Shurpanakha

Kubera, knowing his father Vishrava is angry with him, sends three rakshasis to serve the sage. They rival each other in dancing and singing to please him. Vishrava is pleased and grants each a boon — and from these three women are born the lords of the rakshasas: Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana, Khara, and Shurpanakha.

Jealous of Kubera's prosperity, Ravana and his brothers undertake terrible austerities to win boons from Brahma. Ravana stands on one foot for a thousand years, then cuts off his own heads and offers them into the fire. Brahma grants him invincibility against all beings except men — and Ravana, in his arrogance, ignores the exception.

Markandeya tells Yudhishthira the full story of Rama's exile: Dasharatha's plan to instate his eldest son, Kaikeyi's demand for Bharata's throne and Rama's banishment, Rama's departure, Dasharatha's death from grief, Bharata's refusal of the crown, and the events that led Ravana to set his sights on Sita.