Hanuman was deeply devoted to Rama. When Hanuman was leaving in search of Seeta, Rama gave him a ring so that Seeta might know that he came as a messenger from Rama. The bond between Rama and Hanuman was so strong that Rama was sure that Hanuman would discover Seeta. As the days rolled by, there was no sign of Seeta anywhere and the monkey-army under the command of Angad was tired, hungry and frustrated.
Suddenly, they came upon a cave. The monkey-army mustered courage and went in to find sweet water springs, waterfalls and a lot of fruit trees inside. They were delighted and had a hearty meal. They found an old ascetic woman, Swayamprabha, who had been sent by Indra to look after that region. On being asked by Swayamprabha, Hanuman told her about their search of Seeta. Swayamprabha led them to the sea through the secret passage of the cave. She told them that they had to cross over the sea to reach Seeta.
Meanwhile, the spring season had set in. There was no clue of Seeta as yet. The crown-prince Angad knew that without finding Seeta, if they returned to Kishkindha, they would be given death penalty. He thought that it was better to die on that uninhabited sea coast rather than to face the death penalty. So, all of them started fasting unto death. Jatayu’s brother Sampati, the vulture king, lived there. He had been famished for long.
Seeing the monkey warriors willing to die there he thought that he would feast on them for several days.
When he heard about Jatayu’s death, he was sad. Prince Angad told him about the whole story. He also told him that they had come over there in search of Seeta. Then, Sampati told them, “Very long ago, Ravana took away a woman to Lanka on his Vimana. I could not help that wailing woman, because once while protecting Jatayu from the heat of the sun my wings were burnt. Now, I cannot fly.”
Now, the monkey-army came to know that Mother Seeta was held captive in Lanka. Sampati told them that Lanka was a hundred yojanas away from there. When they came to know about Mother Seeta, they broke their fast.
