Indrajit was dead. Kumbhakarna was dead. Lanka’s greatest warriors lay silent on the battlefield, and Ravana, for the first time, was truly afraid. So he sent a message deep beneath the earth, to the one ally who had never failed him: his brother-in-arms, Mahiravana, king of Patala.
A note on the source: this episode does not appear in Valmiki’s Ramayana. It lives in later regional retellings, such as the Bengali Krittivasi Ramayana and many folk traditions, where it is one of the most loved adventures of Hanuman.
The Guard Who Could Not Be Fooled
Mahiravana was a master of illusion, a sorcerer who worshipped a fierce goddess and wanted a royal sacrifice for her. He promised Ravana he would end the war in a single night: he would take Rama and Lakshmana themselves.
The Vanara camp knew a night attack might come. Hanuman did something extraordinary. He coiled his enormous tail into a fortress around the camp, leaving a single gate, and stood guard there himself. Nothing could pass him unseen.
Mahiravana’s trick was brutally simple. He took the form of Vibhishana, the one ally Hanuman had every reason to trust. The “Vibhishana” walked up to the gate, spoke gently, and said he needed to check on Rama. Hanuman, who had seen Vibhishana risk his life for dharma, stepped aside.
By morning, Rama and Lakshmana were gone.
Into the Dark Below the Earth
When the real Vibhishana saw the empty tents, he understood at once: only Mahiravana could have done this. Hanuman, stricken with guilt, leapt into the underworld through a tunnel to Patala.
At the gate stood a strange guard, half man and half sea creature, as strong as Hanuman himself. His name was Makardhwaja, and the story of his birth is as odd as the battle itself. Long ago, as Hanuman crossed the ocean to burn Lanka, a drop of his sweat fell into the sea and was swallowed by a great sea creature. From it a son was born, a son Hanuman had never met.
Hanuman fought his own child without knowing it, until Makardhwaja told his own story and the truth came out. Father and son embraced, but Makardhwaja explained his duty: he could not let Hanuman through. So Hanuman used his wits, slipped past, and entered the palace.
Five Lamps, Five Directions
In Mahiravana’s shrine, Rama and Lakshmana were bound before the goddess, ready to be offered. But the goddess herself, moved by Hanuman’s devotion, gave him a secret. Mahiravana could not be killed unless five lamps, burning in five different corners of the hall, were blown out in the very same instant.
One Hanuman could not blow out five flames at once. So he did the impossible: he took the form of Panchamukhi Hanuman, with five faces. They were Hanuman’s own, plus Narasimha, Garuda, Varaha and Hayagriva, each facing a different direction. One breath from each mouth, all together, and all five lamps went out.
Mahiravana’s power broke, and he fell. Hanuman lifted Rama on one shoulder and Lakshmana on the other and carried them out of Patala into the light. Makardhwaja was crowned the new king of Patala, and Hanuman had finally met his son.
Why This Story Endures
This tale is the origin of the five-faced Hanuman images worshipped across India, and it carries a quiet lesson. Hanuman’s greatest failure that night was trusting a familiar face. His greatest victory was refusing to give up after he failed.