Hari Om.
Let us begin the fourth sarga of the sundara kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
The sun set. At the stroke of night, as the moon rose, hanumAn assumed the form of a tiny cat. He planned to sneak in to lanka and carry out the quest for sItA there in that inconspicuous form. The dazzling lanka, opulent with plates of gold and studded with variety of gems, the well laid out roads, sky scrapers, pools, music and sea breeze wafting in the air – hanumAn was wonderstruck at this. As he gained an entrance, he revised his estimate of who can breach lanka among them. His positivity was on the rise. He felt assured at the valour of rAma and lakshmaNa. While he was occupied in his mental imagery, suddenly there appeared lanka, the guardian deity and namesake of the city and accosted him. hanumAn tried to reason with her but she would brook none of it. She slapped him in anger and then in a display of controlled rage, hanumAn hit back with his left fist that sent her crashing down. She realized in a moment that the curse inflicted by lord brahma in the yore – when she is seized by a vAnara, the end of lanka was near – flashed in her mind. Recognizing hanumAn, she offered salutations and wished him well in his mission. Onwards…
स निर्जित्य पुरीं श्रेष्ठां लङ्कां तां कामरूपिणीम्।
विक्रमेण महातेजा हनुमान् कपिसत्तमः।।5.4.1।।
अद्वारेण च महाबाहुः प्राकारमभिपुप्लुवे।
Having vanquished the city of lanka by seizing its guardian deity through his valour and splendour, the best of the vAnaras, the mighty hanumAn jumped over the wall without going through the threshold and entered lanka bearing the good of sugrIva in mind. He set his left foot on the forehead of the enemy [and made his intentions clear]. The supremely energetic son of the wind god, entered the highway that was decorated with pearls and flowers at night.
From there he, the illustrious vAnara, the well-wiser of sugrIva on the mission of rAma, began surveying the mansions of lanka. The well-to-do houses of the demons were dazzling like brilliant white clouds, well decorated, laced with diamonds and jewels.
तां चित्रमाल्याभरणां कपिराजहितङ्करः।
राघवार्थं चरन् श्रीमान् ददर्श च ननन्द च।।5.4.8।।
Moving from house to house, he could hear fun and frolic, enchanting music spanning the three octaves. The women who were intoxicated with pride resembled apsaras. As they climbed the steps and walked around the jingling of their anklets could be heard all over.
He then heard mantras emanating from the houses where he saw demons involved in study of the scriptures for their own salvation (swAdhyAya). At other places he saw demons who were loudly singing the eulogies of rAvaNa.
शुश्राव जपतां तत्र मन्त्रान् रक्षोगृहेषु वै।।5.4.12।।
स्वाध्यायनिरतांश्चैव यातुधानान् ददर्श सः।
रावणस्तवसंयुक्तान् गर्जतो राक्षसानपि।।5.4.13।।
He saw priests, demons of matted hair, of shaven head – they were dressed in the leather of the cattle. Some of them held darbhas in their hand, some of them instruments to offer sacrifice in the fire. He then saw lining the highway, a number of soldiers and spies of rAvaNa. Some of them held staffs and spikes, yet others held mallets and hammers. Some of them were one-eyed, some were one-eared. Some of them had sagging stomach and breasts. They came in various distorted and terrifying forms – crooked faced, ugly, dwarfish, some not too fat, some not too thin, some not too tall, some not too short, some not too fair, some not too dark. There were crooked and various forms as also handsome and illustrious demons wielding weapons like the bows, flags, staffs, swords, missiles, spears, noose, tridents, thunderbolts and were wearing shining armours.
Moving ahead, he beheld the famed royal palace of the demon king – sporting a giant arch of gold, standing imposingly on the earth. In front of it he saw a hundred thousand soldiers appointed by rAvaNa who were guarding the place. The palace was heavenly in its imposition, reverberating with sacred sounds, neighing of horses and the sound produced by ornaments. The palace was full of chariots, elephants, tuskers. The thresholds had a variety of animals and birds. The whole palace was protected by thousands of the soldiers. hanumAn stealthily entered such a well-guarded palace, that was replete with well-polished golden structures, precious gems, fragrant with smears of sandalwood paste and headed towards the inner chambers of rAvaNa.
रक्षितं सुमहावीर्यैर्यातुधानैः सहस्रशः।
राक्षसाधिपतेर्गुप्तमाविवेश महाकपिः।।5.4.28।।
Here we conclude the fourth sarga of the sundara kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
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Next: 5.05. Looking through the moonlit lanka
Previous: 5.03. The lanka breached in spirit
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 
