The Ramayana: An Indian Epic

The situation was dire when the gods appealed to their leader, Vishnu, for help.

Ravana, the ten-headed king of the Rakshasas, and his brothers had acquired extraordinary powers from the gods. Instead of using those powers for good, they had begun to practice tyranny and evil, suppressing virtue and goodness wherever they found it.

If something wasn’t done soon, the evil ones would destroy the worlds and make everyone slaves. They tell Vishnu that the two gods that granted Ravana and his br...