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| HANUMANJI IN LANKA |
Lanka was the "City of Gold". Its beauty was wondrous. But Hanumanji looked not once at it, and went about his all-important task of searching Sita. He entered the palace of Ravan, the king, but could not find Sita anywhere within the palace. He then thought of searching in the garden "Ashokavana". It was there that Hanumanji found Sita.
He showed her the ring that Shri Ram had given her, and assured her that they would soon be coming to take her back. Sita gave him the choodamani, the jewel she wore in her hair, so that he could show it to Shri Ram.Having completed his mission of finding Sita's whereabouts, Hanumanji then decided to get an estimate of Ravan's strength and even give him a warning.
He started to destroy the gardens around the palace. Seeing this the guards came running to capture him but he destroyed them all. Upon hearing this, Ravan sent his son Indrajit to capture Hanumanji himself. Indrajit fought with Hanumanji for something and then shot the "Brahmashtra".
Wanting to show respect for the weapon of Lord Brahma, Hanumanji allowed himself to be caught and tied up by it.the Rakshasa guards (demons) were delighted and took him to the palace to King Ravan.Hanumanji warned Ravan that if he wanted to save himself and his kingdom he should return Sita to Shri Ram. This angered Ravan and he ordered to rakshasas to kill Hanumantha. But his brother Vibheeshana interceded and reminded Ravan that it was against principles to kill an enemy's messenger. So instead of killing him, Ravan then asked that his tail be burned in order that Shri Ram would understand the power he was dealing with.
Hanumanji's tail was hence wrapped up in cloth, oil poured over it, and then put on fire. Hanumanji's anger grew and he leapt up and freed himself of the ropes tying him He then jumped all over the city, burning down all the houses and buildings in the Golden City. Very soon the whole city was ablaze.
Suddenly, Hanumanji realized that Sita was in the Ashokvana. He flew back to check that it was safe, took Sita's blessings and left to fly back across the ocean. In Kishkinda, Shri Ram was anxiously awaiting news of Sita.
When Hanumantha returned and gave him the jewel given by Sita, his joy knew no bounds. He praised Hanumanji saying he had done what no one else could do. He called Hanumanji an excellent messenger and embraced him fondly.
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