the prowess of Anjaneya.. the Hanuman..

the prowess of Anjaneya.. the Hanuman..
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पर्वतारोहणं चापि सागरस्य च लङ्खनम्।
समुद्रवचनाच्चैव मैनाकस्य च दर्शनम्॥ २८
parvatārohaṇaṁ cāpi sāgarasya ca laṅkhanam|
samudravacanāccaiva mainākasya ca darśanam|| 28
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The veteran Boar Jambavan recounts the entire secrets about the birth and life of Hanuman, the son of Wind God and Anjana.. When the great minister of monkeys could recall his real prowess and discover himself afresh, it is almost a second birth for Him.. And that is the start of the most poignant part in the story of Ramayanam.
The reaction of Hanuman on being reminded about his own past is recounted by Sage Valmiki in Kishkindakandam, Sargam 67 of Ramayanam.
The narrative in the words of the Poet himself..
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After being praised by all his kinsmen, Anjaneyaswamy proceeds to climb the Mahendra Mountain, from where He proposes to jump over the southern sea and reach Lanka, the city of Ravana.

He declares.
I am the son of the Wind God, who is capable of converting even mountains to powder by his own strength and speed.

Being his son possessing my father's own strength, there can be no difficulty for me to travel any distance with speed equal to wind.

I am capable of going round and round even the imposing Meru mountain a thousand times in a single stretch.

Just by the swift movements of my arms I can deluge the entire earth with all its lands, forests and mountains, splashing the waters from the ocean.

When I move my feet and thighs as I move across the sea will get agitated and the huge whales and sharks would be thrown up.

I am capable of flying around the sky covering the whole universe thousands of times, just like the imposing Garuda, the Vainateya.

If I start to jump towards the Sun when he raises, I would be able to fly past him by the time he is to set.

And I am capable to retracing the path from the Sun to the earth also without any rest.

I can fly past all the stars and planets with my prowess. I can dry up the oceans.
I can simply break the surface of earth and split it into many pieces just using my fists.

When I jump over the sky, I would be shaking the mountains on the earth and dragging huge masses of water along with me as I fly.
Dragged by the momentum of my jump the trees and plants bearing fruits and flowers too would get catapulted in the air in the direction of my flight…
and I would look like the bright red Swati Star which has many smaller stars strewn along with in the firmament..

I am going to travel along the skies assuming the huge size comparable to the Meru mountain itself and you the great monkeys, along with all the occupants of the earth and heaven are going to watch my grand flight.

I am going to shatter the clouds in my path, and the mountains would tremble and the seas would dry up.

I am possessing the prowess equal to my own father Vayudeva and the great bird Gauda, the Vainateya..

And except these two great souls no other being will ever be able to match my speed and capacity to cover distances over the air.

Reaching Lanka, I shall carry that Goddess Vaidehi the Sita and bring her to Rama and Laksmana stationed at Rishyamooka mountain, all with a single jump.

When I jump across the sky, my body would assume the same huge size that Lord Vishnu the Vamana, assumed as Thrivirama when he started measuring the universe in response to a boon by Bali.

In my imagination and by instinct, I am very positive and confident that my mission to meet Sita would be accomplished with resounding success.

With a speed equal to Garuda and a power equal to my own father Vayudeva,
I am sure that it would not be difficult for me to cover even tens of thousands of miles of distance in the air and accomplish any act of valour that can be achieved by their combined strength.

I can bring here even the Amritam.. the ambrosia, which is guarded by the celestial Brahmadeva, and the wielder of the Thunderbolt(Vajrayudha), Indra, after capturing the pot of Amrita from them by force, if need arises.

I have the confidence that if need arises, I can simply pluck the lustre of the moon or the imposing energy of the Sun itself and bring it down to you.
And if necessary, I shall just lift the whole island of Lanka with my two hands and bring here the whole island with all its structures and population..

The declaration by Hanuman as above, reveals the true strenght of that Divine monkey.. and that instills confidence and hope among the monkeys.. who were till that time mired in gloom and helplessness.

(Free translation of Slokams 9 to 31 of Sargam 67 of Kishkindakandam.)