The process of writing Ramayanam starts….12

The process of writing Ramayanam starts….12

The story of Valmiki Ramayanam till Hanuman landed up in the Shores of the Island of Lanka was discussed yesterday.. The link to the post is given at the bottom of this post

Story continued..

As his flight to Lanka reached its last lap, the Trikoota Ranges, the green forests, the beautiful valleys, the rivers and rivulets fron the ma

inland of the island flowing towards the sea , all became visible for Hanuman.

Hanuman reminded himself that he was on a mission as a one man army.. and the mission was very hazardous and sensitive too.

His activities in Lanka, inclusing discovery of Sita and reconnaissance for strategic defence locations in the Rakshasa city were of vital importance in chalking out further course of action for Rama, Sugriva and the army of monkeys.

He had alredy stretched his own body to a gigantic size to suit the strenous flight of one hundred Yojanas over the southern seas..

However he knew that if he entered the city of Lanka in that shape, he would be immediately spotted and whatever be his size and strength he could be easily captured by the armed forces of Ravana in his own place.

And sure, getting captured by the enemy was the last item in the agenda of the monkey..

Of course, Hanuman was a very brilliant strategist, and his resourcefulness was beyond any limits in any situation..

So he told himself that he could assume some camouflague and manage to make entry into the fortress at the right time and sezing the right opportunity.

Then Hanuman first reduced his own size to normal levels, stationed himself at some vantage position atop the Trikuta Ranges from where he could get a panoramic view of the entire island, and made a very keen visual assessment of the entire locality.

The island and the city in its midst looked splendid indeed. Ravanas capital city was build atop the Trikoota Ranges..

The city was planned and constructed by the architect of the Gods, Vishvakarma.

The city just gave the impression as if it were just another Amaravathi.. the present city of the God of treasures, Kubera ( In fact this lanka was once occupied by Kubera and Ravana, his step brother had driven him away, captured it, and occupied it too with all his forces).

As Hanuman was jumping aroud, the greens with thick foliage, the creepers and shrubs, all laden with flowers, shook at his footfall, and the shower of flowers fell on his entire body..

It looked as if Lanka was welcoming him with shower of sweet scented flowers.

And once his interest in the adventure has been kindled, Hanuman forgot all his fatigue..

He had undertaken a strenous flight over the sea, facing so many vicissitudes.

But no signs of tiredness were visible in him.. and he was even wondering to himself that there was not trace of weakness could be found in himself.

Standing erect but concealed at the top of Trikuta mountain Hanuman made a survey of the city of Lanka with its fortresses, mansions, ramparts, roads and lanes, gardens and bowers..

The attractive flora and fauna of the locality too did not escape his attentive gaze.

Ravana by nature was an aggressive chieftain of the demons..

Therefore he expected attacks from all directions at any time. So his security arrangements were very thorough..

And when he abducted Sita, he knew that he was locking horns with one of the greatest warriors of all time, Rama, and therefore he had beefed up his defence fortifications too.

Hanuman, the brilliant military analyst, could easily understand that the defence of Lanka was almost impregnable..

It would have been a tall order for the princes Rama and Lakshmana and the monkey army even to reach the side of the sea where Lanks is located, after negotiating the vast expanse of sea intervening right from the mainland of India located in the North..

In Hanuman's assessment only Sugriva, Angada, Neela and Hanuman himself were capable of jumping over such a large distance and reaching Lanka.

And considering the military strength of Ravana, and the architecture and strtegic location of the fort, even these four might not succeed in entering the city..

Even if they entered, just four monkeys stood no chance in a combat with a huge army of Rakshasas.

Then he told himself that the first priority for him at athat point would be to manage to meet Sita and have a one to one talk with her..

He should also manage to cover as much area he could in the city in a reconnaissance spree, to assess the location of persons, and resources that could be attacked and conquered if an when the war took place..

The first point to be scored at that time was to gain ingress into the city.

At the same time, Hanuman cautioned himself that he should not act with excessive enthusiasm that would give way to errors..

He was all alone..

And His mission was the last hope for recovery of Sita..

If he faltered, everything would be lost..

There wwere no back up plans..

Even the best among people when they are alone and left fending for themselves in such a lonely state were prone to err..

He must enter Lanka and meet Sita.. But he should not permit himself to be discovered by the guards of Ravana..

If they saw him, they might torture him to the confession that he had come from Rama, and once that was discovered, Ravana would not hesitate to kill him and perhaps Sita too..

If that happened, that would be the end of all plans..

The dusk was fast approaching..

Hanuman waited for the Sun to set .

He knew he could not enter the city in his normal size and go unnotices..

So he assumed the size of a thin, hungry monkey, the size of a cat, ostensibly running around the streets of lanka searching for some food.. or out of monkeyish curiosity.

Accordingly as the night fell, Hanuman, assuming the size of a small emaciated cat made his entry into Lanka.. indeed a big leap of success in his mission Discovery of Sita..

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The adventures of Hanuman inside the city of Lanka could be discussed during subsequent posts, god willing..

This is the 12 th in a series of posts on Ramayanam..