Everything you need to know about Lord Hanuman
Hanuman is Lord Rama’s most well-known lover and disciple. He is thought to be the manifestation of Lord Shiva. Lord Hanuman’s shraddha (devotion) to Sri Rama was unequivocal and devoid of any sense of self-interest. Hanuman, the protagonist of the epic Ramayana, has been characterized as having great strength, superior intelligence, and the loyalty of an ally who would carry a hill and give his life to serve his master.
Here are some interesting facts about Lord Hanuman, who is a figure not just in Hinduism but also in Jainism and Buddhism.
1. An embodiment of Lord Shiva
Hanuman is a manifestation of Lord Shiva, as stated in the Shiva Purana. Lord Shiva made the decision to assume the shape of Hanuman and accompany Rama on his trip when it was decreed that Lord Vishnu would take birth as Rama in the mortal world in order to destroy Ravana. Why? because Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva are thought to complete one another’s existence. They collaborate in many forms and are the divine manifestation of the same cosmic force. As a result, Lord Vishnu (in the form of Mohini) awakened Lord Shiva, resulting in the birth of Hanuman, who subsequently aided Rama (a manifestation of Lord Vishnu) in his search for Sita.
2. A cursed heavenly fairy gave birth to her
It is said that Punjikasthala, a cursed heavenly fairy, is the mother of Hanuman, Devi Anjana. She was cursed by a sage to become a monkey princess because of her immature behavior. According to legend, her curse wouldn’t be lifted until she gave birth to Lord Shiva’s incarnation. Hanuman, the celestial kid, was born when Anjana wed monkey lord Kesari. Hanuman was given the names Anjaneya and Kesari Nandan since he was Anjana and Kesari’s son. According to legend, Vayu Deva, the wind deity, also had a significant influence on Hanuman’s conception, which is why Hanuman is also known as Vayuputra.
3. Jaw deformed: Hanuman
Disfigured Jaw is how Hanuman is known in Sanskrit, where Hanu is the word for “jaw” and Man is the word for “disfigured.” After the event involving the Sun and Lord Indra, he was given this name. One time, Hanuman thought the sun was his fruit and tried to devour it. Anjaneya was injured and had a dent formed in his jaw when Indra sought to stop him from swallowing the Sun by hitting him with his weapon, the Vajrayudha when he observed this. Because of this, Anjaneya became known as “Hanuman,” a person with a deformed jaw, ever since the tragedy.
4. Invincible Hanuman
After being assaulted by Indra, Hanuman was badly damaged and unresponsive (continuing from the incident of Disfigured Jaw). After becoming furious at seeing his son’s condition, Vayu (Wind God) stopped the flow of wind across the three realms of the earth, causing everyone to suffer from shortness of breath. Most gods visited the location after observing this and begged the Wind God to fulfill his obligation. Indra was forced to apologize for his error by Lord Brahma, who also brought Hanuman back from the dead. Then, all of the principal gods granted Hanuman a number of boons, one of which was the boon of immortality, meaning that he would only die of his own free will.
5. Cursed to lose his influence
Even after his jaw-crushing mishap, naughty Hanuman kept up his juvenile behavior. Sooner or later, he would engage in amusing to slightly harmful antics. Hanuman was disturbed by Matang Muni, a guru, who became enraged and angry and cursed him to forget all of his divine abilities until and until someone reminds him of them.
6. Sri Rama’s death penalty
The famous sages and academics once attended several ceremonies at Sri Rama’s palace. Hanuman ultimately greeted every guru besides Vishwamitra after being persuaded by Narada Muni to do so. Vishwamitra became enraged after being provoked by Narada Muni and pleaded with Sri Rama to execute Hanuman for disobeying him. Vishwamitra could not disobey Rama’s directives because he was his guru (teacher).
The next day, Rama throws arrows at Hanuman in the field in an attempt to kill him, but shockingly none of them are successful. Hanuman sang “Sri Rama,” Rama’s Name, nonstop. Upon observing this, Narada admitted to his crime and said he did it to show the world that the name “Rama” had greater power than Rama himself.
7. Ishvara Hanuman
Hanuman once inquired about Mata Sita’s sindoor on her forehead out of curiosity (red color). Sita said, “Using sindoor extends the life of my husband and your lord.” This had a big impact on Hanuman. He also put sindoor all over his body for his lord’s long and happy life because of his unfathomable love for Rama. As a result, Sindoor is usually applied to Hanuman statues.
8. God Bramhachari who has a son
Despite being single (Bramhachari), Hanuman had a son named Makardhwaja who was conceived from a fish. There are several stories that explain Makardhwaja’s birth. The most well-known version, however, claims that after destroying Lanka, Hanuman cooled down in the water. Because of the intense heat, some of his sweat droplets accidentally impregnated a large fish that resembled a reptile. Makardhwaja, the King of Patal (the underground kingdom), has fascinating tales of how he came to be in charge of a realm.
9. Hanuman and Bhima from the Mahabharata interact
Before the Mahabharata battle, Hanuman from the Ramayana era met Bhima in an intriguing encounter, as is recorded in the epic. On Draupadi’s suggestion, Bhima once set out in pursuit of the heavenly flower Saugandhika. Bhima came upon a resting monkey on a tree whose tail was in the way of the path. Bhima attempted to frighten the monkey away from his path by shouting at him to get out of the way but failed.
Hanuman gave Bhima his word that he would support him in battle by promising that “my voice will join yours when you roar on the battlefield, which will scare your opponents.”
10. Yamaraj couldn’t kill Rama because Hanuman forbade it
Rama asked Yamaraj, the king of death, to end his life when he understood it was time for him to leave his mortal body. He also understood that Hanuman wouldn’t let Rama leave his physical form, so he gave Hanuman the assignment to locate Rama’s lost ring in Patal Lok (subterranean realm). Hanuman encountered Vasuki (King of Serpents) while looking for the ring and asked him for help. Then Vasuki sent him in the direction of the Rings Mountain.