197. Hanuman braves himself for the leap.

        On seeing the metamorphosis in Hanuman, both physically and mentally all the vanaras there felt immensely happy and highly jubilant.
     Hanuman felt that he would require quite a huge body to cross that ocean. At his wish his body started growing. Seeing that phenomenon Jambavan told the vanaras that he is reminded of the phenomenon of  Narayana whose body was growing to tread the triad of worlds in His Trivikrama incarnation.

        Hanuman who was already superior than other vanaras by way of his energy, had now accrued additional energy through the gladness derived by the way of extolment from the other vanaras. That made him lash his tail impetuously.

       Hanuman, the lineal son of Vayu, now started prancing like a lion around the wide-open den of a mountain. While his body was growing, the face of that clever Hanuman shone forth like a red-hot frying pan and like the fumeless white-hot Ritual-fire. Reverencing the elderly vanaras, Hanuman told "He who is an inestimable one in his formidableness, and an expeditious one in his meandering in the skies, that Vayu who is the friend of Hutaazana (=Fire, but here it means Fire-god) will be toppling mountaintops. As the lineal son of that high-speeded, brisk paced, life-sustaining Vayu, I, too am as fast as him in flights and can topple mountaintops when so required.
     "Indeed I feel I could to go round the Mt. Meru, which is standing high, broad and lofty,  for thousands of times, that too, unremittingly.

      "Now I feel that I have the capability to skew down the ocean with the speed of my undulating arms to spiral up its waters, in order to completely inundate the world together with its mountains, rivers and lakes.

       "Now I can surely shove up the ocean, the abode of Varuna, with the speed of my thighs and calves in order that its underwater beings like sharks, alligators and crocodiles will be shoved up and spilled all over.

     "Now I can circumambulate for thousands of times around the Lord of Birds and the viper-diner, Garuda, while he is on the wing in the sky.
Comment.

    No bird would dare to approach or trespass Garuda's flight path; all the birds would slide-slip when he is sighted.
End Comment.

     "Oh, my dear chaps, now I can venture to start with the Sun who starts his journey of the day from the Mt. Sunrise, and precede him to the Mt. Dusk, and comeback well before him.

    "I can pulverise the mountains while fly-jumping on them; I can splash out the waters of the great ocean just by the speed of my thighs while I fly over it, by which all of its water will trail after my tail. I could now let divers flowers of every climbing plant and tree straggle after me when I fly by the sky making my flight path like that of the Star Swati and its constellate stars twinkling in the sky.
Comment.
     The star Swati is Arcuturus, as forming the 13th and 15th lunar asterism, and esteemed as deity bringing fresh rains and thereby crops.
End Comment.

     "Oh, friends, I can make all beings see my  ascent to the sky, my movement across the vast of sky, and my southerly descent from the sky.

    "While flying without any difficulty I can swipe at the cloudscape helter-skelter. And swirl the mountains topsy-turvy and the ocean pell-mell.........."
         In this vein Hanuman was telling all the vanaras what all he was now capable of doing.    

    On hearing the avouchments regarding the capabilities, which were not known to anyone, including that choicest vanara with illimitable resplendence Hanuman himself, all the other vanaras were stunned to stare overhead at his aggrandized form and they were extremely delighted. The distinguished doyen of that task force Jambavan felt highly exhilarated and fondly hugging Hanuman said

"Oh, brave one, oh, son of Kesari, oh, son of Pavan, oh, dear boy, you have wiped out the boundless bother of your kinsmen in its entirety. All our friends forgathered here are enamoured of your blessedness, and for the purpose of your attainment of the objective, they all obsecrate orisons devoutly. You will leap over this extensive ocean with the compassion of sages, the united choice of all of us, and with the consideration of our oracular teachers.

      "Every one of us will stay-put here on one's own single-foot till you return. The lives of all of us will be following you." 

       Then that son of Vayu shinned up that towering mountain Mahendra, where that mountain was hedged in with diverse flowers, its pastures were the sweethearts of deer.

    He who was equal in valour to the Paradisiacal Mahendra, that highly energetic and grand vanara Hanuman ambled on the loftiest and towery crags of that mountain. When squeezed by both the arms and hands of  Hanuman, that lofty mountain trumpeted, as if it was a lion-paw-hit brutish-elephantine-elephant.

        The force of his kick started to bestrew heaps of boulders, and the noise created thus  scared all the animals including elephants. Even gigantic trees on that mountain rocked as they would in an earthquake. The rapids and waterfalls spouted out of that mountain. Seeing these concomitant reactions caused by the force of the kick start of Hanuman, numerous gandharva couples and hoards of vidhyaadharas, who were indulging in drinking and inebriated on that mountain were scared and hurriedly  forsook those lofty cliffs of that mountain. And all the birds were put to flight, spanking snakes were completely slouching, and rising up and falling down are the stones of that mountaintops to each step of Hanuman, and thus that colossal mountain became desolated.

        With snakes popping up halfway through their snake-pits with their hoods swaying and tongues hissing that earth-borne mountain Mahendra appeared to be a gleaming mountain with flying flags.

      When the sages too forsook that towering mountain due to their own scare bewildering them, that mountain appeared to be the one desolated by his associates in the vast of a thick of forest, as a wilting wayfarer.

       And now Hanuman was seen going on his way to Lanka flying over the great southern ocean, delighting all his comrades.

 End of Kishkindha Kanda 

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