SRI RAGHAVENDRA SWAMY’S
SRI RAMACHARITRYA MANJARI
(ಶ್ರೀ ರಾಘವೆಂದ್ರ ಸ್ವಾಮಿ ವಿರಚಿತ “ಶ್ರೀ ರಾಮಚಾರಿತ್ರ್ಯ ಮಂಜರಿ”)
A test by Surase/ಸುರಸೆಯಿಂದ ಪರೀಕ್ಷೆ
Mainaka felt happy for two reasons. Hanumantha had obliged to respond to his call on the one hand and on the other, the keenness and eagerness that Hanumantha displayed over continuing his journey quickly and finding out the place where Seetha Devi might have been kept by Ravana. On the part of Hanumantha, he sprang from the mountain and revived his tryst without wasting a moment. He increased the speed at which he was flying. At this juncture, the deities wanted to test the dedication and capacity of Hanumantha. The deities directed a serpent angel called Surase to take a test of the power of Hanumantha. Intention of the deities was not to merely test the power of Hanumantha, which they were aware of, but to make the entire universe aware of the wonderful power of Hanumantha. Surase was a Nagamata, a head of the serpents’ clan. The deities told Surase: “Oh dear serpent angel! We want to test the mystic prowess of Sri Hanumantha. This is why we have bestowed upon you the boon of being able to get all the food you need into your mouth. Go and stand in the way Hanumantha is travelling and ask him to enter your mouth. By doing so, pose some obstruction to his journey.”
Surase assumed a gorgeous and highly ferocious form and stood in the way of Hanumantha. She asked Hanumantha to enter her mouth and widened her mouth to such an extent that Hanumantha could easily be consumed in one bite. Hanumantha explained his background and the purpose for which he was travelling. Surase did not budge. Hanumantha expanded his body to a great extent and told Surase that her mouth might not be large enough to eat him. Surase widened her mouth twice the size of Hanumantha and invited him into her mouth. Hanumantha instantaneously reduced his body into thumb size, entered her open and large mouth and came out in a flash, without harming her or getting himself hurt in any manner. Surase was highly impressed with the intelligence of Hanumantha and said: “You have kept the boon given to me by the deities intact without killing me and without harming yourself in any manner. You will certainly see Seetha Devi and return to Rama successfully. May God bless you.”
Sihmika dies/ಸಿಂಹಿಕೆಯ ಅಂತ್ಯ
No sooner Hanumantha had heaved a sigh of relief after outsmarting Surase, he was confronted by another female demon called Sihmike.
Earlier, she had done penance to please Lord Brahma and had obtained a strange boon with which she could control the movement of anything by catching the shadow that falls on the surface water of the sea. Lord Brahma had granted the boon to protect Ravana from attackers. Brahma told Sihmike that she could just be lying in the sea, catch the shadows of any animal or human that may fly across the sea between Bharata and Lanka, pull them down and eat them. Those who knew about this pact between Brahma and Sihmike avoided flying across that spot where Sihmike was living but those unaware of it were falling prey to her. Hanumantha had been informed by Sugreeva about Sihmike but was not aware of the particular spot where she was living in the sea. Accidentally, Sihmike was lying exactly on the way Hanumantha had chosen to travel to Lanka. Sihmike was very happy to see a huge shadow on the sea waters because she thought that after a long time, she was getting sumptuous food. Hanumantha felt someone was controlling his movement. He saw down and noticed that a female demon was pulling him down with the shadow. He knew about the boon of Lord Brahma and did not want to dishonor Brahma by instantly killing Sihmike. At the same time, Hanumantha wanted to kill her. He pretended to have been caught by her for some time, expanded his body further, even as Sihmike kept widening her mouth twice the size of his body. Hanumantha contracted his body into a tiny form, entered her mouth, went into her belly and before she could even wink her eyes, Hanumantha tore her belly and sprang from there into the sky. Sihmike died instantly. All the deities, Rishis and Apsaras praised Hanumantha for killing Sihmike and clearing the way for them to fly over that spot. Everyone blessed Hanumantha for such stupendous act.
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