MAHABALI HANUMAN

While living in exile with Sugriva, Hanuman first encountered Rama and Lakshmana as they searched for Sita. Hanuman on the orders of Sugriva had disguised himself as a Brahman to try and find out if the two mighty bowmen were sent by Vali, the vengeful brother of Sugriva. However on seeing Them, all doubts were immediately wiped from the mind of Hanuman who immediately revealed his true form. From this time, Hanuman became completely absorbed in one and only one thing, the service of Rama. Later when Hanuman and his troop of monkeys were stuck on the southern shore of the country, separated from Lanka by the ocean, Jambavana reminds Hanuman of his great powers. The duration of the curse thus ends and a greatly powerful Hanuman jumps across the ocean to wreak havoc in the golden city of Ravana.

The relationship between Rama and Hanuman demonstrates the perfection of devotion in the mood of service (dasya-rasa). In an almost classical manner Hanuman demonstrated the symptoms of pure devotional service. Everything that he did was only for the pleasure of Lord Rama, whether it was building bridges, fighting rakshasas or flying across the country to fetch life saving herbs, his constant meditation was how to best serve Rama. When he sought out Sita in Ravana's Lanka, he was not merely satisfied at delivering to her the message of Lord Rama. He also destroyed the forest, killed many rakshasas and burnt down half of Lanka. That is the mood of a pure devotee. To consciously cultivate everything that is positive to the service of the Lord and reject everything that is not. Even though Lord Rama reciprocated very sweetly with gratitude, praise or benedictions for Hanuman, he never had any expectation for them. Hanuman
often presented himself as a simple ignorant monkey in front of Rama. When Hanuman returned from Lanka with news of Sita, an overjoyed Rama embraced him tightly. However a clearly uncomfortable Hanuman stated that his position could only be at the feet of his Lord. The highest reward for him was to serve Lord Rama. Service to Rama was the most exalted destination for Hanuman, and he constantly endeavored to perfect himself in this respect.

     Devendra left at once on his elephant Iravata. The white elephant attracted Anjaneya. He quickly moved towards it. Indra was astonished by the strength of the extra ordinary boy who was holding the sun. He threw his weapons, the Vajrayudha at Anjaneya. Anjaneya stopped it with a hair follicle. Angered Indra set the Brahmastra at the boy. Anjaneya pushed it aside with another hair follicle. All the gods were astonished. Brahma and other gods arrived at the scene and started to pray Anjaneya thus: “ Dear child of Anjana, one of valor, the one who took birth because of Parvathi and Parameswara, O great warrior, the one with great strength and powers, you have taken birth to benefit human beings, gods and sages. O Anjaneya, you have taken birth as the son of Vayu who provides life to the World. Since you have grabbed the Sun, all sacred activities including those prescribed by the Vedas, have come to a halt. So please leave the Sun”.

On hearing the prayer, Anjaneya released the Sun. Indra who was looking at the astonishing event was enraged as Anjaneya belittled the Vajrayudha. He wanted to have the upper hand. He noticed that Anjaneya was distracted. Using the opportunity he struck at Anjaneya’s jaw with the Vajrayudha. Anjaneya fainted and fell on the rock ground. His jaw area became blood red. Vayu saw the plight of his dear child.

Vayu was pained. His pain led to anger. He withdrew the life winds from all living beings and nature and remained motionless. With the withdrawing of the wind, all life activities of the Universe came to a halt. All the celestial beings, sages and Gods including Devendra and the trinity came to Vayu. The Gods realized that Vayu had to be pleased to save the Universe. Brahma sprinkled holy water from his kamandala on Anjaneya, to awaken the boy. Anjaneya awakened. Brahma wanted all the Gods to bless Anjaneya and grant him boons to pacify and please Vayu deva. The gods bestowed special and unique boons to Anjaneya. Such boons were never given to any one in the past. The boons bestowed on Anjaneya included Longevity, strength, valor, health, piety, intellect, knowledge, gift of good speech, compassion, bravery, equanimity, devotion to Lord Vishnu, ability to bear any onslaught, celibacy, ability to withstand attack by any divine or demonic arms and many others. Indra asserted that Anjaneya would not be slain by the Vajrayudha. Since Anjaneya was bestowed with strong jaws, which with stood the blow of the Vajrayudha, Indra said that the boy would be known as HANUMANTHA. Thus Anjaneya came to known as HANUMANTHA.

HANUMAN BRAVERY

  Many stories of Lord Hanuman's bravery and Bhakti (devotion) are given in Valmiki's Ramayana. Lord Vishni took Avatar as Lord Rama. This amazing stories are filled with moral, inspiration and good teachings.

This video clip shows the stories related to the birth of Lord Hanuman which are filled with miracles, thrill and adventure. This stories takes us back into time from the present to the past, in Treta Yuga.

The king of Vanaras Kesari and his wife Anjani use to live of Mont Sumeru. They had all the comforts yet they were not at peace of mind, reason being they did not have any child. They meet a powerful Rishi to solve this particular problem they had.

The Rishi says to them that they certainly will have a putra (male child), and continues that but the way to that was immensely difficult. Anjani replies that she was ready for any hardships for getting a son. The Rishi replies that she will have to go to mountain range of Vindhyachal and pray to Pavan Dev (the God of winds). After taking bath in the river she will have to do Tapasya to please Pavan Deva. Vanrraj Kesari and Anjani take their way to the Mount Vindhyachala with new hopes of getting a child and becoming parents.

Days and nights passes, harsh weathers the hot sun of summers, the harsh cold of winters and heavy downpour of monsoons passes but they could not break the determination and tapasya of this couple. Anjani was determined t please Pavan deva.

On the otherside of the world Lord Agni (God of fire) gave a miraculous fruits to King Dashratha and asked him to give them to his queens to eat. With which they will give birth to Godly sons. Out of five fruits given to king Dasratha a bird comes flying from the sky and flies away picking one of the fruits from them. Pavan dev was watching this, and as soon as the eagle dropped that fruit he got hold of it and gives the fruit to Anjani.

SHREE HANUMAN PART 3

  LORD SHREE HANUMAN  met Sri Rama whilst Sri Rama was in banishment. Sri Rama, together with his brother Lakshamana, was searching for his wife Sita. (Sita was abducted by the demon Ravana). Their search had taken them to the vicinity of the Pampa Lake situated at the base of the mountain Risyamukha. Sugriva (together with his ministers) was hiding in this region. Sugriva was being persecuted by his brother Bali. Sugriva was suspicious that Rama and Lakshmana might have been sent by Bali to kill him. Therefore, to ascertain whether they were friends or foes, Hanumanji approached them in the guise of a Brahmin. His first words to them were such that Sri Rama immediately said to Lakshmana: "None can speak thus without mastering the Vedas and their branches. Nor is there any defect in his countenance, eyes, forehead, brows, or any of his limbs. His accents are wonderful, auspicious and captivating. Even an enemy who has his sword uplifted is moved. Indeed, success awaits the monarch whose emissaries are so accomplished."

When Lord Rama revealed his identity, Hanumanji fell prostrate before Him and Lord Rama picked him up and clasped him to His bosom. Sri Rama reveals His identity as the son of Dasaratha and prince of Ayodhya, but Hanumanji perceives Him to be the Lord of the universe and prostrates.

Thereafter the story of Hanumanji is inextricably interwoven with that of Lord Rama, and is exhaustively dealt with in the Ramayana of Valmiki and the Ramacharitamanasa of Goswami Tulasidas.

HANUMAN HISTORY PART 2

  Hanuman selected Surya, the sun god as his preceptor, and approached him with the request to teach the scriptures. Surya agreed and Hanuman became his disciple, but had to face his constantly moving guru by traversing the sky backwards at equal pace, while taking his lessons. Hanuman's phenomenal concentration took him only 60 hours to master the scriptures. Surya considered the manner in which Hanuman accomplished his studies as his tuition fees, but when Hanuman requested him to accept something more than that, the sun god asked Hanuman to assist his son Sugriva, by being his minister and compatriot.
It is hard to find a mythical character who is at once so powerful, learned, philosophic, humble and amusing! Hanuman features prominently in the great epics of Ramayana and the Mahabharata. 

Hanuman met Rama and his brother Lakshmana while Rama was in exile in the jungle, and searching for his wife Sita who was abducted by Ravana. Their quest brought them near Pampa Lake at the foot of Mount Risyamukha, where the monkey king Sugriva and his ministers were hiding. Sugriva, who was being persecuted by his brother Bali, suspected that Rama and Lakshmana might have been sent by Bali to slay him. To find out the facts, Hanuman approached them in the guise of a Brahmin. Hanuman's initial words highly impressed Rama, and made him comment: "None can talk this way without mastering the Vedas. He has such a flawless countenance, a wonderful accent, and a captivating way of speaking. He has the ability to move even an enemy..." After he revealed his identity as the prince of Ayodhya, Hanuman fell prostrate before him in respect of the Lord. Rama picked him up and embraced him. There began the story of Hanuman, which is inextricably interwoven with Rama, and dealt with in detail in Valmiki's Ramayana and the Tulsidas' Ramacharitamanas.

To cut the long story of Hanuman short, he then introduced Rama to Sugriva, and began his massive search for Sita. Finding out her whereabouts, he consoled Sita, and burnt down the city of Lanka. Hanuman then brought Rama to Lanka, fought the battle against Ravana with his simian army, and vanquished the demons. Hanuman's greatest feat was saving the life of Lakshmana by fetching the life-giving herb "Sanjivani" from the Himalayas. He flew fast towards the Himalayas, but unable to recognise the right herb, picked up the whole mountain on his hand and flew back to Lanka, just in time to save Lakshmana. Thereafter Hanuman served Rama forever.

   The venerable ape also features in the great epic Mahabharata. How Hanuman met the valiant Bhima, one of the Pandava brothers is itself a marvelous tale. He recognized Bhima as his spiritual brother, since both were born with the blessings of Pavana, the Wind God, and promised to aid the Pandavas in the big battle of Kurukshetra. Hanuman positioned himself in the flag of Arjuna's chariot to secure and stabilize the war-craft. The triangular saffron flag of Hanuman stands for stability and equilibrium, sense-control and mind-control, and a sure sign of victory over all that is base and evil.

LORD HANUMAN HISTORY

   The story of the birth of Hanuman goes thus: Vrihaspati had an attendant called Punjikasthala, who was cursed to assume the form of a female monkey — a curse that could only be nullified if she would give birth to an incarnation of Lord Shiva. Reborn as Anjana, she performed intense austerities to please Shiva, who finally granted her the boon that would cure her of the curse.

  When Agni, the god of fire, gave Dasharath, the king of Ayodhya, a bowl of sacred dessert to share among his wives so they may have divine children, an eagle snatched a part of the pudding and dropped it where Anjana was meditating, and Pavana, the god of wind delivered the drop to her outstretched hands. After she took the divine dessert, she gave birth to Hanuman. Thus Lord Shiva incarnated as a monkey, and was born as Hanuman to Anjana, by the blessings of Pavana, who thus became Hanuman's godfather.

  The birth of Hanuman released Anjana from the curse. Before she returned to heaven, Hanuman asked his mother about his life ahead. She assured him that he would never die, and said that fruits as ripe as the rising sun would be his food. Mistaking the glowing sun as his food, the divine baby leapt for it. Indra struck him with his thunderbolt and hurled him down to earth. But Hanuman's godfather, Pavana carried him to the nether world or 'Patala'. As he departed from the earth, all life panted for air, and Brahma had to beg him to return.

Do you know who Lord Brahma is? He is the Hindu god of creation. He is believed to live in a beautiful divine palace in his heavenly abode. Such was the beauty of the palace that it was a constant source of amazement for even the deities.

There were a number of attendants in the celestial palace-courts of Lord Brahma. Among them was a beautiful attendant named Anjana. Once, happy with her service, Lord Brahma decided to reward her. He called her and asked what she wanted.
Anjana hesitated at first. Then she replied "Lord, I wish you could remove a curse pronounced on me by a sage,"
"Tell me about it. Maybe I can help you" said Lord Brahma.
Hopeful that her curse may be removed, Anjana continued "When I was playing as a child on earth, once I saw a monkey meditating with its legs folded in a lotus pose, like a human sage. It was a funny sight; so I threw some fruits at it."
"But here I made a mistake. For it was no ordinary monkey. A powerful sage had taken the form of a monkey to do his tapasya (spiritual practice). My fruits disturbed his penance and he opened his eyes in great indignation.
As soon as he saw me, he cursed me that I would become a monkey when I fall in love with anyone. I begged him to forgive me.
The sage said that as he had already uttered it, he couldn't change the curse. But he assured me that the man I fall in love with will love me in spite of my monkey face.

  Lord Brahma, I was born and brought up here. How can I live with a monkey face among my beautiful sisters? If you kindly grant me a boon to become my usual self, I will be very much obliged," she said anxiously.

Brahma felt sorry for the unfortunate apsara. He thought for a moment. Then he lifted his eyes towards the anxious Anjana.
"I see a way for removing your curse, Anjana," he said kindly. "Go to earth and live there for a while. You will meet your husband on earth and your curse will be removed if you - give birth to an incarnation of Lord Shiva," said Lord Brahma.
  Anjana accepted Brahma's advice. She was born in the earth shortly afterwards. She lived in a forest as a young huntress.
  One day she saw a strong man fighting with a lion. "What a brave man!" she thought in wonder. "How I wish he will look at me!"

As Anjana looked at the warrior in admiration, the man turned and saw her. As soon as his eyes fell on her, she turned into a monkey!

With a pathetic cry, Anjana sank to the ground and covered her face with her hands. Seeing her fall to the ground, the man came running towards her.

"Who are you fair maiden? Why do you cry? Uncover your face. Let me see you," he asked her.

"I cannot, brave man," Anjana answered gloomily. "I am Anjana, an apsara cursed to become a monkey when I fall in love. I request you to please leave me alone in my sorrow," she wailed and peeked at the handsome man through her fingers.

To her great astonishment she found a big monkey-faced man standing before her! If she didn't see his face at first, it was because she couldn't and because till now she saw him from a distance.

The monkey-faced man understood her surprise. He spoke. "I am not human, though I can take the human form if I want. I am Kesari, the king of Monkeys, blessed by Lord Shiva with magical powers. If you become my wife, I will be honoured. Would you honour me by becoming my wife, dear Anjana?".

Anjana became very happy. She accepted his proposal.

"Then the sage's word was indeed true," thought Anjana, "Kesari didn't mind my appearance because he himself is a monkey!"

Anjana and Kesari were married in the forests. Being a pious devotee, Anjana performed intense tapasya, worshipping Lord Shiva.

  Rama, the prince of Ayodhya and his wife Sita are the ideal royal couple. Rama is brave, wise and dutiful, and Sita is beautiful, generous and saintly. Sita gets introduced to Rama at a ceremony called ‘Swayamvara’, organized by her father Janaka, the king of Mithila to identify a suitable bridegroom for her lovely daughter. Princes from various kingdoms are invited and challenge to string a giant bow. Only the mighty Rama could lift the bow, string it and even break it into two halves. This leads Sita to garland Rama as her husband.

       Dasharatha, the king of Ayodhya, had three wives and four sons. Rama was the eldest and his mother was Kaushalya. Bharata was the son of his second and favorite wife, Kaikeyi. The other two were twins, Lakshmana and Shatrughna from his third wife Sumitra. While Rama is all set for coronation, his step-mother, Dasharatha’s second wife, Kaikeyi, wants her son, Bharata, to become king. Before the aged king could hand over his crown to his eldest son Rama, Dasaratha is destined to die. And instead of being crowned king of Ayodhya, Rama is sent into exile in the forest for fourteen year by an intrigue in the palace and a quirk of fate.

   Rama goes to the forest, accompanied by wife Sita and brother Lakshmana, and they live as recluses among the hermits that lead a life of meditative retreat in the deep woods. Bharata, whose mother's evil plot won him the throne, goes to meet Rama in the forest and pleads him to return to the capital. As Rama declines to break his vow given to his deceased father, Bharata is compelled to go back to Ayodhya with his sandals, which he places on the throne as the symbol of Rama’s continuing monarchy.