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## The Sixty-Sixth Chapter
**24.** The destruction of people is the result of war, not the attainment of any good fortune. The greatest fault is failure in war, and even if victory is achieved, it is always accompanied by many drawbacks.
**25.** Those who were driven by the desire for war, like Duvritta, Naraka, Shankha, Dhavalanga, and Shambara, have all perished.
**26.** It is in your best interest to be friendly with me. Just as a lion finds happiness in a cave, so too will you find happiness in our friendship.
**27.** He who, in battle, terrified the gods, even Indra, the king of the gods, and imprisoned him in a cell fit for a common criminal.
**28.** He whose movement is at his will, in the netherworld, on earth, and in the sky, and whom even the angry gods and demons cannot defeat.
**29.** I, Ravana, the ten-headed one, who has captured the goddess of fortune in many great battles, have you never heard of me?
**30.** O King, I give you this entire earth, extending to the ocean, along with the Vidyadharas, and I also give you half of Lanka.
**31.** Today, send my brother and sons with a good heart, and agree to give me Sita. This will bring you prosperity.
**32.** If you do not do this, how can you expect to prosper? Sita is already in our possession, and we will forcibly take back our brothers and sons who are bound in battle.
**33.** Padmanabha then said, "I have no desire for your kingdom, nor for other women or great pleasures."
**34.** "O ten-headed one, if you send Sita back to me with the utmost respect, I will send your brother and both your sons immediately."
**35.** "With Sita by my side, I will wander happily in the forest, a place frequented by deer and other animals. You, however, may enjoy the entire earth."
**36.** "O messenger, go and tell the lord of Lanka this. This is the only path to his well-being, there is no other way."
**37.** Hearing these words of Padmanabha, which were praised by all and spoken with grace, the messenger, the king's minister, spoke.
**38.** "O King, you have crossed the terrible ocean without fear, and you have come here to do a great good deed. Why are you afraid?"