The Sarga 48 describes the search for Sita by Hanuman and his army. They started from the Vindhya Mountains searching the forests and the caves but in vain. They then came to a region that was devoid of any trees or water. There is a story connected with that.
In our Itihasas and Puranas,
it is common that these kinds of small stories (Upakathas) crop up to explain
certain things. In this case, it was about the great Rishi Kandu who was living
there. He lost his son who was in his prime youth and Kandu got so enraged that
he cursed the whole place to become desert-like and the region became like
that.
I wonder if this region does
not correspond to the present Deccan plateau. One can see as we fly over how
rocky and desert-like the region is!
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They then came to another
forest region. As they entered they saw a Rakshasa who was the son of Mareecha,
huge like a mountain who rushed towards the Vanaras with the intention of
killing them and eating them. Angada thought that he was Ravana and so slapped
him with full force and killed him. Still finding no sign of Sita they all sat
down totally discouraged. Angada lectured them and encouraged them to try and
search for Sita without abandoning her. He reminded them also about the death
penalty that awaited them if they returned empty-handed.
Gandhamada one of the Vanara chiefs then addressed the Vanaras and told them that they should as per the advice of Angada should restart their search in every nook and corner of the forest and the mountains. The Vanaras started the search again in the forests on the southern slopes of the Vindhya Mountains and climbed Rajata Mountain (which could be a small mountain among the ranges of Vindhya Mountain) and searched on its slopes again but with no success. They continued towards the south and came to a cave with a big opening called Rikshabila (Bila in Sanskrit means cave), which was guarded by a Rakshasa. They were all exhausted, dying of thirst and tired. Hanuman then noticed several birds coming out of the cave that was all dripping wet.
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So he told the Vanaras that there ought to be a water source inside the cave and they should go and satiate their thirst. It was totally dark inside and all the Vanaras entered the cave holding each other’s hands. They first came to a big forest rich in varieties of trees bearing flowers and fruits. Some of them were palm, Sala, Marudu, Magizham, Konrai and so on. Some of the trees are unknown to us now. They saw ponds and streams with dark blue water filled with lotus and other flowers. They were so surprised to see some palaces with rich interiors. There were different types of furniture for relaxing all made of gold and silver and very luxurious. In one place there were so many varieties of food which were without parallel! As they proceeded they came upon a very old woman Sanyasini. She was lean due to control of her hunger and was glowing.
Hanuman respectfully asked
her who she was and who was the owner of that place? He also said that they
were all very thirsty and hungry and were in search of food and water and hence
entered the cave in search of food and water. Hanuman asked her to tell them by
whose penance this lovely place with palaces and garden was created. The
Sanyasini started to reply to Hanuman.
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Here is a short account of
what she said which is a small anecdote (upakatha). The old Sanyasini called
Swayamprabha had been doing penance. She said that the whole place in the cave
was built by a famous Asura called Maya (not Maaya) who was an expert in
creating illusions. He had learned the science of sculpture created by Ausanas,
thanks to his penance towards Brahma. He fell in love with a Deva lady Hema
which enraged Indra and he killed the Asura. This place was gifted to Hema and
was now being guarded by Swayamparabha. She then asked Hanuman to tell her
about him and the Vanaras and what brought them there. But she was gracious
enough to say that they all could first eat to their heart’s content and then
tell her their story.
Hanuman thanked Swayamprabha
for her hospitality. All the Vanaras feasted themselves and drank water to
their heart’s content. They all felt happy to have found food and water at
last. Hanuman thanked Swaymprabha for her kind hospitality and asked her if
there was anything that they could do to repay her kindness. But she replied
that she had no wants in her life having attained the highest state by her penance.
Then Hanuman told Swayamprabha about Rama and how Sita was carried away by
Ravana and how they were all there in search of Sita under the leadership of
the Vanara King Sugreeva. He asked her to help them as they had lost the time
allotted to them by their king Sugreeva while searching in the cave. Therefore
all of them faced a death punishment from their king. He requested her to help
them find their way out of that huge cave. She assured them that by the power
of her penance she would help them. She said that no one could go out with
their eyes open and said that all they needed was to close their eyes.
Accordingly, they all closed their eyes with their tender fingers and in a short
time all of them found themselves out in the open.
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Swayamprabha addressed the
Vanaras and said, “This is the Vindhya Mountain covered with forests. This hill
is called Prashravana. You can see the great sea called Mahodadhi. Great
Vanaras may good things happen to you all. I am returning to my palace”. After
saying this she vanished into the cave.
It is noteworthy that
Swayamprabha tells the Vanaras that they were in the Vindhya Mountain ranges
and on a hill called Prashravana. It may be recalled that Rama and Lakshmana
were also waiting on the Prashravana hill in Kishkindha for the Vanaras to
return after their search. This is conceivable only if there were two hills in
different locations but with the same name. Such inconsistencies (apparent)
make things difficult to understand.
The Vanaras saw the big
Ocean with the big roaring waves. They all sat down and started analyzing the
situation. They realized that the time limit of one month given to them by Lord
Sugreeva was over.
Here there is something to
ponder about. Swayamprabha specifically told the Vanaras that they were in the
Vindhya Mountains. It is obviously difficult if not impossible from that
location to see the ocean (Indian?). Therefore one has to presume that
Swayamprabha did not refer to The Indian Ocean but either to The Bay of Bengal
or The Arabian Sea. So it has to be remembered that at that point in time all
the Vanaras were not at the southern tip of India. They were all further to the
north of Kishkindha and Rama along with Lakshmana was in Kishkindha.
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