HANUMANTA AVATAR

trEteyali raghupatiya sEve mADuvenendu

vAtasuta hanumantanendenisida

pOtabhAvadi taraNibimbake langhisida

ItageNe yAru mUrlOkadoLage ll5ll

trEteyali = in trEta yuga (the second Yuga)

raghupatiya sEve = service of raghupathi (rAma)

mADuvenendu = saying that I will dovAtasuta = son of vAyu (hanumanta)

hanumantanendenisida = became hanumanta

pOtabhAvadi = in childish enthusiasm

taraNibimbake = image of the sun

langhisida = jumped

ItageNe = equal (or superior) to him

yAru = who

mUrlOkadoLage = in all the three worlds

In trEta yuga, in order to serve Raghupathi, the son of Vayu became hanumanta.

Out of absolute childish enthusiasm he jumped at the sun. Who can match or exceed

him in all the 3 worlds?

To serve hari, full of all auspicious attributes, vAyu, the first amongst gods

and having auspicious attributes more than others, took birth as a monkey named

hanuman. There is an interesting aspect here that we wish to draw your attention to - the

use of "hanumanta" instead of other alternatives like 'AnjanEya", "mAruti",

"vAyu-putra" etc. because “hanu" means gyAna or knowledge, therefore "hanuman" means a very intelligent

person.

There is a popular story that the babu hanumanta mistook the sun to be a fruit

and jumped to grab it. Indra hit him with his vajrAyudha (missile) and that is

how hanumanta's cheeks became swollen. When one tries to grasp all of hanuman's great attributes - his strength,

intelligence, devotion, steadfastness, etc. - one realizes that one lifetime is

too small to get a full measure of his greatness, and one has to satisfy oneself

with the thought that "there never was, is or will be anybody like him in all

the three worlds".

Mighty Hanuman jumping towards Sun 

taraNigabhimukhavAgi shabdashAstrava paThisi

uravaNisi hindumundAgi naDeda

parama pavamAna udayAsta shailagaLA

bharadi aidida EtagupameyunTE ll6ll

taraNigabhimukhavAgi = taranIge + abhimukavagi = facing the sun

shabdashAstrava = shabda + shAstrava

paThisi = (after) reciting

uravaNasi = quikly

hindumundAgi = backwards

naDeda = walked

parama = primary or supreme

pavamAna = vAyu

udayAsta = rising and setting

shailagaLA = hills

bharadi aidida = reached quickly

EtagupameyunTE = Itage + upame + unTE = Is there an example (equal) for him?

Facing the sun, he walked backwards and learnt the shAstras from the sun, moving

from the rising hills to the setting hills. Is there any comparison to him?

Hanumanta approached the Sun to teach him grammar, logic and the shAstras. The

Sun told him that he could not pause on his journey from East to West and so he

could teach hanumanta only if he could keep pace with him. Hanumanta agreed.

Every day, at sunrise he would jump to the hills on the East where the Sun would

rise, and walk backwards on the sky, always facing the Sun, until the Sun set in

the west.

The first point to note is that the Sun is a jIva whereas hanumanta is

jIvOttama, there is nothing that the Sun knows, which hanumanta

doesn't. So there is no question of the Sun teaching hanumanta. Also, as stated

by srimadAchArya (documented in the posting of Verse 4) there is no possibility

of hanumanta worshipping anybody other than the Lord. So, the teacher that

hanumanta faced was Lord hari inside the Sun.

Second, hanumanta is pUrnapragna (one whose knowledge and awareness is complete

and perfect). It is said vAyu (and brahma) can get full knowledge about anything

(or anyone) in the universe by just thinking about that person or object; the

only exception is matters concerning hari and lakshmi. So, there is no question

of hanumanta learning something as ordinary as grammar or logic. All of this is

pretense, to teach us, it is dignified to learn from a guru. This is the same reason why rAma and krishna needed a

teacher, and bhIma needed drONa.

 The reason for his going along with the sun backwards is for facing his Guru and

the Lord.

The use of the phrase 'parama pavamAna". Here parama indicates superiority amongst

jIvas (i.e., hanumanta being jIvOttama). pavamAna indicates, among other things,

purity or lack of blemishes or defects (like ignorance). So, by using this phrase, shrIpAdarAjaru is sort

 of telling us "remember that we are talking about

jIvottama himself, so dont get mistaken into thinking that he learnt shAstras

from the Sun".

Another aspect to be noted is that the pace set by the Sun is so hectic that he

himself has no time to tarry anywhere. Yet, hanumanta was able to keep up with

this pace, and do it walking backwards to boot! And remember, he was paying

attention to what the Sun was supposedly teaching him! And without stopping for

food, water or any other natural requirement!! So it is no exaggeration when

shrIpAdarAjaru says categorically that there is nobody equal to hanumanta.

akhiLavEdagaLa sArava paThisidanu munnalli

nikhiLa vyAkaraNagaLa iva pELida

mukhadalli kinchidapashabda ivagillendu

mukhyaprANananu rAmananukarisida ll7ll

akhiLavEdagaLa = all the vEdas

sArava = essence

paThisidanu = he recited

munnalli = quickly (or in front of)

nikhiLa = all the

vyAkaraNagaLa = grammar and related topics

iva pELida = he said

mukhadalli = in the face

kinchidapashabda = kinchid + apashada

kinchid = the smallest possible extent

apashabda = wrong pronunciation or usage

ivagillendu = he does not have

mukhyaprANananu = mukhya + prANananu = Chief Life-spirit (vAyu)

ramananukarisida = ramanu + anukarisida = rAma declared.

He quickly learnt and recited the essence of all vEdAs and all aspects related

to grammar and literature. "There is not a single apashabda (wrong pronunciation

or usage) in his speech" thus RAma praised mukhyaprANa.

It is also said that Lord hari Himself taught the vEdas to brahma and vAyu at

the beginning of creation. So, there was nothing new that hanumanta needed to

learn. That is why the word "paTisidanu" (reciting) is used rather than

“kalitanu" (learning).

hanumanta is praised in the scriptures as a great 'vyAkaraNa panDita' (expert in

grammar).

shrI jayatIrtharu (tIkArAyaru) says that by his grace (along with bhArati dEvi's

grace) a dumb mute becomes a great orator ("mUkOpi vAgmi"), and a dull, retarded

creature becomes a brilliant scholar

When sugrIva learnt that rAma and lakshmaNa were in the neighborhood, he was not

sure of their orientation towards him. He even suspected that they may be

friends of vAli. To get a proper idea about them, he sent hanumanta in disguise

to interview them and find out the reason for their presence. hanuman disguised

himself as a brahmin and spoke with them for a while. rAma observed hanumanta's

diction, command over the language and made the following remarks to lakshmaNa

nAnRugvEdavinItasya nAyajurvEda dAriNah

vA sAmavEda viduShah shakyamEvam prabhAShitum

(rAmAyaNa - Canto 2 Verse 28)

"It is not possible for somebody who has not learnt the RgvEda, sAmavEda and

yajurvEda with meaning to speak like this."

nUnam vyAkaraNam kRutyamanEnana bahudhAshrutam

bahu vyAharatAnEna na kinchidapashadditam

(rAmAyaNa - Canto 2 Verse 29)

"Nor is it possible for somebody who has not learnt grammar (and other literary

aspects) deeply and practised it extensively to speak like this. There is not a

single mispronunciation or wrong usage in his speech."

taraNisutananu kAyda sharadhiyanu neredATi

dharaNisuteyaLa kanDu danujaroDane

bharadi raNavanemADi gelidu divyAstragaLa

uruhi lankeya banda hanumantanu ll8ll

taraNisutananu = the son of Sun

kAyda = protected

sharadhiyanu = the ocean

neredATi = cross from end to end

dharaNisuteyaLa = the daughter of the Earth (sIta)

kanDu = seen

danujaroDane = with demons

bharadi = violently

raNavanemADi = waged a battle

gelidu = won (or rendered useless)

divyAstragaLa = divine weapons

uruhi = burnt

lankeya = lanka

banda = came back (returned)

hanumantanu = hanumanta

 Hanumanta protected the child of the sun god, crossed the ocean from end-to end, met or saw

the daughter of the Earth, fought with rakshAsas and demons ferociously, conquered (or rendered useless)

several divyAstras (potent and divine missiles) and returned after burning lanka.

sugrIva was the incarnation of the sun, so he was also known as taraNisuta

(child of sun). Hanumanta helped him in several ways.

First, hanumamta brought about friendship between sugrIva and rAma, and got

sugrIva crowned king of the monkeys by rAma.

Next, when sugrIva forgot his promise to rAma, hanumanta cautioned him, "It is

not correct to be forget rAma. He is most honored to us. Even if you forget

your promise, I will force you to do what you promised". sugrIva immediately

made replacement for his delay. Thus, hanumanta saved sugrIva from the terrible sin of

ingratitude (and from rAma's anger, which would have wiped out sugrIva).

When jAmbuvanta and other monkeys saw the vastness of the ocean, they were

convinced that they would never be able to jump across it. They approached

hanumanta and praised him

"You alone are capable of performing this task and saving the lives of all

monkeys (from rAmA's anger at their failure)"

Most of the vAnarAs were actually gods who had incarnated in order to serve the

Lord; this incident actually shows the primacy of vAyu amongst all gods.

In lanka, hanumanta was attacked by 80 crore (800 million) rAkshAsas (demons),

lead by 80 fierce warlords. However, all their attacks and blows had the same

effect as hitting an intoxicated elephant with flowers. Yet, hanumanta destroyed

all of them with blows from his bare hands.

All the potent and divine missiles that akshakumAra rained on hanumanta had

absolutely no effect. Indrajit swore that he would use very potent missiles and cut off hanumanta's

limbs. But none of his missiles could make any impression.

There is a popular misconception that hanumanta was captured by the brahmAstra

(one of the most potent weapons available to warriors) used by indrajit.

Hanumanta could have easily warded off that missile too; after all his level is

almost the same as brahma in the hierarchy. However, he allowed himself to be

captured because he did not want to deliberately slight brahmAstra, and also

because he wanted to meet rAvaNa face-to-face and show him his power. There was

also a military purpose to be served since he wanted to get a first-hand

estimate of the strength of the enemy). srimadAchArya says

The handiwork of vishwakarma (Lanka) got burnt by the luster of hanumanta.

Hanumanta burning Lanka

harige chUDAmaNiyanittu harigaLa kUDi

sharadhiyanu kaTTi bahu rakkasaranu

orisi raNadali dashashirana huDiguTTi tA

mereda hanumanta balavanta dhIra ll9ll

harige = (to) hari

chUDAmaNiyanittu = giving chUDAmaNi (tiara)

harigaLa = monkeys

kUDi = together or with

sharadhiyanu = the ocean

kaTTi = typing up (or limiting)

bahu = lots

rakkasaranu = demons

orisi = killing

raNadali = in the battle

dashashirana = the ten headed one (a name for rAvaNa)

huDiguTTi = repeatedly pounded

tA = he

mereda = triumphed

hanumanta = hanumanta

balavanta = strong

dhIra = fearless

He gave the chUdAmaNi (tiara) to Hari (Rama), banded the monkeys together, built

a bridge across the ocean, (and in the ensuing war) killed several demons and

rakshAsas, and repeatedely pounded rAvaNa, this strong and fearless warrior

called hanumanta.

hanumanta the son of pavan (vAyu), along with all the leading monkey warriors,

met rAma, the king of all gods, filled with unbounded sadguNAs (good qualities).

He submitted the chUdAmaNi (tiara) given by sIta dEvi at His feet and did a

sAshtAnga namaskAra (kneeling/worship/bowing/prostration)* with complete devotion. 

rAma waited for three days for the ocean god (varuNa) to show up. When this did

not happen, he pretended anger and aimed his bow at the ocean, threatening to

scorch it completely. varuNa immediately appeared before him, and begged his

forgiveness. He granted rAma and his army permission to build a bridge across

the ocean.

The question that comes to mind is: why did varuNa not show up for three days,

even though he knew rAma was the Lord Himself? srimadAchArya says this was due

to "asurAvesha" (demonaic impulse or influence). All the gods below saraswati

and bharati are subject to this. The influence is usually for a very short time

and once that is past, the affected god gets back his/her normal sAtvic

inclinations.

Hanumanta hit rAvaNa on his chest, with his hands which were (are) as strong as

the body of sEsha (since sEsha carries viShNu, his body is very strong).

hanumanta did not want to kill rAvaNa since that was rAma's privilege, so he did

not use full force. However, even this was too much for rAvana. He vomitted

blood from all his ten faces and fainted. On regaining consciousness he praised

hanumanta saying "Without doubt you are matchless, nobody else could have caused

me such pain". hanumanta replied "This is just a small blow and that is why you

are still alive!"

The second was when lakshmaNa fainted because of rAvaNA's attacks.

rAvaNa, the king of rAkshAsas, tried to drag the unconscious body of lakshmaNa

to lanka. hanumanta, who was the embodiment of vAyu, who is the leader of all

jIvas, hurried to face rAvaNa. He hit him with his vajrAyuda-like fists (indra's

thunderbolt missile). RAvaNa could not withstand this; he fell on the ground.

Hanumanta took lakshmaNa away to safety. There are several other instances where

 hanumanta confronted rAvaNa and got the better of him.

uragabandhake siluki kapivararu mai mareye

taraNikulatilakanAgneyane tALi

girisahita sanjIvanava kittu tanditta

harivarage sariyunTe hanumantage ll10ll

uragabandhake = uraga (snake) + bandhake (imprisonment)

siluki = being bound

kapivararu = leading monkeys

mai mareye = lose consciousness

taraNikulathilakanAgneyane = taraNi (sun) + kula (lineage)

+ tilakana (crown) + Agneyane (command)

tALi = to bear (or in this context, to heed)

girisahita = along with the mountain

sanjIvanava = the sanjIvini herb

kittu = pulled out

tanditta = brought (to where rAma was)

harivarage = the chief monkey

sariyunTe = is there any equal

hanumantage = to hanumanta

When the leading monkeys lost consciousness under the influence of the sarpAstra

(Snake missile) initiated by indrajit, hanumanta heeded the command of the crown

jewel of the Sun's lineage (Rama), and brought the sanjIvani plant along with

its mountain. Is there any equivalent to hanumanta, the leader of monkeys?

srimadAchArya describes in a beautiful manner what happened when indrajit

attacked the vAnara sEna.

All the leading monkeys and lakshmaNa fainted because of indrajit's missile.

However, nothing happened to hanumanta since no missile could pierce his hard

body. VibhIshana, who had gone to lanka, returned and saw the condition of the

monkeys. He took hanumanta to jAmbuvanta and found that he too had fainted.

After reviving him, vibhIshana asked him "Are you allright?". jAmbuvanta, who

did not immediately see hanumanta, asked vibhIshana, "Is hanumanta alive? If he

is alive, then we are okay. If he is not alive, then our being alive does not

matter at all". Hanumanta then informed him that he was right there.

Later, on jAmbuvantA's instructions, hanumanta flew in search of the sanjIvini

herb. He reached the mountain in a very short time. When the herbs was not

easily visible, hanumanta angrily pulled out the whole mountain.

Hanumanta the son of vAyu, the patron deity of strength, cradled the whole

mountain, which was at least a hundred yojanas (miles?) wide, like a ball on his

hand and travelled through the sky at a very high speed. His movement was

similar to the way in which hari, the chakradhAri, travelled through the skies

as trivikrama.

In the winking of an eyelid, he travelled to where the monkeys lay unconscious.

The mere fragrance of the herbs revived the monkeys. Rama praised hanumanta's

valor, strength and ability to perform impossible tasks. The gods sprinkled

flowers on hanumanta and the monkeys and lakshmaNa sang his praises.

Bringing the mountain was a fantastic feat, but it pales in comparison to the

way hanumanta returned it back to its place! He just stood where he was and

threw the mountain weighing tonnes of pounds across thousands of miles. And he

did it so deftly that there was absolutely no trace of the mountain ever having

moved from its place!!

The entire incident has been very beautifully described in the harivAyu stuti

too ("prAk panchAshat ......"). The author, trivikrama panditAchArya finally

salutes the dexterity of hanumanta's arms. It is also said that hanumanta

brought the mountain on two separate occasions.

The whole incident can be viewed from two angles. One, it shows hanumanta's

swAmi-bhakti (loyalty towards his Lord). Two, it shows his love towards his

followers and devotees. When the entire army of monkeys lay helpless and

distraught, he moved mountains to save their lives and bring happiness back to

them. Isn't this the hallmark of a great leader?

Hanumanta Carrying  sanjIvini herb

vijaya raghupati mechchi dharaNisuteyaLigIye

bhajisi mouktikada hAravanu paDeda

ajapadaviyanu rAma koDuvenene hanumanta

nijabhakutiyane bEDi varava paDeda ll11ll

vijaya = victorius

raghupati = leader of raghu clan = rAma

mechchi = appreciating

dharaNisuteyaLigIye = dharaNi + sutelayige + Iye

dharaNisuteyaLige = to sIta

Iye = to give

bhajisi = prayed

mouktikada = (of) pearls

hAravanu = necklace

paDeda = to get

ajapadaviyanu = the post of Creator rAma

koDuvenene = to say, "I will give"

hanumanta

nijabhakutiyane = nija + bhakti + yanne = only true devotion

bEDi = requested

varava = boon

paDeda = got

When the victorious king rAma gave sIta a pearl necklace hanumanta prayed for

and obtained it. When offered the post of Creator (Brahma) hanumanta prayed for

intense devotion, and got this as a boon from rAma.

After his ceremony of crowning was over, rAma asked sIta to give Her beautiful pearl

necklace to the one who had served them the most. She used this as an

opportunity to give the necklace to hanumanta and shower him with Her

blessing.

Rama told “Let hanumanta take brahma's post (of lordship over satya lOka). From there, on

my orders, let him perform the tasks of Creation, sustainance and destruction,

and granting of mukti too. At his preordained time let him get liberated, and

grant the happiness associated with liberation to other eligible souls.

You have to remember that this was not an impulsive gesture made by a grateful

rAma, based on services rendered by hanumanta in just one life. This was based

on hanumanta's sAdhana (accomplishment) over hundred kalpas, and because of his

intrinsic worth.”

The essence of all good deeds done by sincere souls is accepted by

hari, acting through brahma. Since brahma also gets a share of this essence, it

is called sahabhOga

Hanumanta prayed "O Lord rAma, let my devotion to you keep growing from instant

to instant, let it be without any defect or imperfection. My devotion and your

grace should both be without any equal or superior".

The same spirit is beautifully captured by purandaradAsaru in his inimitable

manner. He says, "hanumanta, you could have asked for so many things - a happy

marraige, kingdom, riches etc. but you asked only for a pure devotion towards rAma.

sAshtAnga namaskAra 

*[sAshtAnga namaskAra means bowing done as prescribed in the scriptures. They specify that certain parts of the body should be in contact with the ground, the

eyes should be viewing (the object of bowing), the mind should be filled

with devotion, and the mouth should be chanting the praises (of the object of

bowing). This is the correct way of bowing.shrI jayatIrtha (tIkArAyaru) has given us a wonderful definition of true

devotion. The devotee should have knowledge of the greatness of the object of

worship (to the extent he/she is capable). The devotion should be in the form of

a flow of affection and friendship that is unwavering and is much, much more

than any affection that one may have towards any other object.]