Laṅkā Praveśa

Hanumān crossed the ocean and landed on the mountain shore of Laṅkā. He made himself as small as a cat and went to the gates of the city at twilight. There the guardian Laṅkinī, the presiding devī of the city, met him and struck him in anger. Hanumān knocked her down with a held-back blow of his left fist, for one must not kill a woman. As she fell, she saw that Brahmā’s word had come true: the day a vānara strikes her is the day the fall of Laṅkā begins. She rose, gave way, and Hanumān entered the city.

Hanumān’s first sight of Laṅkā

Hanumān stood on a mountain on the coast after crossing the ocean, and for the first time he saw Laṅkā. The city crowned the top of the three-peaked Trikūṭa mountain and blazed like a cloud on fire. Its walls, towers and palaces were made of pure gold, and its streets shone in the afternoon light. The ocean guarded it on every side. Its walls were wide and could not be broken, and its four gates were strengthened with war engines. Rākshasa warriors stood everywhere, armed and watchful.

Hanumān studied it all with the eye of a scout, noting how it was defended. He understood that he was looking at the greatest fortress in the world. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 3)

Choosing to enter at dusk

Hanumān thought carefully about how to enter a city so well guarded. He was one vānara in enemy land, and he had come not to fight but to search. If he came openly, the whole rākshasa army would fall on him before he found Sītā. The task needed stealth and good sense.

He waited for twilight, the time between day and night, when sight grows dim and attention wanders. He made his body as small as a cat. In this tiny form he came to the northern gate of Laṅkā in the gathering dusk. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 4)

Meeting Laṅkinī

At the gateway Laṅkinī suddenly stood in front of him. She was the divine guardian of the city, a yakshiṇī of great power, who served as its presiding spirit and its protector. She took a fierce and frightening form. At once she challenged him. She asked who he was and by what right he came near this city.

Hanumān answered in a calm voice. He said that he had come to look at the city, that he was a curious traveller and nothing more. Laṅkinī was not satisfied, and she struck him a powerful blow.

Hanumān staggered for a moment. Then, very deliberately, he raised his left fist and struck her back. He held back his true strength so as not to kill her, because dharma forbids killing a woman. Even so, the blow was enough. Laṅkinī fell to the ground, overcome. She had felt the force of the son of Vāyu and found it beyond anything she had known. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 4)

Brahmā’s word comes true

Laṅkinī did not rise again in new anger. She steadied herself and spoke with sudden calm. She saw that a word Brahmā himself had once given her was now coming true: the day a vānara overcomes you at the gate of Laṅkā, know that the time of Laṅkā has come. The good fortune of the rākshasas and the protection of the city are over.

She said, “O vānara, know that I am the guardian of this city. I know you. Rāma has sent you for Sītā’s sake. Enter Laṅkā. You will do all that you have come to do. Rāvaṇa’s end is near.”

With these words she gave up the gate and let Hanumān pass. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 4)

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 3 and 4