Hanumān Phala Yātrā

After his last meeting with Sītā Devī, Hanumān climbed Mount Arishṭa on the shore of Laṅkā. There he grew to his full size and leapt back over the ocean toward Bhārata. He came down on Mahendra mountain on the northern shore and roared, so that the waiting vānaras would know he had succeeded. Aṅgada, Jāmbavān and the whole search party met him with great joy. Asked for his news, Hanumān said first: Dṛshṭā Sītā, “Sītā has been seen.” The vānaras answered with a roar that filled the sky. The account is in the Sundara Kāṇḍa of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa.

Climbing Mount Arishṭa

Hanumān had decided to go back and carry the news of Sītā, and her message, to Śrī Rāma. He climbed Mount Arishṭa, a great peak on the shore of Laṅkā, ten yojanas wide and thirty yojanas high.

As he climbed, his footsteps broke the rocks of the mountain. The trees on its slopes fell. The lions in its caves roared, disturbed. The Vidyādhara women (a class of celestial beings) who lived on its peaks fled into the sky as the mountain shook. As Hanumān rose to his full power, the great mountain itself began to sink into the earth, so great was the force gathering in his body for the leap. (Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 56)

The return crossing

Standing on the peak and looking north, Hanumān grew to his full divine size. His body blazed with the energy of the son of Vāyu. He launched himself from the summit.

He flew over the ocean like an arrow let go, like a mountain with wings. The crossing was a journey through the sky of great beauty. Hanumān passed through clouds of many colours and through regions where nāgas, yakshas and gandharvas live. He passed through light that was the spray of the waves far below and the shine of the stars far above. At one moment he was hidden in cloud, and at another he blazed like a second sun. Like Garuḍa on his path through the sky, he made the wide ocean look no bigger than the print of a calf’s hoof. (Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 57)

In the middle of the crossing he passed the place where Mainaka lay under the water. He reached out and touched the mountain in greeting as he flew over, remembering the bond from his journey south.

Arrival at Mahendra

As he came near the northern shore, Hanumān saw Mahendra mountain rising out of the forests of the coast. It was the same mountain from which he had leapt out, and now it welcomed him home. He gave a great roar as he came down, a sound like a thundercloud, and it filled all ten directions.

The roar crossed the forests and reached the vānaras who had been waiting on the mountain slopes. For days they had watched the southern sky with anxious hearts. Jāmbavān heard the roar and at once told the others: “He returns with success. A vānara who had failed would not roar like this.” (Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 57)

Meeting the vānaras

Hanumān came down on Mahendra. In a moment the whole search party was around him: Aṅgada, Jāmbavān, and thousands of vānara warriors who had been close to despair. They rushed to him from every side. Some leapt from tree to tree. Some brought him roots and fruits they had gathered. Some simply embraced him.

He received Aṅgada’s embrace first. Then he bowed to the elders in due order, Jāmbavān most of all. Jāmbavān formally asked him to tell of his task. Hanumān gave the shortest answer first, knowing the full account could follow: Dṛshṭā Sītā, “Sītā has been seen.” (Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 57)

The joy of the vānaras

The words Dṛshṭā Sītā changed the camp in an instant. Vānaras who had been silent and grim broke out into roars, leaps and tumbling. Some beat their chests. Some whirled their tails. Some climbed to the tops of trees and shook the branches wildly. Some rolled on the ground for joy.

Aṅgada praised Hanumān before them all: “In strength and courage there is none your equal among the vānaras. You alone have crossed that terrible ocean and come back. You have saved all our lives. Through you we will see Rāma again.”

Then the group set out toward Madhuvana, from where the return to Kishkindhā began. (Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 57)

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 56–58 (events cited from Chapters 56 and 57)