Soorpanaka made one last attempt to gain Rama's love.
She said, "Even now it's not too late. My brother Ravana will
pardon you for what you have done if he knows we are
married; he will also make you the overlord of several
worlds, placed above all the gods. It's not too late. On the
other hand, if anyone comments on my nose or ears, he will wipe them out. So, do not hesitate. No one will dare to say that I have no nose or ears or breasts. I've still eyes, which
can feast on your broad chest and shoulders, and my arms
are intact to embrace you. I love you madly. I'll be your slave
and make all rakshasas your slaves. I can't survive without
you. Have pity on me. I'll do anything you command." She
was rolling in the dust with blood gushing, but nothing
lessened her ardor. She continued, "My kinsmen are
ruthless, and will be reckless when they find that I have been
injured like this—they will destroy blindly, everything,
including you. They will wipe out mankind. But if you take me,
I can intercede on your behalf, and they will spare you and all
your people… . You'll be the cause of either the destruction
of mankind or its survival."
"The longer I let you speak, the worse things you say. Now
go to your own people, and bring back with you all those
powerful men and more. I can meet them, one by one as they
come or all together. I can deal with them. Now begone.
Understand now, my mission in life is to root out the
rakshasas from the face of this earth, and till I achieve it, I'll
be here."
Even after suffering mutilation at the hands of Lakshmana,
Soorpanaka stood there and persisted in appealing to
Rama to accept her, hinting that through her magical powers
she could appear beautiful again. At this point Rama felt that
he ought to explain to her who he was, and how he had come to be here with his wife and brother. Further, he made it plain again that his mission in life would be to wipe out the
asura class. He recounted how he had destroyed Thataka
and her brood.
Far from discouraging her, this actually gave Soorpanaka
another idea. "If that's your purpose, you know, I could be
your best ally—if you do not spurn me for my appearance, if
you do not reject me for my enormous teeth and large mouth.
If you marry me, I will teach you all the arts and tricks,
magical and others, that make my people superb and
invincible. I can teach you how to defeat them, but you must
treat me kindly. You must accept me… . Even if you cannot
give up your slender companion—well, don't view me as an
impossible addition. Would I be one too many? No. I'll help
you by revealing to you all the tricks and trickeries of your
enemies, so that you may attain complete victory over them.
'A serpent's feet are known to another serpent.' Even if your
mind does not allow you to give up your wife … take me as a
third partner, in your fight against the rakshasas, when my
brother, who once kept the sun and the moon in captivity—
and I'm not his inferior in valour—when he is defeated and
gone, then at least let your brother Lakshmana marry me;
and let me be with you when you return in triumph to
Ayodhya. When we return, do not be worried that a person
without a nose is accompanying you; please understand that
I can create any shape for myself. If by chance, Lakshmana
ever questions, "How can I live with a woman without anose," tell him that he can in the same way as you live with
one who is without any waist."8
When she said this, Lakshmana was so enraged that he
declared, "Brother, have I your permission to put an end to
her? Otherwise she will never leave us alone!" Rama thought
it over and said, "I think so too—if she persists and will not
leave, that may be the only way." On hearing this,
Soorpanaka picked herself up and left in haste. "Fools, do
you think I meant what I said? Even after the loss of my
features, I have stayed and spoken to you, only to
understand the depth of your base mentality. I'll go but come
back soon enough, with one who will be your Yama, a being
more powerful than the elements, of the name of Kara"—and
she left.
Kara, one of Ravana's stepbrothers, a dreaded warrior-
demon with fourteen chiefs under him commanding an army,
protected Soorpanaka and carried out her orders. After
leaving Panchvati, Soorpanaka stormed in at his court,
displayed her injuries, and cried, "Two human beings who
have moved into our realm have done this to me."
"Two human beings!"
"Ah, wonderful sons of Dasaratha, so sage like in
appearance, but armed for the purpose of exterminating our
clan. They have with them a woman of unearthly beauty;
when I tried to seize her, these two humans fell on me and hacked me thus."
Kara looked closely at the damage done to her and
thundered, "Death to those two. Not only they, but all human
beings shall be stamped out." He sprang up to go into
action. Fourteen commanders at once surrounded him and
said, "Does it mean that you have no confidence in us that
you should start out this way yourself? Leave this task to us.
We will go and settle it."
Kara agreed. "So be it. You are right. If I wage war on
these tiny petty creatures, the gods will mock us. Go and
feast on their blood, but bring back the woman carefully."
Carrying a variety of arms such as spears and tridents and
scimitars and hatchets, the commanders, led by
Soorpanaka, marched on towards Rama's cottage.
Soorpanaka stopped at a distance and pointed Rama out to
them. "There he is, mark him." The fourteen asuras muttered,
"Shall we bind and take him, or toss him in the air and kill
him, or use the piercing lance on him?"