He summoned Rama and told him that he must leave the kingdom. He told Rama that he
was not to come back to the palace for 14 years.
Picture 5: Both Rama and Sita went away and one of Rama’s brothers called Prince
Lakshman went with them too. Rama and Sita lived in the forest for a long time. Sadly
after a time the old king died.
Picture 6: After the kings death the queen said to Prince Bharat, " The old king is dead
now and Rama is not here therefore you can be the brand new king." Prince Bharat said,
" No!! My father wanted my brother Rama to be the new king, not me. I will go to the
forest and bring Rama and Sita back to the palace."
Picture 7: Prince Bharat went to the forest and he found Rama, Sita and Lakshman. The
prince said to Rama, " Rama our father is dead, please come back now and become the
new king as father requested." Rama replied, " No, I can not come back yet because I
promised our father that I would not come back for 14 years and I can not break my
promise. I will not come back yet. Prince Bharat said, " Please give me your golden
sandals Rama." Rama took off his sandals and gave them to his brother. Prince Bharat
took them back to the palace.
Picture 8: When he got back to the palace, Bharat put the golden sandals on the throne,
which is a special seat for the king. He said to all at the palace, " Rama is the new king
not I. He will come back one day. In the meantime I will care for you all until Rama returns
from the forest. However I will not sit on the throne. It is Rama’s throne!! "
Picture 9: Meanwhile back in the forest a rather evil, nasty demon was watching Sita.
This nasty demon was called Ravana; he had 10 arms and 10 heads. He wanted Sita for
himself and wanted her in his castle. Ravana watched and waited in the forest until Rama
and Lakshman went hunting for food. This meant that the pretty Sita was on her own.
Before his departure, he drew a magic circle, with the tip of his arrow, around the cottage and asked her not to cross the line.
Ravana was watching all that was happening
Sita came out with a bowl full of rice to offer to the holy man, while staying within the protection line drawn by Lakshmana. The hermit asked her to come near and offer. Sita was unwilling to cross the line when Ravana pretended to leave the place without alms. As Sita did not want to annoy the sage, she crossed the line to offer the alms.
Rama specially called Hanuman and gave his ring saying, "If any one finds Sita, it will be you Hanuman. Keep this ring to prove your identity as my messenger. Give it to Sita when you meet her." Hanuman most respectfully tied up the ring to his waist and joined the search party.
As Sita flew, she dropped her ornaments on the ground. These were traced by the monkey army and it was concluded that Sita was carried southwards. When the monkey (Vanara) army reached the Mahendra Hill, located on the south shore of India, they met Sampati, the brother of Jatayu. Sampati confirmed that Ravana took Sita to Lanka. The monkeys were perplexed , how to cross the huge sea that stretched in front of them.
Hanuman came down from his hiding place and gave Rama's ring to Sita. Sita was thrilled. She wanted to hear about Rama and Lakshmana. After conversing for a while Hanuman asked Sita to take a ride on her back to return to Rama. Sita did not agree.
"I do not want to return home secretly" said Sita, "I want Rama to defeat Ravana and take me back with honor."
Hanuman agreed. Then Sita gave her necklace to Hanuman as an evidence confirming their meeting
Hanuman wanted Ravana to have a lesson for his misconduct. So he began to destroy the Ashoka grove by uprooting the trees. Soon the Rakshasa warriors came running to catch the monkey but were beaten up. The message reached Ravana. He was enraged. He asked Indrajeet, his able son, to capture Hanuman. A fierce battle ensued and Hanuman was finally captured when Indrajeet used the most powerful weapon, the Brahmastra missile. Hanuman was taken to Ravana's court and the captive stood in front of the king.
Hanuman introduced himself as the messenger of Rama. "You have abducted the wife of my all powerful master, Lord Rama. If you want peace, return her with honor to my master or else, you and your kingdom will be destroyed."
Ravana was wild with rage. He ordered to kill Hanuman instantly when his younger brother Vibhishana objected. "You can not kill a king's envoy" said Vibhishana. Then Ravana ordered Hanuman's tail to be set on fire.
The Rakshasa army took Hanuman outside the hall, while Hanuman increased his size and lengthened his tail. It was wrapped with rags and ropes and soaked in oil. He was then paraded through the streets of Lanka and a big mob followed to have fun. The tail was set on fire but because of his divine blessing Hanuman did not feel the heat. He soon shrank his size and shook off the ropes that bound him and escaped. Then, with the torch of his burning tail, he jumped from roof to roof to set the city of Lanka on fire. People began to run, creating chaos and hideous cries. Finally, Hanuman went to the sea shore and put off the fire in the sea water. The he began his homeward flight.
When Hanuman joined the monkey army and narrated his experience, they all laughed. Soon the army returned to Kishkindha.
Then Hanuman quickly went to Rama to give his first-hand account. He took out the jewel that Sita gave and placed it in Rama's hands. Rama burst into tears when he saw the jewel.
He addressed Hanuman and said, "Hanuman! You have achieved what none else could. What can I do for you?" Hanuman prostrated before Rama and sought his divine blessing.
Sugriva then discussed in detail with Rama their next course of action
On an auspicious hour the entire monkey army set out from Kishkindha towards Mahendra Hill, located on the opposite side of Lanka. Upon reaching Mahendra Hill, Rama faced the same problem, how to cross the ocean with the army. He called for a meeting of all the monkey chiefs, and sought their suggestions for a solution