Whom does Kanakadasaru refer to as “Sutta Dasa nanalla”?

 

Kanakadasaru calls Hanumantha as Sutta Dasa. Sutta in Kannada means “burnt” and it is only Hanuman who burnt Lanka after the demons light his tail, as ordered by Ravana to punish him for wreaking havoc in Ashoka Vana, for seeing Seetha Devi and for killing several demons, including Akashaya Kumara, one of the sons of Ravana.

 

Assigned with the task of finding the place where Seetha had been confined by Srirama and being a member of the group of Vanaras led by Angada, Hanuman crosses the 100-yojana wide Ocean to land on Lanka. The deadline of 30 days fixed by Sugreeva to all the groups of Vanaras had expired long back and except this group led by Angada had reported back, obviously unable to find Seetha Devi. When Sugreeva orders different groups of Vanaras to search in a particular direction, the Angada-led group had been assigned with southern part. Just before leaving Kishkindha, Srirama calls Hanuman, hands over the Royal Ring to him, narrates an anecdote known only to Srirama and Seetha Devi to ensure that Seetha Devi gains faith and belief on Hanuman that he is a Messenger of Srirama.

 

After searching for Seetha in all the places, the Vanaras were in no mood to return to Surgreeva without any news about Seetha. The situation was grimmer because the deadline had expired. Fearing death penalty at the hands of Sugreeva for late reporting and for not finding Seetha, the Vanaras, including Angada, decide to end their lives on the seashore by observing fast. They were discussing about what happened in the last few months and what else could they do to survive the wrath of Sugreeva. Their conversation was heard by a golden eagle, which was lying on a rock. The name of that eagle was Sampati, the elder brother of Jatayu, who had fought against Ravana when Seetha was being taken by him in the Pushpak Viman. The Vanaras also mention the name of Jatayu and his sacrifice. Sampati, who was initially very happy over getting food in the form of Vanaras after a long time, became curious and narrated his story. He tells the Vanaras about Ravana, Seetha, and other related facts. Hanuman was assigned the duty of finding Seetha Devi in Lanka and returning to where his fellow beings would be waiting for the return of Hanuman.

Hanuman descends on Lanka soil, and punches a heavy blow on Lankini to enter the City. After along search, he was able to find Seetha in Ashoka Vana. After telling her about the friendship between Sugreeva and Srirama, Hanuman tells her about his mission and then destroys the rich garden called Ashoka Vana. Several demons and captains come and die in the battle with Hanuman. Finally, Indrajit, one of the sons of Ravana catches Hanuman and presents him in front of Ravana. Hanuman suggests Ravana to surrender Seetha back to Rama and apologize. Ravana gets angry and asks his soldiers to burn the tail of Hanuman, as suggested by Vibheeshana because tail is the main feature of monkeys. Hanuman had the blessings of Srirama, Seetha Devi and Lord Brahma. The fire in the tail never burnt Hanuman. He was not at all pained. Except for the house of Vibheeshana and the Ashoka Vana, where Seetha had been confined, Hanuman burns all mansions of Ravana. That is why Kanakadasaru tells he is not the Sutta Dasa. Dasa means servant. Hanuman burns Lanka as a servant of Lord Rama.

 

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