The Sundarkand is the fifth of the seven kands of Goswami Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas, and follows Hanuman across the ocean to Lanka in search of Sita. Written in Awadhi, it opens with three Sanskrit shlokas, the third saluting Hanuman as the home of matchless strength, and runs in chaupai and doha to its sixtieth doha. Sage Valmiki's Ramayana gives the same name to its own fifth book, the Sundara Kanda, which tells of Hanuman's journey across sixty-eight sargas.
The kand begins as Hanuman, stirred by Jambavan's words, leaps from the shore, and on the way meets Surasa, the mother of serpents, whom the gods send to test him. In Lanka he meets Vibhishana, finds Sita in the Ashoka grove and gives her Rama's ring, engraved with Rama's name. Letting himself be bound out of respect for Brahma's weapon, he is brought before Ravana, sets the city ablaze when his tail is set alight, and returns with Sita's chudamani for Rama. In its last part Vibhishana takes refuge with Rama, and the ocean tells Rama how Nala and Nila can bridge it.
The Sundarkand is recited on its own as a complete path, on Tuesdays and Saturdays above all, the days kept for Hanuman, and its recitation is held at Hanuman temples. Of the Hanuman temples in this collection, Sankat Mochan at Varanasi is held by tradition to have been founded by Goswami Tulsidas himself. At Hanuman Garhi in Ayodhya, Hanuman is worshipped as the guardian of Rama's city, and pilgrims seek his blessing as they arrive.