Let me tell you the tale as revealed in these sacred verses of the glorious Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, in the Kiṣkindhā Kāṇḍa. Once, seeking refuge, a group of noble beings declared, "Here, our dwelling will be safe and free from fear." With this resolve, O prince, they journeyed onward and reached the mountain called Rishyamuka. Vali, the mighty monkey king, did not enter this mountain, for he feared the sage Matanga. Thus, O King, I witnessed all these events directly, and so I came to dwell in this cave after traversing the whole earth. Now, hear the forty-seventh sarga. For the sake of finding Sita, the monkey leaders, as ordered by their king Sugriva, set out swiftly in all directions. They searched everywhere—lakes, riverbanks, the sky, cities, and regions difficult to access by rivers. The monkey chiefs, following Sugriva’s instructions, combed the mountains, forests, and groves. All day they searched, intent on finding Sita, and at night they would gather on the earth. In every region, they found fruitful trees in all seasons, and each night they made their beds beneath them. When the first day was completed, the monkey leaders, after meeting with Sugriva, went to the Prasravana mountain, though their hearts were heavy with despair. Those who had searched the eastern direction returned with their counselors, not having seen Sita. The great monkey who had searched the northern direction came back with his army, fearful and unsuccessful. Sushena, having searched the western quarter with his monkeys, approached Sugriva at the completion of the month. They respectfully greeted Sugriva, who was seated with Rama on Prasravana mountain, and spoke: "All the mountains have been searched, as well as the dense forests, the rivers ending in the sea, and all the inhabited regions. All the caves you mentioned have been explored, as well as the great thickets covered with creepers. In remote, difficult, and uneven places, creatures of immense size have been found and slain; and those inaccessible regions have been searched again and again. Hanuman, born of a noble and mighty lineage, will surely discover Maithili; the son of the wind, Hanuman, has set out in the very direction where Sita has gone." Now, let the forty-eighth sarga be heard. Hanuman, together with Tara and Angada, swiftly set out for the region designated by Sugriva. Traveling a great distance with all those foremost monkeys, Hanuman searched the caves and dense thickets of the Vindhya mountains. They explored mountain peaks, river fortresses, lakes, great trees, groves, mountains, and forest trees. Yet, despite their heroic efforts, they did not see Sita, the daughter of Janaka. While searching, the indomitable monkeys ate roots and various fruits and stayed wherever they could. The region was vast and difficult to search, full of caves and dense forests, waterless, deserted, empty, and terrifying to behold. Even after searching such forests, greatly afflicted, the monkeys found the area vast, hard to search, filled with caves and dense thickets. Leaving that place, the fearless monkey leaders entered another region, even harder to penetrate. There, the trees bore fruit in vain, without flowers or leaves; the rivers were dry, and roots were very hard to find. No buffaloes, deer, elephants, tigers, birds, or any wild creatures dwelled there. There were no trees or medicinal herbs, no creepers or grasses—only lotus ponds on the ground, beautiful and fragrant, with blooming lotuses and glossy leaves, yet untouched by bees. In this desolate region lived a great sage named Kaṇḍu, a truth-speaker rich in ascetic power. He was a great seer, exceedingly strict and unassailable in his vows. In that forest, his ten-year-old son disappeared, destined to die. Enraged by this loss, the sage Kaṇḍu, devoted to righteousness, cursed the entire forest. It became desolate, unapproachable, devoid of beasts and birds. So the monkeys searched the forest edges and mountain caves there. With focused minds, they searched the sources of the rivers and the mountain caves, but even there, those great souls did not find Janaka’s daughter. Nor did they see the abductor, Rāvaṇa, who had done what was pleasing to Sugriva. Entering that fearsome place, thick with vines and shrubs, they encountered a terrifying, fearless demon. Seeing this demon, who appeared as formidable as a mountain, all the monkeys withdrew in fear. But the powerful demon, seeing them, declared, "You are lost!" Enraged, he rushed at them, raising his clenched fist. Then, Vāli’s son, Angada, suddenly struck him. Recognizing him as Rāvaṇa, Angada struck him with his palm. Struck by Vāli’s son, the demon fell to the ground, vomiting blood from his mouth, like a toppled mountain. Thus unfolds this chapter of their arduous quest.