Decoding Lord Hanuman: 7 interesting facts people should know

Lord Hanuman, commonly known as Bajrangbali or Pawanputra, is the son of Anjana and Kesari. In Kalyug, he is one of the most worshipped Hindu Gods. Lord Hanuman has earned a faithful companion and an ideal devotee of Lord Rama in the Hindu epic Ramayana. Though Hanuman is a very revered Hindu deity, yet many facts that are unknown about him are given here below :

1. BIRTH OF LORD HANUMAN:

Anjana, a beautiful apsara in Lord Brahma's palace, was once cursed by a saint that, on falling in love, her face would convert as that of a monkey. Lord Brahma decided to help her out of this curse. Hence, she was born on earth, where she fell in love & married monkey king Kesari. Anjana still continuously worshipped Lord Shiva to please him. Seeing her dedication, Lord Shiva blessed her to have any wish from him. Anjana wished that Lord Shiva be born as her son so that the saint's curse gets removed. A few days later, on the advice of saints, King Dasharth performed a big religious yag, after which he was given kheer as Prashad, which he was to feed to all his wives. 

But when King Dashrath's eldest wife Kaushlaya was cherishing the kheer, a kite accidentally dipped in and, with the wind, flew away to the place where Anjana was meditating. The kheer dropped in Anjana's hand. Anjana took it as Lord Shiva's prasad and ate it. It gave birth to the incarnation of Lord Shiva – the Hanuman.  

2. INNOCENCE & LOVE :

Lord Hanuman was a very dedicated, sincere and loyal devotee of Lord Rama. Once, Hanuman questioned Sita why she was daily putting sindoor in her forehead. Sita explained to Hanuman that sindoor was a sign of respect and love towards Rama, who was everything for him now. It would give a long life to Lord Rama. Hanuman, on hearing this, got impressed, and on one day, to prove his love and respect, he covered his entire body with sindoor. Lord Rama got very emotional and impressed by Hanuman's this act and blessed him that any of his devotees who would worship Hanuman with sindoor shall be free of all difficulties in life. It is why people worship the brass hanuman statue every Tuesday & seek blessings from him to be loyal in life.

3. HOW DID HANUMAN GOT ITS NAME:

There is an interesting story behind Hanuman getting this name. Lord Hanuman was a very naughty kid who was not afraid of any one. Once Hanuman, on seeing the sun, got attracted to it, mistaking it as a ripened mango, swallowed the sun and closed his mouth. It was then dark all over. Lord Indra started looking for the disappeared sun. When he found that the sun was in the month of a kid, he got angry and threw his vajra towards Hanuman. With the vajra strike, Hanuman fell on the earth, with his jaw disfigured, and the sun came out of his mouth. So he got the name from the disfigured jaw - Hanuman. 

4. BRAMCHARI WHO HAD A SON:

Lord Hanuman did not marry in his lifetime and remained a brahmachari. But he had a son called Makardhwaja. Hanuman had gone to Lanka in search of Sita. There, on being caught, his tail was put on fire. But Hanuman burnt Lanka with his tail. While coming back to Lord Rama, when he was flying over the sea, he dipped to set off his tail's fire. There a fish was swimming who swallowed his sweat and got pregnant. Hence, a son Makardhwaja was born. Even today, people consider having a hanuman idol in their altar & pray for a healthy child just as Hanuman.

5. DEATH SENTENCE TO LORD HANUMAN:

Lord Hanuman was one of the most loved devotees of Lord Rama. But once, he had to face tough times when he was sentenced to death by Lord Rama himself. According to Hindu Mythology, when Lord Rama took over as King, Lord Rama used to daily attend his court proceedings. There also was Narada, one who created disharmony between Ram and Hanuman. To let Hanuman down, one day on the court was adjourned, he asked Hanuman to greet all saints except Vishwamitra. Hanuman, very diligently did so. To take revenge on Hanuman, Narada instigated Vishwamitra that he was dishonoured in this court by Hanuman by not greeting him.  

At this, Vishwamitra, Lord Rama's guru, ordered Lord Ram to punish Hanuman to death. Lord Ram, though unwillingly, ordered to punish Hanuman to death by arrows. The next day, the execution was carried out, but no arrow could harm Hanuman, who was chanting Lord Ram's name. Lord Ram then used the powerful Brahmastra to kill Hanuman, which also did not harm him. On seeing this, Narada realised his mistake, and he confessed everything to Viswamitra, who discarded the execution orders of Lord Hanuman.

6. HANUMAN FELL IN BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH:

Lord Hanuman was a strong devotee of Lord Rama. Lord Ram once decided to proceed for his heavenly abode. But he knew that Hanuman would never allow Yama to claim his life. To divert Hanuman, Lord Ram told Hanuman that he had lost his ring in Patal Lok. Lord Hanuman immediately went off to Palal Lok to find Lord Rama's ring. There he met the kind of Spirits who made him understand that the ring's falling meant the end of Lord Ram's avatar. During the absence of Lord Hanuman, Lord Ram left for his heavenly abode with Yama.It is why whenever we see lord Ram’s statue in a temple;we can see an equal hanuman murti as well.   

7. HANUMAN ALSO WROTE RAMAYANA:

After the war with Ravana in Lanka ended, Hanuman went to the Himalayas for Tapasya. There, every detail of Lord Ram's tale from start to end was itched on the Himalayas walls with his nails. Maharishi Valmiki, after writing Ramayana, went to Hanuman to show his version. There he was amazed to see the narration of Ramayana done by Hanuman. On studying the walls, he felt that Hanuman's version of Ramayana was superior to his. Lord Hanuman immediately realised Valmikis reason for worry. To make Valmiki free of all fears, Hanuman quickly discarded his version of Ramayana from the walls. On seeking this, Valmiki was emotionally moved.