66697602-The-Ramayana-R-K-Narayan

While he sat there on the roof unobtrusively watching, he
realized he might be mistaken. Observing her further, he
noticed several differences in the features of this woman. In
spite of her beauty she had a touch of coarseness. She slept
inelegantly with her arms and legs clumsily flung about, with
her lips parted; she snored; and she talked in her sleep
incoherently. “No, this could be anyone but the goddess I am
seeking,” Hanuman told himself with relief; and presently he
understood that this was Ravana’s wife, Mandodari.
Hanuman next moved on into Ravana’s palace, observed
him in his luxurious setting and, after satisfying himself that
Sita was not imprisoned there, passed on. After exhausting
his search of all the buildings he decided to search the
woods and gardens. He finally arrived at Asoka Vana. It was
Ravana’s favourite retreat, a magnificent park land with
orchards and grottoes and pleasure gardens. When
Hanuman came atop a simsupa tree, he observed several
rakshasa women, grotesque looking and fierce, armed with
weapons, sleeping on the ground. Sita was seated in their
midst. He studied her closely: she answered all points of the
description given by Rama. Now Hanuman’s doubts were
gone; but it rent his heart to see her in her present state,
unkempt, undecorated, with a single piece of yellow sari
covering her body, and with the dust of many days on her.
Suddenly the rakshasa women got up from their sleep,
closed in on Sita, and menaced and frightened her. Sita