Hanuman is an ardent devotee of Lord Rama and is a central character in the Ramayana . He also finds mentions in several other texts, including Mahabharata, the various Puranas and some Jain texts. A vanara Hanuman participated in Rama's war against the demon king Ravana. He is son of Lord Vayu and incarnation of Lord Shiva.
How did Hanuman get his name?. One legend is that Indra the King of the deities, struck Hanuman's jaw during his childhood. The child received his name from the Sanskrit words Hanu ("jaw") and -man (or -mant, "prominent" ). The name thus means "one with prominent ". Another theory says the name derives from the Sanskrit words Han ("killed" or "destroyed") and maana (pride); the name implies "one whose pride was destroyed". Some Jain texts mention that Hanuman spent his childhood on an island called Hanuruha, which is the origin of his name.
Linguistic variations of "Hanuman" include Hanumat, Anuman (Tamil), Anoman (Indonesian), Andoman (Malay) and Hunlaman (Lao). Other names of Hanuman include:Anjaneya, Maruti ("son of Marut") or Pavanputra ("son of Pavan"); these names derive from the various names of Vayu, the deity who carried Hanuman to Anjana's womb. Another name is Bajrang Bali, "the strong one (bali), who has limbs (anga) as hard as a vajra (bajra)"; this name is widely used in rural North India. Bajrang Bali also implies the "the strong one (bali), who is orange (Baj) or saffron colored.
His mother Anjana was an apsara who was born on earth as a female vanara due to a curse. She would be redeemed from this curse on her giving birth to a son. The Valmiki Ramayana states that his father Kesari was the son of Brihaspati and that Kesari also fought on Rama's side in the war against Ravana. Anjana and Kesari performed intense prayers to Shiva to get a child. Pleased with their devotion, Shiva granted them the boon they sought. Hanuman, in another interpretation, is the incarnation or reflection of Shiva himself.
Hanuman is often called the son of the deity Vayu; several different traditions account for the Vayu's role in Hanuman's birth. One story mentioned in Eknath's Bhavartha Ramayana (16th century CE) states that when Anjana was worshipping Shiva, King Dasaratha of Ayodhya was also performing the ritual of Putrakama yagna in order to have children. As a result, he received some sacred payasam to be shared by his three wives, leading to the births of Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna. By divine ordinance, a kite snatched a fragment of that pudding and dropped it while flying over the forest where Anjana was engaged in worship. Vayu, the deity of the wind, delivered the falling pudding to the outstretched hands of Anjana, who consumed it. Hanuman was born to her as a result.
According to one theory, Hanuman was born on 'Anjaneya Hill', in Hampi, located near the Risyamukha mountain on the banks of the Pampa, where Sugreeva and Rama are said to have met in Valmiki Ramayana's Kishkinda Kanda. There is a temple that marks the spot.
Anjan, a small village about 18 km away from Gumla, houses "Anjan Dham", which is said to be the birthplace of Hanuman. The name of the village is derived from the name of the goddess Anjani, the mother of Hanuman. Aanjani Guha , 4 km from the village, is believed to be the place where Anjani once lived. Many objects of archaeological importance obtained from this site are now held at the Patna Museum.
A cave in a hill near Gokarna, one of the oldest temple towns of India, is also said to be the birthplace of Hanuman.
As a child, believing the sun to be a ripe mango, Hanuman pursued it in order to eat it. Rahu, a Vedic planet , a cause for an eclipse, was at that time seeking out the sun as well, and he clashed with Hanuman. Hanuman thrashed Rahu and went to take sun in his abode. Rahu approached Indra, King of devas, and complained that a monkey child stopped him from taking on Sun, preventing the scheduled eclipse. This enraged Indra, who responded by throwing the Vajra (thunderbolt) at Hanuman, which struck his jaw. He fell back down to the earth and became unconscious. A permanent mark was left on his chin, due to impact of Vajra, explaining his name. Upset over the attack, Hanuman's father figure Vayu (the deity of air) went into seclusion, withdrawing all air along with him . As living beings began to asphyxiate, Indra withdrew the effect of his thunderbolt. The devas then revived Hanuman and blessed him with multiple boons to appease Vayu.
Brahma gave Hanuman a boon that would protect him from the irrevocable Brahma's curse. Brahma also said: "Nobody will be able to kill you with any weapon in war." From Brahma he obtained the power of inducing fear in enemies, of destroying fear in friends, to be able to change his form at will and to be able to easily travel wherever he wished. From Shiva he obtained the boons of longevity, scriptural wisdom and ability to cross the ocean. Shiva assured safety of Hanuman with a band that would protect him for life. Indra blessed him that the Vajra weapon will no longer be effective on him and his body would become stronger than Vajra. Varuna blessed baby Hanuman with a boon that he would always be protected from water. Agni blessed him with immunity to burning by fire. Surya gave him two siddhis of yoga namely "laghima" and "garima", to be able to attain the smallest or to attain the biggest form. Yama, the God of Death blessed him healthy life and free from his weapon danda, thus death would not come to him. Kubera showered his blessings declaring that Hanuman would always remain happy and contented. Vishwakarma blessed him that Hanuman would be protected from all his creations in the form of objects or weapons. Vayu also blessed him with more speed than he himself had. Kamdev also blessed him that the sex will not be effective on him.So his name is also Bal Bramhchari.
On ascertaining Surya to be an all-knowing teacher, Hanuman raised his body into an orbit around the sun and requested to Surya to accept him as a student. Surya refused and explained claiming that he always had to be on the move in his chariot, it would be impossible for Hanuman to learn well. Undeterred, Hanuman enlarged his form, with one leg on the eastern ranges and the other on the western ranges, and facing Surya again pleaded. Pleased by his persistence, Surya agreed. Hanuman then learned all of the latter's knowledge. When Hanuman requested Surya to quote his "guru-dakshina" (teacher's fee), the latter refused, saying that the pleasure of teaching one as dedicated as him was the fee in itself. Hanuman insisted, whereupon Surya asked him to help his (Surya's) spiritual son Sugriva. Hanuman's choice of Surya as his teacher is said to signify Surya as a Karma Saakshi, an eternal witness of all deeds. Hanuman later became Sugriva's minister .
Hanuman was mischievous in his childhood, and sometimes teased the meditating sages in the forests by snatching their personal belongings and by disturbing their well-arranged articles of worship. Finding his antics unbearable, but realizing that Hanuman was but a child, (albeit invincible), the sages placed a mild curse on him by which he became unable to remember his own ability unless reminded by another person. The curse is highlighted in Kishkindha Kanda and Sundara Kanda, when Jambavan reminds Hanuman of his abilities and encourages him to go and find Sita.
P P R
11-02-2013
Hanuman--Part Two on 18--02--2013
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