Lord Hanuman is one of the central characters of the epic Ramayana. Without him, any narration of the sequence of events that led to the death of Ravana or Lord Rama’s Ashwamedha Yagya after his return to Ayodhya is not possible. There are many lesser-known facts as to – what was the relationship between Lord Rama and Lord Hanuman or how did they meet in the first place? Here are some of them.
Were Ram & Hanuman brothers?
According to legend, Anjana was worshipping God to grant her a son. At the same time, King Dasharatha of Ayodhya was performing a Putrakameshti Yagya to have children. As a result, he received some sacred pudding (payasam) which he gave to three wives who gave birth to Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna.
By divine ordinance, a kite snatched some of that pudding and while flying over the forest dropped it where Anjana was engaged in her worship. Vayu, the lord of wind, delivered the falling pudding into the outstretched hands of Anjana, who ate it. As a result, Hanuman was born.
Coincidentally the portion of pudding snatched by the kite belonged to Kaushlya, King Dasharatha’s eldest wife, so doesn’t this make Lord Rama and Hanuman brothers?
Hanuman & Bhim were brothers
According to legend King Pandu mistakenly shot Rishi Kindama disguised as a male deer while making love with a female deer. Angered by this the Rishi cursed the King that he too would die if he ever tried to make love to a woman. Saddened by the curse, Pandu, who wished to have children, asked his first wife Kunti to use the boons granted to her by Rishi Durvasa. Thus, first Yudhishthira was born to Kunti with the blessing of Yama and then Bhima was born with the divine blessing of Vayu Devata.
Since both Hanuman and Bhima were born after being blessed by Vayu, they were brothers.
When Lord Hanuman barred Yama’s path to save Lord Rama
There is a saying that when Lord Rama decided to leave his earthly existence for his journey to Vaikuntha (the heavenly abode of Lord Vishnu), he knew that Hanuman would not let him do so. So he instructed Hanuman to find his ring which had fallen on the ground and then disappeared in the Patal Loka. While trying to find the ring and Hanuman met the King of spirits who told him that this was a signal that this was the end of Lord Ram’s avatar on earth. Lord Hanuman was heartbroken but couldn’t prevent the tragic end of Ram Rajya.
Lord Hanuman had five bothers
Brahmanda Purana verses 223 – 227 states that Anjana and Kesari had five sons. Hanuman was the eldest followed by Matiman, Srutiman, Ketuman and Drtiman.
Also Read:
Lesser known facts about Lord Hanuman #1
Lesser known facts about Lord Hanuman #2
What makes Lord Hanuman a role-model even today?
Half Ganesha and half Hanuman
In Hindu mythology, the idol of Adyanta Maha Prabhu at the Madya Kailas temple, Chennai depicts a half figure of Lord Anjaneya (Hanuman) and half Lord Vinayaka (Ganesha). The idol is a fusion in the style of Ardhanareeswara (Siva and Parvati) or Sri Sankaranarayana (a combination of Siva and Narayana). The word Aadiyantha means ‘beginning to end (aadi ‘beginning’, and antha ‘end’). There is a Tamil saying, “Begin with Ganesa and end up with Anjaneya”. The importance of the idol is that Sri Vigneswara and Sri Anjaneya are the only two deities who are immune from any influence of the Navagrahas. Hence, many people visit the temple to receive the divine blessings to counter the influence of the Navagrahas.
Lord Hanuman was present in both Ramayan and Mahabharta
Everyone knows about Lord Hanuman’s role in Ramayana, but very few might be aware of his presence on the flag of Arjuna’s chariot on the Kurukshetra battlefield. This was done as a reverence to Lord Krishna who is one among the Dasha Avtaar of God Vishnu like Shree Ram. Lord Hanuman’s presence ensured that the chariot and its inmates with unharmed. As soon as the battle was won, Hanuman returned to his original form, and the empty chariot was reduced to ashes.
Perched on top of Arjuna’s chariot in form of the flag, Lord Hanuman was among the only four apart from Arjuna, Sanjaya and Barbarik — who heard Lord Krishna preach the Bhagavad Gita.
Lord Hanuman a master Singer
In the Narada Purana, Lord Hanuman is described as a master vocalist. It was a boon given to him by Narad Muni.
Meeting with Lord Rama
The Sundara Kanda, the fifth book in the Ramayana, shed light on how Hanuman met Rama in the last year or 14th year of exile after the demon king Ravana kidnapped Sita. Rama and his brother Lakshmana, are searching for his wife Sita when they first meet Hanuman who joined their search.
Control over Saturn or Shani
It is believed that worshipping Hanuman and Ganesha can lead to a reduction in the malefic influence of planets Saturn or Shani – a dreaded planet. People worship Hanuman as an astrological remedy on Tuesday or Saturday to contain the disastrous effects of Saturn. To do so, people offer mustard or sesame oil to Lord Hanuman. This practice dates back to the Ramayana era when Lord Rama is said to have applied oil as a balm on Hanuman’s body to heal the wounds inflicted in the war with Ravana.