To me this is the most important and inspirational moment in the great kavya. Without this epochal event, this magnificent leap, there would be no Ramayana, Sita would never have been rescued and Rama would surely have lost his way.
Symbolically too, as my Guru often says this is a moment that comes to everyone in his/her “Quest” and it is then that a leap such as this must be made with the strength of Shraddha and the Sankalpa of a determined will one must take the plunge – that great “Qunatum leap” into the unknown as Swami Vivekananda called it…
// Hanuman looked like a wild bull with his powerful neck stretched to the full and looking upwards. He was to achieve what no one had till then…. He saluted the Gods presiding over the quarters – Surya, Indra, Vayu, and Brahma. He then turned to the East and saluted his father, Vayu. With his mind he saluted the valiant brothers Rama and Lakshmana. He then made obeisance to the seas and to the rivers. Hanuman embraced his companions and made up his mind to set out on the memorable journey.
He shook himself and roared and it was like the rumbling of a thunder cloud. He swung his large tail in the air and the tail looked like an immense snake pulled by Garuda. He placed his two hands on the surface of the rock on which he stood. He shrunk his waist and folded his legs. He then thrust out his neck and so he stood poised for the flight into the air. He looked far and held his breath. He turned to the monkeys and said:
“I will go straight to Lanka as an arrow which is released from the bow of Rama. If I do not find Sita there I will go to the heavens and look for her there. If she is not found even there I will return to Lanka and bring Ravana with me, bound hand and foot. I will somehow return with success. I may even uproot the city and bring it with me. I WILL SUCCEED.”
Thinking that he was Garuda himself the great Hanuman jumped up with great force. Because of the speed of his course, the trees on the mountain were pulled up with their roots. With the flowering trees rushing along with him Hanuman entered the skies. The trees went with him some distance and it seemed as though they were well-wishers who went with him some distance to make the journey fruitful. The sea was now a mass of flowers from the trees which had fallen into it after accompanying the great Hanuman some distance.
Hanuman coursed through the sky like a thunder cloud driven by the air…//
– Kamala Subramniam, Valmiki Ramayana
Every time I read this a divine thrill courses down my spine. This is the determination, this is the shraddha, this is the sankalpa that each one of us needs…
अतुलितबलधामं हेमशैलाभदेहं
दनुजवनकृशानुं ज्ञानिनामग्रगण्यम् ।
सकलगुणनिधानं वानराणामधीशं
रघुपतिप्रियभक्तं वातात्मजं नमामि ॥
Ramesh Venkatraman 