Lakshmana Lifts the Kotishila, Proving Himself the Narayana

Sugriva's daughters try every charm, playing the vina and singing, but Rama sits absorbed in Sita as a muni meditates on liberation: he calls the princesses ‘daughter of Janaka’, asks a wandering crow whether it has seen Janaki, and sees her everywhere, her garments in fluttering leaves, her eyes in lotuses of three colours and her feet in red lotuses. Meanwhile Sugriva stays in Sutara's palace and does not come for many days, and Rama, fearing that Sita is dead or that Sugriva has forgotten his grief, weeps.

Seeing Rama's tears, Lakshmana strides with a naked sword straight into Sugriva's palace, calls him a lustful ‘crow among Vidyadharas’ and threatens to send him where Rama sent his enemy; Sugriva begs forgiveness, and his queens offer Lakshmana arghya and wave lamps before him, pleading for their husband's life. Lakshmana reminds Sugriva of his vow as Muni Ayana once reminded Yakshadatta, son of King Yaksha and Queen Rajilata of Kraunchapura, who was stopped one night from approaching a woman in a hut who was in truth his own mother.

The muni revealed that Mitravati, daughter of Latadatta and wife of Bandhudatta, son of the merchant Kanika of Mrittikavati, had been driven out as unchaste by her in-laws while her husband was abroad, lost her maid Utpalaka to a snakebite on the road, and bore her son in a garden of Kraunchapura, where a dog carried off the baby in the jewelled blanket his father had left and he was given to the childless queen. Sword in hand, Yakshadatta made King Yaksha tell the truth and show the blanket, then went to his mother, poor but devout in the Jain faith and living as a temple priest's adopted sister, and summoned his father Bandhudatta for a joyful reunion.

Sugriva hurries to Rama, bows, and orders all his Vidyadharas to search for Sita everywhere, on land, in water and sky, across Jambudvipa, the Lavana ocean, Dhatakikhanda, the Kulachala ranges, Sumeru and the Vidyadhara cities; word is sent to Sita's brother Bhamandala, who is stricken with grief and joins the search. Sugriva himself flies in his vimana above the Jyotishchakra (the sphere of sun, moon and stars), surveying every Vidyadhara city.

Descending from the sky onto Mount Mahendra on Kambu island in the midst of the ocean, Sugriva finds the Vidyadhara Ratnajati covered in forest dust, who trembles, thinking Ravana has sent Sugriva to kill him, for Ravana had already cut away his vidyas and he had hoped somehow to reach Bhamandala. Reassured, Ratnajati, hailing Sugriva as the ornament of the monkey clan, goes with him to Rama and tells how he saw Sita weeping like a frightened doe in Ravana's vimana and cried out that she was the sister of his lord Bhamandala, whereupon Ravana, captor of Indra, lifter of Kailasa and lord of three khandas (regions), cut away his vidyas.

When Rama asks how far Lanka is, the Vidyadharas fall silent with fear, then describe it: in the Lavana ocean lies Rakshasa Dvipa, seven hundred yojanas wide and a little over two thousand one hundred around, with Mount Trikuta at its centre, nine yojanas high and fifty wide, once given to Meghavahana by the lord of the Rakshasas, and on its peak the walled city of Lanka, thirty yojanas across. There Ravana lives with his mighty brother Vibhishana, unmatched in wisdom even among gods, his trident-bearing brother Kumbhakarna, his famed son Indrajit and countless vassals, so, they plead, let Rama speak of something else.

Lakshmana thunders that all this praise is false, for a true hero would not hide his name and steal another man's wife, and Rama declares that the hard part was finding Sita, and that bringing her back is now his only thought. When the elders offer him many Vidyadhara princesses instead, Rama refuses any other woman, even one like Shachi, and asks only to be shown Sita.

Jambunada warns Rama against stubbornness with the tale of Kshudra: in the village of Venatata, Vinayadatta, son of Sarvaruchi and Gunapurna, was tied to a tree in the forest by his false friend Vishalabhuta, who lusted after his wife, and was freed by a passer-by named Kshudra, who became his dearest friend. When the wind blew Kshudra's toy peacock made of leaves into a prince's house, he refused the jewelled or living peacocks Vinayadatta offered and demanded only that one, a fool's obstinacy, says Jambunada, that Rama should not imitate.

Lakshmana counters with the tale of Atmashreya of Kusumapura, youngest son of Prabhava and Yamuna, scorned by his hard-working elder brothers Dhanapala, Bandhupala, Grihapala, Pashupala and Kshetrapala, until Prince Bhanukumara of Prithusthana gave him a mantra-charged iron bracelet that cures all ills; with it he revived the king's snake-bitten queen and grew rich, and when a monitor lizard dragged the bracelet into a rock-covered burrow, he uprooted the tree, smashed the burrow and found a great treasure beneath. Rama is Atmashreya, says Lakshmana, Sita the bracelet, Lanka the burrow and Ravana the lizard, so the Vidyadharas should fear nothing.

The Vidyadharas then reveal that when Ravana asked Anantavirya Kevali the cause of his death, the omniscient one answered that whoever lifts the Kotishila would slay him, and Lakshmana at once sets out with Jambunada, Sugriva, Viradhita, Arkamali, Nala, Nila and others, who carry the brothers by vimana to the stone in the dark of night. Posting guards on every side, they worship the stone, revered by gods, asuras and men, with fragrant flowers, circle it three times, and praise the infinite Siddhas of all one hundred and seventy Aryakhandas (lands where the path to liberation is taught) and those who attained liberation from this very stone.

Girding himself and reciting the Namokara mantra while Sugriva and the Vanaras chant hymns, Lakshmana meditates on the Siddhas and with his armleted arms raises the Kotishila to the height of his knees, as gods in the sky shout ‘Jaya!’ and Sugriva and the rest stand amazed. The party then worships at Sammeda Shikhara, Mount Kailasa and all the tirthas (holy sites) of Bharata-kshetra and returns to Kishkindhapura at dusk.

Next morning the Vidyadharas agree that one who lifted the nirvana stone will surely kill Ravana, though some recall that Ravana lifted Kailasa, others reply that he did so only by vidya, and others urge peace, since even Taraka and Meru, mighty lords of three khandas, fell in battle. When Rama demands an immediate march, Jambunada and the ministers counsel that war would destroy countless lives and that a skilful envoy should rather approach Ravana's sinless brother Vibhishana, a keeper of the lay vows, who could shame Ravana into returning Sita.

Mahodadhi warns that a magic wall of machines rings Lanka, impassable by land or sky, so the council resolves to call Shrishaila (Hanuman), son of Pavananjaya, master of great vidyas and Ravana's close friend, and sends the messenger Shribhuta to him at once. Gautama remarks to Shrenika that what is destined comes to pass as surely as the sun rises in its time, though merit and effort still drive away dangers and enemies.