In Kishkinda, the kingdom of the monkeys, there lived Hanuman. He was a devoted follower of ruler of the monkey kingdom, Surgriva, and the guardian of the gate. When Hanuman heard of the abduction of Sita from Rama he is sent by Surgriva to aid in the search. The monkey warrior, Hanuman was accompanied by a great monkey army. Hanuman divided his troops into four divisions. Each division would go in search of Sita. One day as Hanuman and his men search for Sita, they saw a great bird on a mountainside. The bird was asked if he knew about the whereabouts of Sita. The bird replied, "She is in the Asoka garden near Ravana's palace, but you must cross the great ocean." When trying to decide how they would cross the hundred miles of water to get to the island, Hanuman declared, "I can do it. My father was the Wind God."
He braced himself against the side of a mountain, all the muscles coiled in his body, leapt into the sky. Hanuman not only had the ability to fly, but to change his shape. To protect himself from the sea serpents he swelled himself up to the size of an elephant or shrunk himself down to the size of a sparrow. When he reached Lanka he searched all over the palace grounds for Sita Just when he felt he had failed in his mission, he saw the most beautiful woman and knew it must be Sita.
Hanuman approached her and knelt at her feet. "Do not fear. I am Hanuman, Rama's servant and messenger. He has sent me to find you. He cries for your return." He then removes from his pocket a ring that Rama had given him and gives it to Sita. Sita overcome with emotions gratefully accepts the ring and asks Hanuman to return quickly and tell Rama that she would wait for his arrival.
Suddenly the demons appeared and attacked Hanuman. They bound him and took him to the demon king Ravana. Ravana ordered that Hanuman be punished and commanded that Hanuman's tail be set on fire. As the king's men wrapped Hanuman's tail in cloth to set it on fire he grew it longer and longer. the more they wrapped, the longer Hanuman grew his tail. Finally, Ravana ordered, "Set it on fire!"
With his long tail on fire, Hanuman flew into the sky. He decided to set the city of Lanka ablaze to punish Ravana. he flew low over the city and set each building, temple, palace and garden on fire. Flames shot high into the sky. As he flew over Asoka garden he made sure Sita was safe. Then before he headed home, he put his tail in the ocean to put out the fire.
Though considered a lesser god, Hanuman's popularity has steadily increased due to popular tales of his childhood, his great courage, and in some cases, his sex appeal. Most Hindus pray to Hanuman for gifts of a somewhat banal nature, i.e., passing an exam or getting a job.