Hari Om.
Let us begin the fifty fourth sarga of the kishkindhA kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
The inevitable seemed to be happening. As the vAnaras searched intensely but met with no success at all until then, the spirits were ebbing, even if it meant there was a refueling in the caves of svayamprabhA. The sight of the daunting and endless ocean killed the spirits. In those times of poor success, emerged rifts in the team. Blame game started. No less than sugrIva was blamed and his intention to pin responsibility on angada for this arduous task was questioned. The vAnaras were developing self pity and one of them suggested that there was absolutely no going back empty handed to be killed by sugrIva. Instead they all should go back to the caves of svayamprabhA and live there happily ever after, unknown to anyone, even the gods! Onwards…
बुद्ध्या ह्यष्टाङ्गया युक्तम् चतुर्बलसमन्वितम् ।
चतुर्दशगुणं मेने हनूमान्वालिनस्सुतम् ॥
The temperament and might of angada and the way his supporters rallied around him gave glimpses of his leadership and ability to take over the vAnara kingdom (at an appropriate time) was evident for hanumAn. He saw that angada was blessed with eightfold intellectual ability (gathering information, listening attentively, receiving earnestly, processing carefully, being imaginative with his moves, being skeptical, knowledge of securing the means and proper understanding of the import of the mission), four fold material support (Might of self, mental strength, ability to craft plans, supporters) and fourteen fold virtues (sense of timing and place, being stable, fortitude, awareness, swiftness, self-defense, maintaing secrecy of the strategies, non-argumentative, acknowledge loyalty, gratitude, valorous, protecting the dependents, calculated outrage, steadiness of thought) [ as seen here]. In fact, angada was gaining the qualities and maturing well like the waxing moon of the bright fortnight. He was as valorous as his father vAlI and was equal in intellect to the guru of the gods, bRhaspati. Now he was lending an ear to the counsel of tAra which was a bit like indra listening to the guru of demons – Sukra!
Sensing that the mission of the king could be at jeopardy, hanumAn, well versed in all the scriptures, began to work on angada by utilizing the third skill of conflict resolution which was to create rift among the opponent and thus derail their plan and avoid conflict (The four skills for conflict resolution – sAma – pacifying through constructive dialogue; dAna – offering charity to win over; bhEda – Drive a wedge among the enemy party and let them disintegrate; danDa – take to force and punish the opponent and subdue them to end conflict).
स चतुर्णामुपायानां तृतीयमुपवर्णयन्।
भेदयामास तान्सर्वान् वानरान्वाक्यसम्पदा।।4.54.6।।
He began to speak sternly trying to terrify angada taking advantage of the difference of opinions among the vAnaras and leveraging the same to bring the mission of finding sItA back on track. He used skillful articulation and began by praising angada –
“O son of tArA, you are mighty like your father vAlI and capable of holding the reins of the vAnara kingdom on your own. O prince, know that the vAnaras are driven by the love for their families and being fickle-minded will not always be obedient to you leaving behind everything. Why, I must tell you directly that leaders like jAmbavAn and suhOtra or for that matter, myself will not abandon the work at hand and stay in the cave. Even if you employ the four fold skills of sAma, dAna, bhEda and danDa (persuasion, charity, creating difference and punishment), the vAnaras are not going to stay with you forever. The rule is that when a weak person fights a strong one, he should not adopt combat but bide by his time to wait for an opportune time.
यां चेमां मन्यसे धात्रीमेतद्बिलमिति श्रुतम्।
एतल्लक्ष्मणबाणानामीषत्कार्यं विदारणे।।4.54.13।।
By the way, what you think about the cave being strong and assuming that you will be protected there is an illusion as piercing through that cave is a small job for the arrows of lakshmaNa! You are aware that indra was able to damage the cave with his thunderbolt in the past. And lakshmaNa is endowed with many such powerful arrows that can strike like the thunderbolt and shatter the cave.
If you seek to establish yourself here counting on the support of the vAnaras, know for sure that driven by their families and hunger, they will turn their back on you at an opportune moment. Once that happens, you will live in perpetual fear, terrified by even a moving blade of grass. If you flee from the scorching arrows of lakshmaNa, they are sure to find you and hunt you down.
On the other hand if you try and approach sugrIva along with us in all humility, he will surely be benevolent and bestow the crown of heir-apparent on you. The brother of your father, sugrIva is endearing, stickler to his vows, will keep his promise and do no harm to you. Your mother tArA is his life and further he has no offspring of his own. Hence, do not go into the cave, but continue the mission on which we came.
धर्मकामः पितृव्यस्ते प्रीतिकामो दृढव्रतः।
शुचिस्सत्यप्रतिज्ञश्च न त्वां जातु जिघांसति।।4.54.22।।
Here we conclude the fifty fourth sarga of the kishkindhA kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
Click on the above link for word by word meaning from IITK website
Click on the above link to listen to the audio by SrIrAma ghanApATi
Next: 4.55. They decide to give up!
Previous: 4.53. The vAnaras all at sea!
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 
