THE MAN-EATING RAKSHASA GAME

A player is chosen to be the man-eating Rakshasa by reciting one Hare Krishna mantra. He turns his back to the other players, closes his eyes, and counts to fifty. Meanwhile all the other children, representing the sages who are meditating in the forest hermitages, hide here and there in the bushes. A spot is chosen (next to where the Rakshasa was counting) to be Rama Chandra’s hut. When the Rakshasa finds a sage, he runs after him to eat him up. If the Rakshasa tags him, that sage is considered eaten up and is out of the game. While running away from the Rakshasa, the sage cries loudly for help “Shri Rama, Jaya Rama, Jaya Jaya Rama, Shri Rama, Jaya Rama, Jaya Jaya Rama!” but the sage may escape if he can reach Ram Chandra’s hut without being tagged. There he is protected (as the Rakshasa does not dare enter and face Ram Chandra’s arrows). When all the sages are either tagged or safe in Ram Chandra’s hut, the game is finished and the last sage top be tagged becomes the next Rakshasa.