Week 4 Story: Hanuman's Mistake

Hanuman burning the city of Lanka. Source: Wikimedia

Hanuman was spying on Ravana and his consort for quite some time in the city.  He would follow  their patrols, their servants, their elites and anyone who he thought could get some decent intel on the location of Sita.  He always traveled in the shadows, using his acrobatic prowess and wit to remain unseen by anyone he was spying on.  One night however, he found what he was looking for.  He had discovered where Sita was being kept and hastened to reach her and speak with her. He found her in a garden and quickly tried to convince her to come with him and return to Rama, but she refused because she only wanted to be touched by Rama himself.  Respecting her wishes he receives a small token from her to give to Rama.  When he is about to leave many Rakshasa princes leap out of their hiding spots.  Hanuman leaps at them immediately, taking the apparent ambush head on.  He slays many of them but eventually is captured and taken to Ravana.

Ravana decides that he will make a mockery of the monkey and will parade him through the streets with a tail on fire.  Hanuman is shacked and placed in a cage to be paraded through the streets.  His tail is lit on fire and he is set on his torturous parade.  Sita seeing this prays to Fire to bring no harm to Hanuman.  Meanwhile Hanuman cries out in pain as he is trotted down various streets and walkways throughout the city.  Suddenly when he reaches the main center of the city, the immense pain he feels fades into a cool tingling sensation.  The prayer Sita performed had been answered! Hanuman feels his strength return to him and he quickly breaks free of his bonds and the cage they had stuffed him in.  In a fury he runs through the streets setting everything he sees ablaze.  In moments the entire city is up in flames. 

Hanuman was quite pleased with his accomplishment as he sat by the lake quenching his tail and watching the blaze, when he suddenly remembered Sita. She was still in the city that was now engulfed in flame!  He rushes to the place where she was being kept to find her perfectly fine, sitting where he had left her.  Hanuman was relieved for a moment until he discovered Ravana himself sitting next to her, staring angrily at him.  Ravana leaps out and attacks Hanuman clearly enraged by his burning city.  Hanuman could have fled, but confident in his own strength, he takes on Ravana head on.  Hanuman dodges a few of his swift strikes but is eventually hit by one of Ravana's attacks.  Hanuman's right hand had been cut clean off!  He knew he had to get out of their quickly or he would surely die.  He ran out the same entrance he came in when he saw a moment between Ravana's strikes to escape.  Hanuman escaped with his life but at the great cost of right his hand.  He learned a valuable lesson about getting carried away and underestimating his enemies.  His missing hand would become a constant reminder of that lesson for the rest of his life.

Bibliography: The Burning of Lanka from Myths from the Hindus and Buddhists, by Sister Nivadita.


Author's Note:  I decided to tell this story mostly the same but with a different ending that I think fits nicely in the story.  Hanuman had no consequences for quickly burning down a whole city without thinking it out first.  I think losing a hand in battle with Ravana is a nice consequence for his shortsightedness