Week 5 Storytelling: Hanuman’s Birth

Week 5 Storytelling: Hanuman’s Birth

“Ravi, come home it’s time for bed!” Nihal yelled from the window of his home in the rainforest canopy.

A meek voice replied, “Dad, let me play with my friends a bit longer!”

“Don’t you want to grow big and strong like Hanuman? To that you must sleep.” Nihal shouted back. 

No sooner had those words come out of Nihal’s mouth than Ravi came swinging through the trees headed straight for their home. His face was visibly excited at the mention of Hanuman, and he quickly readied himself for bed.

“Will you come tuck me in and tell me a story about Hanuman dad?” Ravi asked.

“Of course son,” Nihal said as he began tucking Ravi tightly under the covers, “I want to tell you about Hanuman’s youth. He used to be a little monkey just like you Ravi.”

Hanuman as a child

Ravi’s eyes lit up at the thought of Hanuman being the same as him. He sat in anticipation as Nihal began to tell the story of Hanuman’s origin.

“Ravi, do you know the wind you feel that cools you off on a hot day? That wind is the god Vayu. Vayu is Hanuman’s father, and his mother is the most beautiful monkey woman on all of earth Anjana. Anjana was already married, so she had to keep Hanuman a secret so she left him alone in a cave. All alone in the cave Hanuman began to grow hungry and started looking for something to eat. He gazed into the sky and saw a beautiful orange shape. ‘It must be a mango’ Hanuman thought, so he jumped towards it.”

“Daddy no, it’s the sun not a mango! Hanuman can’t get hurt!” Ravi exclaimed

“Don’t worry son he’ll be safe,” Nihal continued, “Vayu his father cooled Hanuman to keep him from getting burned up as he approached the sun! The Asura Rahu was approaching the sun to eat it causing a solar eclipse, and Hanuman accidently kicked him in the eye. Rahu fled to Indra, complaining that another Rahu was attempting to swallow the sun, so Indra got aboard his elephant Airavata and came to investigate. As Rahu approached Hanuman saw his large round form and once more attacked Rahu this time thinking he was a mango! Rahu yelled in pain and Indra shouted ‘Stop this at once!’ The noise of Indra’s shout diverted Hanuman’s attention and he caught sight of Airivata. ‘The biggest mango of all!’ thought Hanuman as he lept towards Airivata.

Ravi was laughing hysterically at the thought of Hanuman trying to eat so many things because he thought they were mangos. “Daddy, Hanuman is so silly,” Ravi said holding back his laughter. “What happens next? Indra doesn’t hurt Hanuman does he?”

Nihal chuckled at his sons amusement and continued the story, “Indra cast Hanuman down to earth with great force. Hanuman was hurt badly in the fall, and his father Vayu saw it all take place. The wind left the earth as Vayu went to the aid of his son Hanuman. The entire earth was without wind. Men grew restless, and climates changed in unnatural ways. The earth was out of balance with out Vayu flowing through the lands. Brahma came pleading for him to return to earth, and as a sign of goodwill he granted Hanuman invincibility. Still Vayu was not pleased. Something was still wrong with Hanuman, but now one could figure it out.”

“He still hasn’t eaten! He is hungry daddy, they need to feed him,” Ravi interrupted.

“Exactly! Too bad you weren’t there to help the gods figure that out Ravi,” Nihal said as he patted Ravi on the head. “Soon though Surya, the sun, realized the problem and brought three mangos to Hanuman. This pleased Vayu greatly and he returned to the earth. Wind flowed once more through the earth, rushing around bringing balance at last to the wilderness and peace to men. The next morning Hanuman awoke and are his mangos and Vayu carried him away.”

Nihal paused briefly noticing silence from Ravi he said “I will tell you more of this incredible story tomorrow son. Sleep tight, and have wonderful dreams of Hanuman. I love you.” He kissed his son and went of to his room to sleep.

Author’s Note:
I really enjoy the idea of writing a tale as a bedtime story. Putting a child to bed is the ideal situation to tell a wonderful imaginative story! It gives them entertainment, helps put them to sleep and maybe even gives them some really neat dreams! I thought that Hanuman would be the perfect story to tell to a child monkey. Just like a young boy wishes he could be superman, a young monkey must wish he could be Hanuman! With such incredible strength and the inability to be killed the young monkey’s look at him with adoration. The father Nihal used this opportunity to draw Ravi home. I know I’ve done similar things to get little boys to go to sleep! Simply asking them if they want to grow to be big and strong and telling them they need lots of rest will work! I used that in my story to show how much Ravi admired Hanuman. It was fun writing like a father telling the story to his child, and I barely changed any of the original story. I simplified some details and left out some more “violent” wording since it was a story being told to a child, but overall the story remained unchanged.

Bibliography:

1) Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.

Week 5 Reading Diary B: Rama and the Monkeys

Week 5 Reading Diary B: Rama and the Monkeys

This reading began with the kidnapping of Sita, and Rama's desperate search for her. Ravana was madly in love with Sita and made some very poor decisions. He was nearly killed by Jatayu while taking Sita back to Lanka, and his carelessness allowed Sita to leave a trail of evidence to aid Rama's search. He quickly found himself in the company of Savari who told him of the monkeys Sugriva and Hanuman.
Hanuman is by far one of my favorite characters in the Ramayana, and I was very glad that Buck included an in depth story about Hanuman and his origin (as well as the origin of all monkeys for that matter!). I was curious why Hanuman stuck with Sugriva in exile and how he has such great power considering he was a seemingly normal monkey, but that is not the case at all! Savari tells how Hanuman is actually the son of Vayu, the wind, and a beautiful monkey woman. He was born to be a friend that stuck by Sugriva no matter what, and has a pretty humorous story from when he was born. He actually tried to eat the sun because he thought it was fruit! As a result of the events that unfolded he was granted immortality by Brahma. It was wonderful to be given such a deep background behind Hanuman.

Baby Hanuman attempting to eat the sun!

I also enjoyed reading about the kingdom of Kishkindhya, and how the king of the monkeys also ruled over the bears! Vali caused a strained relationship with the bear due to his arrogance, and Sugriva was outcast due to Vali's quick temper. When Vali was killed by Rama and Sugriva became king he restored the relationship between the monkeys and bears and promised Rama help after the rainy season. At the end of the rainy season Sugriva was slow to respond to Rama due to drunkenness, but eventually the leaders of the animals got together and began planning to search for Sita. It was fun imagining the massive leaders of the bears, the elegant Sugriva and powerful Hanuman all seated around a table along with Rama and Lakshmana as they strategized about how to find Sita. Overall I enjoyed the many details that were added in this section of Buck's Ramayana as compared to Narayan's. There was much more imagery, and even added characters that I enjoyed reading about.

The leaders of monkey's and bears planning the search

Week 5 Reading Diary A: Bharata’s Plea and Surpanakha’s Mutilation

Week 5 Reading Diary A: Bharata’s Plea and Surpanakha’s Mutilation



One episode that grabbed my attention was Bharata finding forgiveness for Kaikeyi. When Bharata was called back to Ayodhya he knew something was wrong, and rode swiftly back. He learned that his father had died and was absolutely devastated. When he learned that Kaikeyi was the cause he grew furious and wished the worst upon his mother. His reaction was certainly justified considering her wishes caused Dasaratha’s death and Rama’s exile, but turning against his own mother was difficult I’m sure. He struggled with forgiving her due to the pain she had caused, yet he still loved her and didn’t wish ill will upon her. I think he asked Vasishtha what her punishment would be to push him over the edge with sorrow so that he could seek forgiveness. Vasishatha knew that Manthara deceived Kaikeyi and that she was to blame, thus he probably told Bharata all the misfortune Kaikeyi would face to urge him to forgive her. It was very touching to see Bharata find a deep love for his mother after his anger at her actions.

The character I enjoyed most in this reading was Rama because of his honorable character. Bharata and the Kosalas traveled great distances and overcame many things to reach Rama. Bharata and all the people of Ayodhya pleaded Rama to return as their king, yet Rama declined simply because he wished to uphold his fathers word! He didn’t want to disrespect the promise his father gave and therefore turned down the people he loved greatly and chose to accept fourteen years of exile. That takes such incredible character to willingly turn down the easy option to respect your father and uphold his word. No wonder the people of Ayodhya respected Rama so much!

Baharta pleading Rama to return

The final episode that really grabbed my attention was the mutilation of Surpanakha. In Naryana’s Ramayana the episode played out a lot more. Surpanakha took a beautiful human form and tried to deceive Rama. In Buck’s retelling she did not change forms, but rather demanded Rama as her husband! Rama refused because he was already married. Surpanakha then rushed at Sita, but Lakshmana intercepted her and cut off her ears! Lakshmana’s reaction seems more justified because Surpanakha obviously meant to harm Sita and he was simply protecting her. Naryana’s retelling the mutilation of Surpanakha seemed more unwarranted and brutal, so I certainly like Buck’s version better!

Lakshmana defending agains Surpanakha