The seven holy sages visited Rama and blessed him. They praised him for killing Ravana and ridding the earth of evil. The sages, in particular, praised Rama for the killing of Indrajit. Rama then asked the sages to tell him more about Indrajit and how he defeated Indra,

The sage Agastya then began to narrate the story of Indrajit. He started to explain the lineage of Indrajit and his father, Ravana. Brahma had a son, Pulastya who carried out severe austerities on the slopes of Mount Meru. Many maidens would come there to sport, and their presence would disturb Pulastya. The sage then cursed them, saying whoever came near him would become pregnant. The scared maidens then avoided the sage.

The daughter of sage Trinavindu was not aware of this scare and came there accidentally. She became pregnant and was shocked. She went to her father and explained her bewilderment. Her father then understood what had happened and went to meet Pulastya. Trinavindu then offered his daughter to Pulastya, and the sage accepted her.

Pulastya then blessed the maiden, saying she would have a great son. The son born to her was Vishrava, who became a great sage. Seeing Vishrava’s good conduct, sage Bharadwaja offered him his daughter Devavarnini in marriage. Vishrava then married her, and they had a son who was named Vaishravana,

Vaishravana performed severe austerities for a thousand years. Pleased by his austerities, Brahma appeared before him and offered him a boon. Vaishravana then requested Brahma to make him one of the guardians of the world, who would look after all the treasures in the world. Brahma was pleased with Vaishravana’s austerities, making him the fourth guardian of the world after Indra, Yama, and Varuna.

Brahma named him Dhanesha and gave him the Pushpaka vimana, an aerial vehicle, which he could use to travel anywhere just like the Gods. A pleased Dhanesha then went to his father Vishrava, to seek his blessings. He asked Vishrava to suggest a place where he could stay. Vishrava then told him that Vishwakarma had constructed a golden city named Lanka.

The rakshasas who lived there had fled from the city, fearing Vishnu. Vishrava asked his son to go and live in the city. Vaishravana became the lord of the nairattas and lived in Lanka. Hearing this story, Rama asked the sages to tell him all about how the rakshasas came to live in Lanka, and their lineage.

Agastya then narrated how the rakshasas were born. When Brahma created various creatures, some said they would protect while others said they would be swift. Those who said they would protect were called rakshasas, while those who who said they would be swift were called yakshas. The two leaders of the rakshasas were Heti and Praheti.

Heti married Bhay, and through her had a son Vidyutkesha, who married Sandhya’s daughter after he grew up. Vidyutkesha had a son who cried when he was born. Pitying him, Shiva and Parvati blessed him, and gave him a city that could travel through the sky. Shiva also made the child as old as his mother. The child Sukesha then ruled the city that could fly.

Sukesha married Devavati, the daughter of a Gandharva. They had three sons, Malayavat, Sumali, and Mali, The three sons then performed austerities to obtain great boons just like their father. Brahma, who was pleased with their boons, appeared before them.

Malayavat, Sumali, and Mali then asked Brahma to make them invincible and live forever. Brahma granted them their boon. With the great boon, the three brothers became arrogant and began to harass Gods and sages.

… to be continued