Dividha, another Vānara has glorified Lord Hanuman as-

Ramadīnām raṇe khyātim dātum yo rāvaṇādikān Nāvadhī tu svaya may vaika tam vande hanumatprabhum.     

Meaning- I pay obeisance to Lord Hanuman, who, although single handedly possessed the ability to destroy Demon Ravana together with his entire army, refrained from doing so purely with the intent that the glory of killing Ravana should go to his master Rama and his associates.

Vividha was a very great Vānara warrior very closely associated with Hanuman. As such he scrutinized and observed Hanuman from a very close angle and was aware of the valor and the capacities of Hanuman completely. He knew that only Hanuman could accomplish tasks such as crossing the ocean; having darshan of Mother Goddess Sita in Lanka, and thereafter returning successfully.

Ordinary people may wonder why Hanuman, who possessed such unsurpassed might, did not destroy Ravana and Lanka when he reached there in search of Sita. He could have easily killed Ravana and brought Sita back, when he possessed such inherent capacity. In the earlier episode, we discussed that at one point, Hanuman too felt like killing Ravana and rescuing Sita.

Hanuman, who was hiding in the trees of Ashoka Vana, trying to understand the situation, saw Ravana arriving there together with hordes of demonesses in the morning. Thunderous noise followed by loud welcoming slogans greeted Ravana upon his arrival. Ravana spoke fearful, dirty, shameful and unworthy words to Sita in order to provoke her to marry him. Such unholy words should not be spoken to a chaste woman (pativrata).

Sita was upset and watching her cry caused Hanuman great agony. It was a heart rendering scene. Ravana’s appalling behavior angered Hanuman enormously so much so that he was tempted to kill Ravana that very instant. Hanuman was positioned on the very same tree, beneath which Sita was sitting. Hanuman was in a very advantageous position. One leap from that tree and he would land straight on Ravana’s head. With his might, Hanuman could simply hit the fatal blow and kill Ravana then and there. Yet, with great restraint Hanuman controlled himself. Instead he desired to see the grandeur of Ravana’s court and assess his might and thus resisted from killing him.

Through various tricks Hanuman managed to enter Ravana’s court. Here once again when Ravana spoke very low of Rama and used unworthy words, Hanuman was tempted to choke Ravana’s throat then and there. This was another great opportunity. Once again he used great restraint and controlled himself.