Week 3 Storytelling: Hanuman and Sita

Hanuman was beginning to feel a little discouraged. It had been a long journey search for Sita, and he did not want to disappoint Rama and Sugriva.  He knew that he had to return with the beloved Sita, and he was not going to give up on his fight.  After leaving Ravana's palace with no sign of her, Hanuman gave himself a little break to sit and ponder his next move.  He waited hours and once he felt refreshed, he got back on his feet and made his moves toward the eerie Ashoka Grove.  He was sure to find her there.

Right as Hanuman approached Ashoka Grove, he saw the magnificent Sita in all of her glory.  His heart sank as he saw her surrounded by demons of all sorts.  These demons were no joke, they came in all sorts of shapes and sizes, resembling horses and pigs with demonic, mystical bodies floating around her. Hanuman hopped up in a nearby tree, trying to disguise himself as he looked down on the situation and contemplated how her was going to get past the demons to retrieve Sita.

As he got closer he noticed that Sita was with none other than Ravana.  Ravana was bribing her to stay with him, and to never think twice about Rama.  It was almost as though Ravana was attempting to hypnotize the queen in order to convince her to be forever his.  Sita was frightened by Ravana, sobbing at his first sight.  Ravana and his demons swore to Sita that if she were to leave, she would b slain and killed instantly by his vicious slaves.  Hanuman knew he had to step in.

Sita was nearly alone and Hanuman knew this was his chance.  He crept up slowly, easing Sita into his appearance while trying not to scare her.  She saw him and immediately was sure that this was a trap.  She knew that this monkey being had to be Ravana taken in a new form.  However, when she spotted the shining ring of Rama, and gust of relief came over her and she fell to her knees and sobbed.  She finally felt she may stand at chance of escaping her disgusting Ravana.  She was overly gracious to Hanuman and immediately felt a connection to him as her savior.

Her joyous reaction suddenly came to a halt when she replayed her interaction with Ravana and the threats he had given her should she decide to flee from him and not obey his commands.  She worried than even with the help of Hanuman and the powerful Rama, she would not be able to escape her fate of a gory death by Ravana's evil minions.  Sita did not want Hanuman to leave her side, as she felt more comfortable and protected with him near, knowing that he had the power of Rama behind him.  Hanuman planned to stay hidden in the tree to watch over Sita, while the conjured up a plan of safe escape for her, but little did they know their plans would soon come to a halt by the evil Ravana.






Author's Note:  In this reading Hanuman has finally laid eyes on queen Sita, and is deciding how to approach her.  The two have never met in person before, so Sita was not sure what to think when first seeing Hanuman.  Sita is apprehensive, and does not know whether to trust and follow Hanuman. I thought this particular could have been a little longer and more detailed.  Hanuman had spent so much time looking for Sita, I was expecting a little more from their first encounter.  The search for Sita had been built up for several readings before, so I really wished there was a little further description of their meeting.  Because of this, I decided to elaborate a little on what happened when Hanuman finally approached Sita. I combined a little bit of the back story and reading before, to elaborate on how Hanuman actually found Sita.

Wikimedia Commons: Hanuman Approaches Sita

References: PDE Ramayana
Ramayana Reading Guide