Hanuman kills the shadow-catching Simhika during his flight over the sea toward Lanka, when the demon seizes his shadow and arrests his movement through the air. The encounter converts an unseen restraint into a visible threat: Hanuman recognizes the danger, adapts his size to meet it, and kills the monster through a calculated maneuver rather than a contest of bulk.

The Attack in Midair

Simhika spots Hanuman as he travels above the sea. She is described as delighting in evil and changing her form to accomplish her purpose. Her method is unusual and decisive: instead of first confronting him directly, she catches his shadow. The capture of the shadow has immediate physical force, staying and holding Hanuman as surely as an obstacle in his path. The scene makes the danger legible through its effect on his flight: he feels a power checking him before he sees the creature responsible.

Hanuman looks below and above, scanning both sea and sky for the source of the restraint. The search moves from an invisible interference to a sighting: Simhika’s monstrous form rises out of the deep. Recognition follows discovery. Hanuman understands that the threat matches the warning Sugriva gave him, so the encounter confirms that the danger on his route is not merely a possibility or a mistaken sensation. The warning supplies a frame for interpreting what has happened; the monster’s appearance supplies proof.

A Change of Scale

Simhika rushes at her expected prey with a roar, turning the capture of the shadow into an immediate attempt to seize and kill Hanuman. Her confidence rests on the apparent advantage of size and on the hold she has already established. Hanuman answers by compressing his borrowed bulk: the great form that carries him through the air gives way to a small one, chosen for this specific confrontation. His change of scale is not retreat from the danger but a way of changing its terms.

As Simhika lunges, Hanuman makes a swift bound and gets inside her. He then comes out again with equal speed. The narration foregrounds the quickness and control of that passage rather than describing a prolonged struggle. His ability to expand for the journey and contract for the attack gives the scene its tactical turn: the visible size that had made him a target is no longer a fixed condition. Simhika’s attempt to use her overwhelming form against him instead creates the opening for his maneuver.

Simhika’s Death and the Passage Resumed

Hanuman kills Simhika through this feat of skill and then returns to his accustomed stature. The sequence is compact but complete: she detects him, catches his shadow, holds him back, reveals herself, attacks, and is slain. The return to his usual size marks the end of the immediate encounter; he has altered his form to meet the threat and can now resume the journey in his normal shape. The spirits witness the demon’s death, placing the victory within the larger, supernatural scene of his flight.

The episode does more than remove an enemy from Hanuman’s path. It demonstrates that the journey demands attention to different kinds of danger: this obstacle is neither a battlefield formation nor a simple physical barrier, but a predator whose power first works through his shadow. Hanuman’s response depends on reading the restraint, recognizing the monster, and adapting his body to the moment. The encounter therefore presents progress as a sequence of tests in which force alone is not the answer; observation and controlled transformation make the passage possible.

Narrative Function

The action is organized around a clear reversal. Simhika initially controls the movement of the traveler by catching his shadow, and her attack seems to confirm that she has turned him into prey. Hanuman’s inspection of the sea and sky changes uncertainty into recognition; his deliberate shrinking then reverses the apparent balance of power. The danger is resolved not by denying that the monster can stop him, but by identifying how she has done so and answering with a form suited to escape and attack.

The episode also distinguishes warning from experience. Sugriva’s account has prepared Hanuman to recognize the threat, but recognition does not itself defeat her: he must still act when the shadow is held and the monster rises from the deep. The scene thus makes foreknowledge useful without making the encounter automatic. Simhika’s death closes this particular obstruction, while Hanuman’s restored stature leaves the larger flight intact. Her defeat is a local victory on the route, achieved through alertness and adaptability rather than through a drawn-out battle.