The Ramayana in Sanskrit: Book 4: Chapter 53

This is a passage from Valmiki's *Ramayana* — specifically from the Kishkindha Kanda — presented in both IAST transliteration and Devanagari script, placing it squarely in the Sanskrit epic tradition. The scene depicts Hanuman strategically assessing and then persuading Angada (son of the slain monkey-king Vali) not to rebel against Sugriva and instead return to the fold. Hanuman first catalogs Angada's formidable qualities — eight-fold intelligence, fourteen virtues, growing splendor like the waxing moon, wisdom matching Brihaspati — before deliberately deploying the third of the four classical political means (*upāyas*): *bheda*, or sowing division. He divides the monkey troops through rhetorical skill, then turns threatening arguments on Angada himself: the cave offers no real protection against Lakshmana's arrows, the fickle monkeys will abandon him the moment he holds out, and he will be left utterly alone. The passage's distinctive move is having Hanuman — typically celebrated for loyalty and self-sacrifice — here act as a cold political strategist, manipulating allies and engineering fear to serve Rama's mission. It closes with a conciliatory offer: submit now and Sugriva, who has no other heir and loves Angada's mother, will rightfully install Angada in the kingdom.

The Ramayana in Sanskrit: Book 4: Chapter 53

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