Śrīmad Vālmīki Rāmāyana (English Translation)

Prince Aksa, son of Rāvana, who came to meet Hanumān in combat, is killed.

Having killed five more generals sent by Rāvana, Hanumān returns again to the archway of the Aśoka grove.

Having made short work of the seven sons of Rāvana's chief minister too, Hanumān climbs up the archway again and takes up his position there.

Dispatched by Rāvana to capture Hanumān, Jambumālī is killed in battle by the former.

Having disposed of the Kinkaras sent by Rāvana and making up his mind to demolish the sanctuary sacred to the guardian deity of ogres, Hanumān climbs it up and, killing the guards posted there, exhibits his prowess by uttering the name of Śrī Rāma in a thundering voice. Nay, uprooting a pillar of the sanctuary, he brandishes it and burns the sanctuary with the fire produced thereby.

Perceiving the devastation of the royal pleasance at the hands of Hanumān, the ogresses keeping watch over Sītā asked her who he was. On Sītā’s pleading her ignorance in the matter, some of them hurriedly seek the presence of Rāvana and report the matter to him. Hanumān makes short work of a company of ogres known by the name of Kinkaras, despatched by Rāvana. Thereupon Rāvana sends Prahasta’s son...

Accounting his purpose not fully accomplished till he had ascertained the strength of the ogres, even though he had received the message of Sītā, and making up his mind to lay waste the royal pleasure-garden as a means of ascertaining the strength of the enemy, Hanumān proceeds to do it.

Asking Hanumān, who was ready to depart, to remind Śrī Rāma of his having once painted a decorative mark on her cheek with red realgar, and also of how he threw a reed at the crow assailing her, destroying his right eye thereby, as further tokens of Hanumān having met her, and urging him to apprise Śrī Rāma  of her wretched plight, Sītā grants him leave to depart with her blessings.

Sītā asks Hanumān, when the latter is about to depart with the jewel for her head, to apprise Śrī Rāma and Laksmana of her own welfare and urge them to rescue her. When Sītā expresses her misgivings about the capacity of the heroes on Śrī Rāma’s side to cross the sea, Hanumān expatiates on the might of the monkey heroes and assures her of their ability to cross it, and in the end consoles her by p...

Asked by Hanumān for a token, Sītā, narrates the episode of a crow, which occurred on the Citrakūta mountain, and asks Hanumān to repeat the story to Śrī Rāma by way of a token. She further sends her greetings both to Śrī Rāma and Laksmana, conveys her inquiry after their welfare and communicates to them her resolve to survive only for a month after the expiry of the time-limit prescribed by Rāvan...

Sītā, who was distressed to hear of Śrī Rāma’s excessive grief caused by his separation from her, implores Hanumān to bring Śrī Rāma at once to her. Hanumān, who could not bear to see Sītā’s sad plight, offers to carry her on his back to the presence of Śrī Rāma and girds up his loins to do so. In order to inspire confidence in Sītā, who doubts his capacity to do it looking to his small size, Hanu...

Hanumān delivers Śrī Rāma’s signet ring to Sītā in order to strengthen her confidence in him. Applauding Hanumān, Sītā, who was rejoiced to receive the token, inquires about the health of Śrī Rāma and others. In order to appease the lady, who felt indignant at the thought that Śrī Rāma did not care to come to her rescue so far, which led her to suspect that he had ceased to love her, Hanumān attri...

Questioned by Sītā, who was anxious to ascertain the bonafides of the monkey, Hanumān, after cataloguing the marks on the person of Śrī Rāma and Laksmana, narrates his own life-story from his birth onwards including his role as a minister of Sugrīva, and ending with his seeing of Sītā.

Inferring from the suitable reply to his queries received from Sītā and the trust reposed in him by the latter, Hanumān reveals to her the role of an envoy allotted to him by Śrī Rāma and repeat the inquiries made by the two brothers about her welfare. Taking him to be Rāvana disguised as a monkey, Sītā, on the other hand, reproaches him when the latter approaches her in order to bow down at her f...

Keen to hear of Sītā’s identity from her own lips, even though he had identified her, Hanumān inquires of her whether she was a goddess or anyone else and asks her to disclose her identity in case she was Sītā. In reply to this query Sītā narrates to him her whole life-story ending with her abduction by Rāvana and tells him how Rāvana was going to kill her two months later, and how in the event of...

Imagining Hanumān to have been seen in a dream, though actually perceived by her, and believing the sight of a monkey in a dream to be ominous, Sītā becomes anxious about the welfare of Śrī Rāma and others. Then concluding him on other grounds to have been seen in her waking hours, she prays to Brahmā and other gods that the statement of Hanumān may come out to be true.

Transported with joy to hear the story commencing from the birth of Śrī Rāma and ending with Hanumånís espying Sītā, narrated in a human tongue by Hanumān, remaining perched on the Śimśapā tree and casting her eyes all round, Sītā catches sight of Hanumān sitting on a bough of the same Śimśapā tree beneath which she stood.

Weighing the pros and cons of comforting Sītā or remaining mum, now that he had come to know everything about Sītā at first hand, Hanumān decides upon the former course at the psychological moment.

The omens described. Concluding them to be auspicious, from the thrill that ran through her body at their sight, Sītā experiences great joy.

The moment Sītā, who was unable to bear the reproaches and threats of the ogresses, endeavours after wailing a good deal to strangle herself to death with the cord used for tying her hair, a propitious omen, never seen before, appears on her person.

Risen from sleep, an ogress, Trijatā by name, speaks to her companions intimidating Sītā, of a dream she saw only a few minutes before revealing the triumph of Śrī Rāma and the discomfiture of Rāvana, and stops them from molesting Sītā. Pressed by them, she relates the dream to them and also speaks of the omens portending the triumph of Sītā.

Making up her mind not to submit to the advances of Rāvana even on pain of death, when menaced by the ogresses, and indulging in speculation as to why Śrī Rāma was not turning up to rescue her, Sītā wails in various ways.

Unable to endure the threats of the ogresses and calling aloud Śrī Rāma and others, Sītā bursts into a wail.

Citing the examples of Śacī, Arundhatī and other devoted wives, even though threatened by the ogresses, Sītā with a stout heart boldly proclaims her resolve not to submit to anyone else other than her own husband even on pain of death. Hanumān silently watches her being menaced by the ogresses by means of harsh words and show of weapons, and weeping.

Extolling Rāvana, Ekajāta and other ogresses posted in the Aśoka grove coax her to accept his proposal.