As Hanuman stood near the wall protecting Lanka, he knew he couldn't simply climb over it and enter Lanka as a monkey. The demons of Lanka would see him and immediately take the intruder to their king, Ravana. He needed to create a scheme to be able to look around in order to find Sita before he was noticed.
So, he pondered his options for a moment. He first considered a mouse, but he assumed if someone saw him, they may try to kill the rodent. Things could end very badly. Then he considered a bird. Yet again though, he recognized the flaws in becoming this creature as well. As a bird, he would have to view the city from the sky. He wouldn't be able to spy as well as he needed to at such a distance away from the demons of Lanka. When finally it hit Hanuman, he will transform himself into an innocent cat and enter at night. No one would suspect a thing as cats are known for snooping around at night. His plan was perfect!
As night drew near, Hanuman had to practice transforming into a cat because he was using a new power he was unfamiliar with. However, on the first try he was successful. Hanuman was surprised by how strong his powers were. He knew he possessed some powerful talents, but tried not to become overwhelmed by this thought. All he wanted to do was use them to serve Rama.
Once a cat, Hanuman felt uncomfortable as he had never transformed into a different animal before. He walked awkwardly on all fours and practiced his meow. Then finally the sunlight vanished and it was night. Hanuman looked around for the guards of Lanka by the wall. When the coast was clear, he jumped over, and began searching for Sita. Anyone that saw him didn't think a thing of the nomadic cat.
While wandering the streets of Lanka, he noticed how peculiar everything looked as a cat. He was enticed to play with balls of yarn and strings he saw in some of the demons' homes. This distraction felt bizarre as these were never items of entertainment as a monkey. Nonetheless, he worked hard to stay focused on the task of discovering Sita for Rama. However, Hanuman felt overwhelmed as the city was the largest land he had ever came across. But still, he stayed fixated on his goal and assumed this was due to the small stature he had taken as a cat. He crept into all the houses and began to lose hope, when finally he discovered a grand palace positioned at the furthermost point of the city. He knew the palace had to belonged to Ravana.
As he had looked everywhere, Hanuman went into the palace in desperation of seeing Sita. However, all he saw was a room full of beautiful women that were under Ravana's trance. They were sprawled out on the floor surrounding Ravana. in disappointment, Hanuman knew Sita wouldn't be in Ravana's room as she was loyal to Rama. However, as he was a cat and not feeling as himself, he felt mesmerized by every girl's beauty and spent time being infatuated with every one of them. Finally, Hanuman caught a glimpse of Sita outside the window in the garden. This helped him to snap out of his daze of the other beautiful women. Remembering his mission, he rushed to the garden to speak to Sita.
Author's note: I decided to write about Hanuman's experience as a cat in Lanka because I love animal character, and I love cats. I tried show a difference in Hanuman's character as a cat compared to a monkey. As a monkey, Hanuman is very dedicated to Rama. He is devoted to his mission. However, as a cat, I thought he could become a little distracted as cats are such playful animals. Also, I wanted to create a moment of pondering for Hanuman to show the readers how he decided on becoming a cat instead of any other animal. It displays his reasoning for his decision. I choose this picture because at the end of the story Hanuman goes to speak with Sita, and also because I couldn't find a good picture of Hanuman as a monkey that I was able to use. This story was pretty straight forward. Hanuman was on a mission to search through Lanka to find Sita, and he accomplished this by transforming into a cat. As we know, Hanuman is a very powerful character in The Ramayana, and I tried to tell the readers that transforming into other animals was an unfamiliar power that Hanuman possesses. What an amazing creature! He can grow to be a giant size, he can jump further than any other animal, he has eternal life, and now he can transform himself into different animals.
Bibliography: Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.
