Ravana's Lanka was described in the Ramayana as a magnificent city of gold, guarded by the sea. Ancient texts place it at the island of present-day Sri Lanka, a kingdom of staggering wealth and architecture.
Held captive in Lanka, Sita sat beneath an ashoka tree, refusing Ravana's demands for a year. Her unbreakable resolve in that grove remains one of the epic's greatest portraits of inner strength.
Captured in Lanka, Hanuman's tail was set alight. He broke free and leapt from rooftop to rooftop, and the golden city burned. It was the first warning that Rama's army was coming.
