The Churning Oceans of Varun
Hanuman shrugged. "I'm just saying. It would be nice to have summoning powers, you know?" when Angad simply raised his eyebrow in concern and slight bemusement, Hanuman rolled his eyes. "You know? Like we could summon food, we could summon more soldiers, we could summon Prabhu Shri Ram, perhaps we could even summon Maa Sita? Wouldn't that make our job fifty times easier, and reunite the couple much faster as well?"
Angad winced. "Yeah, I don't know Hanuman. Shapeshifting and flight would be good enough for me. Besides, if I were Prabhu Shri Ram, I would like to take revenge on Ravan for abducting his wife? I mean, it's a sane thing to do. If you had a wife Hanuman, wouldn't you be angry enough that a random demon pulled up, tricked you and your brother, and then whisked away your wife in the final months of your hardship?"
Hanuman puffed his chest out. "No! I would never have a wife, Angad! I couldn't split my responsibilities! My only dedication is to Prabhu Shri Ram, no one else, mind you!" Jambavan grunted his assent, and even Angad backed down, deciding that the conversation was a useless one to have with the devoted Hanuman. Said Hanuman cleared his throat, looked at Jambavan and then rubbed his sweaty hands together before closing his eyes.
In mere moments, mere second, Hanuman was twice, three times, then ten times the size he was before! He was as tall as the mountains and cliffsides that seemed to tower over him not minutes ago. His mighty chest took in a deep breath, and air came rushing towards him, creating an overtaking breeze for the rest of the vanars, who did not have the advantage of also being able to shapeshift and grow in size. Hanuman blinked down. "Hey, wait! When did you all get so tiny?!" he exclaimed. "You're like little bugs."
Jambavan grunted again and walked off as Angad looked up at the smiling Hanuman. "Alright, alright, no need to rub it in. We get it, you're huge Hanuman. Get adjusted quickly, then start flying over the Indian Ocean. Maa Sita, on the other side, is waiting for someone to save her. We need to assess the situation before any of us on this side attack. Besides, seeing your immense stature, Hanuman, perhaps they shall even surrender before the war begins!"
Finally, Jambavan broke his silence with a shake of his head and a disbelieving snort at Angad's words. "I would like to think so, putra Angad, I would but-" Jambavan looked off into the distance wisely again, shaking his head and ruffling his black fur. "It is highly unlikely that they will. The rakshas clan, especially Ravan, jewel of their clan, are too prideful to back down from anything, be it the appearance of a ginormous monkey or the frightening and unearthly twang of Shri Ram's bowstring.
Hanuman bowed towards Jambavan, being unable in his current state and stature to touch the Bear king's feet, and jumped off, the wind in his fur as he leapt over the Indian Ocean. From somewhere behind him, Hanuman thought he heard the cheers and farewells of the vanar army, and regretted not being able to say goodbye to them. Shaking his head, Hanuman readied himself for the journey that he had no doubt, would be serene, if not troublesome. It could go either way, really, at this point.
-----O----
Hanuman sometimes looked down at the choppy waters below him and turned a bright green at how they moved frothily. "You know, when I first leapt off," he muttered to himself as the winds started whirling against him. "I never imagined that I'd feel so queasy. Climbing up mountains? Sure! Flying? Sure! Starving? Sure! But never, ever, did I think, nor hope that I would be ready to be seasick on such an important mission!"
Hanuman's seasickness was soon not to be his first priority however, because something much, much, much worse than barfing or feeling sick because of the kerning waters of the Indian Ocean, was coming up, because you know how this story is. Why not? From up above, the Gods had come together in a meeting, watching as Pawanputra dashed across the Oceans themselves.
Lord Vishnu watched with a simple smile on his face. "Hanuman is ever so loyal, is he not? I have found a great companion in him. And in all the vanar army and city, by making an alliance with Kishkindha, isn't it? They were ready to starve themselves because of my and Raja Sugriv's orders. Now that is devotion at its best." He continued to watch thoughtfully, before his imaginary spirit drifted away from the conference, leaving everyone wishing that he would have been present.
Lord Indra watched him go. "I don't know. With Lord Vishnu, Mahalakshmi, and Seshnag all gone from the Heavens, I cannot trust anyone other than you all. Perhaps we should test this superhuman son of the God of Wind, see if he is worthy to take on this challenge. Loyalty is a start yes, but it is in vain if one is not able. If one is not efficient. It does not matter if a stem wishes to pick up the lotus flower, if it is not hardy and dependable, the flower shall wilt, and die."
Silence took over the group at Indra's ominous statement. Sure, the King of the Gods had a thing for not trusting anyone other than himself, but never so ominously. It was as if he thought-as if he knew that something very important was coming up, and only the worthiest would prove to come out alive? Was he possibly watching out for Hanuman instead of testing him ruthlessly as was more his style?
Varun, God of the Seas, Oceans, and probably even some Rivers, (he didn't keep track) cleared his throat and let out a dry chuckle as the monkey crossed even further across his ocean. "Yes, yes, we know. It's back to Mister Indra being all ominous and suspicious and cryptic on us, isn't it?" Everyone had a laugh at the brooding Indra's expense."Alright, alright, we should summon someone to test the vanar. How about a spirit from the serpent world?" Everyone eyed the place where Seshnag would have normally sat, rolling his eyes and flicking his tongue annoyedly at everything. Nothing was the same without the three.
-----O-----
Poor, clueless Hanuman had Lanka in sight by the time a giant rakshasi head burst through the waves and stared back at him fiercely, eyes bloodshot and nose flaring. "You are crossing a fierce Ocean into an even fiercer land!" she roared. "You can go no further, puny vanar, without entering my mouth! You are my food today!" And then, she opened her mouth, where Hanuman got a very much unwelcome sight of her large fangs, shining and glistening.
"If you say so, lady." He agreed, before becoming even larger than he already was. The spirit from the serpent world, named Surase, wasn't going to quit so easily, and just opened her mouth wider. Hanuman rolled his eyes and grew even taller, becoming fifty times his normal size. Well, Surase could apparently win a Guinness World Record for her amazing mouth-opening skills because she, too, opened her mouth even wider. Hanuman stopped, hovering in the air tantalizingly in front of her mouth.
Suddenly, he got a good idea in his mind, and became as tiny as a thumb, flying into Surase's mouth. All he could see for seeming miles was pink, pink, pink, dark tunnels, and he thought to himself 'Now I'd better get out before she decided to swallow'. He quickly flew right out of Surase's mouth just as she chomped down and came out unharmed, staring the rakshasi in the face thoughtfully. "Madam, I am not doing much harm I promise. I am just trying to help my Prabhu Shri Ram regain his wife, whom Lankesh imprisoned on his island. I have entered your mouth as you wished, and now I must be on my merry way."
Surase was, at that point, very much pleased with Hanuman's wit. She beamed widely, giving him another terrifying view of her pearly white and very sharp fangs, which he had recently escaped with great fortunes, and nodded. "I give you my blessing, vanar. I too know of Raja Ravan's terrible actions. May the Gods be with you." With that, she sunk back into the ocean, leaving Hanuman hovering in the air.
"Damn, dramatic exit much?" Shaking his head, Hanuman continued his flight, not the least perturbed that he had just escaped being someone's food by almost being someone's food. Words really do matter, people! The wind rushed in his hair and fur once more, and for the first time in a very, very long time, Hanuman did not feel queasy or ready to throw up. He was just focused. Focused on his goal, for if he lived so long, that meant that he had a purpose. And that purpose was to help Prabhu Shri Ram.
Hanuman continued to fly, and he thought he now saw the golden silhouette and skyline of Lanka, sparkling and shining with its brilliance. Hanuman, at one point, would have been amazed and enchanted by this place, this seeming Heaven on Earth. But now he felt like spitting on it. This was where the pious Maa Sita was kept, imprisoned and shackled, waiting for Prabhu Shri Ram, and any city that contained such blasphemy and obvious breach of dharma, righteousness, and basic principles of moral, needed to be eliminated.
But here came another rakshas, bursting out of the sea, if possible, more dramatically than the first one, and reaching out. "How many rakshasis did I think could survive and thrive readily underwater before?" Hanuman asked himself. "Well none. But now, I'm wondering if there's a little rakshasi city of water-breathers down there, just waiting to catch the innocent flying monkey passerby." Hanuman darted, out of the way of her grasp, seemingly out of her reach, but this rakshasi had a secret.
She could catch shadows. And she caught Hanuman's, drew him to her mouth and swallowed him whole. Hanuman looked around the dark area that was her stomach. Then, he flicked his forehead, and became two hundred and fifty times his normal size and burst out of the rakshasi's guts, leaving a steady pool of blood. "Ack," Hanuman muttered, getting out of the water again, leaving the rakshasi to die in agony.
And again, the fearless and courageous vanar started his trip, for the third time, hovering again in the air and shaking off any blood, water, and other things he may have on his body before eying Lanka once more, rolling his shoulders threateningly. "Release fifty thousands rakshasas and rakshasis" (hey, he didn't discriminate) "-against me, oh Lankesh!" he roared angrily, knowing that they wouldn't be able to hear him, but the other demons who were, no doubt, just waiting to capture him, would.
"I shall surpass them all with the steady chanting of Prabhu Shri Ram. With his name, nothing can stop me! I shall burst out of all your stomachs, rip off your heads, mutilate your bodies and start my journey once more!" (damn, gruesome much) "I shall not leave this place till Lanka is in flames! You have made a grave and fatal mistake invoking the wrath of Prabhu Shri Ram by taking his wife. Now you shall face the consequences of your evil deed!"
-----O-----
Angad jumped up and down, mace in hand, as the soldiers and Jambavan watched their Yuvraj go crazy. " He has done it! He has done it! I am sure of it! I can feel it beating in my heart! Hanuman has overcome all the obstacles placed ever so foolishly in his path! He is off to Lanka! He is off to retrieve Maa Sita! She is saved! We all are saved!" Angad threw his mace into the air and caught it again, a wide smile spreading across his face contagiously.
Jambavan snorted, before laughing as well, for he too felt what Angad just had. A rush of, not adrenalin, through his veins, but knowledge. Just knowledge. That somehow, Hanuman, the vanar, had overcome the odds set precariously against him, that he had overcome fate itself, all chanting the name of Shri Ram, who was indeed, divine. Jambavan sat down, taking in a deep breath of the morning air, and deciding that his back didn't hurt so much after all.
-----O-----
And up in Svargaloka, where the Gods lived, most of them had their jaws fully dropped., unhinged from their face. Hanuman, the seemingly tiny, puny, unable vanar who had been hidden from sight just days ago, had shown up, and he was mighty. Pawan, the God of Wind and Air, puffed his chest up. Anjaneya had proven himself more than worthy. He would be a fearsome fighter for Ram's side of the war, if there ever should be one.
Somewhere in the crowd, Indra breathed a sigh of relief, ready to fall down on his chair exhaustedly in pure thankfulness and gratefulness that the vanar had actually done it. He had outwitted Surase, found his powers and killed a rakshasi who could catch shadows. The great and powerful Lord Vishnu had gotten a most wonderful and capable mercenary in this vanar. Some stems were too weak to hold up the lotus. They wilted and the flower fell. But here was a stem as thick and mighty as a tree trunk, ready to hold up the world's weight if need be, just for Prabhu Shri Ram.
A/N-PLEASE READ THIS NOTE-Hello everyone. Can you please do me a big favor? Can you go to my profile page and see how many followers I have?
I'm really worried, because yesterday, I had 75, and now, from what I'm seeing on my device, I have 188 or around that number. I checked, and the people who are newly following me-I have never interacted with, never seen, never spoken to, never followed, never voted, and apparently write a different language.
Can you all see this? Am I hallucinating? I'm getting a bit scared. They all speak a similar language-and get this-they all seem to have 1000+ followers themselves. Oh God. Am I going mad? What is going on? Please let me know if you see this. PLEASE.
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