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HINDU GOD - HANUMAM

THE MONKEY GOD

Hanuman is one of the most popular deities amongst Hindus and is seen in temples throughout India. His picture, often with Rama and Sita, can be found in almost every Hindu home. He is considered to be the god of power and strength and as such is the most favored deity of wrestlers and especially venerated by princes and warriors.

Hanuman is the son of Vayu, the lord of winds, and Anjana, his consort. He is described in the Ramayan, the Mahabharat and Agni Puran as having a short thick neck, a round monkey-face as red as a ruby, yellow skin glowing like moltan gold, sharp white fangs, a mane like flowers, a tail like a banner of interminable length, and the ability to expand until he is as large as a mountain or to contract until he is as small as a fly. He has a roar like thunder, leaps into the air and flies among the clouds with a rushing noise.

Hanuman remained celibate his entire life and is known as the greatest devotee of the god Rama, who loved him the best. His devotion to Rama and Sita was so great that once he tore open his chest with his claws to show that images of Rama and his wife were engraved upon his heart. He is famous for helping Rama destroy Ravana, the ten-headed demon king, and for organizing the building of a bridge from India to Ceylon (Sri Lanka).


Hanuman - Monkey God
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There are many interesting myths surrounding this god. When quite young, he saw the rising sun and thought it to be a ripe fruit. He therefore jumped up to it and put the sun in his mouth. The other gods and goddesses feared that the world would perish without the sun and prevailed upon him to spit it out. When Hanuman was only ten years old he could lift the hills twenty miles in circumference and throw these about as if they were stones.

On another occasion while riding along in the sun one day, Hanuman's shadow fell on the sea. It was seized by a female sea monster named Surasa, a near relative of the demon-king Ravana, who, in a preemptive effort to save her cousin from harm, used it to drag Hanuman down into the waves and swallowed his body whole. Trying to escape, Hanuman increased his monkey shape to enormous proportions; the demoness responded by immediately stretching her mouth until it was a hundred leagues wide. Suddenly Hanuman reduced himself to a small size. While the monster hesitated in surprise, Hanuman cunningly slipped out of her right ear and made his escape.

Variants: Hanumat, Pavan-Sut.

The burden of all difficult tasks of the world become light
with your kind grace.

Tulsidas, Hanuman Chalisa


 

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