4The Hanumayana

Forty Tales of Hanuman

My research into the lore of Hanuman has yielded too many storiesand variants to include all of them in this book. In this chapter, Ioffer synopses of a representative sample of tales that recur withonly minor variation in multiple sources. However, since recentpopular literature continues to display diversity, I occasionally in-clude an anomalous storyfound in only one or two sources, or anold story that is less well known todaysimply because I nd it in-teresting or striking, or because it illuminates themes that surfaceelsewhere in Hanumans cult (additional tales of this sort will befound in chapter 5). Such stories may reect regional traditionsthat enjoy local popularity or may simply show the creativity of in-dividual storytellersindicative of the license that devotees stillfeel comfortable taking with a beloved and not-yet-too-dignied god.Because my sample is limited and there is hardly a story aboutHanuman that does not admit of variations, I apologize in advanceto readers who may nd that (in their view) there are errors inthese pages or, perhaps worse, that one of their favorite tales hasbeen left out.

Accounts of Hanumans life nearly always include a retellingof the Rama story. Since this lengthy tale is already widely avail-able in English versions, I assume some familiarity with it on thepart of my readers, and merely summarize its narrative in italicizedpassages set in brackets. As in my source collections, the empha-sis here is on those parts of the story that directly concern Hanumanor that signicantly expand his role beyond what is described inthe standard Rama narrative. The whole of my offering is morecomprehensive than any of my sources and translates no single

one of them, although it attempts to convey something of their tone andoccasionally features excerpts from their dialog.

Since I offer, in many cases, more than one version of a story, I have or-dered the narrative into chronological and thematic sets, which I have num-bered sequentially (happily, the total came to the Hanumanically signicantforty); within each numbered set, individual tales are assigned letters in al-phabetical order (1.a, 1.b, etc.). Chapter 5 is arranged according to the samenumbering scheme and comprises a set of extended notes on the tales. Tosave space in the notes, each Hindi and English primary source is referencedby a code (H1, H2, etc.), the key to which is found at the beginning of thebibliography. I have settled on this two-chapter format because of what Iperceive to be the charm of the stories and because I do not want readers whoare not academically inclined to have to leap over oceans of analysis or be lostin forests of footnotes just to get to the next tale. To make it easy to move backand forth between the stories and their notes, page numbers referencing the

gure 4.1. A late-twentieth-century poster celebrates Hanumans acts

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latter appear in brackets following the titles. I apologize for any inconveniencecaused to scholarly readers by my approach, which permits me to preserve, inthis chapter, something of the look as well as the feel of a Hindi compendiumof Hanumans caritra, which I hope that at least some readers may savor, asI do. And now, to the tales!

[Synopsis 1: The demonic king Ravana and his brothers terrorize the universe,dethroning gods and persecuting and killing sages. Oppressed by their excesses, Earthappeals to the creator, Brahma, for relief. Pointing out a loophole in the demonsboon of limited immortality, Brahma prophesies the birth of Vishnu as the humanprince Rama, who will be Ravanas slayer. He then commands the other gods todescend to the southern mountains and be born to monkey-women, in order to spawna fantastic cohort of warriors who will assist in Ramas task.]

1. Prologue: Causes of Hanumans Birth [see notes on page 177]

(a) Atop Mount Kailash, Lord Shiva emerges from meditation and repeatsthe mantra Rama. His wife, Sati, asks why he, the supreme Lord, is repeatingthe name of another god. Shiva replies that Rama is both the designationof the ultimate reality as well as the name of an earthly prince and avatara ofVishnu. Declaring the embodied Rama to be his own chosen deity, Shiva an-nounces his intention to incarnate on earth in order to serve him. When Satiprotests that she will miss him, Shiva promises to send only a portion ofhimself and hence to remain with her on Kailash. The two then discuss theproblem of what form Shiva should take; if he assumes human shape, it willviolate the dharma of service, for the servant should be lower than the master.Shiva nally decides on monkey form because it is humble and has simpleneeds and lifestyle: no shelter, no cooked food, and no observance of the rules ofcaste and stage of life. This will allow maximum scope for service.

(b) Although Parvati is initially shocked by Shivas choice of incarnatevehicle (Why not take birth as something nice? she asks), Shiva convincesher that the monkey form is ideal for avoiding the allurements of maya (maya),cosmic illusion. Parvati then asks to accompany Shiva to earth and volunteersto become his tail, for the wife is the ornament of her husband, as the tail isof a monkey. Shiva agrees to this request. This is why Hanumans tail is sobeautiful and so imbued with shaktithe power of the goddess.

(c) Parvati asks Shiva how, as Hanuman, he can ght Ravana, sinceRavana is known to be his own fervent devotee. Shiva replies that whenRavana propitiated him to obtain boons, he cut off his heads one by one andoffered them into a sacricial re. However, Shiva has eleven ferociousRudra manifestations, and since Ravana had only ten heads, the eleventhRudra remained unsatised by his offering. This eleventh Rudra will incar-nate as Hanuman and be instrumental in bringing about Ravanas death.

(d) Ravana and his gargantuan brother Kumbhakarna are incarnationsof two of Shivas devoted attendants; hence he is obliged to protect them.

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However, once they obtain power through austerities and boons, they becomearrogant and oppress even the gods. Eventually they anger Shiva by im-prisoning two of his favorite servants: Mahakala, the Lord of Death, and Shani,the planet Saturn. For this reason, Shiva heeds the gods plea that he in-carnate on earth as Hanuman in order to help destroy the arrogant rakshasabrothers.

(e) Nandi, Shivas bull, is an embodiment of his eleventh Rudra-manifestation. During Ravanas campaign of universal conquest, he attackseven Mount Kailash, where he encounters Nandi. Although himself devotedto Shiva, Ravana cannot resist making fun of Nandis animal shape and laugh-ingly remarks that his face resembles that of a monkey. In anger at this insult,Nandi curses Ravana to eventually die through the intervention of monkey-faced beings. Later, he requests of Shiva the boon of expressing his devotionthrough the lowly monkey form, and incarnates on earth as Hanuman, the bullamong monkeys.

(f) In the Svayambhuva eon at the beginning of creation, a sage namedShilada does penance to please Shiva and requests the boon of having ason like him. Accordingly, Shivas eleventh Rudra manifestation is born asShiladas son, Nandi. Nandi in turn performs penance and obtains the boonof being Shivas devotee in the lowly form of a monkey.

(g) The wind god, Vayu, assists Shiva in slaying the demon Jalandhara.Shiva offers him a boon, and Vayu requests that Shiva be born on earth as hisown son, to which Shiva consents.

(h) Vishnu realizes that he will need the help of his own favorite deity,Shiva, in order to slay Ravana. He propitiates Shiva with hymns of praise andan offering of thousand-petaled red lotuses. Shiva appears and informs himthat he has already given the monkey-woman Anjana the boon that he willbe born as her son. Now he adds that this son will become Vishnus helper inthe war with Ravana. Shiva adds, Of course, Ravana is also my devotee, but inthe excess of his power he has forgotten right and wrong. Vishnu is delightedand readies himself for his incarnation as Rama.

2. Anjanas Pregnancy [see notes on page 178]

(a) A heavenly nymph named Punjikasthala is capricious and naughty; shemakes fun of a sage, who curses her to be born on earth as Anjana, thedaughter of the monkey ruler Kunjara. Later he takes pity on her and softensthe curse so that, although in ugly and inauspicious monkey form, she willhave the ability to change her appearance at will. When she grows up, Anjanais married to another monkey ruler, Kesari, who dwells on Mount Gokarna.She longs for a son. One day, in the prime of her youth, she assumes a lovelyhuman form and, wearing beautiful garments and ornaments, wanders on thesummit of a mountain. The wind god sees her and gently blows aside hergarments. Beholding her breasts and thighs, he is overcome with desire and

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embraces her, remaining invisible to earthly eyes. But Anjana knows thatsomeone has touched her and cries out in alarm, Who wishes me to breakmy vow as a faithful wife? The wind replies that he has no wish to harmher but has united with her inwardly and that she will bear a wise andmighty son. Anjana is delighted and repairs to a cave, where she gives birthto Hanuman.

(b) A heavenly maiden named Anjana mocks Indra for having a thou-sand eyes. He curses her to be born on earth with a monkey face. Her girl-friend, Adrika, likewise annoys Indra by meowing like a cat, and is similarlycursed, except that her face resembles that of a cat. Both are born amongmonkeys, remain friends, and marry the monkey ruler Kesari. In the courseof time, they please the sage Agastya with acts of service, and he grants themeach the boon of having a son. While playing in the woods one day, scantilyclad, the two women are seen by supernatural beings who fall in love withthem and enter their bodies. Anjana is raped by the wind, and Adrika by arakshasa named Nirrti. In due course, Anjana gives birth to Hanuman, andher friend to a being named Adri or Ghora (terrible), who is destined tobecome the king of ghosts. The sons, being divine, grow up quickly, and theirsupernatural fathers advise them to take their mothers on a pilgrimage to theGodavari River. Hanuman bathes his mother at the place known as A~nnjanatrtha, and Adri bathes his mother at Marjar trtha (cat ford); both womenobtain release from Indras curse and regain their heavenly forms.

(c) Anjana is the daughter of sage Gautama and his wife, Ahalya. Thelatter, in her husbands absence, is seduced by Indra, who is enamored of herbeauty and who also seeks to reduce the accumulated power of her husbandsausterities. Indra takes Gautamas form for this purpose, but the sage returnsto discover the amorous couple and angrily curses them both. Ahalya believesthat her daughter reported her indiscretion and so curses Anjana to givebirth to a monkey. Anjana decides to forswear marriage and to perform aus-terities to overcome the curse. Standing on one leg, she becomes so absorbedin meditation that an anthill grows around her. Vayu, the wind, takes pity onher and feeds her once a week through a hole in the anthill. Meanwhile, Shivaand Parvati visit the forest for amorous play, taking the form of animals ofvarious species. While they are both in monkey form, Shiva ejaculates, andParvati cannot bear the intensity of his ery semen. Vayu picks it up and carriesit to Anjana. Three months later, Hanuman emerges from her mouth in theform of a baby monkey.

(d) Kesari is a powerful monkey ruler who lives on a moun-tain in the South. He slays a demon named Sambasadana, who was tor-menting the sages of the coastal forest of Gokarna, and they reward him witha boon. Childless despite his marriage to the beautiful monkey princess An-jana, Kesari requests a powerful son. The sages teach him the Shiva mantraand advise him to repeat it. As a result, Shiva is pleased and enters into him inhis Rudra form; the wind god Vayu enters him as well. Kesari then uniteswith Anjana, and she becomes pregnant.

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