The ‘Hanuman’ is a Sanskrit word which means disfigured jaw. There are around 108 names of Lord Hanuman in the Sanskrit language. Lord Hanuman incarnated from Lord Shiva and represents strength, devotion, and perseverance.
An apsara named Punjikastala transformed into a Vanara princess on earth due to a curse from a sage, becoming the mother of Lord Hanuman. Anjana, the wife of Kesari, a vanara chief and the son of Brihaspati.
Some religious leaders have claimed to have seen Lord Hanuman still alive over the centuries. In the 13th century CE Madhavacharya, in the 16th century Tulsidas, in Samarth Ramdas and Raghavendra Swami, and the 20th century Swami Ramdas had claimed to seen Lord Hanuman.
Many believe that Lord Hanuman’s unwavering commitment and devotion protected him from physical fatigue and harm. He made his last promise to Lord Ram to stay on Earth in secret as long as people remembered and worshipped the name of Lord Ram.
Is Lord Hanuman still alive and among us?
The popular belief that Lord Hanuman may still be alive is strongly prevalent among Hindus. People not only believe that Lord Hanuman was a part of the Mahabharata in the Dwapar Yuga, but they also believe that he is among us in the Kalyuga. Here are a few instances to prove that Lord Hanuman Still Alive and among us-
According to legend, Lord Ram blessed Lord Hanuman to remain immortal as long as people continued to speak of Lord Ram’s name and stories. He was one of the eight Chiranjivis. The Puranas, the Ramayana, and the Mahabharata state the existence of eight long-lived personalities in the Hindu Dharma and one among those eight Chiranjivis is Lord Hanuman.
In this Yuga, people believe that the servant of Lord Ram embodies selflessness, strength, courage, devotion, and righteous conduct. Many believe that they will survive on Earth until the end of this Yuga.
There is no mention of his ascension to heaven. The Epics do not mention Lord Hanuman’s ascension to heaven, unlike the accounts of Lord Ram and Lord Krishna ascending to heaven in various ways such as taking Jal Samadhi or being hit by an arrow. We believe that is because Lord Hanuman is still among us.
Many people claim to have spotted him. Many believe that Mount Gandhamadana, the tallest peak of Pamban Island, is the home of Lord Hanuman. There have been numerous claims by people to have spotted a strange monkey in the place and many believe that it is Mount Gandhamadana where Lord Hanuman meditates. On these occasions, people also have reported spotting Lord Hanuman in the Himalayas.
How did Lord Hanuman get his immortality?
Lord Hanuman is the bravest hero in Ramayana. Lord Ram always wanted to be with Lord Hanuman, his true devotee. When Ravan abducted Mata Sita and took her to Lanka, Lord Ram was very worried and in a miserable space because Lanka was very far away, and the journey was very hard.
But, because Lord Hanuman could fly, he travelled this long journey and found Mata Sita in Ashok Vatika inside Ravan’s Mahal. Now, many theories tell us, how Lord Hanuman got his immortality. According to some scriptures, believers think that just as Lord Hanuman found Mata Sita, and told her that he was a friend of Lord Ram, Mata Sita, out of happiness and gratitude, blessed him with immortality.
When Lord Hanuman requested the Gods to stay in this world as long as Lord Ram’s name was being chanted, all the characters of Ramayana had already achieved salvation. That is why even today when a true devotee chants Lord Ram’s name, even Lord Hanuman is present there. It is even said that whenever there’s Ram Katha on this Earth, at that time Lord Hanuman is the individual Lord to arrive first and the last one to leave.
There is another theory that says that, after defeating Ravan, when people asked Lord Hanuman, that prove your loyalty to Lord Ram, then at that time, Lord Hanuman ripped his chest and showed that in his heart, Lord Ram, Mata Sita, and Laxman resided. After this, seeing the love and loyalty of Lord Hanuman, Lord Shree Ram blessed him with immortality.
Why is Lord Hanuman’s Worship Done on Tuesday?
According to Ramayana, the story behind this is, that after winning the long battle of Lord Ram, Ram Lord asked Lord Hanuman to give this good news to Mata Sita. Upon hearing this, Mata Sita blessed Lord Hanuman to bring the message and declared that Tuesday would be the auspicious day for worshipping Hanuman.
In Hindi, Tuesdays are known as Mangalvar, meaning a day of auspiciousness. Hence, on Tuesdays, people visit temples which are dedicated to Lord Hanuman. One can achieve happiness, strength, prosperity, and courage by worshipping him on Tuesday.
8 Stories Related To Lord Hanuman
Lord Hanuman’s Birth
Lord Hanuman’s birth is associated with multiple stories. However, in every story, Vayu, the God of wind has a major significance. Among all the stories the most popular is the one where King Dasharatha was doing a great penance to obtain sons. Finally, Lord Brahma gave him a pudding that Dasharatha gave his queens to eat, as a result of which Lord Ram, Bharath, Lakshman, and Shatrughana were born.
On the other side, Anjana and Kesari performed an intense prayer to Vayu Dev to beget him as their child. Pleased with their devotion, Vayu Dev granted the boon they sought. According to the Puranas, the wind took some pudding and dipped it into Anjana’s hand. Eating it, she too gave birth to Lord Hanuman. Lord Hanuman thus often known as Anjani Putra or Anjaneya meaning the son of Anjana or Vayu Putra meaning the son of Vayu Dev.
Bettle With Devraj Indra
As a child, Hanuman was very mischievous. One morning when he was a kid, Hanuman woke up and felt very hungry. when he saw the rising sun, he assumed it for a big fruit and left up to grab and eat it. To punish Hanuman for his mistake and stop him from snatching the sun out of the sky, the king of Gods Indra intervened and struck Hanuman with the thunderbolt. It struck Hanuman alive on his chin, and he fell to the earth. This is where Hanuman gets his name. The word Hanuman originally meant disfigured jow.
His father Vayu, the God of air, became very upset and decided to take away all the air from Earth which poses a huge threat to all living beings.
This led Lord Shiva, one of the most powerful gods to bring Hanuman back to his senses. The striking of Indra’s thunderbolt left Hanuman blessed, making him as strong as Indra himself. Many other gods also gave Hanuman powers, abilities, and protection.
Brahma gave him the ability to grow bigger or shrink, smaller in size. Agni Dev gave him a boon that fire wouldn’t hurt Hanuman. The God Varun gave him a boon that water wouldn’t harm him and his father Vayu blessed Hanuman so that he could be as fast as the wind, but Hanuman was still a child and silly and began using his special supernatural powers on faultless people as pranks.
One day, he pranked an old man who had spent years meditating and trying to focus on prayers to the gods. The old man, angered by the young vanara’s prank and the disruption of his meditation, cursed Hanuman to forget all his powers. This caused him to lose all the abilities granted to him by the gods.
Lord Hanuman Seeking Education To Surya Dev
As Lord Hanuman grew up, he sought to educate himself, and for this purpose, he chose Surya the Sun God as his guru. Surya accepted him as his disciple. Thus Hanuman flew before the chariot of the Sun God, withstanding the awesome glare until he became well versed in the four books of knowledge called the Vedas. The six systems of philosophy known as the Darshanas, the 64 arts or Kalas, and the 108 occult mysteries of Tantras are what they call.
Despite mastering everything as an Ajanma Brahmachari (Celibate), Hanuman could not study the Nava Vyakaranas (nine grammars) because he needed to be a Grahastha (married) to do so. To facilitate the completion of his education, Surya created a beautiful Kanya called Suvarchala Devi, who was also an Ajanma Brahmacharini (celibate).
Hanuman married Suvarchala to transition into the Grahastha stage without compromising his Brahmacharya vows. He mastered all that he set out to learn. It was now time for Hanuman alive to pay for his education also called Guru Dakshina Surya asserted that the devoted pupil study was payment enough for him, but when Hanuman insisted on giving something to express his gratitude towards Guru Surya Dev, the Surya Dev asked him to look after the well-being of his son Sugriva, who was the stepbrother of Vali, the king of the Vanaras.
Hanuman’s Version of Ramayana
Many believe that Lord Hanuman himself wrote a version of Ramayana. One day Valmiki came to know that the great Lord Hanuman also had written the adventures of Rama, engraving the story with his nails on rocks. A curious Valmiki travelled to the Himalayas, where Hanuman alive was residing to see his version of the Ramayana. When Lord Hanuman read out his narration, Valmiki was speechless by its absolute power and poetic capability. It was truly an inspired peace, Valmiki felt both joy and sorrow.
Joy because he had the chance to hear an exceptionally beautiful poem and sad because it overshadowed his work. When Hanuman saw the unhappiness his work had caused to Valmiki, he smashed the engraved rocks, destroying his creation forever. Such was Hanuman’s selflessness, for him narrating the tales of Rama‘s adventures as a means to re-experience Rama, was more important than the fame of being a great poet or a writer.
Why Were Idols Of Lord Hanuman’s colored in the rich vermillion red?
Hanuman often depicts himself in red colour, and there is a story behind this depiction as well. Every morning in Ayodhya, Hanuman would observe Sita parting her hair, putting the vermillion powder, and acting in a ritual, which a married woman always does.
He, being naturally curious, asked her the reason behind this daily ritual. Sita replied, “I do it for the well-being of my husband.” Hanuman alive wondered if a virtuous woman like Sita had to apply vermillion in this manner for the goodness of Lord Ram, I, a mere monkey needed to do more. Thus thinking, he took a bowlful of the paste and smeared his whole body with the vermilion. Needless to say, the purity of Hanuman’s heart moved both Ram and Sita, leading them to colour the idols of Hanumans in rich vermillion red since then.
Hanuman Tearing His Chest And Showing Lord Ram and Mata Sita’s presence
Once Sita gave Hanuman a necklace of pearls. After a while, the residents of Ayodhya observed him breaking the necklace and inspecting each pearl minutely, intrigued they asked him the reason. Hanuman laughed at the apparent naive response and said, “I’m looking for Lord Ram and Mata Sita,” as the spectators pointed out to him that the royal couple was seated on the imperial throne at the moment.
But Ram and Sita are everywhere wondering aloud about the true Bhakt Hanuman. Not understanding the depth of his devotion, they further teased him, so if Lord Ram and Mata Sita live in your heart, can you show them to us? Immediately, Hanuman alive stood up and used his sharp nails to open his chest, revealing the enshrined picture of Lord Ram and Mata Sita inside his throbbing heart, much to the surprise of the audience who were taken aback. Never again did anyone make fun of Hanuman‘s devotion.
Panch Mukhi Hanuman
Hanuman, also known as Punch Mukhi, possesses five heads, with each head symbolizing a specific trait. Hanuman signifies courage and strength, Narsimha signifies fearlessness, Gurun signifies magical skills and the power to cure snakebites, Varah signifies health and exorcism, and Hayagriva signifies victory over enemies.
Lord Hanuman In Mahabharata
There are no references to Hanuman’s alive death or the end of his avatar. He is one of the seven Chiranjeevi meaning, the one who will live till the end of time. He also finds his mention in Mahabharat, which occurred in a different Yuga thousands of years later. Bheem the son of Pandu had an encounter with Lord Hanuman and mistook him for a week-old monkey.
Bheem tried to use his mace to push the monkey’s tail, but the tail remained immovable. After a projected struggle, Bheem realized that this was no ordinary monkey, Bheem eventually gave up and asked for pardon, Lord Hanuman thereupon, came in his original form and blessed him. Hanuman was also the one protecting Lord Shree Krishna and Arjuna through the Mahabharata.
When they were fighting with the celestial weapons on their chariot. When the war was over Hanuman about Lord Krishna, before getting out of the chariot, the chariot began to burn as soon as Hanuman cleared the path. Arjuna saw something that immensely astounded him. Later, Lord Krishna explained to Arjuna that Hanuman had shielded the chariot from supernatural weapons, preventing it from being destroyed long ago.
From being a devotee himself. Hanuman has been the symbol of selflessness and devotion to many people, service and devotion are the very essence of Lord Hanuman. Devotion can only arise internally, as one cannot practice or force it externally. Once the quality of devotion emerges, one’s very life becomes a living expression of the divine.
Lord Hanuman Meet Lord Ram.
When Ram met Hanuman during his search for Mata Sita, Hanuman alive along with the other men and ministers of Sugriva was a huge help to him. When Sugriva sent his men in all directions to trace Sita, he sent Hanuman down South, and Hanuman eventually reached the very bottom of India, where the land turned to the ocean. On the other side of the ocean, Hanuman could see the island of Lanka, but it was too far for him to jump or swim.
At this time, Hanuman regained the powers he had forgotten to fulfil his duty and destiny of serving Ram Suddenly, all-powerful again, Lord Hanuman transformed into the size of a mountain and flew across the narrow channel to Lanka. Upon landing, he discovered the city ruled by the evil king Ravana, so he shrank down to the size of an ant and snuck in. Hanuman was the one responsible for locating Sita and telling her to not lose hope, that Lord Rama was coming for her.
He burnt Ravan’s Lanka to ashes and caused great harm and loss to his city and weaponry. Hanuman’s devotion towards Lord Ram was so childlike that he wrote the name of Ram on every stone thrown into the ocean to build a Ram Sethu, a bridge connecting Southern India with Lanka. During the battle, Ram severely injured Laxman and nearly killed him.
Upon seeing that deviation in Lord Ram, Hanuman left to find a life-restoring herb called ‘Sanjeevni booti’ located on a far mountain in the Dronagiri range of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand.
He lifted the whole Dronagiri Mountain (Dronagiri Parvat) and carried it back to Lanka. Many believe that Hanuman could have defeated Ravan on his own, but he chose to relinquish this opportunity to allow his Lord Shree Ram to receive praise.
Conclusion
Lord Hanuman, the son of Anjana, an apsara named Punjikastala, was married to Kesari, a vanara chief and son of Brihaspati. In Hinduism, people know Lord Hanuman as the supreme devotee of Lord Ram. He is one of the leading characters of the sacred Hindu text Ramayana.
Devotees believe that Lord Hanuman alive grants strength, success, and protection to them. For those seeking to overcome obstacles, like poverty, illness, and spiritual challenges, his worship is especially popular among them. The texts as early as Rig Vedas mention a divine monkey, referencing Lord Hanuman for the first time.
He finds much broader expression in the Puranas. Shiva Purana mentions Lord Hanuman as an avatar of Lord Shiva. When Lord Vishnu agreed to be born as a human to defeat Ravan, Lord Brahma felt that he would need help, so he asked Lord Shiva to take on an avatar as well. Lord Shiva decided to be born as Hanuman.