Rama now sets about the task of combating the formidable giants that infest the Dandaka forest and are a terror to the pious hermits settled there. Having, by the advice of the sage Agastya, procured the weapons of Indra, he begins a successful conflict, in which he slays many thousands of demons. Their chief, Ravana, enraged and determined on revenge, turns one of his followers into a golden deer, which appears to Sita. While Rama and Lakshmana are engaged, at her request, in pursuit of it, Ravana in the guise of an ascetic approaches Sita, carries her off by force, and wounds the vulture Jatayu, which guards her abode. Rama on his return is seized with grief and despair; but, as he is burning the remains of the vulture, a voice from the pyre proclaims to him how he can conquer his foes and recover his wife. He now proceeds to conclude a solemn alliance with the chiefs of the monkeys, Hanumat and Sugriva. With the help of the latter, Rama slays the terrible giant Bali. Hanumat meanwhile crosses from the mainland to the island of Lanka, the abode of Ravana, in search of Sita. Here he finds her wandering sadly in a grove and announces to her that deliverance is at hand. After slaying a number of demons, he returns and reports his discovery to Rama. A plan of campaign is now arranged. The monkeys having miraculously built a bridge from the continent to Lanka with the aid of the god of the sea, Rama leads his army across, slays Ravana, and wins back Sita. After she has purified herself from the suspicion of infidelity by the ordeal of fire, Rama joyfully returns with her to Ayodhya, where he reigns gloriously in association with his faithful brother Bharata, and gladdens his subjects with a new golden age.