What is Ramayana?



Sundara Kanda, Chapter 48

Ravana sends his son Indrajit

Filled with anger on his son Aksha having been killed by Hanumana, yet reconciling his mind, the high-minded Ravana the king of demons for his part then instructed Indrajit (his eldest son) possessing the qualities of god (as follows):










"O hero! The armies cannot protect you, even if they are in multitudes. There is no use taking a weapon like a strong thunder bolt against the monkey. There is no limit to the strength of Hanumana the son of wind-god. It is not possible to kill him, who resembles fire, by means of any weapon."









Hearing the rattling sound of Indrajit's chariot and a twang of his bow, the heroic Hanumana became more thrilled with delight.




Seeing Indrajit coming swiftly with the chariot, Hanumana made a noise with great resonance and grew up his body speedily.



Hanumana, of immeasurable strength, having expanded his body, aborted the swiftness of arrows of that Indrajit, the great chariot-warrior, the wielder of a bow and well-renowned in battle. Hanumana wheeled about in the path of wind-god, his father.


Hearing the rattling sound of the chariot and the sound of wooden tomtoms, kettledrums and war-drums as also the sound of the bow-string being plucked, Hanumana sprang up again.

Making the total target of Indrajit who was skilled in hitting his target useless, Hanumana the great monkey swiftly wheeled about between the arrows.



Indrajit could not know the weakness of Hanumana, nor did Hanumana know the weakness of high-minded Indrajit. Those two warriors, who were equal in prowess to gods, coming into collision with each other, became unbearable to each other.


Keeping in view of that monkey being incapable of being slain, Indrajit, Ravana's son then formed an idea as to how to resort to capture of that Hanumana the chief of monkey-warriors.


Indrajit, who knows the true nature of missiles, feeling certain that he was incapable of being killed, bound that Hanumana, the son of wind-god, by that presided over by Brahma the creator.

Fastened with the weapon discharged by the demon, Hanumana became motionless and fell down on the ground.

Realizing that he had been bound by a missile presided over by Brahma the Lord of creation that Hanumana failing to keep his swiftness, considered it to be a favour of Brahma the creator done to him.

Knowing it to be a missile presided over by Brahma the creator and consecrated by spells sacred to Brahma, the creator, Hanumana then recollected a boon got by Lord Brahma, the grand father of the entire creation.


Thinking of the potency of the missile and the grace of Brahma, the grandfather of the entire creation enjoyed by him, and thinking about his capacity to liberate from it (which was going to alight on him after a while) that Hanumana obeyed the command of Brahma the grand father of the entire creation.




Seeing that Hanumana, the destroyer of enemies falling motionless, the demons then tied him with plaited chords of hemp and bark of trees.



Conceiving that Hanumana the foremost among the monkeys, bound with the bark of trees, as having been relieved of the missile, the heroic Indrajit, on his part, then became thoughtful as follows: "A person tied with other means cannot indeed be bound again by the missile."




Then, recognizing that Hanumana, tied with barks of trees and ropes, but liberated by the missile, Indrajit slowed that mighty Hanumana the jewel among the monkeys, to Ravana there sitting along with a body of his attendants.

The demons showed to Ravana, the king of demons that captured Hanumana, the jewel among the foremost of monkeys who looked like an elephant in rut.

So went round the following conversations from the heroic demons there: "Who is this being? Whose savant is he? Where has he come from? What is his pursuit? Who is his alley?"

Thereafter, some demons, highly enraged, said to one another as follows: "Let this monkey be killed, even roasted alive and devoured."

After crossing over the path swiftly, the high-souled Hanumana saw there the palace of Ravana, decorated with highly precious stones and his elderly attendants sitting at the feet of Ravana.

That Ravana, who was endowed with an extraordinary energy, saw Hanumana the foremost of monkeys, being dragged hither and thither by demons of ugly countenance.


That Ravana, rolling his red-hot eyes with rage by seeing that Hanumana and thereafter seeing his important ministers who were elder to his by clan and character sitting there, ordered them to interrogate Hanuma.

Questioned, as per order, by those ministers as to the purpose of his operation and the motive of his act, that Hanumana at the outset informed, "I came from Sugreeva as an envoy."