Hanuman

The monkey god

Hanuman

Hanuman is depicted as a deity with monkey like face and body of a man. Hanuman exemplifies supreme devotion to Lord Rama (incarnation of Vishnu). He is known to be the greatest devotee ever born on earth as it was unconditional devotion just pure love. Even today its a belief that if the sacred name and story of lord Rama is chanted or mentioned (recitation of Ramayana), Hanuman would be present there to the chanting of his name and absorbed in his thoughts. Hence during readings of Ramayana, a special space and pooja are reserved for Hanuman. Hanuman is known for his superhuman strength, wits, character and ability.

Hanuman symbolically stands for pure devotion, complete surrender, and absence of ego. His character tells us what we can do in our lives by devotion , aligning our self with the forces of good, helping the weak, with self control, total surrender and unconditional faith. Hanuman is also been considered as the seventh deliberate decent of lord Shiva to earth. Hanuman can be seen as the master of his senses and wonderfully sagacious.

 

Story of birth: Hanuman was born to vanaras (a sub species which looked like monkey but had human traits as well). His mother was Anjana an apsara (celestial being) born on earth due to a curse. His father Kesari was the son of Brihaspati (guru of devas) and was the king of the place called Sumeru. Anjana performed intense prayers lasting twelve long years to lord Shiva to get a child. Pleased with her devotion Shiva granted the boon they sought. He is also known as son of Vayu (wind god).

Hanuman's main weapon of choice was gada ( a blunt mace or club). Its essentially has a spherical head mounted on a shaft, with spike on the top. Hanuman is believed to be immortal, thus, although he is a principal figure in the great epic Ramayana, he also makes an appearance in the epic Mahabharata, where he meets and tests the hero Bhima.