more from Ramayana

In the Ramayana, in their search for Sita, Hanuman and his army were passing through a desert and were faint with hunger and thirst. They saw a cave from which issued a variety of birds full of life. The gentle breeze that came out of it covered them with the pollen of lotus flowers and filled them with fragrance. The army concluded that there was water where the birds and perfume came from. Forming a chain with linked hands they plunged cautiously into the dense darkness of the cave with hearts full of hope, though too parched with thirst even to shout. At long last and all of a sudden, light appeared and they saw a lovely grove with streams of clear water and trees bowing under their wealth of fruit. Then they came to a city, with streets paved with jewels set in gold and great palaces beautiful as a dream. They went along and then they saw an aged tapasvini clad in robes of bark and a black antelope skin. That ascetic, given to fasting, shone with a great effulgence. They trembled before the divine splendor of her face. (Rajagopalachari, pp. 191-193) We learn that she is Svayamprabha, the daughter of Merusavarni, and she guards this dwelling belonging to her dear friend Hema, who is skilled in the arts of dancing and singing. The palace and grounds were built by Maya, the architect of the Danavas. It is a cave that no one can leave once they enter, but Svayamprabha sees that theirs is a great mission, and by her tapasya transports them out of the cave to the seashore. (Shastri, v. 2, p. 295-297)