Kālanemi Gāthā

When Bhagavān Rāma sent Hanumān to fetch the Sañjīvanī herb for the fallen Lakshmaṇa, Rāvaṇa sent the rākshasa Kālanemi to stop him. Kālanemi took the form of an ascetic and set a trap. The Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa tells this in the Kālanemi Gāthā, in the Laṅkā Kāṇḍa.

Rāvaṇa sends Kālanemi

Lakshmaṇa had fallen under the blow of Meghānāda’s Śakti. The vānara physicians named four herbs from the Droṇādri mountain as the cure. Susheṇa prescribed the treatment, and Hanumān was sent out.

Rāvaṇa was alarmed that Lakshmaṇa might be revived. He looked for a way to stop Hanumān. He called Kālanemi, a rākshasa skilled in cunning and māyā (magic). His order was to meet Hanumān on the way and stop him from returning with the Sañjīvanī by any trick. Kālanemi agreed and went ahead of Hanumān to prepare his trap.

The false āśrama

Kālanemi took the form of a great muni, a mahātmā (great soul) with matted locks, a body smeared with ashes and all the outward marks of a forest ascetic. He made the look of an āśrama, with a sacred fire, kuśa grass and all the things used for tapas (austerity). He sat there as if in meditation.

Hanumān came to that place, searching for the Droṇādri mountain and its herbs, and met this false muni. The false muni greeted Hanumān warmly. His words seemed to praise Rāma, and he even composed an Avadhi verse in praise of the glory of Sītā and Rāma.

Kālanemi then sent Hanumān towards a nearby lake. He said the Sañjīvanī herb could be found in that direction.

The crocodile and the Gandharva woman

Hanumān went to the lake as he was told. As he entered the water, a huge crocodile attacked him with sudden fury. Hanumān stayed calm, seized the crocodile and threw it onto the bank. The moment the creature touched dry land, the śāpa (curse) on it ended. The crocodile’s form dissolved, and a beautiful Gandharva woman stood there.

She told her story. She was a Gandharva woman of the devas. Durvāsa Maharshi had laid a śāpa on her, to live in the form of a crocodile in this lake until a great soul freed her. She was set free through Hanumān, or rather through the saṅkalpa (resolve) of Rāma that works through Hanumān. She thanked Hanumān with gratitude, bowed to him, praised Rāma, and went to her Gandharva-loka.

Kālanemi is slain

Hanumān now understood the deceit. He went back to the false āśrama. Kālanemi could not keep up his disguise before the divine sight of Rāma’s servant. Hanumān killed Kālanemi there and ended the rākshasa’s plan. He then went on with his task, to find the Droṇādri mountain and bring back the herbs that give life.

Sources

• Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Laṅkā Kāṇḍa, Kālanemi Gāthā section