and Sita was his daughter. And Tashtri himself
created her, desiring to make her the beloved wife
of Rama. I have now told thee the history of both
Rama’s and Sita’s birth. And now,
O king, I will relate unto thee the birth of Ravana.
That Lord of all creatures and the Creator of the
Universe
viz., the Self-create Prajapati himself—that
god possessed of great ascetic merit—is
the grandfather of Ravana. And Pulastya hath a
mighty son called Vaisravana begotten of a cow.
But his son, leaving his father, went to his grandfather.
And, O king, angered at this, his father then created
a second self of himself. And with half of his
own self that regenerate one became born of Visrava
for wrecking a vengeance on Vaisravana. But the
Grandsire, pleased with Vaisravana, gave him immortality,
and sovereignty of all the wealth of the Universe,
the guardianship of one of the cardinal points, the
friendship of Isana, and a son named Nalakuvera.
And he also gave him for his capital Lanka, which
was guarded by hosts of Rakshasas, and also a chariot
called Pushpaka capable of going everywhere according
to the will of the rider. And the kingship of
the Yakshas and the sovereignty over sovereigns were
also his.’”
“Markandeya said, ’The Muni named Visrava,
who was begotten of half the soul of Pulastya, in
a fit of passion, began to look upon Vaisravana with
great anger. But, O monarch, Kuvera, the king
of the Rakshasas, knowing that his father was angry
with him, always sought to please him. And, O
best of Bharata’s race, that king of kings living
in Lanka, and borne upon the shoulders of men, sent
three Rakshasa women to wait upon his father.
Their names, O king, were Pushpotkata, Raka and Malini.
And they were skilled in singing and dancing and were
always assiduous in their attentions on that high-souled
Rishi. And those slender-waisted ladies vied
with one another, O king, in gratifying the Rishi.
And that high-souled and adorable being was pleased
with them and granted them boons. And to every
one of them he gave princely sons according to their
desire. Two sons—those foremost of
Rakshasas named Kumvakarna and the Ten-headed Ravana,—both
unequaled on earth in prowess, were born to Pushpotkata.
And Malini had a son named Vibhishana, and Raka had
twin children named Khara and Surpanakha. And
Vibhishana surpassed them all in beauty. And
that excellent person was very pious and assiduously
performed all religious rites. But that foremost
of Rakshasas, with ten heads, was the eldest to them
all. And he was religious, and energetic and
possessed of great strength and prowess. And the
Rakshasa Kumvakarna was the most powerful in battle,
for he was fierce and terrible and a thorough master
of the arts of illusion. And Khara was proficient
in archery, and hostile to the Brahmanas, subsisting
as he did on flesh. And the fierce Surpanakha
was constant source of trouble to the ascetics.
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