HANUMĀN is the name of a Hindu monkey god widely venerated throughout India. One of the principal characters of the Hindu epic Rāmāyaṇa, Hanumān is also called Sundara ("beautiful"), and the fifth book of the Rāmāyaṇa, in which Hanumān plays a central role, is called Sundara Kāṇḍa (Book of the Beautiful One). Here Hanumān, a minister for the monkey king Sugrīva, first comes to know of Rāma, who is searching for his wife, Sītā, who has been kidnapped. Hanumān negotiates friendship between Rāma and Sugrīva and later flies across the ocean to Lanka in order to locate Sītā. Finding her under an aśoka tree, he presents Rāma's signet ring as a token of recognition, conveys Rāma's message of consolation, and assures her that...