Mission Lanka: Hanuman’s triumph. Part-2

Orientation

For generations, the Indian masses have heard tales of Ramayan(and other epics) from their elders, saints, preachers, books and so on. Our generation is fortunate to have access to painstakingly done research and fathomless information, and a lot of it is available easily. The times have also changed a lot, hence, it is essential for a rational Indian to periodically read the epics like a work of history, rather than simply listening and accepting those as folktales.

Hanuman is known to have at least the following talents(many more are documented but my focus is on the listed ones):
1. Extreme physical prowess.
2. Unrivalled combat skills.
3. Accomplished career diplomat.
4. Statesmanship.
5. Profound knowledge of the Ved(Hindi: वेद), Shastras(Hindi: शास्त्र), grammar.
6. Astute communicator.

Sadly, the Indian society has reduced Hanuman to a celibate, muscular ‘God’ rather than a versatile person who can serve as an ideal of many skills that are crucial in the practical world. This series of posts will focus on Hanuman and his endeavours from the viewpoint of a history buff

Context

• More than a month had elapsed since Sugreev(Hindi: सुग्रीव) dispatched the search parties in all directions, to locate Sita(Hindi: सीता).
• Failure to locate Sita meant bad news for everyone – Sugreev executing the failed Vanaras(Hindi: वानर), conflicts between Sugreev and Ram(Hindi: राम), internal turbulence in Sugreev’s kingdom.
• Hanuman’s legendary feat to reach Lanka came just in nick of time!
• During his ‘Mission Lanka’, Hanuman demonstrated his vast skillset, and virtues. Even scratching surface of his feats during this mission needs several posts.
• Till this point, the epic, as well as the folklore highlight ‘Finding Sita’s whereabouts’ as Hanuman’s primary/sole mission. While this is one fact, the overall scope of the Hanuman’s Lanka mission was much wider.

Situation

Hanuman infiltrated Lanka after sunset. Then, he combed half of the city, looking for Sita. Eventually, he reached the heart of the city, thereafter he searched the palatial residences of all important Rakshasas, including Ravan. Dawn was approaching, yet he had not traced Sita.

How did Hanuman proceed? What was the train of his thoughts? What skillsets he put to use?
The following sections elaborate the same.

Note: Readers, don’t be surprised/upset if you don’t find any mention of interaction between a)Hanuman and Sita and b)Hanuman and Ravan. Those events deserve at least 2 separate posts each, and would be coming soon.

Apprehension, Despair, and so on!

• The dawn was approaching, still Hanuman couldn’t trace Sita. He begun to lose his heart due to the following thoughts:
  • Sita was killed by the guards(Rakshasis).
  • Sita committed suicide.
  • Ravan had imprisoned Sita elsewhere(not in Lanka).
  • If he returned empty-handed, Sugreev, Vanar chiefs, Ram & Lakshman, and their mothers and wives would commit suicide.
  • Ram may lose his temper, and massacre the Vanaras, including Sugreev.
    
    Hanuman, yet again, contemplated suicide, or living like a hermit.

Rage

• After having a bout of despair due to Sita being untraceable, Hanuman was outrageous. He contemplated either killing Ravan immediately, or taking him prisoner, and handing him over to Ram.
• He planned to take an offensive stand at Ashok vatika(Hindi: अशोक वाटिका), kill all the attacking Rakshasas, then find Sita.

Optimism

• At the dawn, Hanuman chucked despair. He decided to first check out(for Sita) Ashok vatika.
• Hanuman was aware that alike Ram, Sita also enjoyed visiting lush green woods, and saunter in Nature. He hoped that at least for assuaging her anguish, Sita would visit Ashok Vatika.

Composure, Memory, Speech, and other talents

• Hanuman spotted a despondent, disheveled, and weakened woman in Ashok Vatika(Hindi: अशोक वाटिका). While he guessed it was Sita, he tried to identify her based on his memory(I will cover the details in a separate post).
• To assess the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy, Hanuman pondered over the approach that he should take – Discourse, or Enticement(by riches/reward), or Punitiveness, or (creating) Rift/pitting against each other(Hindi: साम, दाम, दंड, भेद). His rationale was a)Rakshasas were arrogant and inconsiderate, hence, a practical discourse was impossible. b)Rakshasas were extravagant and stinking rich, hence enticement by reward/riches was futile. c)They harboured vanity for their race, hence, they cannot be pitted against each other. The only option was a punitive action, and exhibiting strength and force.
• He pondered ‘Even the most insignificant goal has multiple objectives. An able and strong man thinks about all aspects of a mission, and achieves multi-faceted success.‘

Listing, and prioritizing tasks

• After meeting, and assuring Sita about the beginning of the end, Hanuman moved to a secluded spot away from Ashok Vatika, and revisited his ToDo list. The next task was assessment of the combat capabilities of the enemy.
• In spite of being immune to Brahmastra, Hanuman decided to get captured – he wanted an official meeting with Ravan.

Strategic Assessment

• He decided to enter into combat with Rakshasas with the following strategic objectives:
  • KIA important and powerful leaders would weaken their morale.
  • He could gauge their might, and report the same to Sugreev.
• Hanuman finally decided to vandalize Ashok Vatika to provoke the Rakshasas, with a hope to trigger skirmishes.

Ultimate Warrior

• After vandalizing Ashok Vatika, Hanuman took a stand at it’s main entrance, awaiting the retaliation by Rakshasas.
• When a column of Kinkaras(sort of servants) arrived to capture Hanuman, he proclaimed “I am a follower of the mighty Ram. I am the son of Vayu, and a slayer of enemies. When I would attack, even a thousand Ravans will not be able to stop me from destroying this city. I will leave unscathed, and there is nothing you can do about it!”. Then, he raised a deafening, threatening war cry which paralyzed the Rakshasas and the city residents.
• The list of Hanuman’s combat actions is as follows:
  • He wielded an mace-like weapon made of iron, and beat the Kinkaras to pulp.
  • Then he climbed atop an edifice in Ashok Vatika, repeated his proclamation, and started to scare the Rakshasas away. When the guardians of the edifice attacked Hanuman, he killed all of them, and set fire to the edifice. He then warned the fleeing Rakshasas that thousands of such valorous Vanaras would soon attack Lanka, and wipe it out.
  • Prahast‘s(Hindi: प्रहस्त) son, Jambumali(Hindi: जम्बुमाली) launched an assault on Hanuman, and managed to wound him by arrows. Hanuman then hit Jambumali on the chest with mace, and the latter died immediately.
  • Sons of Ravan’s (unnamed)ministers then marched to capture Hanuman. There were 7 of them. Hanuman mauled some of them, broke skulls of some, and tore flesh of the remaining. Witnessing these horrible deaths of their leaders, their subordinates fled.
  • Ravan now was alarmed and appalled, yet sangfroid, and dispatched his able generals Virupaksha(Hindi: विरुपाक्ष), Yupaksha(Hindi: यूपाक्ष), Durdhar(Hindi: दुर्धर), Praghas(Hindi: प्रघस), and Bhaskarna(Hindi: भासकर्ण). He warned them to not underestimate Vanaras, and quoted names of Vali, Sugreev, Mahabali, Jambavan, Neel, Dviwid, etc. He asked the generals to capture Hanuman.
    Hanuman managed to reach at a close range to each of the generals, and crushed them to death.
  • Ravan now deployed his own son Aksha(Hindi: अक्ष) to the battlefield. Aksha engaged in a duel with Hanuman for quite a long time, also managed to wound Hanuman a bit. Hanuman was impressed with Aksha’s combat skills and resolution, and thought that lengthening this duel would result in his own defeat, therefore, he again reached to a close range, grabbed Aksha by his legs, swiveled/swung him several times, and bumped/knocked him hard on the ground. Aksha died instantly.
  • Now, Ravan panicked, pinned his hopes on Indrajeet(Hindi: इंद्रजीत), and deployed him to the battlefield. When Indrajeet couldn’t subdue Hanuman, he resorted to his ultimate weapon – Brahmastra(Hindi: ब्रह्मास्त्र). While Hanuman was immune to that weapon, he chose to shackle self.

Self-restrain

• When Rakshasas thought that Hanuman was immobilized by Brahmastra, they rushed and tied him up. This was a disastrous mistake – Brahmastra was rendered ineffective as it was intertwined with other means of shackling. Now, it couldn’t be reused. This alarmed Indrajeet. Hanuman didn’t exhibit any emotion when the Rakshasas tied him euphorically.
• The Rakhsasas started to poke, abuse, and hit Hanuman. He bore all those insults and assaults stoically.