Siṃhikā Vadha

Siṃhikā was the third obstacle Hanumān met on his flight across the ocean. She was a huge rākshasī of the nāga line. Her special power was to seize any flying creature by its shadow. She gripped the shadow of Hanumān from the water below and slowed his flight. Hanumān grew to an enormous size, made her open her mouth wide, then shrank at once, dived into her body and tore out her inner parts. The siddhas who watched praised him as one who joins four qualities that bring success to a mission: strength, vision, speed and wisdom.

The grip on the shadow

Hanumān had passed the test of Surasā. Before he reached the shore of Laṅkā there was one more danger. As he flew high above the open ocean, he felt his speed grow less, as if something huge was holding him from below and pulling him down. He looked in all directions and saw nothing in the sky. Then he looked down into the sea. Just under the surface lay a creature of great size. This was Siṃhikā, a rākshasī of the nāga line. She had the power to seize creatures by their shadows and drag them into her mouth. She had caught the shadow of the great vānara and was pulling him down with all her strength. The Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa tells this in Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 3.

Hanumān knows her

Hanumān remembered that the wise had told of such a creature in the ocean. She was a being of vast form who could stop a flier by its shadow and devour him. From that description he knew Siṃhikā at once. This is told in Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 58, where Hanumān himself tells the account afterwards.

The killing

Hanumān acted at once. He made his body grow to a huge size. When Siṃhikā saw this vast form coming down towards her, she opened her mouth as wide as it would go. She also could grow her body, and her jaws gaped across the sky. At that moment Hanumān shrank to a tiny form and dived straight into her open mouth. He went deep into her body. With the sharp nails he has as a vānara, he tore out her inner organs and vital parts. Struck from inside, at the very seat of her life, Siṃhikā screamed and fell dead into the ocean. This is in Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 3.

The praise of the siddhas

The siddhas watching from the sky had seen the whole episode. They gathered to praise Hanumān. They said that one who has four qualities can never be defeated and will never fail in any mission:

• balyam, bodily strength
• dṛshṭiḥ, sharp vision that sees the truth of a situation
• kshipratā, speed of action
• prajñā, wisdom

Hanumān had shown all four one after another. He had the strength to grow his body. He had the vision to know Siṃhikā and understand her power. He had the speed to act before she could answer. He had the wisdom to find the right reply. This is in Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 3.

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 3
• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 58 (Hanumān’s own telling of the account afterwards)