3 legends surrounding Lord Hanuman
You need not be a mythology buff to know about Lord Hanuman. He is a Hindu demigod (half monkey, half human) and a devotee and comrade of Lord Rama. He is one of the most significant characters of the Indian epic The Ramayana. Often regarded as the monkey-god, Hanuman is believed to be the son of Kesari and Anjana. He is often deemed as the incarnation of Lord Vayu according to the Vaishnava traditions, while in Shaivism, he is regarded as the partial incarnation of Lord Shiva.
Legends have it that Hanuman was born on the Purnima Tithi of Shukla Paksha during the month of Chaitra. As a result, Hindus celebrate this auspicious day as Hanuman Jayanti and worships the deity. This year, Hanuman Jayanti is on 6th April. Ahead of the occasion, here are 3 legends surrounding Lord Hanuman.
Legend of Vayu
The story of Lord Hanuman rescuing Sita Devi from the clutches of evil King Ravana is known by all. However, what people hardly know is the mythical birth story of Lord Hanuman. As it happened, his mother Anjana was cursed and turned from a mortal into a monkey that could only be redeemed with the birth of a son. Now, Anjana and her husband Kesari decided to pray to Lord Vayu to bless them with a son. Around the same time, King Dasaratha of Ayodhya was also performing a yajna with his three wives in order to have heirs to his throne. Anyway, after the yajna, Dasaratha’s wives were offered kheer that eventually led to the birth of Lord Rama and his brothers. Now, legend has it that by divine intervention, a kite flying snatched some of this blessed kheer and dropped it where Anjana was praying. It is believed that it was the doing of Lord Vayu. Anyhow, after consuming the kheer, Anjana gave birth to Hanuman and turned back her curse. It is because of this reason that many believe Vayu to be Hanuman’s father, and Hanuman his incarnation.
Legend of Indra
As the story goes, during his boyhood, Hanuman was hungry and saw the red-coloured sun rising. Guess what? He mistook it for a ripe fruit like mango and tried to eat it. This in turn interfered with the Vedic planet Rahu and caused solar eclipse. This made Lord Indra angry and he struck Hanuman with a thunderbolt. It hit him near his jaw, thus leaving him unconscious and disfigured and with a protruding jawline for lifetime. This in turn made Vayu fill up with rage and he went into seclusion carry all of Earth’s air with him. As you can understand, this made life difficult for earthlings. This is when all the gods united to resuscitate Hanuman and bring back order in the universe. It also prompted Vayu to give back air to all the living beings.
Legend of Brahma, Shiva, Varun and Agni
Now, in order to save Hanuman from any future harm, he was granted several wishes. For instance, Lord Agni gave him immunity from fire, while Lord Shiva blessed him with longevity and insurmountable wisdom. Lord Brahma on the other hand gave Hanuman the superpower to cheat death at the hand of any earthly or divine weapon, the ability to bestow fear in enemies and to win over friends. He was also given the power to change his form at will and travel on a whim. Lord Varun also blessed him with the power that water will not be able to harm him in any way.