The war between Shri Raam and Raavan was on. During the battle there were many casualties. The most serious on Shri Raam’s side was Lakshman. He was struck with the enemy’s powerful arrow, the ‘shakti-baan’ and lay unconscious. The only cure for him was the ‘sajeevan’ herb, which was to be found way up on the Himalayan mountain. Hanumanji was the one charged with the responsibility of bringing this herb before dawn. If not, Lakshman would surely die.
Raavan knew that Hanuman was on his search for the herb. He requested Kalnemi, an old demon from Lanka to trick Hanuman so that he would be unsuccessful in getting the herb. Without the herb, Lakshman would die and Shri Raam would lose the war.
Kalnemi disguised himself as a mystic sage and took residence on the mountain. As Hanuman searched for the magical life-giving ‘sajeevan’ herb, he came across the pious-looking Kalnemi. The demon offered Hanuman food, which he refused. Instead Hanuman bathed in a nearby lake, where his foot was seized by a crocodile. Hanuman swiftly killed the crocodile, from whose body emerged a celestial damsel. The damsel told Hanuman that she was an ‘apsara’ and had been cursed to become a crocodile because she had offended King Daksha. Being grateful for Hanuman’s mercy on her, she warned him of Kalnemi’s deceitful plot.
Hanuman returned to the hermitage where Kalnemi persisted in his disguise. He seized the demon by the legs, whirled him around and tied him with his tail. He threw him in the air. Kalnemi cried out, “Raam!’ He was crushed and his body landed far, far away…at the foot of Raavan’s throne, all the way in Lanka!
Hanuman, unable to find the exact herb and not wanting to take a chance by bringing the wrong herb, grabbed the entire mountain and returned to Lanka just as the sun was about to rise. There the herb was made into a mixture and given to Lakshman. In a short while he recovered. The battle continued until Raavan was killed at the hands of Shri Raam.
