by Vanamali
Late in the night Hanuman went to Mandara’s room and told her of the discussion that had taken place at court that morning. Surprisingly, she seemed rather pleased at the idea and said that she would like to get married. If she couldn’t get a man, a monkey was the next best bet. Maruti tried to talk her out of this, but she was adamant. At last, Hanuman lost his temper. He grew to an enormous size and started choking her with his tail to give her a taste of what marriage to him would be like! She was terrified and promised not to agree to the proposal when summoned to court.
The next morning, she appeared before the court, and Rama put the suggestion to her. There was an expectant silence. Hanuman glared at her, and she quickly turned down the offer. Hanuman breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Rama, who was regarding him with a twinkle in his eye, and he realized that the whole thing was a joke on his part.
One day Rama and Sita had an amicable argument as to which of them got greater devotion from Hanuman. They asked him outright, but the wily monkey managed to get out of it by saying that he was devoted to both of them jointly—Sita-Rama. Sita promptly asked him to get her a pitcher of water as she was dying of thirst. Rama immediately countered by feigning a swoon due to the heat and begged Hanuman to fan him. They both waited expectantly to find out which request would be attended to first. The clever monkey expanded both his arms and fetched water with one hand while fanning Rama with the other. This placated both his divine masters.
Once the divine sage Narada, who was noted for his great devotion to Vishnu, visited Ayodhya and asked Hanuman if Rama kept a record of his greatest bhaktas. Hanuman wasn’t too sure of this, so the sage went and asked Rama himself. The Lord showed him a huge ledger in which Narada’s name appeared on the top of the very first page. He was very pleased, but after going through the pages, he was puzzled at not finding Hanuman’s name anywhere. He went and reported the matter to Hanuman who said, “Ask him to show you his little diary.”
Narada returned and asked the Lord to show him this little book. In this he found that Hanuman was listed first and his own name was not to be found at all. Naturally, he asked Rama about the difference between the two. The Lord replied that the large book was a record of all those worthy souls who remembered him all the time whereas the second book was a record of all those whom he remembered all the time! Narada’s pride was duly humbled for he had always thought he was the greatest of all devotees.
Narada now enacted another drama to show the glory of the Lord’s name. Once the king of Kashi was going to Ayodhya with his full retinue when he was stopped by the sage, who always loved to create some situations for the further play of the Lord. Narada told the king that when he reached the court, he should pay his respects to all the sages except Viswamitra. The king was not at all happy about this but was bound by his promise. Vishwamitra was noted for his volatile temper and furious at the king’s behavior, complained to Rama. The Lord took out three arrows from his quiver and vowed to kill the king of Kashi before the end of the day. This news reached the king, who was terrified and ran to Narada, telling him to save him since the whole fault was his. Narada cheerfully replied that he could not hope for a better death than at the hands of Rama. The king was not impressed by this and ran to the river to hide himself from Rama’s wrath. Narada followed him and told him not to worry and that he would save him. He told him to sit on his lute and that he would carry him to the Kanchana Mountain.
“Who is there in that mountain that will be able to save me from Rama’s wrath?”
“Hanuman’s mother, Anjana, is doing tapas there. Throw yourself at her feet and beg her to save you. Don’t get up until she gives her word.”
As instructed, the king threw himself at the feet of Anjana and begged her to save him from imminent death. She promised him asylum and told him that no one could harm him in her presence. Then she asked him to name the person from whom he was running.
At last the king whispered, “Rama is one who has sworn to kill me before the day is over!”
“Rama!” exclaimed Anjana. “He is the soul of compassion! What crime have you committed to make him take such an oath?”
The poor king related the whole incident. Anjana then decided to invoke her son since she had given her word to the king to protect him. Just at this time Hanuman also arrived to meet his mother.
She was very happy to see him. She told him that she was in a great dilemma and begged him to rescue her. Hanuman immediately agreed to take care of whatever the problem might be, but she made him give his word three times before she disclosed the secret. Naturally, Hanuman was astounded to hear the whole story but having promised his mother, he had no other choice but to comply. He immediately transported the King of Kashi to the banks of the Sarayu River, which encircled the city of Ayodhya. He told him to stand waist-deep in the water and continuously chant the name of Rama.
“Remember, you must never get out of the water until I tell you and you must never stop chanting “Rama, Rama.”
The unhappy king had no other recourse but to give his promise. Hanuman now went posthaste to Rama and prostrated himself before him humbly.
Rama looked at him enquiringly and asked, “Is there something you want?”
Hanuman said, “My Lord, please give me your word that I will always be able to protect those who are chanting your name.”
“My dearest Maruti! I have already given you this boon. Why are you asking for it again?”
Hanuman insisted that he give his word once again and Rama laughingly obliged. Anjaneya now returned to the river and stood with upraised mace, ready to protect the king of Kashi, who was devotedly chanting Rama’s name loudly and clearly. Very soon the news spread that the one whom Rama had sworn to kill before nightfall was being guarded by no less a personage than Hanuman himself!!
Rama soon learned of the whereabouts of the king and went to the river accompanied by the sage Vishwamitra. Hanuman saw him coming and warned the king to keep chanting relentlessly, whatever happened. Rama fixed his arrow on the bow and shot it at the king. The arrow, however, went around the king and returned to his quiver. Rama was astonished to hear a voice from the arrow, “My Lord! I can’t kill someone who is chanting your name while Hanuman is around.”
Rama refused to listen to this and sent another arrow, which also returned and said, “O King! You have given your word to your devotee that anyone that chants your name will be protected by him. We are only helping you keep to your word.”
Vishwamitra was getting angry by this time, so Rama fitted his third arrow to the bow. Hanuman warned the king of Kashi to repeat the sacred mantra without even pausing for breath. The king’s teeth were chattering with cold, but he repeated the mantra continuously.
Just as Rama fitted his third arrow, his family guru, Vasishta, arrived on the scene and begged Hanuman to stand aside and allow Rama to redeem his pledge.
“The king will reach Heaven if he dies at the hands of Rama, so don’t try to thwart him.”
Hanuman said, “But I am indeed redeeming Rama’s pledge to me that I can save anyone who chants his name!”
Vasishta was puzzled as to how this dilemma could be solved. He decided that the only one who could do it was Vishwamitra. So he went to him and begged him to forgive the king of Kashi and let Rama off his pledge. Vishwamitra said that he was prepared to do so if the king fell at his feet and promised never to insult anyone in future, especially a sage.
Hanuman told his protégé to get out of the river and throw himself at the sage’s feet. The king was shivering so much that he could hardly get out of the river. Still repeating the name of Rama, he went and prostrated himself full-length at the feet of Vishwamitra. He clutched his feet and begged him to forgive him since the whole thing was a drama planned by the sage, Narada, who had a curious sense of humor and who was even now watching the whole scene with great amusement.
Vasishta now told Rama to keep his third arrow back in its quiver. Rama did so just as the sun slipped
below the western horizon. Hanuman fell at the feet of his master and begged him to forgive him. All he wanted to do was prove to the world the glory of the Lord’s name.
There is another story with the same theme that is well worth mentioning here.
The king of Kashi was called Yayati. He was a great bhakta of Rama. Once when he had gone hunting, he met the great sage, Vishwamitra and failed to do reverence to him in the eagerness of the chase. The sage, as is to be expected, cursed him. “I’ll see to it that your head falls at my feet!”
Yayati ran after the sage and begged his pardon. He told him that he was quite innocent of the whole affair and that he had been too engrossed in the chase and had not seen him. Vishwamitra was not to be appeased. He went straight to Ayodhya and told Rama, “O Rama! If you are my true disciple, you should see to it that the head of the one who insulted me is brought to my feet!”
“My Lord, who is it that has dared to insult you? Name him and I shall do your bidding immediately.”
When Rama heard the name of Yayati, he was shocked, for he knew that he was his true devotee, but after considering the matter carefully, he decided that it was his duty to obey his guru’s commands. He sent his minister to Kashi and commanded the king to be ready to have a duel with him. The king did not know what to do, but he decided that it was his duty to obey his Lord, so he started off toward Ayodhya in order to spare Rama the trouble of coming to him. En route he was met by the divine sage, Narada, who was always on the lookout to see more of the Lord’s lilas. The sage knew that the whole of life was indeed a game of the Supreme and he always did his bit to give interesting twists to the drama of life.
“O King!” he said. “I see that you are proceeding toward Ayodhya in order to spare the Lord the trouble of coming to you. But why do you give in so easily? Don’t you want to save your life?”
The poor king nodded his head miserably. He said that he didn’t know what he should do in this predicament and was hoping to persuade Rama that he was innocent.
Narada said, “Rama knows that, but he has sworn to do as his guru commands, so I advise you strongly not to go to Ayodhya.”
“What should I do then?” asked the desperate king.
“You should go to the mountain of Kanchana and take refuge at the feet of Anjana, the mother of Anjaneya. She is the only one who will be able to help you.”
“Now we will see some fun,” thought Narada as he proceeded toward Anjana’s ashrama.
Yayati also went as fast as he could to Anjana’s ashrama. He fell at her feet and begged her to give him sanctuary. She told him not to be frightened and that no one would be able to hurt him in that place. She then thought of her son and asked him to come to her aid.
Hanuman was disturbed by these mental vibrations of his mother and immediately came to her hermitage.
He bowed to her and to the King of Kashi, whom he recognized as a great devotee of Rama, and asked his mother why she had summoned him. She explained the whole matter to him. Hanuman also promised to protect the king. It was only then that they thought of asking him the name of his adversary. When he heard the name of Rama, both Hanuman and Anjana got a shock. They didn’t know what to do, but Anjana begged her son to back her word, even if it meant fighting with his beloved Rama. Narada also arrived on the scene, strumming his lute and looking quite delighted.
Both Rama and Vishwamitra arrived shortly after on the scene. Hanuman kept the king behind him and told Rama that his mother had afforded him protection and that he was bound to keep his mother’s word.
God and devotee stood looking at each other. At last Rama took up his fire missile and flung it at Hanuman. However, Anjaneya simply absorbed it, as well as all the other missiles that followed. Nothing seemed to affect him. At last Rama took up his famous arrow and said, “I have no recourse but to use this. Prove that you are my devotee and deliver King Yayati, to me for I have to keep my word to my guru.”
Hanuman replied, “My Lord! I am indeed your true devotee and disciple, so I have to keep my promise to my mother. Here is my breast. Please shoot your arrow at me.”
So saying, he bared his breast and stood with closed eyes, repeating the Rama mantra.
The arrow flew unerringly, split Maruti’s breast, and disappeared into his heart. To everyone’s amazement, within his throbbing heart, they saw Rama and Sita enshrined.
Narada now went to the king and told him to run and lay his head at Vishwamitra’s feet. This was the right moment to save him-self. Even though he was frightened to show himself, the king obeyed the sage and ran and put his head on Vishwamitra’s feet and begged him to forgive him for whatever sin he might have unknowingly committed.
Rama turned around, ready to take Yayati’s head, but Narada stopped him and said, “My Lord, please desist from killing Yayati. Your guru’s curse has been fulfilled. All he told you was to lay the king’s head at his feet and this has been done. So you are not guilty of going against your guru’s command.”
Rama looked enquiringly at Vishwamitra, who was already regretting his hasty action and had forgiven the king long ago. The sage said, “Narada is right, O Rama. The king’s head is at my feet, so please consider that you have obeyed my command.”
Rama put his arrow back into the quiver and turned to Hanuman, saying, “O Anjaneya! You have conquered me. You are indeed my true devotee. In order to keep your word, you were even prepared to fight with me. In the future, you will be known as Veera Hanuman (Heroic Hanuman).
Hanuman bowed at Rama’s feet and said, “It is you who have conquered me, my Lord, from the day you first cast your gracious glance over me. You are ever in my heart and it is you yourself who intercepted the arrow sent by you and saved me. I had nothing to do in this matter.”
There is another story about Hanuman that is meant to prove the superiority of the Lord’s name.
Once it is said that Rama picked up his bow to kill a person called Kuvachana who had insulted his ancestors. He immediately sought Hanuman’s protection. Without going into the nature of his crime, Hanuman promised to defend him at any cost.
When he saw Rama approaching, bow in hand, he realized he had been tricked. Since he had given his word, he placed himself, arms akimbo, between Rama and Kuvachana.
Chanting the name of Rama, Hanuman created an enclosure around Kuvachana with his tail. The enclosure reverberated with the sound of the Rama mantra. Try as he might, Rama himself could not breach this fortress.
“More powerful than Rama is the name of Rama,” murmured Hanuman.
The gods intervened to end the stalemate. Rama was allowed to kill Kuvachana to avenge the insult to his ancestors. Hanuman was allowed to bring Kuvachana back to life with the power of Rama’s name!
Whoever brings any yearning to you,
Obtains the fruit of immortal life.
SRI HANUMAN CHALISA BY TULSIDAS
Aum Sri Hanumathe Namaha!
Aum Samsara-bhayanashakaaya Namaha!
30
Veera
Sita Abandoned
Again and again I beg of thee a boon,
Be gracious and grant it—an unwavering faith in thy lotus feet,
And constant communion with the saints.
RAMACHARITAMANAS BY TULSIDAS
It is in the last book known as Uttara Kanda that Valmiki recounts the previous history of Ravana, the king of the night wanderers. It is also in this book that the painful episode of Rama’s repudiation of Sita is told. We may well wonder at the intention of the sage in doing this. Maybe he wanted to compare the polaric differences in the towering personalities of the two men, both of whom loved Sita so passionately. One was the lusty, powerful rakshasa Ravana, who was prepared to exterminate his entire race, his brothers, his friends, and even his own sons in order to quench his infatuation for another man’s wife. The other was the divine personality of Rama, who made the heartrending decision to subdue his passion for his lawfully wedded wife and place his duty to his subjects first, who was pre
pared to sacrifice the one he loved most on the altar of the cosmic law of dharma, which proclaims that a king should put god first, his country next, and his own personal desire last. Ravana perished along with the rest of his tribe while the land of Kosala flourished under the rule of its saintly king!
Sages from all over the land used to come to Ayodhya in order to bless Rama and Sita. He seated them on golden thrones and gave all hospitality to them. Once he questioned them on Ravana’s history—how had he become so powerful and what was the story behind his son, Meghanatha, and so on.
Agastya now told the whole story of Ravana. He had been a great devotee of Shiva. He had done great tapas to Brahma and had gotten many boons from him. He had asked for invincibility from all types of gods, demons, animals, and celestials, but he had forgotten to add humans and monkeys to his list. Having got all these boons, he became very arrogant and fought with everyone, including the gods. In his pride he even tried to lift up Mount Kailasa, but Shiva pressed the mountain down with his big toe so that Ravana’s hand was smashed under it. It was then that he composed the famous hymn to Shiva known as Shiva Thandava Stotra, which pleased Shiva so much that he released his hand and gave him many other boons.