Hanuman

by Vanamali

  At last he was dragged before the ten-headed Ravana, who looked dazzling in all his finery. He was clad in the softest of white silks, which looked like billows of surf on the seashore. He sat on a throne covered with doeskin, set in the center of a long indoor altar, made of a golden frame filled with earth. He wore ten crowns of flaming red flowers and gleaming gold. A gold chain hung from his neck forged of flat, heavy links from which were hanging golden devil faces with diamond eyes, open ruby lips, and long, shiny, ivory teeth. His green eyes were gleaming with strange lights and looked piercingly at Hanuman. For a few minutes Maruti was dazzled by his charisma and could not help feeling that had he not been so cruel, Ravana might well be competent to become the ruler of all the three worlds.

  Ravana looked deep into the tawny eyes of the monkey and some unknown fear gripped his heart. He remembered the incident long ago when he had tried to approach Shiva, his favorite deity. At that time, Shiva’s bull vehicle had stopped him. This had infuriated him so much that he had shouted at Nandi, “O you monkey! How dare you try to stop me from entering?”

  Nandi had cursed him in return. “Beware, O Ravana! You have called me a monkey, and one day a monkey will be the cause of your downfall!”

  This had infuriated Ravana even further and in his arrogance, he had put one finger under the mountain of Kailasa, the abode of Shiva, and tilted it perilously. Parvati had been frightened. In order to comfort her and to quell Ravana’s pride, Shiva had simply pressed the mountain down with his big toe and crushed Ravana’s finger! Ravana is supposed to have placated Shiva by composing the extraordinary hymn known as the Shiva Thandava Stotra.

  Tulsidas describes Hanuman’s entry into Ravana’s court thus:

  “The monkey observed the glory of Ravana’s court. Even the gods and the regents of the quarters stood meekly with folded palms, anxiously watching his changing expressions. Hanuman, however, stood like a colossus and was totally unperturbed by the sight of the powerful demon king! He was no more disturbed by the sight of his power than Garuda by the sight of snakes!”

  Ravana wanted to insult him and did not even offer him a seat that was due to him as a messenger. All the others were given seats. Hanuman decided that the insult was to his master and not to him. He thought of Garuda, the eagle vehicle of Vishnu who was the enemy of snakes, and chanted his mantra. Immediately the snakes released him from their noose. Hanuman shook himself, lengthened his own tail, and coiled it into a seat that was much higher than Ravana’s throne. He seated himself with dignity on this self-made seat and looked down on Ravana from this high position!

  For a moment, as he looked into the amber eyes of the monkey, Ravana thought that this was the time foretold by Nandi so long ago, but he shrugged off the incident as being of no consequence and asked his minister to question the vanara about his reason for coming to Lanka. The minister asked, “You have nothing to fear, O monkey, if you tell the truth. Have you been sent by Indra, king of the gods? What is your motive in penetrating this impenetrable fortress and destroying the garden? If you speak the truth, you will be let free.”

  Hanuman replied firmly and boldly to Ravana’s questions. His only motivation was to change Ravana’s heart so that he would release Sita and avoid war.

  Maruti looked intently at Ravana and said, “I am the servant of Lord Rama, prince of Ayodhya and prince among men. I have come here to speak with you. You have abducted his beloved wife, and he has asked me to ascertain her whereabouts. I devastated your garden only so that I would be brought face to face with you. I am incapable of being bound by nooses or killed by missiles. I allowed myself to be bound only to see you. You are well acquainted with the laws of dharma and know how injurious it is to steal another person’s property. By your great austerities you have won many boons, including the one that neither gods nor demons nor yakshas or any other celestial beings can kill you, but you did not add human beings in your list since you thought no human being could kill you. But remember, Rama is a human being and he is being helped by monkeys, who again were not in your list! Therefore I ask you to listen to reason and return Sita to her husband or else you, as well as your whole clan, will be mercilessly slaughtered by my Master! He is the equal of Vishnu in prowess and since you have wronged him so woefully, he will not spare you. Listen to me and let Sita go, and save yourself and your country! Sita spells death for you and your clan. Let her go and save yourself when you can!”

  In all his answers, Hanuman wanted to stress the fact that by himself he was incapable of performing any of the acts attributed to him. His strength and inspiration were due to Rama and Rama alone!

  Ravana’s bloodshot eyes rolled with rage and shot flames of red and gold. He ordered the monkey to be executed forthwith. However, his younger brother Vibhishana intervened and said, “Brother, you know the dictates of dharma, and you know that it is most improper to kill an envoy. You will surely lose your fame and your store of merit if you commit this heinous act.”

  Ravana was even angrier at hearing this and insisted that this monkey who had done so much harm to his city and killed his son deserved to be put to death. Vibhishana begged him to reconsider his decision and said that the only way he could lay hands on the two princes and lure them to Lanka would be to let the monkey go.

  Ravana thought about this and agreed that this was a point to be considered, but he insisted that the monkey should be mutilated. “A monkey’s tail is his prize possession, so let his tail be set on fire at once and let him return with a burned tail to be the butt and scorn of his friends and relations!”

  Ravana issued a command that the monkey’s tail should be lighted and that he be paraded round the entire city so as to provide some fun for the populace, who loved the sight of anyone being tortured.

  The demons were delighted at this order, which was entirely to their liking. All the time when he had been dragged to the court, they had been shouting fiendishly, “Kill him! Roast him! Eat him!” and so on. Now they fell on his tail with glee and started to wrap it in oil-soaked rags before setting it on fire. While his tail was being swathed, Hanuman made it grow out of all proportion. It became longer and longer until it circled the entire city of Lanka ten times. The confused demons ran around in circles trying to wrap the tail in cloth and found that even though they collected all the scraps and bales of material in the whole of Lanka, they could not cover this colossal tail that simply grew and grew! The citizens were forced to surrender their clothes and the women their saris. When they had exhausted the entire amount of cloth in Lanka, they were at a loss to know what to do. Hanuman laughed to himself and at last allowed his tail to be covered. Then they brought huge cauldrons of oil and soaked his tail in oil before setting it on fire. Hanuman was delighted and immediately lashed his blazing tail, killing all those surrounding him! Then he controlled himself and allowed them to bind him and sling him on a pole and take him round the city. He did this so that he could make a mental map of the entire city and take in those things that had not been obvious to him in the darkness of the night when he had wandered through the streets.

  All the rakshasas lined the streets of Lanka with their womenfolk, everyone anxious to see this spectacle. Some of the rakshasis ran gleefully back to Sita and reported the whole matter to her. Sita was filled with sorrow when she heard this. She closed her eyes and prayed to the god of fire to reduce the heat on Hanuman’s tail. Thereupon, to Hanuman’s surprise, he found that the fire on his tail had no power to burn him!

  After having made a mental map of the city, Hanuman flexed his muscles and easily broke the bonds that had been tied round him. He jumped onto the city ramparts with his flaming tail and decided that it would be good to destroy Lanka and thus reduce Ravana’s pride. “This fire that has been used to punish me has been denied its food, so I will give it some sustenance.”

  In one of his most Rudra-like acts of destruction, he began to jump over the tops of the buildings like a flaming meteor. Bounding from house to house, he set
fire to each of them in a methodical manner until at last the whole of Lanka was a flaming conflagration. The only places he avoided were the mansion of Vibhishana and the ashoka grove in which Sita sat. Very soon the flames changed the beautiful city of Lanka into a cremation ground. There was pandemonium everywhere. People were screaming and running around, women and children were wailing, horses and elephants were stampeding. The wind began to spread the blazing fire through the length and breadth of Lanka. The flames shot up to the skies and appeared like the fire of universal destruction. The mansions made of pearls and gems with lattices of gold cracked with loud reports and toppled to the ground like card houses. The gold plating on the buildings melted and streams of molten gold trickled toward the sea. Houses along the streets collapsed, and gates and grills snapped and smoked. Screams and shouts rent the air as the terrified citizens ran hither and thither in their effort to escape from the conflagration. The whole of Lanka was like a flaming torch. It was an awesome spectacle.

  “Surely this is not a mere monkey but Rudra in disguise in his form as Mahakala, or the Great Time spirit of destruction!” cried the rakshasas. Hanuman sat on top of the ramparts and surveyed his work with glee. At last he was satisfied that he had completely destroyed Lanka, so he jumped into the sea to cool himself off and put out the fire on his tail.

  This is the only time that we find Hanuman resorting to his monkey nature and engaging in an act of wanton destruction. When his temper had cooled a little he was filled with remorse for what he had done.

  “What have I done?” he thought to himself. “An angry man is capable of committing any crime. He alone can be called a sage who controls the anger in his mind and does not retaliate even when provoked. I am truly a sinner. If Sita has been destroyed along with this fire, then I have killed my Lord also, for he will not live a moment without her. My journey would have been in vain. The whole of Lanka has been reduced to ashes. Is it possible that Sita is still alive? By virtue of her asceticism and her exclusive devotion to her husband, it is possible that fire itself cannot touch her.”

  As he was thinking this in deep remorse, he saw some astral beings winging their way over him and talking among themselves. “Strange indeed that the whole of Lanka is in flames and the only place left unscathed is the grove where Sita is sitting!” He was overjoyed to hear this and jumped to the grove in order to find out if this were indeed true. He found her still sitting under the tree, exactly as he had left her. Both of them were delighted to see each other and Sita begged him to stay another day with her.

  “Your very sight, O dear monkey, brings consolation to my heart. If you go, I’m tormented with doubt as to when you will return. Are the other monkeys capable of leaping across the sea as you have done? How will my Lord accomplish this feat?”

  Again Hanuman comforted her and assured her that Sugriva was no mean monkey but was able to accomplish wonders, and very soon she would see the monkey hordes cross the ocean and Rama coming to rescue her. Sita was full of hope when she heard this and reluctantly agreed to his departure.

  You showed your small, slight form to Sita,

  Then assuming a terrible form you burned the city of Lanka.

  SRI HANUMAN CHALISA BY TULSIDAS

  Aum Sri Hanumathe Namaha!

  Aum Pingalakshaaya Namaha!

  16

  Shoora

  The Faithful Servant

  Yasyasthi Ramakarunamrita vaibhavena,

  Lokaavasaana Samayavati dheergham-ayur,

  Tam veera purusha kalagranimajaneyam,

  Vande prabhanjanaasutham Raghurama daasam.

  Hail to thee o son of the wind! Servant of Rama,

  O Anjaneya! Thou art indeed a powerful person,

  Who by the grace and blessings of Lord Rama,

  Will continue to live until the end of the world.

  RAGHURAMADASASHTAKAM

  The gods were delighted at Hanuman’s mighty deeds and the grand-sire, Brahma himself, gave him a letter to give Rama, which contained a detailed account of his exploits in Lanka. In this account of his adventures it is said that Sita returned Rama’s ring to him together with her hair ornament. So Maruti had three precious articles with him to give to Rama. After all the adulation he received from the gods and from Sita, it is only natural that Hanuman felt a twinge of pride at his accomplishments.

  He was eager to get back to Rama. He turned round to have a last look at the city. The fabulous city of Lanka, which had appeared like a gleaming pearl pendant set in the heart of the sky, now lay in shambles at his feet. He felt a pang of compunction but decided that Ravana deserved it. He now sprang to the highest peak in Lanka and grew in size. He fixed his mind on Rama, whom he was longing to see, repeated the powerful mantra of Rama, and took a flying leap from the peak toward the northern shore of the sea. Hanuman looked like a mountain with wings as he sailed across the sky. He saw the sea surging beneath him as he turned his face north and sped on his way. He passed with ease through the crimson-tinted clouds and coursed through the sky like an arrow. By the time he reached the mainland he was feeling very thirsty. He looked down and saw an ashrama with a lake beside it. He went down and found a sage seated in meditation. Hanuman humbly approached the sage and requested to be allowed to drink from the lake. The yogi nodded his head. Hanuman placed his three treasures next to the sage and went to the lake to drink. While he was at the lake, an ordinary vanara bounded out of the bushes, picked up Rama’s ring and dropped it into the sage’s water pot. When Maruti returned, he found that the ring was missing and questioned the sage as to what had happened. The yogi said not a word but pointed to his water pot. When Hanuman put his hand into the pot he was stunned to find that it was filled with rings that were exact replicas of the one that Rama had given him. Hanuman asked the sage to kindly tell him which was the one he had brought. At last the sage broke his silence and said that all of them belonged to Rama. When Hanuman looked bewildered, he went on to say that in each of the eons known as Treta, Hanuman would come and drink water from his lake and a monkey would come and pick up the ring and drop it in his water pot. Hanuman was naturally stunned and asked in a meek voice, “How many rings are there in the pot?”

  The sage smiled and said, “Why don’t you count?”

  Hanuman began to count and soon found that it was countless! It was then that he realized that he was not unique. In the Lord’s creation, one age follows another. Many others had come before him and many others would follow. This was enough to obliterate whatever pride he had felt in his achievements. Later on when he met Rama, he found that the ring was already on his finger. Rama smilingly admitted to Hanuman that he himself had taken on the form of the sage in order to take away even the smallest trace of pride in his devotee. Hanuman fell at his feet and begged him never to let him fall prey to pride again. Rama granted him this boon. Thus, in this evocative scene of the rings in the water pot, one finds a good example of strong images used to powerfully convey an abstract lesson.

  Hanuman now rose up into the air and continued with his interrupted journey. When he neared the spot where he had left his friends, he gave a massive roar to announce his approach.

  “Ah! Hanuman has been successful in his mission, as is obvious from his roar,” said the other monkeys. Feeling overjoyed, they sprang from treetop to treetop and peak to peak in the usual way of monkeys, eager to be the first to welcome the returning hero. Hanuman landed on the mount of Mahendra from which he had jumped. The other monkeys joyfully gathered round and placed their little gifts of roots and fruits in front of him as a token of their appreciation. They made him sit and encircled him and pelted him with questions. Hanuman bowed to Jambavan and Prince Angada and narrated his tale. The excited monkeys embraced him and sprang from rock to rock with upraised tails.

  Angada praised him and said, “There is no one equal to you, O Hanuman! You have given us back our lives and only because of you Rama will be united with Sita.”

  Again and again he had to repeat his
story to the excited monkeys, who were all gathered round him and chattering with joy. Every detail was heard with great delight by the monkeys. The crown prince Angada now said that it would be best if they all went to Lanka and rescued the princess of Videha and took her back to her Lord. Jambavan put him off this impetuous scheme by saying that it was Rama’s duty to rescue her and they had only been told to find her. The faster they returned and gave the message, the better it would be for Rama.

  They decided that Jambavan was right, and the whole troop started on their return journey. Their enthusiasm lent wings to their feet, and the monkeys made the return back to Kishkinda in half the time. They were all anxious to get there soon and be the first to break the pleasant tidings to Rama. At the entrance of the town there was an orchard called Madhuvana that was filled with fruit trees and flowers laden with nectar. It was a haven for bees who buzzed around collecting nectar and making hives. The garden belonged to Sugriva and was guarded by his uncle. The monkeys begged the prince to allow them to taste the fruits and honey and were given permission by him. That was all they needed. They devastated the orchard and got pleasantly drunk on the honey, much to the disgust of the caretaker. Monkeys are normally difficult to control and these monkeys, who were the color of the honey that they had imbibed in vast quantities, played havoc in the garden, pelting each other with the combs, squashing the fruits, and rioting wildly. Here, as in other instances in the Ramayana, the antics of the simian army serve as a kind of comic foil when contrasted with the self-composure of Hanuman, highlighting his excellent qualities all the more and throwing into light our foolishness whenever, much like the monkey army, we give in to our own impulsive natures.