Indrajit Binds the Brothers and Monkeys
Ravana's son Indrajit binds Rama and Lakshmana with boon-granted arrows, trapping them like birds in a cage. Sugriva and the monkeys stand guard helplessly until Vibhishana arrives with the prajna weapon to revive them, and Kubera sends consecrated water to grant them the power to see invisible beings.
Ravana's son Indrajit saw the two brothers fall. They were the finest warriors on the field, infinitely energetic, and he had brought them down with arrows obtained through a boon — divine weapons that bound their targets in place. He shot them down, and the arrows held them fast. They lay on the ground, covered in hundreds of shafts, like birds trapped in a cage.
Sugriva, the king of the monkeys, stood around them with all the other monkey chiefs — Sushena, Mainda, Dvivida, Kumuda, Angada, Hanuman, Nila, Tara, and Nala. They formed a ring of protection around the fallen princes, but they could not free them. The arrows were not ordinary weapons. They were bound by the power of Indrajit's boon.
Then Vibhishana arrived. He was accomplished in his deeds, and he knew what to do. He brought the brave ones back to consciousness with the weapon known as prajna — a divine mantra that revived the mind without removing the arrows. Then Sugriva took the great herb vishalya (the life-restoring herb), invoked it with a divine mantra, and removed the thorns of arrows from their bodies one by one.
With the arrows removed, Rama and Lakshmana recovered their senses. In a short while, the maharathas (great chariot-warriors) were freed from pain and fatigue.
Seeing that Rama was freed of his fever, Vibhishana joined his hands in salutation and spoke: "O destroyer of enemies! This guhyaka (a celestial being) has arrived here from Mount Shveta. He has brought this water on the instructions of the king of the yakshas. The great king Kubera has sent this water so that you are able to see invisible beings. When this water has touched your eyes, you, and whoever else you give the water to, will be able to see all beings that are invisible."
Rama agreed. He accepted the consecrated water and purified his eyes with it. So did Lakshmana, Sugriva, Jambavan, Hanuman, Angada, Mainda, Dvivida, Nila, and almost all the chiefs among monkeys. Their vision was now opened to the invisible world — a preparation for the battles yet to come. Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 570