66697602-The-Ramayana-R-K-Narayan

go,” he pleaded.
“Is it because he is Vishnu?” Ravana asked
contemptuously. “Where was he when I imprisoned Indra,
and destroyed his mighty elephants by plucking their ivory
tusks out of their heads? Was this God a baby then? When I
seized the three worlds, defeating even Shiva and Brahma,
where was this God of yours? In hiding? Did this God
abandon his gigantic universal form and reduce himself to
human size in order to make it easier for us to swallow him?
Don’t follow me if you are afraid, but stay in this vast city,
which is spacious and comfortable. Don’t disturb yourself,”
Ravana said and, clapping his hands, laughed uproariously.
Still, next day Vibishana visited him privately and tried to
hold him back with further arguments. This infuriated
Ravana. “You hate our own kinsmen and you have begun to
admire and love Rama and Lakshmana. At the thought of
them, your eyes are filled with tears, and you melt to the
bone in tender feeling. You want to gain the friendship of my
avowed enemy. I suspect you have planned your future with
deep thought. You are treacherous. I remember now that
when that monkey was brought before me and I ordered him
to be destroyed and eaten by our servants, you interceded,
saying that we should not kill an emissary. I now realize that
you were carried away by the rantings of that monkey when
he sang the praise of his master and narrated his
achievements. You simpleton! You wanted this country to be