Hanuman

About Hanuman

Hanuman is the gold-bodied, reddish-brown-eyed vanara hero of Valmiki's Ramayana, son of Vayu the wind god and Anjana. The Sundara Kanda follows his single greatest feat: leaping the ocean to Lanka, finding Sita in the Ashoka grove, and burning the city with his flaming tail. In the war that follows, he carries the entire Sanjeevani mountain through the night to revive a dying Lakshmana. Adi Shankaracharya's Pancha Ratnam praises his conch-shaped neck and Bimba-red lips; Sri Vyasatirtha installed him at Chakratirtha in Hampi. Devotees chant 'Manojavam Marutatulyavegam' at dawn for his eight gifts — intellect, strength, fame, courage, fearlessness, health, alertness, and eloquence.