hanuman

Hanuman: The Power-Dispensing Monkey in North Indian Folk ReligionAuthor(s): Leonard T. WolcottSource: The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Aug., 1978), pp. 653-661Published by: Association for Asian StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2054368 .Accessed: 17/12/2014 03:18

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VOL. xxxvii, NO. 4 JOURNAL OF ASIAN STUDIES AUGUST I978

Hanuman: The Power-Dispensing Monkey in North Indian Folk Religion

LEONARD T. WOLCOTT

ANUMAN, the ancient monkey-divinity of India: for many, he represents the force of life in man's struggle to exist. He is most famous for his devotion

to the god-king Rama, and for his exploits as leader of the monkey army that helped save Rama's princess from the demon-king of Lafika. Yet in the Bhojpuri-speaking area of western Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, Hanuman is a god of great importance in his own right. There he is worshiped as the epitome of strength and vitality; popular legends associate him not so much with the self-restrained Rama as with Siva, possessor of creative and destructive energy.

Hanuman is well known throughout India-rural and urban, north and south. He appears in much Sanskrit and vernacular dramatic literature, and in epic poems; he is the central hero of many folk stories, and a popular subject of village plays and dances. His likeness in stone and wood adorns many shrines. Brightly colored pictures of him are hawked in city streets and pasted to the walls of homes and shops. In his honor, monkeys are fed in the precincts of many temples. Whether as Hanuman or as Mahavira ("Great Hero") he is known to almost every Hindu-chil- dren and adults, literate and illiterate alike.

The importance of Hanuman, and the sacredness of monkeys in India, is gener- ally attributed to the role he plays, together with his monkey army, in the epic Ra-mayyana Best known in northern and middle India through the vernacular version written in the late sixteenth century by the poet-saint Tulsi Das, the story is loved and treasured, read, listened to, memorized, and quoted by millions of people who speak some dialect or another within the Hindi language area. Most Hindu men, regardless of caste, education, religious practices, or political views, can recite considerable portions of it. In the Bhojpuri-language area, mention of the Raimayana is enough to start a man singing some of its verses; and the most frequently recited passages are those referring to Hanuman.

Although there are many versions of the Ramayana current throughout India, they are all based on the original Sanskrit epic composed by Valmiki, who probably lived in the first or second century B.C. In that version, the monkey-hero was given an unquestioned position of importance as the ally of Prince Rama in the battle against Ravan, the kidnapper of Rama's chaste and beautiful wife Sita. In the en- suing centuries, as a result of interpolations in the Valmiki epic and of later versions

Leonard T. Wolcott is Professor of Church and World Mission at Scarritt College in Nashville, Tennessee.

The original version of this paper was presented at the International Congress of Orientalists in

i968; the author wishes to acknowledge the com- ments made at that time by the late W. Norman Brown. The editors thank Susan S. Wadley for her help in preparing the manuscript for publication.

653


654 LEONARD T. WOLCOTT in many vernaculars, Prince Rama came to be interpreted as an incarnation of the god Visnu, receiving obedient service from the lesser hero Hanuman.

Tulsi Das, in his Hindi version, followed the interpretation that had been devel- oped in two popular pieces of literature, the Hanumacna Nataka, an eleventh-century Sanskrit drama, and the Adhya-tma Ra-ma-yana, composed in Sanskrit about I300 A.D.' The Tulsi Das version has, in turn, affected nearly four centuries of subsequent writers and artists. Its ideal of society and its deeply earnest devotional religion have permeated the structure of north Indian civilization.

Tulsi Das's version, called the Racmacaritama-nasa (but most commonly referred to simply as Ra-ma-yana), contains glowing accounts of Hanuman's exploits, but it always pictures the monkey as a devoted servant of Rama, motivated and empow- ered by the fixity of his love for Rama. Tulsi Das is at great pains to refer every action of Hanuman's to the latter's adoration of Rama; he assiduously-almost ex- cessively-makes the point that Hanuman's importance lies only in his relationship to Rama, and that whatever exploits he accomplished were possible by Rama's power.2 For example, a female crocodile is saved by looking on Hanuman;3 this hap- pens, however, only because Hanuman is a devotee of Rama.

The long poem is filled with illustrations of reverential relationships. Never- theless, reverence to Hanuman is seldom indicated. Tulsi Das himself, at the beginning of his long poem, offers reverence to Hanuman because in Hanuman's heart Rama makes his home. In the very next passage, however, the poet pays reverence to other heroes because they too are devotees of Rama: Sugriva the monkey-king; Jarhbavan the bear-king; Vibhisana, a demon-prince; and Anigada, a monkey- prince. The reason for any reverence to Hanuman is made clear in the seventh and final book of the Tulsi Das Ra-ma-yana: Bharat, half-brother of Rama, says: "Mon- key, at the sight of you all my sorrows have passed away, for today I have met in you my beloved Rama!"4

The most prominent characteristic of the Tulsi Das Racma-yaina is its exposition and praise of bhakti, "adoring devotion." The author sought to stabilize human insti- tutions through his presentation of an ideal hierarchical pattern of socio-religious duties maintained by the spirit of bhakti to Rama. This meant faithfulness in caste observance, respect for Brahmans, subservience of wives to husbands, and loyalty of disciples to their religious teachers. It also meant a benevolent attitude on the part of upper castes toward lower, of Brahmans to non-Brahmans, of husbands to wives, of religious teachers to their disciples. Thus was maintained the vertical axis of relationships of all sentient beings to the absolute brahman. In this system, bhakti observance kept the universe in balance. It not only assured personal salvation; it de- stroyed irreligion-the source of human upheaval and suffering. It was Tulsi Das's habit to take popular characters of mythology and to emphasize, in his account of

1 Dates according to J. N. Farquhar, An Outline of the Religious Literature of India (London: Oxford Univ. Press, I92o; reprinted Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, I967), p. 38I.

2 Ramayana of Tulsi Das (Tulsikrt Ramacarita- manasa), V c33, d33. References will give ro- man figures for book numbers. The stanza forms in this Rama-yana-doha (couplet) interspersed with caupa-t (quatrains) and occasional meters called chanda and soratha -will be indicated by "d," "c," "ch," and "s" together with an arabic figure to indicate sequence position. The Hindi text used for

most references is the Gorakhpur text (Gita Press), the most popular printed form. Trans- lations in English, when not by the writer, are quoted from W. D. P. Hill, who used the Gita Press text for his translation entitled The Holy Lake of the Acts of Rama (Calcutta: Oxford Univ. Press, I952).

3 VI d57-c58. 4 VII C2; Hill trans.; the Gorakhpur text reads:

"Kapitav daras sakal dukh bite / mile aju mohi Ram pirite. "


THE POWER-DISPENSING MONKEY 655

them, their bhakti relationship to Rama. By so doing, he hoped to direct the reader's and listener's attention toward Rama-bhakti, the adoration of Rama.

Hanuman, in the Tulsi Das Racmaiyaina, became an illustration of perfect Rama- bhakti. He is introduced in the fourth book as the ambassador of Sugriva, the king of the monkey realm. In this scene, Hanuman meets Prince Rama and his half- brother Laksman (Bhojpuri: Lachiman).5 Trembling with joy, he falls at Rama's feet;6 and he is ever after a Rima-bhakta, a suppliant of Rama. Thus, he comes under Rama's protection.7 At his very introduction into the Tulsi Das version, then, Hanuman becomes an example of bhakti; the occasion is used to teach the meaning of bhakti-to stress constant and affectionate attachment to the adored Lord: "He who with undivided and unhesitating intent, Hanuman, knows that he is servant of the Lord, the master whose form is all animate and inanimate things. "8

Following the interpretation of the Ra-macaritama-nasa and its widely acknowl- edged authority in north Indian religious practice, it appears that Hanuma-n is a popular figure because of his place in the Ra-ma-yana , and that his significance derives from the fact that he is a bhakta (a religious server) of Rama. But these conclusions do not square with folk religion and stories, or with popular use of the epic poem. For example, in the Racmacyana, Hanuman's bhakti is expressed in passionate and thrilling terms;9 however, it is referred to only a third as many times as is that of Bharat (a half-brother to Rama) and Sita (Rama's wife), and much less frequently than that of the devoted half-brother Laksman. These three are the leading ex- emplars of bhakti to Rama, according to Tulsi Das. Nevertheless, they are not quoted nor sung about among the masses who recite the Ra-macyagna; only Hanuman receives such attention. Unlike them, Hanuman has a firmly fixed folkloric position, even apart from his role in the Racma-yana.

The folklore and attitudes of the Bhojpuri-speaking people of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh reveal more deeply underlying reasons for Hanuman's importance. To be sure, when asked why Hanuman is revered, the first explanation usually given is that "he was a bhakta of Bhagvan [a devotee of the Lord]," or "because he helped Rama." Occasionally the additional explanation is given that "through the worship of Hanuman one worships Bhagvan [the Lord]," or that "Hanuman is a doorway to God." A few give the explanation that Rama took care of Hanuman'0 and that "through our worship of Hanuman, Rama will thereby have to take care of us, too." Not a few call Hanuman himself Bhaggvan. In their minds, Rama is associated with the dim, inconceivable reality of brahman, and hence of no immediate importance to their everyday lives.1"

The general attitude toward Hanuman indicates that he is more than simply one

5 IV CI. 6 IV C2. 7 IV C3. 8 IV d3. 9 E.g., IV C2, c4; V d32, c33; VI ch32, di i8. 10 "Ram Hanuman ke palnevale the . . . " 11 These statements are taken from the conver-

sations and responses of people whose native dialect is the BhojpurI spoken in the extreme western part of Bihar (including Chapra and northwards to the north side of the Saraju (Gogra) River; Shaha- bad District; the vicinities of Arrah, Buxar, Bhoj- pur, to a bit south of the Son River) and the eastern tip of U.P. (Ballia District). Udai Narain Te- wari (The Origin and Development of Bhojpuri,

[Calcutta: Asiatic Society, I 960] designates this dialect Standard South Bhojpuri.

It was among the people of this area-upwards of 30 million people who live near the heartland of Hindu culture-and among Bhojpuri migrant workers in the industrial centers of Kanpur and Calcutta, that I received my greatest acquaintance with Hanuman folklore. Over a period of 5 years, I shared their interest in the Rama-yana of Tulsi Das, observed their religous practices, and listened to their stories about the Ra-mayana characters. My contacts were with people from a variety of backgrounds-illiterates to holders of university degrees, Brahman pandits to Harijans (sweepers), laborers, and craftsmen.


656 LEONARD T. WOLCOTT of many personalities in the Ra-ma-yagna. In the Bhojpuri area, -he is the frequent subject of worship and song, unlike the other devotees of Rama, and even Rama himself. Pictures of him are sold in great quantities and are seen in houses, in places of work and of business. Rama's picture is seldom found except in scenes of which Hanuman is the central figure; a popular print shows Hanuman as the dominant figure, carrying Rama and Laksman on his shoulders.12

Shrines to Hanuman are common: groves, stones, even well-platforms-among other places-may be held sacred to him. Sometimes his figure appears on a shrine (thaikurvari) of Rama and Sita, usually represented as a slim monkey lying at their feet with his tail encircling them. More often he appears in a Siva shrine (iva/laya) as a thick, crudely blocked red monkey.13 Often the red monkey appears alone in his sacred spots. Shrines to Hanuman greatly outnumber those to Rama and Sita. (More of these latter have been built in recent years, but they are often the gifts of benefactors rather than expressions of folk interest.) Before Hanuman's image are placed seeds and flowers, or his favorite food, the sweet called rot.14 Saturday- some say Tuesday-is his day, but worshipers may at any time be seen rubbing his image with oil, with vermilion (inigur), or with red ochre (sindur). Both the oil and the color red are said to be pleasing to him. The color of his strong body is likened to vermilion-colored stones which are considered effective for crushing giants. Dur- ing worship of him, these associations are enumerated in verses that describe his beauty and valor.

Hanuman is important as a protector. Verses about him are repeated at the beginning of each day and at the beginning of each enterprise. Small pamphlets called Hanumacn-Caclisac, "Forty Verses about Hanuman," drawn from the Ra-ma-yaina, are used as prayer books and as talismans. Powerful verses (mantra) invoking the name of Hanuman, the red-bodied hero, are used to exorcise demons or to gain power over enemies. Many songs of praise that refer to Rama and Sita in fact have Hanuman as the center of attention. A typical hymn (sung antiphonally by celebrants) praises Hanuman and mentions Rama only obliquely, in calling Hanuman the son of Afijani, devotee of Rama. The song recounts adventures in which Hanuman overcomes great dangers by his might and cleverness. Called by his title Mahavir-ji ("Great Hero"), Hanuman is especially important to men. Many wear his image around their necks as a protective medallion. They tell stories about his extraordinary strength and repeat verses praising his name.15

Virility, human passion, and fertility are the most common themes of the ordi- nary folk stories. Just as the Bhojpuri dialect varies from one group of villages to another, so does the vocabulary of the folk stories. Good storytellers are numerous (although their number is declining with the growth of universal education). Since folktales are common property, listeners often break in with corrections or details to add to the storyteller's narration. The narratives are elaborated and dramatic ac-

12 IV C4. 13 Where Hanuman's grotesque image is found

in connection with the Siva-linga, the phallic symbol of Siva, it is not as the lesser gatekeeper (dvdrpal); Ganesa, the elephant-headed god, son of Siva, holds that position. Rather, Hanuman's image is to the side-often to the right, balancing the image of KTli (the Kili-muzrti), which is to the left of the linga.

1 Rot is made of white flour and unrefined cane sugar (gud), mixed in the hands with water and made into a ball that is fried in clarified butter (ghi), then broken into small pieces.

15 One of the common repetitions is: "Jai Mahnvira ji / Jai Bajarah gbali / Jai Hanuman" (Praise to the Great Hero. Praise to the Powerfully Stalwart, Strong One. Praise to Hanuman.).



counts of characters known from the Ra-mayyana. Sometimes they are embroidered retellings of episodes from the Tulsi Das Raim ayaina; often, however, they are tales found in neither the Tulsi Das nor the Valmiki versions of the epic. There are many stories about the sage Narada, who is sometimes painted as a wise old fool, a saint who often appears as a lustful, gossipy, mischief-making holy man. More popular than stories about Rama's longsuffering wife Sita are the many stories about Siva's consort Parvati, with emphasis on her passion-inspiring beauty, or on her dutiful- ness to her husband. There are other folktales about the demon king, Ravan.

The most popular stories, however, are about Hanuman. These stories describe Hanuman's conception and birth, his magnificent leaps in the sky, his mighty feats, his enormous size, his ability to change his shape and assume any form at will. (There is a story of his devouring the sun, thinking it was a fruit. Some say there were twelve suns and that Hanuman devoured them all, but the terrified gods forced him to disgorge one.) This strength and superhuman vitality are what interest Bhojpuri men. Hanuman, they say, is the patron of wrestlers, and was the ideal of every man "in the good days of the past when each village had several strong wrestlers-in the days when there was clarified butter (ghi) and gram enough for health and vigor."'16

Stories about Hanuman's adventures and his prowess, rather than about his service to Rama, appeal to Bhojpuri men. The Ra-mayyana stories that they tell most frequently-with additional details from local folklore-are stories of his valor, his acts of leadership,17 his capacity to enlarge his body,18 his mountainous strength,19 his leap across the ocean,20 his defeat of the female ocean demon,2' his blow to the demoness Lafikin1,22 his penetration of the enemy's fortifications,23 his carrying Rama's ring to Siti (which is interpreted as expressing Rama's dependence on Hanuman, who alone could find Sita in Ravan's garden and get through the enemy's defence to rescue her),24 his secret conference with Sita on Rama's behalf,25 his demonstration to Sita of his true gold-mountain proportions,26 his burning the demon king's great city of Lafika with a torch tied to his tail,27 his mighty struggle in which he uproots trees, kills demons, and inspires terror among the foe,28 and his leap back across the ocean.29

... and was that Hanuman, a mere monkey, you fool, who crushed your pride and all your army, laid waste your grove, set fire to your city, and slew your son and returned ?30

When men gather to share pipe, tobacco, and the prepared betel leaf preparation called pain, they are most likely to discuss not the feats of Rama or Laksman, but those of Hanuman. In recounting a battle, they may recite his valiant deeds,31 while ignoring Laksman's heroism.32 The most popular of all the stories about Hanuman- and the one that most clearly emphasizes his great bodily strength-relates how he uprooted an entire mountain to bring the healing herbs that grew upon it to the

16 Quote from a villager. Ghi and gram (a pulse) are considered the essentials of an energy-produc- ing diet.

17 IV d23, c24. 18 Caupai following V di. 19 Caupai following IV d29. " Ibid.; also V ciff. 2i V c2 (see also VI c57). 2 V c3. 23 V c3, 4.

24 V dI2. 25 V 12-I7. 26 V C15. 27 V 24-25.

28V cI7, i8. 29 V C27. 30 VI C3 5. 31 E.g., VI c76; also C44, c5iff., d83, and c84. 32 E.g., VI C74-C75.


658 LEONARD T. WOLCOTT stricken Laksman.33 When this story is told, Hanuman's mighty acts-tearing the mountain from the earth and flying with it to Rama's capital at Ayodhya-are de- tailed; but Bharat's arrow, which, according to Tulsi Das, carried Hanuman to Rama, is not mentioned.34 The Bhojpuri folk versions of Hanuman's exploits seem to center on his enormous strength.

Ra-ma-yana passages about Hanuman that are frequently quoted do not refer to his devotion to Rama but rather to his power and his exploits. Three episodes from the story of the war against Ravana are particular favorites:

Thereupon, Hanuman became as huge as a mountain, with a body of golden hue and splendid majesty like that of a second mountain king. Roaring like a lion again and again, he cried, "I shall leap across the salt ocean; it is child's play to me! When I have slain Ravan and all his allies, I shall come back here with Mt. Trikuta uprooted."35

The valiant Hanuman was at the western gate when he heard that the army was routed; there Meghanada was fighting; the gate would not be forced and great was the peril. ... He sprang up to the top of Lahkd fort, and seizing a hill, rushed at Meghanada.36

As ever wider Surasa [the Mother of Serpents] stretched her mouth the monkey displayed a body twice as broad. But when at last she made her mouth three hun- dred leagues in breadth, the Son of the Wind took minute form.37

These stories and quotations are, for Bhojpuri men, illustrations of the basic concept of life-the concept of sakti (energy, power) and the closely related concept of bal (strength, forcefulness, power).38 This sakti is not erotic. It refers to the "essence of living" for all things, without which there can be no existence. The life of man, the growth of grain in the fields, the produce of cattle, the strength of oxen are all dependent on this energy. Bal and sakti are sometimes used interchangeably to speak of physical strength and power. Hanuman is the supreme manifestation of this kind of power; he is strength of limb and body and virility incarnate. Worship (puijc) in honor of saktilbal is a way of appropriating that essence. Without such worship, sakti will fail and life will fail. For the men of Bhojpur, strength of limb and body and virility are dependent on Hanuman-pjfij (worship of Hanuman); safety and well-being in this life are dependent on Hanumin-smrti (remembrance of Hanuman). This is the real significance of Hanuman: by virtue of his strength and virility, he is the immediate representative of the power to exist. While the power or energy of existence seems remote, like brahman, Hanuman is an accessible and comprehensible embodiment of this power in its most familiar form, as bodily strength.

Worship of Hanuman protects because it is an act of appropriating his strength, which can ward off ghosts (bhut), spirits of the dead (pret), and vicious human beings. He is considered to be the guardian against diabolic influences, and he can frighten malignant spirits away from his votaries. His power to secure a person against the unknown is often invoked. As one man explained, "I might take a road on which I would be killed today; but thinking on Hanuman, I will take another road and be saved from harm."

There are, of course, important religious principles with which Hanuman is un-

33 VI C57. 34 Caupai following VI C58, s59. 35 Caupdi following IV d2s. 36 Caupai following VI d42; Hill trans. 37Caupai following V di; Hill trans.

38Bal, zor, and samarth are the Hindi words used to define sakti in Hara Govind Tiwari & Bhola Nath Tiwari (eds.), Tulsi ?abdsagar [Dic- tionary of words used by Tulsi Das], (Allahabad: Hindustani Academy, I958).



connected. He is not relevant to any desire for moksa (release or emancipation from existence). He is clearly not adhered to as a subordinate deity appropriate to a ser- vile people; the suggestion that he is a special object of worship among low-caste and outcaste people because he typifies for them the service and loyal ties they should show to their superiors39 finds no support among Bhojpuri people. He does seem to be more popular among lower-caste and outcaste people; but to their minds he has no significant reference to caste, to the respect due to superiors or to the concomitant concept of benevolence owed to inferiors, nor to social stability. Lost on them are the social hierarchical teachings of bhakti found in the Raimacyana of Tulsi Das. Neither does Hanuman appear to be for Bhojpuri people a model of religious fidelity. It has already been noted that they seldom quote the many passages by Tulsi Das that refer to Hanuman's adoration of Rama. Neither is he chiefly valued as a fertility agent. In some folkloristic studies, he has been described as an object of worship by women for the cure of barrenness; but this is of secondary significance and, at most, an oblique value in the Bhojpuri area. There he is, above all, a man's deity worshiped mainly by males.

The three objects of Hanuman worship among men are: protection, strength and health, and holiness or purity-in that order of importance. "Holiness" (saphai) or "purity" (suddhi) in this context are defined by the men as "success in every undertaking," or "being prevented from doing anything or going anywhere that would result in harm or passion."

There are, then, two Hanuman figures that partly, but never completely, co- alesce: the ally and devotee of Rama (famous in literature) and the embodiment of superhuman energy (in popular Bhojpuri thought, conceived as largely independent of Rama). The deep-rooted popularity of this latter personification makes it tempt- ing to speculate-with such authorities as the Victorian administrator-scholar William Crooke40-that the veneration of a monkey divinity existed in pre-Aryan India. Or perhaps some local hero of great strength and physique was merged into the image of this powerful monkey; while hanu-macn in Sanskrit means "the one with a large jaw" (possibly likened to the jaw of a monkey), Bhojpuri people usually call him Mahavir, "Great Hero," a term scarcely used by Tulsi Das.41

Whatever his origin, the great might of Hanuman must have been well estab- lished in orally transmitted popular belief before the core of the Valmiki Ra-ma-yana was composed. The subsequent influence of Vaisnava religiosity that transformed Rama from a human hero into an avatcira of Vis.nu also recast Hanuman: the powerful and autonomous warrior became the model of bhakti devotionalism, subordi- nating himself to the divine Rama. Tulsi Das carried on this line of development and strengthened it in his Racmacaritamacnasa, where not only Hanuman but Siva and all the other divinities are given their fullest meaning as devotees of Rama. However, it would seem that the older tradition of a Hanuman revered for his sakti rather than for his bhakti persisted alongside the literary development.

According to Tulsi Das, sakti energy comes from Rama, whose story and whose very name give power and protection.42 Hanuman shares this source of strength with the other "mighty ones": the monkey-warriors Nala, Nila, Dvivida, and

39 See, e.g., P. Thomas, Hindu Religion and Cus- toms and Manners (2nd ed., rev.; Bombay: Tara- porevala, n.d.), pp. I48-49.

40An Introduction to the Popular Religion and Folk-lore of Northern India (Allahabad: Govern-

ment Press, Northwestern Provinces and Oudh, 1894), p. 52.

41 Once, in the caupai following I di6. 42 I d25 to caupaI following d33.


660 LEONARD T. WOLCOTT Sugriva; and the bear-hero Jamrbavan.43 Before he can perform any exploit, Hanuman must receive s'akti through his bhakti to Rama.44 This is clearly illustrated during the battle against Ravan:

When the demon would not be cut down either by force or by stratagem, the Son of the Wind [Hanuman] thought on his Lord. Fixing his thoughts on Lord Raghubir [Rama], the resolute monkey shouted defiance and smote Ravan.45

In Bhojpuri folktales, by contrast, Hanuman's dependence on Rama for strength is not mentioned. Indeed, some say that Rama received his power by worshiping Siva (usually referred to as Sarhkar) or from Siva's consort Parvati (or Durga).46 In these stories, Hanuman is more frequently connected with Siva than with Rama.47 The association of Hanuman with Siva in village shrines and temples is repeated in the verbal formulas (mantra) used by exorcist-diviners (ojha).48

Hanuman's tie with Siva seems to be little affected by the Ramayana. In the Valmiki Raimayana where his birth-story is told,49 he is identified as the son of the wind-god. Tulsi Das reduced this story to a brief reference, but he frequently calls Hanuman "Son of the Wind."50 Nevertheless, Hanuman's birth-stories remain among the most popular Bhojpuri folktales. Numerous, variant, and erotic, they make Hanuman indirectly the son of Siva, source of energy. They indicate that the wind-god is, at best, but a foster father. A typical story says that the maiden Afnjani, after Rama had poured Siva's seed into her body, asked, "Whom shall I tell people is the father of the child in my womb?" Rama replied, "When he is born wrap him in a coverlet. Call him the child's father who first lifts the coverlet to see the child." After a time she gave birth to the baby, Hanuman. She wrapped him in a coverlet. A puff of wind blew the coverlet aside to expose the baby. Therefore, the wind was taken to be the father of Hanuman.51

43 Caupai following VI d4I and following d43. 44 Caupa-. following V d32; caupaif following VI

d8i, d94, chi9, ch2o, and caupa- following d94. 45 Caupa- and chanda following VI d94; Hill

trans. 46 Compare the Devi Bhagavata 3:30. Compare

also the general idea in the Ramacaritamanasa (caupai following VI d74 and following d75) of p4ja (worship) for obtaining iakti. It is noteworthy that the demonic foes, doing iakti-pfija (worship for vital energy) before entering battle, were over- come by those who fought with their minds fixed on Rama.

4 Songs concerned with barrenness and conception are usually about the goddess Parvati, although some are directed to Samhkar.

48 Spells that refer to or call upon Hanuman's great power to prevail over demonic spirits sometimes mention Rama and sometimes Laksman, but more often they refer to Siva or to his consort Parvati. Here is a typical mantra used by a village ojha of Simri, District Shahabad, Bihar:

Bind the earth below, bind the sky above. Then, through my offering, bind the soul of

the witch. Prepare a thread of ka-ns grass, And for six months bind the soul of that

witch- But in the three forms of the world below the

world. Then bind its quality.

Becoming mighty, bind it. Old and feeble it has become. Then drive the mighty Hanuman That he catch it by the legs. Oh, Thou Hanuman, Thou hast power over

these evil spirits! Possessor of gashkar's reflection, he can do

so. Send him in the middle of the night. Hanuman has such a power to make him

blind, Having tied the eyebrows of that demon. Do this through the power of these verses

taught by your guru, And then bow to the feet of your guru!"

There are many similar mantras in which Ha- numan is the key figure. Siva, Pgrvati, and Laksman also appear in many Hanuman mantras.

49 Vlmlki Ramayana, IV, .loka 66. 50 Besides being referred to as Hanuman (with

variations of that name), the Ramacaritama-nasa also calls him Marutasuta, Pavanasuta, Pavana- kumara, Pavanakumara, Pavantanaya-all meaning Son of the Wind-God.

5t Most of the stories relate that Samhkar, or the trimurti (the triad: Brahma-Visnu-Siva) appeared as a sddhu (holy man) to the maiden Afijani, who excited his passion. Some stories say that Afijani, ugly and undesirable, happened to be the innocent victim of Saihkar's excited passion for his consort Pgrvati, or for Rama disguised as Pgrvati. Afijani is variously described as a cast-off unmarried girl,


THE POWER-DISPENSING MONKEY 661 Whatever his ostensible paternity, it is the energetic seed of Siva from which

Hanuman was conceived. And Hanuman is, above all, the immediate symbol of energy in each individual's struggle for existence. Just as rta (cosmic order or rightness) in early Brahmanism, dharma (duty, rightness, prescribed conduct) in the Bhagavad Gita, and bhakti (adoring devotion) in the Ra-macyana of Tulsi Das were emphasized as essential for stability in the universe, so bal or sakti is considered essential by the Bhojpuri; and Hanuman is its incarnation. Hanuman's devotion to Rama is accepted and appreciated, but his connection with Siva Samfkar, the divine source of cosmic force, is valued as the essential. Hanuman gives identifiable form and personality to the vital energy in the universe-an energy which, it is believed, one must share in some measure in order to live and to have well-being in this life. Thus, Hanuman's place in the Bhojpuri pantheon is an autonomous one, independent of Rama and of the vagaries of devotional religion.

as the wife of Kesari, etc. The conception, it is usually but not always said, took place through an ear (she was buried up to her neck to hide her ugli- ness); it is frequendy said that the birth of

Hanuman was through the other ear. According to the Tuls- Sabdsagar (n. 38 above, p. 473), Ha- numan was the son of Afijani, wife of a monkey called Kesari.


Article Contentsp. 653p. 654p. 655p. 656p. 657p. 658p. 659p. 660p. 661

Issue Table of ContentsThe Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Aug., 1978), pp. 607-825Volume Information [pp. ]Front Matter [pp. ]An Examination of Leadership Entry in Bengal Peasant Revolts, 1937-1947 [pp. 611-635]Baniyas in the Indian Agrarian Economy: A Case of Stagnant Entrepreneurship [pp. 637-652]Hanumn: The Power-Dispensing Monkey in North Indian Folk Religion[pp. 653-661]Bhatkath Studies: The Problem of an Ur-text[pp. 663-676]Fukuzawa Reconsidered: Gakumon no Susume and its Audience [pp. 677-696]Obituary: Michael J. Egan 1940-1977 [pp. 697]Review ArticleCatholic Religious Orders in South Asia, 1500-1835 [pp. 699-711]The City in Late Imperial China [pp. 713-723]How Literary Rebels Became Cultural Revolutionaries [pp. 725-729]

Book ReviewsAsia GeneralReview: untitled [pp. 731-734]Review: untitled [pp. 734-735]

ChinaReview: untitled [pp. 735-736]Review: untitled [pp. 736-738]Review: untitled [pp. 738-740]Review: untitled [pp. 740-741]Review: untitled [pp. 741-743]Review: untitled [pp. 743-745]Review: untitled [pp. 745-747]Review: untitled [pp. 747-749]Review: untitled [pp. 749-750]Review: untitled [pp. 750-751]Review: untitled [pp. 751-753]Review: untitled [pp. 753-755]

JapanReview: untitled [pp. 755-756]Review: untitled [pp. 756-758]Review: untitled [pp. 758-759]Review: untitled [pp. 759-760]Review: untitled [pp. 760-762]Review: untitled [pp. 762-763]

KoreaReview: untitled [pp. 763-765]

South AsiaReview: untitled [pp. 765-766]Review: untitled [pp. 766-767]Review: untitled [pp. 767-768]Review: untitled [pp. 768-769]Review: untitled [pp. 769-770]Review: untitled [pp. 770-772]Review: untitled [pp. 773-774]Review: untitled [pp. 774-775]Review: untitled [pp. 775-777]Review: untitled [pp. 777-779]Review: untitled [pp. 779-781]Review: untitled [pp. 781-782]Review: untitled [pp. 782-783]Review: untitled [pp. 783-784]Review: untitled [pp. 784-785]Review: untitled [pp. 785-786]Review: untitled [pp. 786-788]Review: untitled [pp. 788]Review: untitled [pp. 788-789]Review: untitled [pp. 789-790]Review: untitled [pp. 790-791]Review: untitled [pp. 791-792]Review: untitled [pp. 792-793]Review: untitled [pp. 793-794]Review: untitled [pp. 794]

Southeast AsiaReview: untitled [pp. 794-795]Review: untitled [pp. 795-797]Review: untitled [pp. 797-798]

Correspondence"Flaws" in the Review of Chinese Stories from Taiwan [pp. 799]Professor Schafer Would Say... [pp. 799-801]The Buddhist Conception of Kingship and Its Historical Manifestations: A Reply to Spiro [pp. 801-809]The Buddhist Conception of Kingship and Its Historical Manifestations: Reply to Professor Tambiah [pp. 809-812]

Back Matter [pp. ]

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