When a Monkey Became a God!
Of Courage, Service, and Love.
So, yesterday, was the day, in the lunar calendar, when a revered monkey-God was born in ancient times. In truth, he is a humanoid monkey with the ability to walk upright and speak.
Born to a human mother, Anjana - who had been cursed to be a monkey until his birth - and the God of Wind, Vayu, Hanuman is the epitome of service and devotion.
Perhaps it is a good occasion to recollect why he is considered as such.
Once Hanuman was asked his opinion on the movements of the planets and stars and how they impact Earthlings, to which he is said to have replied, “I do not know anything about the sun, moon or stars. I only know Rama.”
Such was his devotion to Prince Rama who was born to rid Earth of the evil King Ravana.
Hanuman became indispensable to the Prince in his fight against the demons.
This post continues the series that began a while ago with the following episodes:
Each post builds on the one before it, but you’re welcome to jump in anywhere. For easy reference, I have also linked them into the appropriate places below.
Prince Rama, weary from searching the vast forest for any sign of his wife who had vanished without a trace, approached an elderly female ascetic’s hut. He received from her the important news of a horde of intelligent monkeys living deeper in the forest who might be able to shed light on Sita’s whereabouts.
Cheered by this bit of news, and accompanied by his loyal stepbrother, Prince Lakshmana, the Prince made his way into the interior of the thick forest.
There, Hanuman first met the prince who would forever change his life.
But Hanuman was also the wise aide of his monkey-king.
Unfortunately, the monkey-king was without his kingdom after his brother had usurped both his kingdom and his wife.
Hanuman brokered a deal between the Prince and his monkey-king, whereupon, the Prince helped the king regain his kingdom and wife by slaying the traitorous brother in battle.
The slain brother’s son was made the crown prince.
The army of monkeys were to be at the prince’s disposal to help recover his kidnapped wife.
But first - the goal was to locate her!
Some of the monkeys began to whisper among themselves.
Hanuman discovered the issue and approached the prince with the news that the monkeys had in their possession, a bag of shiny jewels that had quite literally dropped from the sky!
Of course, it might also have been the lady in the flying chariot who had dropped them!
All they knew was that it was it was a bundle of shining objects that proved irresistible as toys for the monkey-kids.
Now, at Hanuman’s behest, they produced the bundle before Rama.
On opening the cloth bundle, Rama’s eyes clouded with tears, and the objects became blurred.
In despair, he turned to his brother and showed him a necklace - seeking confirmation - lest he be more optimistic than desirable.
“Look, Lakshmana, isn’t this Sita’s? It is the diamond pendant necklace our mother gave her during the wedding.”
Lakshmana dutifully came closer to examine it and regretfully shook his head.
Rama’s heart dropped at his expression.
“Alas, I wish I could confirm this to be Mother Sita’s. But I do not know what jewels adorned her neck, for I never raised my eyes to her face or figure. The only jewels I can attest to are the anklets she wore - the ones I saw each morning when I bowed to her feet.”
Rama extended the bundle to him, and Lakshmana searched within it and triumphantly exclaimed.
“Yes, they are here, dear brother, they are here. These are hers.”
Rama had already known the bundle was Sita’s, but after receiving confirmation from his brother, he turned to Hanuman to get the details of what had happened.
When the trio heard of Sita’s cries for help, and Ravana’s laughter ringing in the sky, just before the bundle dropped right in the middle of where the monkey-kids were playing, Lakshmana erupted in anger. But where was the demon now?
Less emotional heads came together among the wizened monkey council.
It was decided that separate groups of monkeys, each with a leader, would go forth in four different directions and locate Sita.
Once her location was determined, the rest of the army would be readied to accompany the brothers into battle to recover her.
Hanuman led the group heading to the south.
But the clever Hanuman was a bit confused. He had never seen Sita. How was he to recognize her?
Slowly, he approached the forlorn Prince, and sought a word of advice.
How could the monkeys be sure it was her?
So each was given a token from the bundle of jewels. Sita would see it, and know from whence they had come.
But to Hanuman, the Rama gave his own special ring.
Did he know that of all the devoted monkeys he had under his command now, Hanuman was the special one? Without expecting any reward, or favor, seeking only to serve?
Whatever the case, it was to Hanuman that he gave his special ring and commanded him to show it to anyone he believed was Sita.
Sita would know then without fail that it was Rama who had sent him.
‘Go Hanuman,’ the Prince said, ‘and come back to me with word of Sita.’
Hanuman bowed to Rama, and set out with his group towards the south.
Months passed, and the monkeys, though lunging fast through the trees, still had a lot of ground to cover from the middle of the land to the tip of it.
Exhausted, after the last few days of marching, with no news in between, they at last reached the end of the land.
They stood shocked before the sight in front of them.
A vast ocean!
Now what? How could they even traverse this endless body of water?
Some younger ones started crying, from the sheer weariness of the journey, and the magnitude of the obstacle in front.
Hanuman stood silently, just as perplexed as the others.
What was to be done? How were they to go further?
Returning was not an option.
Remembering the hopeful look that Rama had bestowed on them all, when they set out, and in particular on himself, he wondered: how could he give up now?
But no one knew what to do next.
So the monkeys settled on the beach, lit a fire, found some fruits to eat, and decided a night of rest would do them good.
Hanuman lay down, a little distance apart, weary, but needing to think.
Fed and rested, the monkeys began to talk amongst themselves.
Recounting fun times in the forest, and stories about each other, they recovered their enthusiasm and ribbed each other, forgetting the ordeal they had endured.
But among them was also the wise black bear, Jambavan.
He had a remedy.
Approaching Hanuman, the wise bear reminded him of his childhood feat - when he once tried to eat the Sun, mistaking it for an apple!
For his boldness, he had been cursed and then blessed by the Gods with immense power - but only after his father rebelled against the Gods, hiding and depriving the world of the wind’s life force.
But naughty child that he was, Hanuman refused to learn from the lesson.
So, he was cursed once again to forget all his powers, to stop their misuse, until someone else reminded him of his hidden strength.
So it was Jambavan who had cause to remind the adult Hanuman of his immense power - and his ability to shrink and grow as he pleased - that could serve them well now.
With this reminder, aided by the rest of the group, Hanuman rose, emboldened, and grew to a giant’s height.
The other monkeys were suitably awed. Cheered by this show of strength, they promised to wait for his return patiently.
So, the humanoid monkey, Hanuman, became the giant monkey Hanuman, who took a huge leap across the ocean.
Flying across the vast swathe of blue water, he cleverly defeated the intent of several monsters who tried to obstruct his flight.
Landing on the island, he shrunk his size to now be a tiny monkey and roamed the island freely in search of news of Sita.
He confirmed his suspicion that it was the kingdom of Ravana.
He heard whispers of Ravana’s keeping a prisoner in a garden outside of his palace.
Soon, he found the garden filled with Ashoka trees and aptly named the Ashoka garden.
He waited on a tree to see what was transpiring below.
He did not need to wait long.
The demon king arrived with all due pomp and show - led obsequiously by his coterie of demon soldiers.
Hanuman followed the demon king to his eventual stop under a large square stone structure surrounding a huge wide-branched tree - and there, seated, he saw a woman so beautiful that not even her plain clothes, without any external adornments, dimmed her luster.
He watched as Ravana entreated her to become his queen.
He heard the temptations of royal jewels, comforts, luxuries, and fame laid before the lady.
He saw the demon king approach her as a handsome human king, and when his entreaties fell to deaf ears, transform into a ghastly demon form - his rage visible as his words failed to move her.
Now Hanuman knew for sure.
This was the demon who had kidnapped Sita—the very woman he was seeking.
Here she was, standing tall, with her back to the tree, eyes blazing, fearlessly defying the wrath of the ten-headed king.
Ravana paused a moment in his tirade and admired her beauty. He could not help it.
She was mesmerizing.
From the moment he had first seen her in the hut, his mind had been captured.
In the throes of a passion that threatened his peace of mind, he seemed lost to reason.
Neither his devoted wife and Queen, nor his one brother - wisest among them all - could sway him from the perilous path he had chosen.
Frustrated by Sita’s silence, he warned her again with dire consequences, then left—angry.
The female demon attendants who served at the King’s pleasure tried to persuade the lady to give in to the King’s entreaties and become his queen. They outlined the marvelous life she would lead, and heaped praise on their master, Ravana.
Finally, Sita, covering her ears, raised her voice firmly and asked to be left alone.
Regardless of her status as a prisoner, she was still a princess - one whom Ravana had commanded be obeyed in all matters, except being set free.
When the attendants had left, Sita’s face fell, reflecting her quiet distress as she sank onto the stone platform.
In that moment, the loneliness of her situation - and the absence of a single friendly face in the ten months since her kidnapping and imprisonment - began to overwhelm her.
When she had first set foot on this land, she had threatened Ravana that she would die rather than enter his palace.
She had asked to remain, outside under the open sky, withstanding the elements.
Soon after, this garden and its temple environs had been conjured in an instant to house her.
Ravana wanted to wed her willingly - not force her into becoming his queen. His ego demanded her voluntary surrender, not her capitulation.
He needed to be her choice - to prove his supremacy over a mere human, this Rama she so deeply trusted. He simply laughed when he heard her praise her husband.
He found her innocence foolish, yet entrancing, and he delighted in wooing her, blind to her denials. He hoped she would come around in time.
After all, no one was going to rescue her from his power. He could afford to wait.
Had not Brahma, the Creator, granted him immortality?
Though Sita kept a brave face in front of the King, and his many attendants - who tried, again and again, to trick her - she had begun to despair as each month passed.
Sometimes, she thought of dying - of ending the torture.
Yet, each time she wavered, her mind and heart flew to her Prince’s face.
Rama’s calm when he had held Shiva’s bow - which no one else had been able to lift - and broken it effortlessly into two, the act that made her his - returned to her with steadying force.
So too, the memory of the love in his eyes as they dwelt on her calmed her.
She reminded herself: she was the beloved of Earth’s unmatched warrior. A prince of honor, whose word was unbreakable.
She could not deprive him of the chance to avenge her kidnapping and kill the evil-king.
Her trust in her Prince demanded it of her.
She must be brave.
Though she knew not how, or when—or even if Rama knew where she was—she believed that he would find her one day, and she would be back by his side. She dared not dream beyond this for such dreams had a way of making her fearful of the endless minutes to endure.
Until that day, she had to resist - this evil place, its evil inhabitants - and know that as long as she remained courageous, and steadfast, her Prince would find her.
So, she stayed under rain and sun, beneath a lone tree, dwelling on her many happy memories of her mother, her sisters, and her father. Of her childhood friends.
When tears came, she remembered her love - the first time they had met, and the night she had spent restless to see him again.
His eternal vow of fidelity to her.
The peaceful days by the river, even in exile.
The blissful moments they had spent in the forest. Beneath the trees.
Invariably, her mind returned to that fateful day - the moment she had spotted the golden deer.
What would she give to return to that moment - beside her Prince, as he lay lightly asleep under the tree, while she wove jasmine flowers into a garland, its scent filling the air as the gentle wind cooled their brows?
Instead of waking him to chase after the deer, what if she had simply rejoiced in the peace of that afternoon - rather than following her impulse to send him on a fool’s errand?
How she rued that decision. How she wished it different, a thousand times.
Her face crumpled in tears, and she hid it in the ends of her saree.
Hanuman was no longer in doubt.
He could not sit idle while his mother sat in sorrow.
He leapt down from the tree and stood before her, startling her from her reverie and its accompanying tears.
… To be Continued.
For more stories of Prince Rama, explore the full collection here.
Hanuman looks as powerful and as beautiful as I do. When I squint. Real hard.
Great retelling of this classic tale. It’s good to be back, Jayshree!
Lord Rama nd Sita greatest love story ever old. Myths are based on truth beliefs. Bridge built across Indian Ocean from India to Ceylon(Sri Lanka) seen from satellites. Thank you for this continuing story Jayshree.