“Markandeya said, ’Beholding both the brothers Rama and Lakshmana prostrate on the ground, the son of Ravana tied them in a net-work of those arrows of his which he had obtained as boons.  And tied by Indrajit on the field of battle by means of that arrowy net, those heroic tigers among men resembled a couple of hawks immured in a cage.  And beholding those heroes prostrate on the ground pierced with hundreds of arrows, Sugriva with all the monkeys stood surrounding them on all sides.  And the king of the monkeys stood there, accompanied by Sushena and Mainda and Dwivida, and Kumuda and Angada and Hanuman and Nila and Tara and Nala.  And Vibhishana, having achieved success in another part of the field, soon arrived at that spot, and roused those heroes from insensibility, awakening them by means of the weapon called Prajna.[60] Then Sugriva soon extracted the arrows from their bodies.  And by means of that most efficacious medicine called the Visalya,[61] applied with celestial mantras, those human heroes regained their consciousness.  And the arrow having been extracted from their bodies, those mighty warriors in a moment rose from their recumbent posture, their pains and fatigue thoroughly alleviated.  And beholding Rama the descendant of Ikshwaku’s race, quite at his ease, Vibhishana, O son of Pritha, joining his hands, told him these words, “O chastiser of foes, at the command of the king of the Guhyakas, a Guhyaka hath come from the White mountains, bringing with him his water![62] O great king, this water is a present to thee from Kuvera, so that all creatures that are invisible may, O chastiser of foes, become visible to thee!  This water laved over the eyes will make every invisible creature visible to thee, as also to any other person to whom thou mayst give it!”—­Saying—­So be it,—­Rama took that sacred water, and sanctified his own eyes therewith.  And the high-minded Lakshmana also did the same.  And Sugriva and Jambuvan, and Hanuman and Angada, and Mainda and Dwivida, and Nila and many other foremost of the monkeys, laved their eyes with that water.  And thereupon it exactly happened as Vibhishana had said, for, O Yudhishthira, soon did the eyes of all these became capable of beholding things that could not be seen by the unassisted eye!

    [60] This weapon could restore an insensible warrior to
    consciousness, as the Sam-mohana weapon could deprive one of
    consciousness.

[61] Visalya a medicinal plant of great efficacy in healing cuts and wounds.  It is still cultivated in several parts of Bengal.  A medical friend of the writer tested the efficacy of the plant known by that name and found it to be much superior to either gallic acid or tannic acid in stopping blood.

[62] The Guhyakas occupy, in Hindu mythology, a position next only to that of the gods, and superior to that of the Gandharvas who are the celestial choristers.  The White mountain is another