Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 1: Contents of the Rāmāyaṇa Summarized
Text 1.1.70
ततो गृध्रस्य वचनात्सम्पातेर्हनुमान्बली।
शतयोजनविस्तीर्णं पुप्लुवे लवणार्णवम्॥
tato gṛdhrasya vacanāt sampāter hanumān balī
śata-yojana-vistīrṇaṁ pupluve lavaṇārṇavam
tataḥ = then; gṛdhrasya = of the vulture; vacanāt = on the instructions; sampāteḥ = Sampāti; hanumān = Hanumān; balī = the strong monkey; śata-yojana-vistīrṇam = that extended to a hundred yojanas; pupluve = jumped; lavaṇa arṇavam = across the salt ocean.
Then, on the instructions of the vulture Sampāti, the strong monkey Hanumān jumped across the salt ocean that extended to a hundred yojanas.
Nārada Muni now begins to summarize Canto 5 or Sundara-kāṇḍa. Hanumān was balī (“strong”)—indeed, his strength was immeasurable. His very name Hanumān indicates that his jaws were swollen, as Indra will state:
mat-karotsṛṣṭa-vajreṇa hanur asya yathā hataḥ
nāmnā vai kapi-śārdūlo bhavitā hanumān iti
“Because his jaws were injured by the lightning that came out of my hand, this tiger among monkeys will be known by the name Hanumān.” (Rāmāyaṇa 7.36.13)
These two words balī and hanumān hint that Jāmbavān enthused him and revealed his boundless strength to him.
Sampāti was the elder brother of Jaṭāyu. He told Hanumān, “A hundred yojanas from here is Laṅkā in the midst of the ocean. Sītā-devī is there. Cross over the ocean and you will see [her for yourself].”