66697602-The-Ramayana-R-K-Narayan

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 a