Canto 3 -
Araṇya-kāṇḍa
Chapter 55: Rāvaṇa Flatters Sītā
Text 3.55.15
वर्जयित्वा जरावृद्धान्बालांश्च रजनीचरान्।
सहस्रमेकमेकस्य मम कार्यपुरःसरम्॥
varjayitvā jarā-vṛddhān bālāṁś ca rajanīcarān
sahasram ekam ekasya mama kārya-puraḥsaram
varjayitvā = this is apart from; jarā-vṛddhān = the aged; bālān = infant; ca = and; rajanīcarān = niśācaras; sahasram ekam = one thousand [rākṣasas]; ekasya = alone; mama = me; kārya-puraḥsaram = come forward to to serve.
1 Jarā-vṛddhān indicates that the aged rākṣasas Rāvaṇa referred to had the natural frailties of old age.
2 The second half of this verse also indicates that Rāvaṇa engaged a thousand of those rākṣasas to accomplish each of his tasks. Technical note: ekaikasya kārya-sādhanāya ekaikaṁ sahasraṁ niyojayāmīty arthaḥ.
GLOSS. The figure in text 14 refers to the number of servants in Rāvaṇa’s residence. There were many heroic [rākṣasas] apart from them.