Laṅkinī

Laṅkinī was the guardian of the city of Laṅkā. Brahmā appointed her to stand at the gate of the rākṣasa city and stop anyone who had no right to enter. She was a being of great power.

When Hanumān came to the northern gate of Laṅkā in the form of a small cat and tried to go in, Laṅkinī saw him and struck him. Hanumān hit her back with one blow of his fist and knocked her to the ground. She knew at once that this was the sign Brahmā had given her long before: when a vānara beat her at the gate, the destruction of the rākṣasas would begin. She bowed to Hanumān and let him enter.

The guardian of the gate

Laṅkinī was not an ordinary rākṣasī. She was the appointed guardian of the city itself. Brahmā had placed her there to mark and guard the boundary of Laṅkā. She saw every being that came near the city walls, and she had the power to stop it or let it pass. She held this post through the long years of Rāvaṇa’s rule, when Laṅkā stood safe from all attack.

The meeting with Hanumān

Hanumān came to the northern gate of Laṅkā. He had made his huge body as small as a cat so that he could enter the city unseen. Laṅkinī saw him and stopped him. She asked who he was and what he wanted inside Laṅkā. Hanumān gave a plain answer that told her little: he had only come to see the city. Laṅkinī knew that he was an intruder with no right to enter, and she struck him with her hand.

Hanumān answered at once, even in his small form and even though he needed to stay unseen. He struck Laṅkinī with his closed fist. The blow was measured. It was strong enough to knock her down, but held back enough not to kill her, because a woman should not be slain. Laṅkinī was thrown to the ground and began to vomit blood.

Brahmā’s word comes true

Laṅkinī pulled herself together. She did not fight on. She spoke to Hanumān and showed that she knew what had happened and accepted it. She told him that long ago Brahmā had given her a word of warning. When a vānara overcame her at the gate of Laṅkā, that would mark the hour of doom for the rākṣasas. She told Hanumān that he was that vānara, that he could enter Laṅkā freely, and that the time of the rākṣasas had come.

She offered no more resistance, and Hanumān entered the city.

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 4