Ravana advised his widowed sister, Surpanakha, to stay with her brother, Khara. Ravana then gave Khara a large army led by Dushana. With the army and Surpanakha, Khara left to stay in the Dandaka forests. When Ravana reached his palace, he saw his own Meghanad was performing sacrifices.

Ravana learnt that his son had performed yajnas that had given him divine powers along with a magical chariot that could take him anywhere. But Ravana was not happy since Meghanad had worshipped Indra and the Gods, who were Ravana’s enemies. Vibhishana then saw the abducted women, and was not happy.

Vibhishana told Ravana that the rakshasa Madhu had abducted Kumbhasini, the daughter of Anala, who was the sister of their mother. Ravana was angry learning of his sister’s abduction. He then decided to attack Madhu. Ravana then reached Madhu’s abode and saw his sister there.

His sister Kumbhasini requested Ravana not to kill Madhu since he was now her husband. Madhu then came there and welcomed Ravana and worshipped him. From there, Ravana proceeded to Kubera’s kingdom and enjoyed the beauty of the place. There, he saw the apsara Rambha who was ravishing in appearance.

He asked Rambha to come with him. Rambha then folded her hands and told Ravana that she was the wife of Nalakubara, Kubera’s son. So, she was like his son’s wife. The arrogant Ravana refused to listen to Rambha and seized her. He then molested her forefully leaving her shaken. Terrible upset, she went to her husband and told him all that had happened.

An angry Nalakubara then cursed Ravana, saying that if he ever tried to violate any woman without her consent, his head would shatter into pieces. Ravana then realised that he could never have intercourse with another woman without her permission.

Ravana proceeded to the world of Indra, intending to conquer it and thereby become the conqueror of the three worlds. Ravana loudly asked the Gods to prepare for war. The scared Indra ran to Vishnu and requested his help.

The lord Narayana then told Indra that neither Indra nor the Gods could defeat Ravana due to the boon he had obtained. Vishnu told Indra that he could not fight with Ravana since the fight had to end with Ravana’s death, which was impossible due to Brahma’s boon. Vishnu assured Indra that he would kill Ravana in the future.

Ravana’s forces attacked the world of the Gods. The celestials fought fiercely and killed thousands of rakshasas. Sumali attacked ferociously and forced the Gods to retreat. The God Savitra remained and continued to fight. The fight was terrible, and finally Savitra struck Sumali with his club and killed the rakshasa.

Meghanad saw this and launched a ferocious attack on the Gods. Indra’s son Jayanta then fought with Meghanad.  As the fight became fierce, Puloma grabbed Jayanta and took him away into the ocean. Puloma was the father of Jayanta’s mother Shachi and thus saved his grandson.

Indra decided to join the battle and asked his charioteer Matali to prepare for battle. Kumbhakarna meanwhile attacked the Gods, causing panic. The Gods fought back strongly and killed many of the rakshasas. Ravana then fought with Indra, with the two of them enveloping each other with arrows. Seeing his father fight with Indra, Meghanad joined the battle and showered arrows on Indra.

Using his powers of Maya, Meghanad turned invisible and attacked the Gods. Using his powers, Meghanad seized Indra. He then advised his father to retreat from the battle since they had captured the king of the Gods. The victorious father and son then left from there.

Brahma arrived at Lanka and praised Meghanad for his valour, saying he would henceforth be known as Indrajit. Brahma then asked Indrajit to release Indra. Indrajit asked for a boon that he should be killed only if he failed to complete rituals before a battle. Brahma granted the boon to Indrajit, who then released Indra.