभौ कृत्वा प्रणामम् अतिधार्मिकौ ||
१-२४-११
तीरम् दक्षिणम् आसाद्य जग्मतुर् लघु
विक्रमौ |
स वनम् घोर संकाशम् दृष्ट्वा नरवरात्मजः || १-२४-१२
अविप्रहतम् ऐक्ष्वाकः पप्रच्छ मुनि पुंगवम् |
Translation: Offering their salutations to River Sarayu and Ganga those two most virtuous and agile footed princes proceeded further on reaching the southern river bank. On seeing a horrendous and uninhibited forest, Rama, the son of the best king Dasharatha asked the eminent sage Vishvamitra.
एतौ जनपदौ स्फीतौ पूर्वम् आस्ताम् नरौत्तम ||
१-२४-१७
मलदाः च करूषाः च देव निर्माण निर्मितौ |
Translation: “Once these were vast provinces, oh, best one among men, designed by gods and known as Malada and Karuusha.
एतौ जनपदौ स्फीतौ दीर्घ कालम् अरिन्दम || १-२४-२४
मलदाः च करूषाः च मुदिता धन धान्यतः |
Translation: “For a long time these habitations Malada and Karuusha were affluent, oh, enemy subjugator Rama, and people were happy with wealth and provisions.
इमौ जनपदौ नित्यम् विनाशयति राघव || १-२४-२८
मलदांश्च करूषांश्च ताटका दुष्ट चारिणी |
सा इयम् पन्थानम् आवृत्य वसति अध्यर्ध योजने ||
१-२४-२९
अत एव च गन्तव्यम् ताटकाया वनम् यतः |
Translation: “And Raghava, that malevolent Tataka is always destroying the inhabitations at Malada and Karusha. She lives about one and half yojana distance from here, and by which reason this became the forest of Tataka, owing to her gruesome activities, for that reason only a headway is to be made, to eradicate her and her activities”.
Analysis and Notes:
Sloka १-२४-११ and १-२४-१२ above translates to: Offering their salutations to River Sarayu and Ganga those two most virtuous and agile footed princes proceeded further on reaching the southern river bank. On seeing a horrendous and uninhibited forest, Rama, the son of the best king Dasharatha asked the eminent sage Vishvamitra. It is indicated that they proceeded further bit it is not clear how far they went before seeing Takaka forest. There is a reference to Anga province (slokas १-२३-१३ and १-२३-१४). Anga province over time changed to Vanga and to Bengal, which is currently West Bengal and Bangladesh. In West Bengal there is town ‘Malda’. It is 300+ miles east from Revelganj, Bihar. This could be Malada referred to in sloka १-२४-१७, since it is located in West Benal, India.
Karusha could not be located in Google Maps. Howeverit could possbly Kalachak located lose to Malda in West Bengal.
Maharshi Valmiki did not document the distance traveled by Viswamitra with Sri Rama and Lakshmana after crossing Ganga near Revelganj, Bihar. He just mentioned in sloka १-२४-११ as “Offering their salutations to River Sarayu and Ganga those two most virtuous and agile footed princes proceeded further on reaching the southern river bank”. As such we cannot definitively establish how far they travelled before they came to Tataka forest.