Śūrpaṇakhā, with her words sharp and stirring, warned Rāvaṇa, “If you let desire for Sītā as your wife arise, you will become subject to Kāma’s arrows. If victory is your aim, act quickly—lift your right foot now.” She pleaded further, “If my words please you, O lord of the rākṣasas, heed my counsel without hesitation. See their weakness, O mighty one, and act—Sītā, flawless in form, should become your wife.” She reminded him of the fate that befell the night-dwellers of Janasthāna, slain by Rāma’s straight arrows, and of Khara and Dūṣaṇa, now dead. “Now is the time to undertake your task,” she urged. Hearing these words, which made his hair stand on end, Rāvaṇa, lord of the rākṣasas, sought counsel with his ministers, understood the situation, and resolved to act. He gathered information, weighed strengths and weaknesses, faults and virtues, and, his mind made up, went with firm resolve to the splendid hall where his chariot was kept. Concealed, he ordered his charioteer, “Yoke the chariot.” The swift and skilled charioteer quickly yoked Rāvaṇa’s favored and excellent chariot. Rāvaṇa mounted his chariot, which moved at his will, adorned with gold and gems, drawn by horses with faces like goblins, decorated with golden ornaments. With a thunderous roar, the illustrious ten-headed lord—brother of Kubera—set out for the realms of rivers and groves. He shone beneath a white whisk and umbrella, radiant like smooth beryl, his form adorned with heated gold. Twenty-armed and ten-headed, splendid to behold, enemy of the gods and slayer of sages, he was like a mountain with ten peaks, seated in his will-driven chariot, gleaming like a lightning-filled cloud in the sky. As he traveled, Rāvaṇa surveyed the regions—mountains, seas, and shores—beholding thousands of trees laden with flowers and fruits, lotus ponds of cool, auspicious waters, and spacious hermitages with altars. The land was beautified by groves of plantains, shining coconut trees, sāla, tāla, and tamāla trees, all in full bloom. Great sages, restrained in food, resided there, as did thousands of nāgas, suparṇas, gandharvas, and kinnaras. Siddhas and cāraṇas who had conquered desire, along with ājas, vaikhānasas, māṣas, vālakhilyas, and marīcipas, enhanced the scene. He beheld thousands of apsarases, radiant in divine ornaments and garlands, of celestial beauty and skilled in the arts of play and ritual. The illustrious wives of the gods attended and revered him, while the realms were frequented by hosts of gods and asuras who partook of ambrosia. The waters teemed with swans, cranes, waterfowl, and sarasa birds; smooth, lustrous beryl stones sparkled, and the brilliance of the ocean shone forth. All around were vast, pale-white aerial palaces adorned with divine garlands, resounding with music and song. Rāvaṇa saw gandharvas and apsarases moving freely, who had conquered the worlds through austerity. He gazed upon gentle sandalwood forests, thousands in number, their roots exuding fragrant resin, pleasing to the senses. There were groves of the finest agaru, takkolas, jātis, and other fragrant, fruit-bearing trees. He saw tamāla flowers, marica thickets, and clusters of pearls drying on the riverbank, as well as mountains of coral, and peaks of gold and silver. He marveled at charming, clear springs, lands rich in wealth and grain, and filled with women of rare beauty. Passing through cities crowded with elephants, horses, and chariots, he saw everywhere a land level and lush, caressed by gentle breezes. In the marshes of the Sindhu king, he found a place like heaven and beheld a great banyan tree, dark as a cloud, surrounded by sages. Its branches stretched a hundred yojanas in every direction. From it, an elephant and a great-bodied tortoise were taken up. For the sake of food, mighty Garuḍa, the Suparṇa, landed on a branch; his weight broke the branch, thick with leaves, where the Vaikhānasas, Māṣas, Vālakhilyas, and Marīcipas had gathered. The great sages, grey and assembled, appeared as goats. For their sake, Garuḍa took the branch, a hundred yojanas long, along with the elephant and tortoise, and standing on one foot, ate the flesh. Having destroyed the territory of the Niṣādas with the branch, Garuḍa, foremost of birds, attained incomparable joy, having freed the great sages. Filled with joy, his strength doubled, and he resolved in his mind to bring the nectar. Thus, Rāvaṇa, brother of the Lord of Wealth, beheld the banyan tree named Subhadra, marked by Suparṇa and frequented by hosts of great sages, as he journeyed on his determined path.