The Moon went on, "It's time for a leap of faith, as Hanuman craned towards the sky, the sinews on his neck and back stood out like cobras. The son of the wind paced the mountain-top. Tigers, bears and leopards that lived near the summit scurried out from their caves and fled down the mountain. Mahendra, which stood unmoved by tidal wave and typhoon, shuddered beneath Hanuman’s footfalls. Elephants blundered down the slopes. Gandharvas and kinnaras who lived in some of the caves flew into the air in flashes, or fled with the animals.The mountain-top swirled with gusts of wind, as Vayu enfolded his son in his airs. No one had made this leap before; only birds had ever gone this way to Lanka. Hanuman saluted the Lokapalas, the guardians of the four quarters: Surya, Indra, Varuna and Kubera. Again, he turned to the east and greeted his father, Vayu. He thought of Rama and Lakshmana; he prayed to them in his heart. He paid obeisance to the rivers, and the mother of them all, the ocean, Varunadeva.The trees on Mahendra shook at Hanuman’s advent and the mountainside was covered with a colourful mantle of flowers that fell from their branches. Still, Hanuman grew. As he paced the mountain’s summit, rocks cracked under his feet, while the peaks echoed with his quest for an unyielding place from where to launch himself. Smoke issued from those cracks.Cowering in caves in the lower reaches, for terror of the monkey a hundred hands tall, the animals of Mahendra gave throat to their fear. Some roared, some bayed, some howled; but they all huddled together: tiger and deer, elephant and panther, the great bears of those hills, Jambavan’s cousins, and hissing, venom-spitting serpents. A thousand flights of birds flew screaming from their nests in caves and crannies, and the sky was full of their dark wheeling alarm. On the mountain’s summit, Hanuman paced and paced, gathering himself.The trees on Mahendra shook at Hanuman’s advent and the mountainside was covered with a colourful mantle of flowers that fell from their branches. Still, Hanuman grew. As he paced the mountain’s summit, rocks cracked under his feet, while the peaks echoed with his quest for an unyielding place from where to launch himself. Smoke issued from those cracks.Cowering in caves in the lower reaches, for terror of the monkey a hundred hands tall, the animals of Mahendra gave throat to their fear. Some roared, some bayed, some howled; but they all huddled together: tiger and deer, elephant and panther, the great bears of those hills, Jambavan’s cousins, and hissing, venom-spitting serpents. A thousand flights of birds flew screaming from their nests in caves and crannies, and the sky was full of their dark wheeling alarm. On the mountain’s summit, Hanuman paced and paced, gathering himself.It is said even the rishis of Mahendra scuttled off that massif, and secret vidyadharas flew into the sky and hovered there like strange birds to watch Hanuman’s leap. Then the awesome vanara stood still on a spot that did not give below his feet, even as if it had once been created just for him. He turned his face to the sky and roared like the wild creature he was, lord of them all, while above him the sky recoiled at the sound. Behind him, longer than the longest hamadryad pulled out of its hole by Garuda, his tail coiled and twitched with life of its own. Far below on the seashore, Angada’s vanaras stopped their ears with their hands.When the echoes of his roar had died away, suddenly Hanuman squatted down, his hands resting on two jagged peaks beside him. He thrust his neck out at the sky. He shook the final shred of doubt from his head and turned his eyes across the endless sea. He drew a deep, deep breath, and he crouched, quivering in readiness. ‘God speed, Hanuman!’ the vanara army cried from below. He thundered at them, ‘Like an arrow from Rama’s bow I fly to Lanka! If Sita is not there, I will fly to Devaloka to seek her.’A clap of thunder rent the air and the vanaras below saw the most amazing sight they ever had: swift and steep as a thought, gigantic Hanuman rose into the firmament. With him, pulled up by their roots by his velocity, rose a thousand flowering trees, as if to see him off on his auspicious journey and keep him company part of the way. Then their flowers fell out of the sky in a cascade, an enchanted shower on to the calm sea. The waves washed ashore in every colour imaginable, and they carried their soft cargo on to the sands, to the feet of Angada and his army.But above them, Hanuman did not fall back to the earth. Up he flew and away, carried by the power unleashed by his mighty legs and arms, borne on the swift currents of his father the wind: truly like the manavastra of Rama of Ayodhya. They heard the peals of his exhilarant laughter, floating down like more blooms from the sky.Like a thundercloud sped along by a tempest, Hanuman flew through the air. His arms were stretched before him like two streaks of lightning. The devas saw his flight and gathered on high to watch. On flashed the vanara, and they whispered among themselves in awe, the immortal ones. They said he may swallow the very sky with his cavernous mouth. Hanuman’s shadow on the placid ocean was thirty yojanas long, as he flitted across the firmament like a mountain in the days before Indra sheared their wings.Varuna, the ocean below, watched Hanuman’s flight and thought, ‘I would not exist, but for the Ikshvaku kings; and this monkey flies on a mission for the finest prince of that line. I will give him a place to rest on, and then he can gain his destination with ease.’Varuna summoned Himalaya’s son, Mainaka, who lay submerged deep below his waves. The Lord of waters cried to the mountain, ‘Extend yourself into the air; become a resting-place for Hanuman.’That legendary mountain, with the peak of gold for which he was called Hiranyanabha—a bit hard to pronounce and perhaps can be confused with Hiranyagarbha—ploughed up like another sun rising out of the sea, and stood gleaming in Hanuman’s path. But the son of the wind thought Mainaka was a demoniacal obstacle and, with a nudge of his chest, thrust him aside. Suddenly, Mainaka’s spirit appeared on his golden pinnacle, refulgent before the flying vanara.Mainaka cried to the monkey, ‘Varuna bade me rise to be a resting-place for you. The Lord of waves would like to be of use to you, Hanuman, and to the prince of the House of the Sun whom you serve. Your father Vayu saved me from Indra’s vajra, when the deva king severed the wings of all mountains. The wind hid me under the ocean when Indra hunted my kind. Look!’ And silver wings shimmered behind that resplendent being. Mainaka said again, ‘Come, Hanuman, rest a while upon me. Then you can fly to Lanka from my summit.’Hanuman replied, ‘I am moved by your love and by the ocean’s kindness. But my time is short and I have none to rest. Farewell, good mountain, we shall meet again some day.’ Hanuman waved to the golden one and, as Mainaka sank under swirling waves again, the vanara streaked on through the sky.But then, the devas of light are never content to leave any hero untested in his most difficult hour. They called Surasa, who is the mother of all serpents. The devas said, ‘We want to see how great this monkey really is. He is the wind’s son; just this leap is too easy for him. But we can test his mettle if he finds someone dreadful in the sky barring his way. Become a rakshasi in the air, Surasa. Let us see how worthy Hanuman truly is.’Yep, the devas had installed a firewall to prevent being hacked by Hackers like Hanuman. Soon, spread across the sky like a thunderstorm, Hanuman saw a rakshasi who dimmed the brightness of the sun. She grinned, baring fangs big as hills. She licked her lips when she saw him, and bellowed, ‘How hungry I have been! But here comes a fair feast, flying into my mouth. Come to me, little ape, and be my lunch.’Hanuman folded his palms to the awful one. He said humbly, ‘Pardonme Devi, there is no free lunch and I am on a sacred mission. On my way back I will fly into your mouth. You have my word.’Surasa calmed for a moment, the she said, 'Fine, now I want you to anwer my question.' Hanuman was curioused, he asked, 'Did you want me to play a riddle with you?' 'Yes!' replied Surasa. Hanuman said, 'Here, now? Play a riddle like the Spinx?' Surasa commented, 'Yes and now tell me, a monkey, a squirrel and a bird are racing to the top of a coconut tree. Who will get the banana first?' Hanuman answered, 'Bananas don’t grow on coconut trees.' 'That's right! Now, 'everyone has it and no one can lose it. What is it?'' Surasa asked the second question. Hanuman replied, 'A shadow.' Surasa went on, 'The more you take the more you leave behind. What are they?' Hanuman easily replied, 'Footprints.' Then Surasa said, 'Now tell me, you will throw me away when you want to use me. You will take me in when you don’t want to use me. What am I?' Hanuman answered, 'An anchor.' 'Right' said Surasa, 'What sort of steps do you take if a tiger is running at you?' Hanuman replied, 'Big ones.' Surasa stopped, she began to get mad, 'I will always come, but never arrive today. What am I?' Hanuman answered calmly, 'Tomorrow.' With a loud voice, she inquired, 'I run yet I have no legs. What am I?' 'A nose,' replied Hanuman while smiling.'What goes around the world but is stuck in the corner?' 'A stamp.''I have no top or bottom but it can hold flesh, bones and blood all at the same time. What am I?' 'A ring.''I am white when I am dirty and black when I am clean. What am I?' 'A blackboard.'Her voice rising, Surasa inquired, 'The more there is the less you see. What am I?' Laughing, Hanuman replied, 'Darkness.''What has 12 legs, six eyes, three tails and can't see?' 'Three blind mice.''I have a golden head. I have a golden tail, but have no body. What am I?' 'A gold coin'Hanuman laughed out loud. But she cried, ‘By Brahma’s boon no one can pass me without going through my mouth! Brahma’s boon shall not prove false.’ She yawned her mouth wide as the horizon. Exasperated, Hanuman cried, ‘Rakshasi, your mouth is too small to contain me. Open wider, so I can fit in it.’ She yawned her firmament of a mouth still wider; she let it gape a hundred yojanas. In a flash, Hanuman was the size of a man’s thumb and, before the demoness realized what was happening, he flashed in and out of her plumbless maw. Outside its darkness again, Hanuman grew vast once more. He bowed to Surasa, ‘I flew into your mouth. Now let me pass.’Surasa laughed; she liked this clever monkey in the sky. She cried to him, ‘Pass in peace, Hanuman, it was only the devas testing you. May your journey be fruitful; may all your missions succeed.’She vanished out of the sky and Hanuman flew on. The first firewall passed. His path was many thousands of feet high. It was the skyway of the birds. He flew along the subtle path of rishis and gandharvas. Vayu had wafted his son up to where he flew as swiftly as he wished. It was damp today, the celestial skyway, and raindrops fine as dew moistened his face pleasantly as Hanuman flashed along.Further ahead, there was a real rakshasi called Simhika who lived in the ocean. Suddenly, Hanuman felt himself slowing and, then, coming to a standstill in the air. He felt himself being dragged down, and when he looked at the sea below he saw that a rakshasi’s curved claw clutched his shadow on the water. Even as he watched, amazed, she parted the sea like another mountain and rose, lion-faced and terrible, out of the waves. Her mouth yawned from horizon to sky to swallow him.Now Hanuman lost his patience. With a roar, he plummeted down into her jaws like a fishing hawk. Down her throat he plunged, becoming tiny again so she could not find him with her fangs. Down into her belly he flew. Beginning to grow again, he clutched two handfuls of her intestines and flashed back up again, dragging her stomach out through her mouth. Simhika died screaming, and her entrails floated like dark garlands on the waves. The second firewall, passed.Like Garuda himself, Hanuman flew on and the wind flew with him, making his passage effortless. He saw a dark speck appear on the horizon, and, at the speed at which he flew, it grew rapidly. Soon a lush island lay below him, a jewel in the sea. Within its undulating green confines, he saw a mountain that thrust its way up towards the clouds, and the sun-dappled gardens of that Mount Trikuta. Lower and lower he circled. He saw rivers, streams and silvery waterfalls. He wondered at the richness of this Lanka he had reached after flying a hundred yojanas through the sky. Quickly Hanuman thought, ‘I cannot land here like this. I am so big the rakshasas will never let me into their city without a fight. Then how will I find Sita?’In the twinkling of an eye, he was a little monkey three feet high, and softly he set himself down on the peak of the Lamba hill. Round-eyed at the beauty of Ravana’s island, Hanuman stood chattering approvingly at what he saw around him. He heaved a sigh of relief that his fantastic journey, his momentous crossing, was accomplished. To find Sita now should be no great matter.But the vanara was humble and he did not waste any time admiring what he had done. Gazing around with bright eyes, anuman loped along towards Ravana’s city. The sun was sinking to the horizon when, through the trees ahead of him, he saw its scarlet and golden shafts reflected from the crystal windows of the mansions of Lanka. He saw the deep moat that encircled the fortress-city in protection, the vigilant patrols of rakshasas which guarded its entrances, the wide, clean roads that wound their way into the lofty gates; and he was all admiration for what he saw. Hanuman had the feeling that Lanka must be as beautiful as Indra’s Amravati. And he was not far wrong; Viswakarman himself had built this city for Ravana. At the foot of the Trikuta hill, Hanuman paused. Above him, in the evening mists that had gathered round it, the rakshasas’ city seemed to float on air!Hanuman came to the city-gates. The rakshasas who stood guard there were ten feet tall. They were fierce, and carried weapons of fire, nestling at their sides like organs of their bodies. There were so many of them outside the gates, hundreds, and Hanuman saw there were twice that number within. He crept to the gates of Lanka and, hidden in the shrubbery, peered into the wondrous city. It was like a city of the gandharvas. A high, gleaming wall ran all around Lanka, made of some unearthly metal so smooth it was impossible to scale. Hanuman stood gazing at it and it confirmed his fears that Lanka would be hard indeed to breach: protected by the sea, a moat, ferocious rakshasas and this wall that a fly could not cling to.He came to a drawbridge across the moat, guarded by another force of rakshasas. He crept stealthily along its underside and gained the far bank in the moonlight. He crept along another hundred feet, when suddenly he heard a hiss in the dark and a powerful hand snatched him up by the scruff of his neck. Two crimson cat’s eyes glared at him from the shadow he was snatched into, and, dimly before him, he saw a luminous and dreadful female form.It was a secret goddess who had caught him and, amused, but menacingly, she said, ‘What have we here? It seems to be no warrior, but only a little monkey. But not everything is what it seems to be, and you are very heavy for one so small. Who are you, and why are you trying to creep into Lanka? Don’t lie to me; I saw you crawling under the bridge.’The necklace of rubies at her throat glowed like embers in the night. Hanuman pretended to be a terrified little monkey. He trembled in her grasp, and whimpered, ‘I will tell you, beautiful one, I will tell you. But who are you, Devi, and why do you terrify me with your fierce eyes and your deep voice? As you can see, I am only a little monkey. But who are you, and why do you stand here in the dark at Lanka’s gate?’ She shook him. She bared pale fangs, and said, ‘I am the spirit of Lanka. I am Lankini and no one may pass me, for I am the guardian of Ravana’s city. Prepare to die, monkey, I will pluck your head from your neck with my nails.’ Hanuman said, ‘I saw the beauty of Lanka from yonder peak, and I was so enchanted that I came to see it nearer.’But she was unmoved by his flattery. Her eyes glinting, she snarled, ‘Foolish monkey, you cannot pass into Lanka unless you vanquish me in battle.’ Hanuman pleaded, ‘I will admire the sights of Lanka and go away as I came. I mean no harm to anyone.’With a soft howl, she struck him across his face. Then Hanuman lost his temper. Bunching his tiny hand into a fist, he struck her back, squarely on her mouth. Her eyes rolling up, she crumpled to the ground. Yet, since she was a woman, Hanuman had not hit her with all his strength. Soon she fluttered open her eyes and, shaking her head to clear it, sat up. But now, she folded her hands to Hanuman and spoke to him in awe, ‘So the prophecy has come true!’ whispered dusky Lankini. ‘Brahma gave me a boon and said I would be invincible at these gates. But he also said that one day a little monkey would come along, and when he struck me down I would know the end of the rakshasas was at hand.’ Her voice fell lower. ‘And I know what brings you here. It is she, it is Sita who brings doom to Lanka.’ Hanuman saw she was crying. With a sigh, Lankini gathered herself up, and said, ‘It is no use my standing guard here any longer. Lankini does not bar your way anymore; you are free to enter as you please.’Her red eyes streaming, the fierce guardian melted into the night. She left the gates of Lanka forever. Then, the third firewall, passed. Perhaps, firewall the devas installed, was a cheap one, or maybe, it's free, like all of us have installed."
Citations & References:
- Ramesh Menon, The Ramayana:A modern Translation, HarperCollins
- Bibeck Debroy, The Valmiki Ramayana, Penguin Books
[Part 2]
