Vibhīṣaṇa, the wise and steadfast Rākṣasa, spoke with calm resolve to Sugrīva and the gathered vanara chiefs. “Cast aside despair, for it destroys all endeavors,” he urged. “Let us consider what is truly beneficial for Rāma’s army. Or, if you think it best, let us guard Rāma until consciousness returns. When the two sons of King Daśaratha, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, awaken, our fears will be dispelled. This is but a passing trial for Rāma; he does not wish for death, nor is his time at hand. Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, never abandons one whose life is not yet complete. Therefore, take heart, encourage your warriors, and hold firm until I can restore the army’s strength.” He looked upon the vanaras, their eyes wide with terror, trembling and whispering anxiously among themselves. “When they see me running forward, joyful and unshaken, they will cast off their fear as easily as one discards a withered garland.” With these words, Vibhīṣaṇa, lord of the Rākṣasas, comforted Sugrīva and moved among the scattered vanara forces, reassuring them and restoring their courage. Meanwhile, Indrajit, the master of illusions and son of Rāvaṇa, surrounded by his formidable army, entered the city of Laṅkā. He went straight to his father. Rāvaṇa, delighted by the news that his enemies had been struck down, rose up and embraced his son before all the Rākṣasas. He smelled Indrajit’s head—a gesture of deep affection—and, his heart overflowing with joy, asked for the details. Indrajit recounted everything: how he had rendered Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa powerless, bound and motionless with his arrows. Hearing this, Rāvaṇa’s heart surged with exultation. The fever of anxiety that Rāma’s presence had brought him was cast aside, and, his voice jubilant, he congratulated his victorious son. Now begins the forty-seventh sarga of the Yuddha Kāṇḍa in the glorious Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa. After Indrajit returned to Laṅkā, his mission accomplished, the foremost vanaras gathered around Rāma to protect him. Hanumān, Aṅgada, Nīla, Suṣeṇa, Kumuda, Nala, Gaja, Gavākṣa, Gavaya, Śarabha, and Gandhamādana—all these great leaders—stood ready, grasping mighty trees as weapons. Jāmbavān, Ṛṣabha, Skandha, Rambha, Śatabali, Pṛthu, and other valiant chiefs took up their positions, alert and vigilant, scanning every direction—the sky, the earth, the grass—for any sign of Rākṣasas, so tense that even a trembling blade of grass was taken for an enemy. In his palace, Rāvaṇa, delighted with the turn of events, dismissed Indrajit and summoned the Rākṣasī guards assigned to watch over Sītā. The Rākṣasīs, along with Trijaṭā, came before him at his command. Pleased, Rāvaṇa addressed them: “Go to Vaidehī. Tell her that Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa have been slain by Indrajit. Place her in the Puṣpaka chariot and show her their bodies, fallen on the battlefield. She has relied on them and, emboldened by their presence, has refused to submit to me. Now, with her husband and his brother slain, she will have no choice. Adorned with her ornaments, she will come to me without fear or hesitation. Seeing that Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa have fallen to fate, she will abandon all hope and return to me, for there is no other course.” The Rākṣasīs replied, “So be it,” and, following Rāvaṇa’s command, went to the Puṣpaka chariot. There, in the Aśoka grove, they found Maithilī—Sītā—crushed by grief for her husband. Gently but firmly, they led her, together with Trijaṭā, to the chariot. Sītā, overcome with sorrow, was placed upon the Puṣpaka, and the Rākṣasīs set out to show her the battlefield. Meanwhile, Rāvaṇa, adorned with banners and flags, had it proclaimed with great joy throughout Laṅkā that Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa had been slain in battle by Indrajit. As Sītā traveled in the chariot with Trijaṭā, she saw the entire vanara army laid low, the flesh-eating Rākṣasas exulting, and the vanaras overwhelmed with grief, gathered around Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa. Then, Sītā beheld her beloved Rāma and his brother Lakṣmaṇa lying unconscious on a bed of arrows, their bodies pierced and tormented by shafts. Their armor was shattered, their bows cast aside, and all their limbs were wounded—those two heroes, mighty among men, lotus-eyed, lay on the ground like pillars of arrows. Seeing them thus, Sītā, daughter of Janaka, was seized by overwhelming grief. She saw her blameless-limbed husband and his brother, radiant as sons of the gods, writhing in the dust. Stricken with tears and sorrow, she pondered their fate and, her heart broken, lamented bitterly and piteously. Thus ends the forty-seventh sarga in the Yuddhakāṇḍa of the glorious Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa. Now begins the forty-eighth sarga. Seeing her husband Rāma and the mighty Lakṣmaṇa lying as if slain, Sītā, tormented by grief, wept bitterly and piteously.