Lakshmana Maims Shurpanakha

Shurpanakha didn't understand that Lakshmana was being sarcastic and was unsure what to do. She said to Rama, "The reason you aren't interested in me is this ugly woman. I will swallow her whole, and then we will live happily without any hindrance."

She transformed back into a demoness and lunged at Sita. Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita were shocked to see Shurpanakha's true form. Rama swiftly stopped her from harming Sita. "Lakshmana, teach her a lesson," he said.

Lakshmana immediately produced a dagger and chopped off her nose and ears. Shurpanakha howled in pain and hurried back into the forest. A stream of blood flowed from her face, causing her to look even more dreadful than before. She ran straight to her cousins Khara and Dushana, the twin sons of Kaikasi's sister, Raka. 

"What happened to your face?" Khara asked Shurpanakha in horror.

Shurpanakha recounted to Khara how she had approached King Dasharatha's sons, Rama and Lakshmana, who were staying at Panchavati dressed as ascetics. She also described how Lakshmana had mutilated her face. "The cause of all this is that wretched Sita. Avenge me by killing them all."

Khara and Dushana set out with an army of fourteen thousand demons to battle Rama and Lakshmana. When Rama saw this enormous army marching toward Panchavati, he sensed danger. He told Lakshmana and Sita to hide, nocked an arrow on his bow, and got ready to thwart the demons' attack.

The demons attacked Rama from all four directions, but he remained motionless like a mountain struck by lightning. Some of the demons' weapons injured him, and his blood shone like the sun. He then shot thousands of crescent-shaped arrows, which killed thousands of demons. The survivors ran helter-skelter, but Dushana recalled them to the battlefield.