Week 6 Storytelling: Hanuman Goes to Lanka

Soon after I was granted eternal life I found some jewelry laying on the ground. I had never seen anything like it before. Once I heard that Rama’s wife was missing I thought the jewelry could be hers so I brought it to him immediately. He was so grateful and I could see the pain in his eyes because he missed Sita. I was instantly  in awe with him. There are very few people on this earth that get to experience true love and he needed help finding his one true love. I knew that he was going to become my best friend. I chose to forever become loyal to him. He informed me that he was sending out a search party for Sita while he held down the fort so I offered to help; little did I know I would soon lead the party.

As we prepared for our departure the night before, I had to introduce myself to everyone. Some were kind, others were weirded out that a monkey was joining. Overall, I felt good about making the decision and slept well for the next day.

The next morning we headed for Sita. We ran into a man named Sampati and he told us that he had seen Sita with Rama overhead flying to Lanka. We decided to take a vote on who was to go across the sea, since there was no bridge for all of us to go. I guess the troops like me more than I’d thought because they all voted for me! I want to make Rama proud and show him my loyalty.

As I crossed the sea, I had a chance to rest on the mountain Mainaka. She was very nice and told me stories as she served me lunch. After that, I had to face the sea demon that was protecting the island. She was vicious but I was able to penetrate her aorta and kill her. Nothing will get in the way of me finding Sita!!!

I finally arrived at the island and realized I needed to disguise myself because no one there has ever seen a flying monkey before. I changed into the shape of a cat because I saw one walk by. It was very different viewing the world from that close to the ground. I’m not sure that I would enjoy being a cat for all of eternity. Eventually Lanka found out that it was me and she was convinced that I was fulfilling the curse of Ravana. I found Sita and made sure she knew I was working for Rama. She gave me something to show Rama when I returned with the news.

Photo of Hanuman found online.

Author's Note: I chose to write from Hanuman's point of view because he is such a loyal friend and follower of Rama. I thought it would be interesting to hear why he loves Rama so much and what he endures on his journey through land and sea to find Sita. 

Bibliography:

Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way. 

Week 6 Reading Diary B: War in Lanka

This episode is all about the war between Ravana and Rama. It begins with Rama building a bridge to cross over the sea to Lanka. The Water King assures him this can be done. Vibhishana makes Ravana mad and so he ends up becoming allies with Rama. Once again, Ravana tries to perform magic tricks on Sita. He had his magicians create an illusion that looked like Rama had been killed. Sita was distraught but someone unaware of the trap came in and announced Rama’s arrival to Lanka so the trick failed.  Sita realized that Rama was still alive and there to rescue her from Ravana. Rama sends a messenger to speak with Ravana but he is outraged and only wants war (typical for his personality).  

Ravana sends demons to attack at night but they are killed. He next sends his giant brother who is eventually killed by Rama. He then asks his son for help. It continuously amazes me how selfish Ravana is in how he will send all of his loved ones out to battle for him but he won’t do it himself. Rama sends someone to get medicine from the Himalaya mountains and this is how Sita knew that Rama was still alive with the help of Hanuman of course. This episode ends with Ravana finally realizing that all the people he sent to battle have been killed. He knows now that he must go battle Rama himself.

Photo of Ravana's younger brother who was defeated by Rama. Photo found online. 

Week 6 Reading Diary A: Hanuman in Lanka

The first episode for this week starts off with Hanuman coming to find Sita. The monkeys decide that he is the one to go to Lanka. This journey is much more detailed in Buck’s version of the Ramayana. Hanuman rests on a mountain while journeying to Lanka. He also gets swallowed by a demon, but he escaped from her by crushing her heart. When Hanuman arrived to Lanka he is approached by lanka herself. Lanka realizes this is Ravana’s curse coming to him finally. Hanuman discovered that Ravana was still trying to seduce Sita; luckily she was still loyal to Rama!

Hanuman finally finds Sita in the ashoka grove where he tells her about his alliance with Rama. She gave Hanuman a gift to give to Rama when he returned. Before Hanuman leaves Lanka, he goes a little crazy and destroys gardens and such. Ravana captured Hanuman where he ordered to set his tail on fire. Once he did, Hanuman escaped and flew away where he set Lanka on fire! He finally returns to Rama where he informs him of Sita’s safety. At the end of this episode they party a bit.

This is a photo of Hanuman crossing the sea to get to Lanka. He first had to pass through the Demon that was protecting the island. Photo found online.