The Awadhi Retelling of Hanuman’s Leap and Lanka’s Ordeal
What the Work Is
The Sundara Kanda is the fifth book of the Ramayana, the Hindu epic that recounts the life of the deity Rama. The original Sundara Kanda is in Sanskrit and is traditionally attributed to Valmiki, who is credited with first recording the Ramayana in scripture. The title means “beautiful chapter.” It is the only section of the Ramayana in which the central figure is not Rama but Hanuman, the devoted vanara companion whose exploits, selflessness, strength, and devotion to Rama are the focus of the narrative. Hanuman is said to have been affectionately called “Sundara” by his mother Anjani, and Valmiki is stated to have chosen this name because the chapter concerns Hanuman’s journey to Lanka.
Tulsidas, the sixteenth-century Vaishnava saint and poet, composed his own Awadhi-language version of the Sundara Kanda as part of his larger Ramcharitmanas, a retelling of the Ramayana in the vernacular. The Ramcharitmanas was written much later than Valmiki’s Sanskrit epic. Tulsidas is also known as the author of the Hanuman Chalisa, a separate poetic work celebrating Hanuman, though that text is distinct from the Sundara Kanda.
What the Book Is About
The Sundara Kanda narrates the adventures of Hanuman as he searches for Sita, Rama’s wife, who has been abducted by the demon king Ravana and taken to the island of Lanka. After learning of Sita’s whereabouts, Hanuman assumes a gigantic form and makes a colossal leap across the ocean to Lanka, defeating Surasa, the mother of the nagas, and Simhika, a creature sent by the devatas to obstruct him. Upon reaching Lanka, he searches for Sita and eventually finds her in the Ashoka Vatika, a grove where she is being held.
In the Ashoka Vatika, Sita is pressured and threatened by Ravana and his rakshasi attendants to marry Ravana. Hanuman reveals himself to her as Rama’s messenger and reassures her, offering Rama’s signet ring as a token of good faith. He proposes to carry her back to Rama, but she refuses, unwilling to be rescued by anyone other than her husband. She insists that Rama himself must come and avenge the insult of her abduction.
Hanuman then creates havoc in Lanka, destroying trees and buildings and killing Ravana’s warriors. He allows himself to be captured and brought before Ravana, to whom he delivers a bold lecture demanding Sita’s release. He is condemned, and his tail is set on fire, but he escapes his bonds and, leaping from roof to roof, sets fire to Ravana’s citadel before making the great leap back from the island. The joyous search party returns to Kishkindha with the news.
Key Ideas and Themes
The Sundara Kanda places Hanuman at its center, making it unique within the Ramayana for shifting focus away from Rama. The narrative emphasizes Hanuman’s selflessness, his extraordinary strength, and above all his devotion to Rama. His journey to Lanka is not merely a physical feat but a demonstration of his unwavering commitment to his lord and to the task of reuniting Rama with Sita.
Sita’s refusal to be carried back by Hanuman introduces a significant theme: her insistence that Rama himself must come to rescue her and avenge her abduction. This refusal underscores her fidelity and the importance of Rama’s role as the one who must confront and defeat Ravana. The episode also highlights Hanuman’s role as a messenger and devotee rather than a principal actor in the drama of rescue; his task is to find Sita, reassure her, and return with news, not to resolve the conflict on his own.
The destruction Hanuman wreaks in Lanka and his subsequent capture and lecture to Ravana serve to demonstrate both his power and his fearlessness in the face of the enemy. His escape and the burning of Ravana’s citadel with his own fire-ignited tail turn an act of punishment into a devastating blow against Ravana’s stronghold.
Structure and Approach
The Sundara Kanda is organized as a continuous narrative of Hanuman’s journey, from his leap across the ocean to his return to Kishkindha. The Sanskrit original by Valmiki consists of a detailed, vivid account of these adventures. Tulsidas’s Awadhi version, as part of the Ramcharitmanas, extends beyond Valmiki’s Sundara Kanda to include additional events: the journey of Rama’s army from the Kishkinda mountain to the seashore of Rameswaram; Rama’s prayer to Shiva; the refuge taken by Vibhishana, the sage Shuka, and Varuna, the deity of the oceans, under Rama; and Varuna’s advice to Rama to seek the help of the vanara brothers Nala and Nila, who possessed the boon of being excellent architects and who build a bridge from Rameswaram to Lanka, called the Rama Setu.
Significance and Influence
The Sundara Kanda holds a special place in Hindu devotional practice. It is traditional to recite the Sundara Kanda as a section in its own right. This lesson is recited by Hindus, preferably on Tuesdays or Saturdays, days set aside for special prayers to Hanuman. The recitation is associated with the nullification of the malefic effects of Shani, the crow-mounted son of Surya and Chhaya. According to the Ramayana, Shani was held captive in Ravana’s palace and was rescued by Hanuman; as a token of gratitude, Shani offered reprieve to all devotees of Hanuman. An alternative account holds that Shani was once caught between Hanuman’s shoulders and the ceiling when attempting to mount him to influence his stars, and, unable to bear the pain, offered his gratitude in return for immediate release. The Dharmic faith suggests that reciting the Sundara Kanda brings harmony to the household, and many Hindus believe that if one does not have time to read the entire Ramayana, one should read the Sundara Kanda.
Multiple versions of the Sundara Kanda exist in other languages. In addition to Tulsidas’s Awadhi rendering, an earlier Tamil version, the Ramavataram by Kambar, is prevalent among Sri Vaishnava and Smarta Brahmins in South India. The Ranganatha Ramayanam, a Telugu version of Valmiki’s Ramayana by Gona Budha Reddy, also describes this episode. M. S. Ramarao wrote a Telugu version of both the Hanuman Chalisa of Tulsidas and the Sundara Kanda of Valmiki as Sundarakandamu during 1972–74, singing the Sundarakanda in the form of Telugu songs. A Malayalam independent translation of the Sundara Kandam can be found in the Adhyatma Ramayanam Kilipattu, written by Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan, which translates the Adhyatma Ramayana, a Sanskrit text connected with the Ramanandi sect.
Tulsidas was born Rambola Dubey, with dates given as 11 August 1511 to 30 July 1623. He is popularly known as Goswami Tulsidas and was a Vaishnava (Ramanandi) Hindu saint, devotee (bhakta), and poet, renowned for his devotion to Rama. He wrote several popular works in Sanskrit, Awadhi, and Braj Bhasha. He spent most of his life in the cities of Banaras (modern Varanasi) and Ayodhya, and the Tulsi Ghat on the Ganges in Varanasi is named after him. He founded the Sankat
