As Hanuman prepared for his great leap, the mountain trembled and broke apart, causing the ascetics who dwelled there to believe it was being shattered by supernatural beings. Fearful, they fled, taking with them groups of women. In their haste, they abandoned golden vessels of liquor on their drinking grounds, along with precious cups and goblets made of gold. They left behind a bounty of sweets and foods, diverse meats, bull hides, and swords with golden hilts. Many among them, adorned with crafted necklaces, intoxicated and smeared with red garlands and ointments, their eyes red and lotus-like, ascended into the sky. The women, wearing necklaces, anklets, bracelets, and sparkling ornaments, stood amazed and smiling in the sky, beside their lovers. The great sages among the Vidyādharas, displaying their mighty powers, gathered together in the heavens, gazing down at the mountain. From above, they heard the voices of sages of purified mind, as well as the Cāraṇas and Siddhas, who stood in the clear sky. These celestial beings spoke among themselves: "This Hanuman, son of the wind, resembling a mountain, with tremendous speed, seeks to cross the ocean, the abode of Varuṇa. Desiring to accomplish the difficult task for the sake of Rama and the monkeys, he wishes to reach the far shore of the ocean, which is hard to attain." Hearing these words from the Vidyādharas and ascetics, all eyes turned to the immeasurable monkey-chief standing on the mountain. Hanuman bristled his hair, his body trembling like fire, and he let out a thunderous roar, mighty as a storm cloud. His tail, covered with hair and curved in succession, he swung in preparation for his leap, like the king of birds grasping a serpent. As he moved with great speed, his tail wound behind him, appearing like a mighty serpent carried away by Garuda. Hanuman braced his massive arms, as strong as iron bars, near his waist, contracting his legs. Gathering his arms and neck, radiant in his glory, he summoned forth his energy, strength, and valor, filling himself with might. He surveyed the path ahead from afar, his gaze fixed upward, and restrained his breath within his heart as he looked toward the sky. Planting his feet firmly, Hanuman, the foremost of monkeys, pressed down his ears, preparing for the leap. He spoke to the other monkeys, his voice resolute: "Just as an arrow released by Raghava, swift as the wind, flies forth, so shall I go to Lanka, ruled by Ravana. If I do not see Janaka's daughter there in Lanka, then with this very speed I shall go to the abode of the gods, though my efforts are spent. Or I will bind the king of the rakshasas and bring Ravana back; in every way, I will return with my task accomplished, together with Sita. Or I will uproot Lanka itself, along with Ravana, and bring it here." Having spoken thus, Hanuman, the best of monkeys, leapt forward with great speed, his mind firmly resolved, imagining himself like Garuda soaring through the sky. As he sprang up with force, the trees on the mountain, drawing in all their branches, leapt up all around him. Carrying with him trees full of blossoms and birds intoxicated by honey, Hanuman sped through the clear sky with immense speed. For a moment, the trees, lifted by the force of his thighs, followed Hanuman like relatives following a kinsman setting out on a long journey. Those great trees, uprooted by his power, followed him like an army follows its king. Accompanied by many trees with blossoming tops, Hanuman, mountain-like in form, became a wondrous sight to behold. Soon, those trees with firm roots sank into the salty waters, as if in fear, like the mountains of Mahendra sinking into Varuna's abode. Hanuman, covered with various flowers and fresh buds, shone like a cloud adorned with fireflies, radiant in the sky. Released by his speed, the trees let fall their flowers, which scattered in the water like friends departing after a visit. That wondrous, varied mass of flowers from the trees, stirred by the wind of Hanuman's passage, fell lightly upon the sea, making the great ocean shine like the star-strewn sky. Bathed in a flood of fragrant, multicolored flowers, Hanuman shone like a rising cloud adorned with clusters of lightning. The water was covered with flowers scattered by his force, shining like stars or lamps illuminating the sky. His arms, stretched out in the sky, appeared like two serpents with five mouths emerging from the summit of a mountain. Hanuman shone as if he were drinking the vast ocean with its waves, and appeared as if he were thirsty for the sky. His eyes, following the path of the wind and shining like lightning, blazed forth like fires placed on a mountain. The large, round eyes of the tawny-eyed leader gleamed, fixed like the moon and the sun. His face, with its reddish nose, shone red like the sun's disk touched by the twilight. And his tail, raised as he leapt, shone in the sky like the banner of Indra. Thus, Hanuman soared across the heavens, a radiant and wondrous sight, determined to fulfill his sacred mission for Rama, for the monkeys, and for Sita.