Hanuman's Birth and Childhood
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Hanuman's early life is full of wonder: a child of the wind who tried to catch the sun, was struck down by Indra, and rose again blessed by all the gods.
- Mother
- Anjana (Anjani), a vanara woman in the Ramayana; Puranic tradition calls her an apsara named Punjikasthala who was cursed to be born a vanara
- Father
- Kesari, a vanara chief; Vayu (Pavan), the wind-god, is his spiritual father
- Name meaning
- Hanuman comes from hanu, jaw
- Teacher
- Surya, the sun-god
- Sources
- Valmiki Ramayana (Kishkindha and Uttara Kandas), Puranas, Ramcharitmanas
Parents and birth
Hanuman is the son of Anjana and Kesari. In the Valmiki Ramayana the elder Jambavan tells Hanuman that Vayu, the wind-god, blessed Anjana with this son, so Hanuman is called Vayu-putra, Pavan-putra and Maruti (son of the Maruts, the winds). Many tellings also honour him as an incarnation, or amsha, of Lord Shiva (Rudra), which is why the Hanuman Chalisa calls him Shankar suvan. Kesari is remembered as a valiant vanara leader, and Hanuman is also called Kesari-nandan and Anjaneya (son of Anjana).
Where was Hanuman born?
Traditions differ. Devotees in Karnataka revere Anjanadri hill near Hampi (the old Kishkindha region). In Maharashtra, Anjaneri near Nashik is held to be his birthplace, and a place near Gumla in Jharkhand is also claimed. All are places of pilgrimage, and each tradition honours its own account.
The story of the sun
One morning the infant Hanuman was hungry and saw the rising sun glowing like a ripe fruit. With the strength of the wind he leapt into the sky towards it. The Hanuman Chalisa remembers this in the line about swallowing the sun thousands of leagues away, thinking it a sweet fruit. The gods feared for the world, and Indra struck the child with his thunderbolt (vajra). It hit his jaw and Hanuman fell to earth, unconscious.
How he became Hanuman
The Sanskrit word hanu means jaw. Because of the injury to his jaw the child was called Hanuman. Vayu was so grieved that he withdrew the wind from the world, and every creature began to suffocate. Brahma and the other gods hurried to restore the child and calm the wind-god.
Boons from the gods
- Brahma is said to have made him immune to Brahma's weapon and granted him a very long life.
- Indra declared that his body would be as hard as a vajra, which gave him the name Bajrangbali.
- Surya gave him a share of his brilliance and later taught him.
- Varuna, Agni, Yama, Kubera and Vishwakarma gave protection from water, fire, death, the mace of Kubera and Vishwakarma's creations.
- Vayu blessed him with tremendous speed and freedom of movement.
Lists of boons vary between texts, but the meaning is the same: the gods together made him almost invincible.
The forgotten strength
As a growing child Hanuman was playful and used his powers without care, disturbing sages at their prayers. The sages, in a gentle curse, made him forget his own strength until someone reminded him of it. That is why in the Ramayana, when the search party stands helplessly at the seashore, it is the wise bear-king Jambavan who reminds Hanuman of what he can do.
Education under Surya
Hanuman asked Surya to be his guru. Surya could not stop moving across the sky, so Hanuman studied while flying backwards before the sun's chariot, learning the Vedas, scriptures and grammar. In the Ramayana, Ram is deeply impressed by Hanuman's flawless and precise speech, and Lakshman remarks that no fault can be found in it. As his guru-dakshina, Hanuman is said to have promised to serve Surya's son Sugriva, which led him to the story of Ram.
Continue with the story of Hanuman and Ram or return to the Hanuman ji guide.
A note on sources: the story of Hanuman is told in the Valmiki Ramayana (Sanskrit), Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas (Awadhi), the Mahabharata, the Puranas and many regional retellings. The accounts agree on the main events but differ in details, so this guide says so wherever traditions differ.