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.

He recollected that his Lord Rama was an incarnation of the Supreme and that He had taken a human form solely for the elimination of the demons. He thought, ‘When this is the purpose behind the incarnation, why should I take up this task? Of what use will it be if I kill Ravana? Ravana should die exclusively at the hands of Lord Rama. With that, Rama’s incarnation would be complete. Moreover, Rama had taken on a pledge that He will kill Ravana. If I kill Ravana now, I will be betraying my master. I should take all the steps to ensure that my master successfully accomplishes His pledge. I am a servant of that master. He is my Lord, my master. Hence I should leave this task for my master. This is my master’s dharma, not mine’. With such thoughts Hanuman let go of the multiple opportunities he had through which he could kill Ravana.

Through Mainda’s prayer earlier, we have learnt that Hanuman considered himself as Rama (from the point of view of the Supreme Self). With this energy of Rama, he could easily destroy Ravana. Destroying Ravana along with his army was like a child’s play to him.

While singing the glories of Rama in Ravana’s court, Hanuman said to Ravana- ‘O Ravana, my army of Vānaras and I possess the capacity to easily kill even 1000 demons of your might and size. Forget fighting with Lord Rama, you will be finished much before that. Rama or myself can single- handedly destroy all of you completely. Even one strand of hair plucked from the body of any Vānara has the capacity to wipe out the entire demon race as each and every hair in their body vibrates with the name of Rama. In just about 10 minutes I can create ample destruction in this court.  But yet, abiding by my dharma, I am leaving you alive. I seek that you should meet your end in the hands of my Lord”.

Hanuman’s greatness lies in this. Even while possessing the ability to kill Ravana, he did not do so. He believed that he was just a servant and in that sense, he did not seek the fame associated with it. He whole heartedly believed that this fame should go to his master. He wanted to do all that it takes for his master to be rewarded with this glory. He believed that this glory and fame was rightfully Rama’s.

In the war that took place afterwards, Rama and Lakshmana killed all the demons and obtained great fame.

Om Namo Hanumate namaha.