Week 4: Hanuman the Hero

Upon completing human sacrifices to the fire-god, Agni, Indrajit received a special cloak which could be used as a weapon. This cloak was not just any ordinary cloak but was one that could give him the ability to go incognito and become invisible, it was referred to as a Brahmastra. Indrajit knew that with this weapon he would be able to defeat the monkey army and their leader Hanuman. For many decades the two have fought but Indrajit had never been successful in defeating his enemy Hanuman.

Things were about to change.

Or so he thought.

One night Indrajit snuck up on the monkey army as they peacefully slept with their elephant wives and children. Indrajit used his special invisible cloak to do so and he was happy to find that it worked. Within a matter of minutes Indrajit was able to slay all of the monkeys that slept at that village. Word got around and the other monkeys who were away doing monkey army stuff came running back to try and ward of Indrajit and his army. They were unsuccessful and all were slaughtered.

Hanuman who was away on business caught word of the mayhem that took place and returned to the village. Upon entering the village Hanuman found Jambavan, the king of bears, who told him what had happened and how to solve this issue at hand.

Upon receiving this news Hanuman lept away to carry out his task.

Leaping and flying through the air Hanuman finally arrived at his intended location and began his search.

He searched for at least 48 hours attempting to find herbs that Jambavan told him would cure all of the monkeys and bring them back to life. Finally! Hanuman was able to locate these herbs and made his voyage back to the monkey village where his men lay slain.
Arriving at the village Hanuman was able to cast a spell on his men with the herbs he found and bring them back to life. Once his men were alive they continued to combat Indrajit's army and this time were successful for they had the spell that continued to protect them and make them stronger.

Photo information: Agni; god of fire, Wikimedia

Author's Notes:
Indrajit has attacked and killed much Hanuman's army. Hanuman must find a way to save his army and defeat Indrajit who was able to aqcuire a special weapon called the Brahmastra. In the original story Hanuman travelled to the Himalaya's but was unable to find the herbs needed so he uprooted and brought the mountain with him, returning it once his men were healed.

Source: Hanuman and the Mountain. Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914).

Reading Notes: Hanuman and the Mountain, Part D

Background information: Indrajit attacks Hanuman and the monkey army with a Brahmastra which is a supernatural weapon that could potentially used to destroy the world. At this point Hanuman realizes that it is up to him to defend and protect the army against Indrajit.


Indrajit receives a Brahmastra after completing sacrifices to the fire god and receiving blessings from his father and king Ravana. With this weapon Indrajit kills many monkeys within the monkey army and is able to conquer Rama. Once Indrajit conquers Rama he returns victorious to Lanka.
Vibhishana and Hanuman find these slain monkeys along with Jambavan, the kind of bears. Finding Jambavan the two run to him and he manages to tell Hanuman what he must do. After telling Hanuman that he must run to the Himalaya (mountain) and find healing herbs to bring back, he does so.
Once at the mountain Hanuman is unable to find the herbs that are needed so he completely uproots the mountain and returns back to Lanka with it. Upon arriving back in Lanka all of the wounded monkeys were healed, but the rakshasas were not. After all of his monkeys were healed Hanuman returned the mountain back.

The mountain that Hanuman healed the slain with; Himalaya. Wikipedia

Source: Hanuman and the Mountain. Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914).

Reading Notes: The Burning of Lanka Part C

Hanuman from the monkey army suffered the burning of his tail by the hands of the rakshasa (maneating beings). Hanuman did this in order to get a better insight of the layout of the capital city Lanka. Sita caught word of the monkey's tail being on fire and lifted him up into prayer, asking for her God to take the pain and fire away from the monkey. When she did so the prayer was answered and Hanuman's tail was put out.
Once Hanuman's tail was no longer ablaze he ran around Lanka catching the city on fire. He burned all the buildings and the riches that lie in those buildings. Pausing and saddened by the thought of Sita dying Hanuman decides to return to the tree where he had left Sita. Once he arrived at the tree he realizes that Sita is not dead but rather alive and well. Here they discussed rescuing Rama and decided to return to their mountain range home.


Notes: this story was taken from The Burning of Lanka. Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914).

Photo information: Hanuman torching the city of Lanka. Wikimedia