Shurpanakha

Days passed peacefully at Panchavati. One day, as Ram sat outside the hut, a demoness came by. She was Shurpanakha, sister of Ravan, the king of Lanka. Her nails were as big as winnowing baskets, which is how she got her name. The moment she saw Ram, she was infatuated.

Using her maya, she took the form of a beautiful woman, came to Ram and said, ‘Marry me.’ Ram smiled and said, ‘I am already married. This is my wife, Sita. Ask my brother Lakshman.’

Shurpanakha went to Lakshman. Lakshman laughed too and said, ‘I am only Ram's servant. What would you gain by marrying a servant? Go back to Ram.’ So she went back and forth between them. At last she decided that Sita was the reason Ram would not accept her.

In rage, Shurpanakha took her true, terrifying form and lunged to devour Sita. Sita trembled with fear. Ram at once signalled to Lakshman. Lakshman cut off Shurpanakha's nose and ears with his sword. Screaming with pain and humiliation, she fled into the forest.

Shurpanakha went straight to her brother Khar, who lived nearby in Janasthan with an army of fourteen thousand demons. Weeping, she said, ‘Two ascetic princes have done this to me. I want their blood.’ This began the conflict that would one day lead all the way to the war in Lanka.