Sundar Kaanda
158 - The spy gives counsel to Ravana and delivers Laksmana's note to him
Chaupais
Description
My lord, just as you have so kindly put these questions to me, so do you believe what I say and be not angry. No sooner had your younger brother (Vibhisana) met Sri Rama then the latter applied the sacred mark of sovereignty on his forehead. When the monkeys heard that we were Ravana's (Your majesty's) spies, they bound us and persecuted us in many ways. They were about to cut off our ears and nose; but when we adjured them by Rama not to do so, they let us go. You have enquired, my lord, about Sri Rama's army; but a thousand million tongues would fail to describe it. It is a host of bears and monkeys of diverse hue and gruesome visage, huge and terrible. He who burnt your capital and killed your son (Aksa) is the weakest of all the monkeys. The army includes innumerable champions with as many names, fierce and unyielding monsters of vast bulk and possessing the strength of numberless elephants."