"I now have a long journey," Hanuman said to Sita, "and I am very hungry."
"I offer you the hospitality of this grove," said Sita. "These trees are my friends; eat all you want of their fruit."
Hanuman then began jumping from tree to tree, devouring all the fruit. The guardians of the grove came running when they heard the noise, and Hanuman pelted them with fruit, laughing.
The commotion grew so loud that it woke Ravana. "Catch that monkey!" Ravana shouted at his son Aksha.
But Hanuman killed Aksha.
Aksha was the first casualty of the war to come.
Inspired by: Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana by Devdutt Pattanaik
Notes: This story is on p. 197 of the book. In Valmiki's Ramayana, this is the Sundara Kanda (Book 5), sarga 47.
No comments:
Post a Comment