Surpanakha next went to her eldest brother, the most dangerous rakshasa demon of all, the ten-headed Ravana. Being crafty in her methods of seeking revenge, she not only cried to Ravana about her disfigurement and their brother Khara’s death, she also managed to mention to Ravana that Sita was the most beautiful woman in the world.

Ravana, famous for defeating and terrorizing demigods, was also known for his harem, which he had accumulated by kidnapping wives and princesses from all over the universe. Now he became obsessed with the idea of stealing Sita from Rama.

Here we see Ravana going to the demon Maricha for help in forming a plan. Interestingly, Maricha was one of the demons shot from the sky into the ocean hundreds of miles away by Rama, when he was asked to help the sages in the beginning of the story. Having had other similar encounters with Rama’s prowess, Maricha had decided to retire from demon activities and become a sage.

Not respecting Maricha’s decision, Ravana asked him to turn himself into a golden deer to assist in the plot. When Maricha tried to refuse, Ravana threatened to kill him. Maricha decided it would be better to be killed by Rama than by Ravana, so he agreed to help.