{{Use Indian English, date=December 2019
Thoranayudham (The Battle at the Entrance) is a
Kathakali
Kathakali ( ml, കഥകളി) is a major form of classical Indian dance. It is a "story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately colourful make-up and costumes of the traditional male actor-dancers. It is native to the M ...
play ( Aattakatha) authored by Kottarakara Thampuran in
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
. Based on the
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
, it narrates the events surrounding Hanuman's journey to Lanka in order to locate Seetha and convey to her the message from Rama. The actors detail the journey of Hanuman to Lanka by crossing the sea, followed by his encounter with the gatekeeper Lankalakshmy. This is followed by Ravana's entrance, and his entreaties to Sita which are of no avail. Hanuman meets Sita, delivers the message from Rama, and sets out to wreak havoc in Lanka by setting it on fire."Assignment Lanka" from "The Hindu", 23 March 2017 /ref>