October 9 - Shlokas 144 to 213 of the first sarga of Sundara Kanda.
This long sarga concludes with the story of how Hanuman impresses the gods (and everyone else watching his progress with a vested interest in his success) with his strength, intelligence, and versatility. He overcomes two monstrous obstacles. He then lands at Lanka and has a look at a heavenly city from a hill-top.
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Now, after Hanuman had passed the second test (first being able to fly at all) of prioritising his task on hand over rest and food, the devas engaged the mother of serpents by name Surasaa to present him a real challenge. They asked her to assume a mighty monstrous form and challenge to eat him up.
बलमिच्छामहे ज्ञातुं भूयस्चास्य पराक्रमम् ।
त्वां विजेष्यत्युपायेन विषादं वा गमिष्यति ॥
The gods told Surasaa, "We want to see the real physical power of Hanuman, and his bravery in tackling you. Let us find out if he overcomes you in the form of this monstrous obstacle by his cleverness or if he lands in trouble."
Surasaa gladly complies.
***
Hanuman sees a huge ugly female monster in front of him. She shouts to him to stop. She says she has been assured by the gods that whoever comes her way will be her food. Hanuman politely replies:
"Oh lady, the prince of Ayodhya and son of King Dasharatha, Sri Rama, while residing in the forest with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana, has had his wife abducted by Ravana owing to Sri Rama's deep animosity with rakshasas.
तस्याः सकाशं दूतोऽहं गमिष्ये रामशासनात् ।
कर्तुमर्हसि रामास्य साह्यं विषयवासिनि ॥
अथवा मैथिलीं दृष्ट्वा रामं चाक्लिष्टकारिणम् ।
आगमिष्यामि ते वक्त्रं सत्यं प्रतिशृणोमि ते ॥
" Oh lady, I have been charged by Sri Rama, as his messenger, to travel and see Sita. Indeed, it will be a good act on your part, as you reside in this region which is a part of Sri Rama's territory, to support my endavour.
"If you still insist that I enter your mouth, kindly bear with me till I go and complete my task and meet Sita and report in person to Sri Rama. You should know that by Sri Rama's grace my task will be made easy. I solemnly promise you that I shall come back thereafter and enter your mouth."
***
Surasaa did not relent. She said that the boon from Brahma was that whoever passed that way HAD to enter her mouth.
Hanuman in a resigned voice asked her, did she think she could make her mouth big enough for him to enter? Of course! said Surasaa.
Progressively Hanuman swelled his body to ten, twenty, thirty and eventually ninety yojanas in size. Surasaa was able to grow herself and open her mouth to a hundred yojanas!
At that exact moment, our hero Hanuman shrank his body down to the size of a thumb, and in a flash, entered Surasaa's mouth and came out too, before she could even cast her eye on what was happening.
Hanuman, with a joyous tone, said, " Oh Dakshayani (Daksha was himself a form of Brahma, and a bit controversial. His daughter is Dakshayani), I have fulfilled the condition granted to you by Brahma, kindly now let me go and accomplish my mission to meet Sita."
Surasaa assumed her original celestial form and beamed as she said, "Oh hero Hanuman! Go and unite Sita with Sri Rama!"
All the beings who were witnessing the drama with bated breath exclaimed,
साधु! साधु! "Well done! Well done! Hanuman!"
***
Soon, another monster stood in Hanuman's way. This was a real monster by name Simhikaa.
Hanuman did not see her at first as she rose in the ocean but felt a terrible drag on his speed. He looked behind and saw his long shadow captured as it were. Then he remembered how Sugriva had cautioned the south-bound vanaras about a monstress who captured people through their shadows.
Simhika was hell-bent on eating him. Hanuman, a trifle impatiently, swelled in size, again, and as she also grew with her mouth open, looked into her mouth and down to her entrails, rushed in, and in a jiffy tore her entrails open with his sharp finger nails and rushed out, killing the monster who then sank with a mighty noise into the ocean.
The gods exclalimed, "Bravo! Bravo! Hanuman!"
यस्य त्वेतानि चत्वारि वानरेन्द्र यथा तव ।
धृतिर्दृष्टिर्मतिर्दाक्ष्यं स कर्मसु न सीदति ॥
"Oh hero, the lord of vanaras, the way you have displayed four critical capabilities, viz., forbearance, assessment of the situation, intelligence, and problem-solving ability with the right approach, you are not going to fail in your mission. Godspeed!"
Valmiki describes how various beings in the heavens and skies all were assembled along the route that Hanuman took. Everyone seemed to be assembled there, with fun and fanfare, much like an IPL crowd in non-Covid times. Hanuman gladly and tirelessly arrived in Lanka. He then shrank to an inconspicuous vanara size to evade enemy eyes.
स सागरं दानवपन्नगायुतं बलेन विक्रम्य महोर्मिमालिनम् ।
निपत्य तीरे च महोदधेस्तदा ददर्श लङ्काममरावतीमिव ॥
"The hero Hanuman thus crossed the mighty ocean full of demons and dangerous creatures, in an incredible act of valour. After descending on to the top of a mountain on the seashore, he cast his eyes on a city that shone like the capital of Kubera, the lord of wealth, viz. Amaravati. "
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॥ श्रीरामजयम् ॥
