Hanuman, the monkey
God is considered Chiranjeevi (will live eternally). He is stong, full
of valour, with various skills and powers. At the same time , he is
wise, a great gnani, a yogi, a brahmachari. He had the one thought only
- that of serving his Lord Rama with utmost humility and devotion. He
is known as Siriya Thiruvadi. He is considered to be an amsam of Lord
Siva.
He is known by
various names
Hanuman - (His jaw & cheek had gone in
when struck by the Vajrayudha of Indra)
Anumandhayya - (in Karnataka)
Aanjaneyalu - (in Andhra Pradesh)
Aanjaneyan - (for he is the son of Anjana)
Maruthi - ( son of Vaayu - in Maharashtra)
Anumandhan
Vaayunandhan
Kesarinandhanan
Aadhitasishyan
Siriya Thiruvadi (for he was the vahanam
for Rama)
He is worshipped in
the temples as Bhaktha Hanuman & Veera Hanuman. He is seen seated
humbly in front of Rama vigrahmas in the Rama sannadhis. There are also
separate temples for Hanuman. As Bhaktha Hanuman he is seen holding
both hands together in prayer. He is seen as Veera Hanuman, holding the
mace in one hand & the sanjeevi Parvatham in the other.
Devotees are blessed
with courage, valour, wisdom, gnanam. He is very happy when he hears
the Rama namam. Hence repeating the Raama namam is the best way to get
his blessings.
His life
Hanuman or Anjaneya is the son of Anjana
Devi. She was once a celestial maiden & was born as a monkey-woman as a
result of a curse. She was living happily with her husband Kesari.
When king Dasaratha performed a yagna praying for off-springs, he was
yielded a pot of payasam(pudding) from the yaga fire. His wives shared
the prasada & thus Rama, Lakshmana, Bharatha & Shatrugana were born. A
portion of this payasam was carried by the Lord of winds - Vayu Deva &
fell in the hands of Anjana Devi and she gave birth to a lovely & strong
son. Since Vayu Deva was responsible for the payasam reaching Anjana,
he is also considered the father of Hanuman. (Vayu Puthran Hanuman).
He grew up as a strong
& mischievous young lad. He could travel as fast as the wind. He
mistook the glowing sun to be a fruit & flew upto the sky & reached for
the sun. Such was his might & will power even as a child. Lord Indra
was upset & strcuk Anjaneya with his thunderbolt (Vajraayudham). Vaayu
Deva was upset that his son was struck & he stopped blowing. The whole
world was in trouble without winds. All the Gods offered various
powerful boons to Anjaneya, thus making him more powerful & invincble
than before. Vayu Bhagavan was pleased & started his work again.
Anjaneya was causing
trouble to the rishis & others, not really realising the might his
powerful & playful actions. The angered rishis curesed him that he
would cease to realise & recognise his powers unless someone remnded him
of it. This calmed him down & he started his lessons with the rishis.
He wanted to learn from Surya Bhagavan who is eternally travelling. The
mighty Hanuman travelled with Surya at his speed and mastered all the
scriptures. As Guru dakshina Anjaneya agreed to serve Sukriva, the son
of Surya. He thus became a trusted and valued minister of Sugreeva, a
monkey king.
He played a major role
in the happenings in Ramayana, the great epic. When Rama was banished
from his kingdom Ayodhya by his mother Kaikeyi, he reached the forests
with his wife Sita & borther Lakshmana. Sugreeva with his army &
Hanuman was in hiding from his brother Vaali. Hanuman met Rama &
thereafter was with Rama forever. When Sita Devi was abducted by Ravana,
the demon king, he flew across the oceans & found Sita Devi in the
Ashoka vanam in Lanka. He consoled Sita Devi and set fire to Lanka,
destorying many asuras. He served as the emissary of peace to Ravana's
court. He assisted Rama in crossing the ocean by building the sethu
bridge along with his vanara freinds. During the war he flew to bring
the Sanjeevi mountain, full of medicinal herbs to revive Lakshmana who
had fallen. When the victorious Rama returned to Ayodhya & was crowned
king, he continued to serve him, ever at his service.
He featured in the
other epic Mahabaratha. He stood by the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra
war. He stabilised and protected Arjuna's chariot by being present in
the flag flying in the chariot. He was thus honoured with witnessing
the Geetopadhesam firsthand.
Worship &
offerings
Anjaneyar is worshipped with offerings of
butter & Vadaimalai (a garland of vadais). Butter is applied to the
mouth & tail of Hanuman vigrahams in temples. Devotees pray to the Lord
& apply dots of kumkumam to his tail from the starting point to the tip
of the tail to pictures at home.
Some of the
Hanuman temples/sannadhis in India
There are separate temples just for
Hanuman & also separate shrine for him in some of the Vishnu & Siva
temples.
Tirupati
The Hanuman sannadhi is just opposite the
Venkatachalapthi's sannadhi
Sholingapuram
Hanuman temple is situated on a hill
opposite to the the hill on which is the temple for Narasinga Perumal.
He is Yoga Anjaneyar, with 4 hands with changu, charam.
Suchindram
Suchindram is located 13 kms away from
Kanyakumari, Tamilnadu. There is a huge 18ft high idol of Lord Hanuman.
A simple prayer to Anjaneya
Asaathya Saadhaka Swaamin
Asaathyam Thavakim vadha
Raama Dhootha Kribhaa Sindho
Math Kaaryam Sadhakka Prabho
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