Page:History of India Vol 1.djvu/161

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THE ABDUCTION OF SITA
121


RAVANA.

absence of Rama he stole her away from their hut and carried her off to Ceylon. Rama, after a long search, obtained a clue of her, made an alliance with the non- Aryan tribes of Southern India, who are described as monkeys and bears, and made preparations for crossing over to Ceylon to recover his wife.

Vali was a great king among the non- Aryans, but his brother Sugriva thirsted after his kingdom and his wife. Rama fought and killed Vali, helped Sugriva to win the kingdom and Vali's widow, and Sugriva then marched his army to Lanka.

Hanuman, the commander-in-chief of the non- Aryan army, led the way. He leaped over the strait of sixty miles which separates India from Ceylon, found Sita, and returned to Rama.

A causeway was then built across the strait by means of boulders and stones. The reader is aware that a natural causeway runs nearly across the strait, and there is no doubt that the physical aspect of this