Hari Om.
Let us begin the fifty seventh sarga of the sundara kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
hanumAn turned the adage of tail on fire on its head and made lanka pay dearly for the misadventure they tried with him. His anger stemmed from anguish of sItA due to her separation from rAma and turned the small fire on his tail to a ravaging inferno that consumed lanka. He was very much in control while setting fire by sparing the house of vibhIshaNa. However he was not sure that the fire would not have spread to the aSOka grove and consumed sItA as well! That thought was devastating! Did he undo the mission he painstakingly achieve in one foolish and undiscerning swoop? The thought put him in depths of misery. However, being devoted to rAma’s work is a blessing and he soon remembered the unlikely and miraculous happenings of the mount mainAka rising from the ocean for his sake and the fact that the fire on his tail was not hurting him. He reasoned that sItA was so chaste that her power could burn fire and so by her own power she would have survived this inferno. Soon the wandering sages confirmed his thinking. He was absolutely delighted and leapt to the aSOka vana one more time. He assured sItA and assuaged her doubts and without further delay, got onto the mount arishTa to return to rAma. By the impact of his take off the large mountain flattened, and he rose to the skies above the lashing waves of the ocean. Onwards…
With speed swift like wind hanumAn navigated across the skies like a great ship sailing across the ocean. The sky resembled an ocean with moon like the white lotus, sun like the elegant water fowl, the star punarvasu like a large fish, the star swAtI and sravaNa resembled lovely swans, the red planet mars was like a crocodile, airAvata was like a large island, the nAgas, yakshas and gandharvas resembled fully bloomed lotuses, the scattered clouds resembled the grassy patches on the banks of the ocean. The cool moonlight had the feel of water while the winds resembled the waves in the ocean!
स चन्द्रकुमुदं रम्यं सार्ककारण्डवं शुभम्।
तिष्यश्रवणकादम्बमभ्रशैवालशाद्वलम्।।5.57.1।।
पुनर्वसुमहामीनं लोहिताङ्गमहाग्रहम्।
ऐरावतमहाद्वीपं स्वातिहंसविलोलितम्।।5.57.2।।
वातसङ्घातजातोर्मि चन्द्रांशुशिशिराम्बुमत्।
भुजङ्गयक्षगन्धर्वप्रबुद्धकमलोत्पलम्।।5.57.3।।
हनुमान्मारुतगतिर्महानौरिव सागरम्।
अपारमपरिश्रान्तः पुप्लुवे गगनार्णवम् ।।5.57.4।।
Tirelessly hanumAn leapt across the ocean like sky and flew as if he was swallowing the skies, writing on the moon, snatching the stars, the solar sphere. The great son of the wind god, the flying across the skies journeyed as if he was drawing the clouds with him. The clouds sparkled in brilliant white, blue, yellow, green and orange hues and with him clad in white and disappearing into the clouds and reappearing, he shone like the moon.
विविधाभ्रघनापन्नगोचरो धवलाम्बरः।
दृश्यादृश्यतनुर्वीरस्तदा चन्द्रायतेऽम्बरे।।5.57.9।।
With the thunderous noise his speed generated, the delight of the wind god resembled garuDa. Having slain well known demons, tormenting the city of lanka and rAvaNa, decimating the enemy forces, calming vaidEhI he reached the middle of the ocean, touched the great mainAka mountain in the middle of the ocean with his hand and sped away with great speed like an arrow released from the bowstring. Having reached closer to the great mount mahEndra, he let out a loud roar which filled the ten quarters like the thunder. Eager to meet his mates, the roaring hanumAn wagged his tail. His thunderous roar seemed to be splitting the skies and was heard by the dispirited but mighty vAnaras waiting desperately to see hanumAn. The dispirited lot at once sprung with enthusiasm listening to the roar and were restless to catch a glimpse of their mate.
जाम्बवान् स हरिश्रेष्ठः प्रीतिसंहृष्टमानसः।।5.57.22।।
उपामन्त्र्य हरीन् सर्वानिदं वचनमब्रवीत्।
सर्वथा कृतकार्योऽसौ हनुमान्नात्र संशयः।।5.57.23।।
न ह्यस्याकृतकार्यस्य नाद एवंविधो भवेत्।
The wise jAmabavAn was very delighted, called the vAnaras and told them – “there is absolutely no doubt that hanumAn has accomplished the mission. Someone who has not accomplished the work given to him won’t roar like this”!
They heard his roar and the great noise generated by the speed of his thighs and arms, were extremely delighted and to catch a glimpse of him, scaled the peaks of the mountains nearby. They jumped on to the trees and waved the branches vigorously like clothes to welcome hanumAn! As they all stood with folded hands with hanumAn approaching like a massive cloud, the mountainous hanumAn landed majestically on the mount mahEndra. He dropped there in the middle of trees and streams in great delight just like a flying mountain whose wings were cutoff!
ततस्तु वेगवांस्तस्य गिरेर्गिरिनिभः कपिः।।5.57.29।।
निपपात महेन्द्रस्य शिखरे पादपाकुले।
All the vAnaras crowded around hanumAn who returned unscathed, in great delight and gratitude they were motionless for a moment. And then they presented him with fruits and roots and felicitated him with great fervour. hanumAn bowed down to the elders like jAmbavAn and prince angada.
स ताभ्यां पूजितः पूज्यः कपिभिश्च प्रसादितः।।5.57.35।।
दृष्टा सीतेति विक्रान्त स्संक्षेपेण न्यवेदयत्।
The acclaim worthy hanumAn having been felicitated by the duo of jAmbavAn and angada and hailed by other vAnaras submitted in brief – “seen by me is sItA”. Then holding the hand of angada, in a sylvan spot on the mahEnadra mountain, he sat down and told the vAnara leaders –
“The daughter of janaka is held captive in the aSOka grove where she was seen by me. The blemish less woman under the vigil of terrifying ogresses, sporting a single braid, emaciated by not eating, soiled and with matted hair desperate waits for a glimpse of rAma”.
That she was seen by hanumAn was like music to the ears of the vAnaras and the at once sprung up in great joy; some of them howled, some of them roared, some of them screamed and roared back, some of them hit the ground with their long tails. Some of them jumped down the peaks and tightly embraced the elephantine hanumAn in happiness. In the assembly of all vAnaras, as they heard him, angada said –
“In might and valour, there is no vAnara who is equal to you because of which you have leaped across the ocean and returned. Oh wow, we hail your devotion to the lord, we hail your heroism, we hail your determination. Fortunately the illustrious consort of rAma has been spotted by you, knowing which fortunately rAma will discard the sorrow arising out of the abduction of sItA”.
The vAnaras having felicitated hanumAn settled down on vast boulders on the mountain, eager to hear the account of hanumAn’s leap across the ocean, meeting sItA as well as seeing rAvaNa, they sat with folded hands to listen to him. The mountain peak graced by the illustrious and famous hanumAn and the mighty angada with his sparkling armlets and surrounded by the vAnaras and shining like indra in the heavens wore an auspicious look.
Here we conclude the fifty seventh 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: 5.58. An as-it-happened account to his mates
Previous: 5.56. The accomplisher assures and leaps back
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 
