The monkeys and bears decided that since Hanuman was the son of the Wind God, Vyu, he was the best at jumping and must leap to Lanka. Hanuman had his father's energy and swiftness, power and strength. (When Hanuman was a child he thought the sun was a ripe fruit and tried to jump up and catch it. He jumped so high that he nearly got burnt, but the Sun was impressed and gave Hanuman the gift of immortality as a reward for his courage and cleverness.)

Rama gave Hanuman his ring, to give to Sita. Hanuman prayed to his father and jumped. Hanuman leapt over the ocean, escaping several devouring demons that he met on the way.

Having shrunk to the size of a mouse, Hanuman ran through Lanka, looking for Sita. He found her held captive in an ashok grove near Ravana's palace. She was guarded by hideous demonesses and harassed by Ravana, who wanted her to forget Rama, and marry him instead. She was sitting under a tree crying. Meanwhile Hanuman climbed the tree, dropped Rama's ring into her lap, and told her Rama will come and save her.

But demons caught Hanuman, squeezing him tight, and carrying him to Ravana. Ravana and the Demons decided to set fire to Hanuman's tail. They wrapped his tail in strips of cotton and soaked the cotton in oil. As the Demons began to to prepare Hanuman's tail, Hanuman cast a magic spell, making his tail grow longer and longer and longer (the subject of many paintings). The demons soon ran out of cotton and oil. They set light to his tail anyway. But Hanuman shrank back to the size of a mouse, and so his tail shrinks too. In this way he managed to escape, setting Ravana's throne alight in the process, and leaving a trail of flames throughout Lanka. Once free Hanuman dipped his tail into the sea, and leapt back to Rama, Lakshman, and the bears.

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Sitting under the tree in Ashok Vatika, Maa Sita is shedding tears and praying to Lord Rama, remembering him and weeping in the pain of separation. Lord Rama far away from Maa Sita, is baffled at the thought of not finding Sita, worrying for her well being. Each second without Maa Sita is taking a toll on Rama. Rama asked Hanuman to go and find Sita in Lanka. Battling all the odds on his way Hanuman reaches Lanka and meets Vibhishan.

What unfolds next in the epic, listen to the full episode on Dastan apne ram ji ki only on Red FM Podcast.

The evergreen masterpieces of Rishi Valmiki & Goswami Tulsidas inspired a galaxy of Poets like Pundit Maharaj Bahadur 'Burq', Munawwar Lakhnavi, Mehdi Nazmi, Jageshwar Nath Betab, Saghar Nizami, Shankar Dayal 'Farhat', Amaranth Sarshar & Braj Narain Chakbast etc who penned down hundreds of outstanding poems of stunning beauty. Playwright Danish Iqbal crafted this text to create a performance of stunning charm and rare enthusiasm narrated by Fouzia Dastango.

'Dastan Apne Ram Ji Ki' is a lyrical rendition of the eternal epic, adapted from the classical renditions of the Holy Ramayana.

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Who was Jatayu?

In Ramayana, Jatayu was believed to be the son of Aruna and a nephew of Garuda. A demi-god in the form of vulture, Jatayu was an old friend of king Dasharath, father of Lord Rama. Jatayu was the first person who tried to rescue Sita from the clutches of Ravana while he was taking her to Lanka. He fought valiantly with Ravana. However, Ravana clipped his wings and severely injured him. Even as Jatayu was battling with life, he managed to inform Lord Rama about Sita's abduction. Sensing that Jatayu won't survive, Lord Rama, a Vishnu incarnate, decided that Jatayu must attain salvation. In present day Kerala, Chadayamnagalam, a few kilometers from the Kollam district, is believed to be the place where Jatayu fell after his wings were clipped.

After narrating about the Sita's abduction to Sri Rama and Lakshman , the wounded Jatayu dies. Sri Rama then performed the final funeral rites of Jatayu. At this place the Sri Rama is worshipped as the Vijayaraghava Perumal in the Vijayaraghava Perumal temple.The water body where Jatayu fell is called Jatayu Theertham.

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