In spite of the fact that she has already been some time in the demon’s power, Ravana has not yet succeeded in winning her affections, and dares not force her lest he incur the wrath of the gods.  It is evident, however, that his patience is worn nearly threadbare, for Hanuman overhears him threaten to chop Sita to pieces unless she will yield to his wishes and become his wife within the next two months.

  “My cooks shall mince thy limbs with steel
  And serve thee for my morning meal.”

When Sita is left alone, Hanuman, in the guise of a tiny monkey, climbs down to her side, exhibits Rama’s ring, which he has brought as a token, and receives from her in return a jewel, after he has assured her that she will soon be delivered.

About to leave Ceylon to report what he has seen, it occurs to the monkey general to do some damage to the foe.  In the guise of an immense baboon, he therefore destroys a grove of mango trees, an act of vandalism which so infuriates Ravana that he orders the miscreant seized and fire tied to his tail!  But no sooner has the fire been set than the monkey general, suddenly transforming himself into a tiny ape, slips out of his bonds, and scrambling up on the palace roof sets it on fire as well as all the houses in Lanka, his flaming tail serving as a torch.

  As earth with fervent heat will glow
  When comes her final overthrow;
  From gate to gate, from court to spire,
  Proud Lanka was one blaze of fire,
  And every headland, rock, and bay
  Shone bright a hundred leagues away!

Then, satisfied with the damage he has done, Hanuman hastens back to the sea-shore, whence by another prodigious leap he lands in India, to inform Rama and Sugriva (the monkey king) of the success of his expedition.

A huge monkey army now sets out under Rama’s guidance, but general and warriors are equally dismayed on reaching the sea to find an unsurmountable obstacle between them and their goal.  In answer to Rama’s fervent prayers, however, the god of the sea, rising from the waves, promises that any materials cast into his waters will be held in place, to form a bridge whereby they can cross to Ceylon.  All the monkeys now bring stones and tree trunks which they hurl into the sea, where, thanks to the efforts of the Hindu architect Nala, they are welded together and form a magic bridge.  It is by means of this causeway that Rama invades Ceylon, and, when Ravana hears the foe is approaching, he musters an army, of which the poem gives a wonderful description.  Then begins the dire combat wherein Rama and his forces finally prove victorious, and wherein our hero, after slaying Ravana’s son, fights with the demon himself, whose heads he proceeds to cut off.  He is justly dismayed, however, to see they have the power of springing up again as soon as hewn, until remembering at last his magic bow, he makes such good use of it that he annihilates the demon, whose numerous wives wail as he falls.