66697602-The-Ramayana-R-K-Narayan

When Ravana fell to the floor, Sita recoiled and started
weeping aloud, “O my lord! O, brother Lakshmana, come
and help me.”
At this Ravana, remembering an ancient curse that if he
touched any woman without her consent, he would die that
instant, dug the ground under Sita’s feet, lifted it off with her,
placed it in his chariot, and sped away.
Sita fainted, revived, desperately tried to jump off the
chariot, cried, lamented, called upon the trees, birds, and
animals and the fairies of the woods to bear witness and
report her plight to Rama, and finally cursed Ravana as a
coward and a trickster, who had adopted treacherous
means only because he was afraid of Rama; otherwise
would he not have faced Rama and fought him? Ravana only
treated her words as a great joke and laughed at her. “You
think too highly of Rama, but I don’t. I do not care to fight him
because it’s beneath our dignity to confront a mere human
being.”
“Ah, yes, your class are ashamed to contend with humans,
but you may covet and treacherously attack a helpless
woman.
This is a noble achievement, I suppose! Stony-hearted
rakshasas like you do not know what is wrong and what is
right. If you have the courage to face my husband, stop your
chariot immediately; don’t drive it farther.”
All this only amused Ravana, who laughed and bantered