Whilk kand Rāma,Sstea, and anak ṣmana vere living in che fores in exil, he great dermcn Rāvaṇa kidnapped Sītā and took her to his capital on the island of Laṅkā. There he
imprisoned her within a garden in his palace until she would voluntarily agree to marry him. Sītā, however, remained steadfast in her devotion to Lord Rāma. After her kidnapping, Lord Rāma began searching for her everywhere. Having learned that she was held captive in Laṅkā by the demon Rāvaṇa, Lord Rāma sent His staunch monkey devotee Hanumān to Laṅkā to find her. After an extensive search, Hanumān at last found Sītā in the Aśoka garden and gave her news of Lord Rāma's imminent arrival. Hanumān then decided to give the Rākṣasa demons of Laṅkā a foretaste of what awaited them by destroying the garden. Hearing the commotion, Rāvaṇa's formidable army captured Hanumān and brought him before the demon. Hanumān informed Rāvaṇa that he was the servant of Lord Rāma and that Rāma would invade Laṅkā with his army of monkeys and annihilate Rāvaṇa and his followers unless Sītā was returned to Rāma. Hearing this, Rāvaṇa ordered Hanumān put to death, but Hanumān pointed out that it was forbidden to put a messenger to death. Rāvaṇa relented, but he still wanted to punish Hanumān. Knowing that a monkey prizes its tail highly, Rāvaṇa ordered that Hanumān's tail be bound with oil-soaked cloth and set on fire. When this was done, Hanumān broke free and beat the soldiers with his burning tail, setting their clothes on fire. He then went through the city, jumping from roof to roof, setting the entire city on fire. Then he extinguished the fire on his tail, left the island of Laṅkā, and returned to Lord Rāma.