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Hanumat Jayanti

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Ramanbil • December 18, 1998 


HANUMAT JAYANTI - A HOMAGE TO HANUMAN

Dear Bhagavatas,
Today (December 18,1998) is Hanumat Jayanti. I submit below my humble
obeisance to the great Anjaneya.
Dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy
============================================================

Sri Anjaneya is believed to have been born in the month of Margazhi in
the constellation of Moolam and on the Amavasya day. This is also
believed to be the birthday of another Rama Bhakta viz., Bhadrachala
Ramdas. Some place his birth of Anjaneya on the Pournami day in the
month of Chaitra.. 

However it be, the glory of Sri Anjaneya is so unique that it is beyond
all attempts to recount. Sri Hanumat Sthuti portrays him as the very gem
in the garland of the great epic of Srimad Ramayana- "Ramayana Maha
Maala Ratnam".

DHYANA SLOKAS
A Dhyana Slokam says that  crossing the ocean, Anjaneya met Sri Sita in
the Ashoka Vana and took the fire of her grief and used that fire itself to
burn down Lanka.

Ullanghya Sindhoh Salilam Saleelam Yah Sokavahnim Janakaaymajaayaah/
Aadhaaya Thenaiva Dadhaaha Lankaam Namaami Thum Praanjalir Anjaneyam//

The Rakshasas bandaged AnjaneyaÂ’s tail with ropes and rags and set fire
to it. The coflagaration ravaged the entire Lanka city except Ashokavana
where Sri Sita was held prisoner. The fire did not burn AnajaneyaÂ’s tail
even though it gutted the buildings. On the other hand, he felt a cool,
soothing sensation, thanks to the grace of Sri Sita.

The Sloka " Vaidehi Sahitham"Â…states that even though he himself was
seated on his " Veeraasana" in the golden Mandapa and even though he was
surrounded by Bharata, Lakshmana, Satrugna and the Munis, it was in the
immediate presence of Anjaneya that Sri Rama expounded Gnana Upadesa. 

Vaidehi Sahitam Suradruma Thale Haimey Mahaa Mandape
Madhye Pushpakamaasane Manimaye Veeraasane Susthitham/
AGRE VAACHAYATI PRAPANJHANA SUTHE Tatvam Munibhyah Param
Vyaakhyaantam Bharataadhibhih Parivritam Raamam Bhaje Syaamalam//

In fact, Lord Rama praises him as " Nava Vyaakarana Vedthaa"- master of
all the nine Vyakaranas. Hanuman is considered an ideal Guru - " Hanumath
Samena Gurunaa"

The following Sloka graphically depicts his multifaceted personality-
his supersonic speed, his control of senses, his razor sharp wisdom,.his
pre-eminence among the simian battallion, his outstanding achievement as
the ideal emissary et al.

Manojavam Maaruta Tulya Vegam Jitendriyam Buddhimataam Varishtam/
Vaataatmajam Vaanara Yutha Mukhyam Sri Rama Dhootham Sirasaa Namaami//

MANOJAVAM, MARUTA THULYA VEGAM: His Supersonic speed is evidenced in his
flying over the seas to reach Lanka, across the land and mountains on
his reach to fetch Sanjeevi malai.

JITEHENDRIYAM: His celibacy  and control over senses is evidenced in his
turning a blind eye to the womenfolk sleeping in voluptuous postures as
he strolled RavanaÂ’s harem in search of Sri Sita before he landed at
Ashoka Vana.

BUDDHIMATHAAM VARISHTAM: His being the foremost among the intelligent is
best described in.KambarÂ’s words- " SOLLIN SELVAN"- One possessed of
wealth in oratory - an expression which far surpasses honorofics
like‘silver tongued’and ‘golden tongued’ oratory (attributed to mere
mortals!). In fact, Sri Sita eulogises Hanuman as the only one endowed
with all the eight lakshanas of a Super-intelligent person (Vide Yuddha
Khandam,Sargam116  Verse 27- in which she says:

Buddhyaa Hi Ashtaangayaa Yuktam Tvameva Arhasi Bhaashithum /
Slaaghaneeyo Anilasya Tvam Putrah Parama Dhaarmikah //

The eight lakshanas are as follows :
i)  Understanding what others say
ii)  Remembering what has been thus understood
iii)  Retrieving the information as and when required
iv)  Explaining to others in an appropriate manner with choice use of
words
v)  Inferring the viewpoints of others by intelligent guess
vi)  Providing ready answers in reply to such viewpoints
vii)  Understanding the inner and subtle meanings implied in such
expressions
viii)  Grasping the real interpretations of  what is said
Hanuman was a master non-pareil in all these lakshanas.

These are evidenced on several occasions. (e.g)

i)  When Sri Rama and Lakshmana approached their habitat, Sugriva 
and his retinue mistook them to be the allies of Vaali and so hid
themselves in the cave, It was Hanuman who boldly approached them 
disguised as a Brahmachari since he could percieve even 
‘at first sight’ that  they were the very warriors who could help
Sugriva out of his predicament,.

ii)  Instead of asking directly who they were, Hanuman put in a subtle
enquiry as to how he should introduce them to his Maharaja, whereupon
Lakshmana narrates the incidents leading upto the search for Sri Sita.

iii) As he returns to Sugriva, he first praises the valour of  the twins
before narrating their mission lest Sugriva should underestimate the
alliance as being tilted towards helping Sri Rama instead of Sri Rama
helping him against Vaali.

iv)  When Sugriva does not turn up for helping Sri Rama in due time as
promised, Sri Rama sends Lakshmana to convey the warning to Sugriva that
the ‘ path of Vaali was not yet closed but remained open ’- Hanuman places
Tara before Lakshmana to pacify his anger.

v)  When Vibishana surrendered, it was Hanuman who reflected what was
running in the mind of Sri Rama and pleaded for accepting Vibishana
while all others were debating on the desirability or otherwise of
admitting Vibishana.

SRI RAMA DHOOTHAM: The essential qualities of an ideal emissary have
been detailed in Kaamaanthakeeya Neethi and Sukra Neethi which have been
quoted extensively in Srimad Valmiki Ramayanam (Vide p.139 of Yuddha
Khandam Notes by Sri C.R.Srinivasa Iyengar). Hanuman fits in exactly as
none else could as the ideal Dhootan and proved his perfection even in
this role. To cite a few examples-

i)  Confronting Ravana when he was not offered a seat which was his due
as an emissary, he wound his long tail and created a seat that was on
par with the raised seat of Ravana on the throne

ii)  Hanuman characterized himself as the dumbest, dullest of Sri RamaÂ’s
entourage to let Ravana imagine that if such a one could wreak such a
mighty havoc, what could be expected when the smarter ones came upon
Lanka thus effectively instilling fear in the heart of Ravana.

iii)  In a fist fight with Ravana, Hanuman hit Ravana so hard that the
latter fell to the ground reeling. Hanuman tells him that he was ashamed
of his own strength since Ravana did not die but was seen still alive
after recieving the fatal blow

iv)  On return from Lanka after meeting with Sri Sita Hanuman greets Sri
Rama saying 
" Drishtaa Sita" which translates as "Seen Sita" instead of the usual
staetment " Sita was seen". This was to dispel any anxiety and faulty ,
hasty conclusion one might draw if the reference to ‘seeing’ was
mentioned after mentioning ‘Sita’                             

HANUMANÂ’S ROLE AS A DHOOTA
It used to be said that Hanuman succeded so much in his role as an
emissary by humbling Ravana and spotting Sri Sita etc that the Lord was
so impressed that he yearned to make a try of the role himself. In
Krishna Avatara, he did try but the story shows that he did not succeeed
in his mission when he went as a messenger on behalf of the Pandavas.
Thus, Hanuman excelled even the Lord himself in this regard !.

WHAT HANUMAN CAN GRANT?
What one can achieve by mere remembrance of Hanuman is portrayed in the
following Sloka:

Buddhir Bhalam Yaso Dhairyam Nirbhayatvam Arogathaam /
Ajaatyam Vaak Padutvam Cha Hanumat Smaranaath Bhavet//

Wisdom, Strength, Fame, Valor, Fearlessness,Health, Determination, Gift
of the gab - in short, all that one can wish for can be achieved by
anyone meditating on Hanuman.

If ever there is one who is unsurpassed in Gnanam, Balam, Bhakti,
Valour, Fame, Service, Modesty etc- it is the Svarupa of Hanuman. 

HANUMAN'S BRAHMACHARYA
It is to be remembered that even though he is depicted as a simian known
for its wayward behaviour, he was just the opposite of all these foibles
attributed to them. His Brahmacharya was exemplary. If one meditates on
him, one would acquire this quality.

BACKGROUND OF HANUMANÂ’S POWERS
How Hanuman came to acquire such extraordinary powers is gleaned from
the incidents associated with his childhood.

As baby Anhjaneya was sleeping in the cradle, his mother Anjana stepped
out to gather some fruits for the child. Quite unexpectedly, the child
woke up and feeling very hungry got out of his bed and searched for
something to eat. He saw the Sun rising like a red apple. Desiring to
pluck it, the baby pounced over the skies to reach the Sun. That was
about the time when Rahu was to catch  the Sun being the day of Solar
eclipse. Finding a rival in Anjaneya, Rahu complained to Indra. On
recieving the 911 call, Indra rushed to the spot  mounted on his
Airavatam. To AnjaneyaÂ’s eyes, Rahu appeared more attractive than the
Sun and Airavtam even more so. So, he gave up his ‘hot pursuit’ of the
Sun and turned instead to Airavatam. Enraged, Indra struck Anjaneya with
his Vajrayudham. AnjaneyaÂ’s cheeks got disfigured and he fell down.
Incidentally, "Hanu" means cheek and because of this incident, Anjaneya
came to be known as Hanuman.

Vayu was overwhelmed with grief on seeing the plight of his dear son who
had been mercilessly hit by Indra unmindful of the fact that Anjaneya
was a baby. He gathered up his son and hid within a cave. With the
movement of air coming to a standstill, the entire world suffered
asphyxiation. 

The Devas reported the matter to Brahma who rushed to the spot with all
the Devas. He gently massaged Hanuman. At the touch of Brahma, Anjaneya
regained his normalcy. Brahma told all the Devas that Anjaneya was a
Mahapurusha who had a mission to accomplish in assisting Rama in his
Avatara Rahasya and ordered that all the Devas should shower their
blessings on Anjaneya.Indra was the first to declare that Anjaneya would
never again be bothered by his Vajraayudha; Varuna likewise vowed that
Anjaneya would never be troubled by his Varuna Paasam or by any water
related accidents; Yama declared that he would be free from his Yama
Paasam, would ever be victorious in war and free from all diseases flesh
is heir to; Sun God blessed him with supreme valour and his own
brilliance; Viswakarma agreed that none of his warheads in his arsenal
would ever torment Anjaneya; Rudra offered him immunity from his own
Trisoolam, Pasupatham and other weapons; Finally, Brahma himself
guaranteed protection against his own most powerful Brahmaastram. Thus,
the Devas vied with each other in blessing the child.

WHY HANUMAN DID NOT FIGHT VAALI?
It may be questioned why if Hanuman was endowed with such extraordinary
powers, did did he keep mum and not fight against Vaali when the latter
tormented Sugriva.

This was because of a curse which Hanuman had to endure. Armed with all
the boons, the child Hanuman set out to play its innocent pranks on the
Rishis in the nearby Ashrams- tearing away and scattering their bark
clothes, throwing their vessels around etc. The nuisance created by him
annoyed the Rishis so much that they pronounced a curse that he would
become unaware of the acquisition of such vast array of powers. But, at
the request of Anjana, they modified the curse to say that he would gain
knowledge of his powers and perform impossible feats when a great soul
reminded him of his potential. Thus, it was that he was unaware of his
own prowess until he was reminded later by Jambavan. At the point of
time of the fight between Vali and Sugriva he was not conscious of his
own powers and hence did not intercede on behalf of Sugriva.

HANUMANÂ’S OTHER NAME WHICH HE HIMSELF DID NOT KNOW !
Anjaneya has several names. He is known as ‘Hanuman’ in Tamil,
‘Hanumanthaiah’ and ‘Mukhya Praana Devaru’ in Kannada, ‘Hanumanthudu’ in
Telugu. As one moves North beyond the Vindyas, he is called ‘Maruti’ and
in Maharashtra , they call him ‘Mahaveer’.

Do you know that besides being called ‘Vayuputran’, ‘Anjaneya’ and
‘Siriya Tiruvadi’ (Periya Tiruvadi being Garudalwar), he had another name
which he himself did not know?

The story goes that Sage Valmiki wrote the epic after Sri RamaÂ’s
Coronation. After completing Aaranya Khandam, he desired to name the
next Canto after Anjaneya. But, Anjaneya appeared befor him pleading
that he need not be given such an importance, for after all he was only
a Rama Dasan - a servant of Sri Rama.The sage took his assent to name the
Canto as " Sundara Khandam". Thereafter, Anjaneya went to his mother to
narrate the incident. Even as he was approaching, Anjana greeted him
calling him by his pet name "Sundara" for that was the name she had given him
at birth.

Anjaneya rushed back to the Sage to request him to drop this title also.
But, the Sage said that it was too late as the Chapter had already been
completed with " Sundaran" as the hero.

HANUMANÂ’S CROSSING THE OCEAN
Let us consider the extraordinary feat of Hanuman in his Â’high and long
jumpÂ’ across the ocean in search of Sri Sita. Lord Rama had to build a
bridge with the help of the battallion of Vanaras (and squirrels too!)
duly guided by the engineering skills of the technical experts in his
entourage before he could ‘ walk ’ his army across to Lanka. But, what did
Hanuman do?. He simply recited the Nama of Rama and Lo ! And Behold !- He
could ‘ fly over ’ the high seas and land right on his destination !. Thus,
he proved not only his own powers but also more importantly that ‘ Rama
Nama’ was more powerful than ‘ Rama’ himself !.

HOW HANUMAN SAVES IN LIFE THREATENING SITUATIONS ?
An important point to note is that in life-threatening situations,
Hanuman is unfailing. This can be seen from three episodes in Srimad
Ramayana:

i.  In Asoka vana, Sita becomes desparate after 10 months of
incarceration with no trace of the Lord coming to her rescue. She
decides to commit suicide by hanging from a tree using her saree as a
noose. Precisely at that moment, Hanuman appears to convey her the
tidings of Sri RamaÂ’s arrival, instilling hope in her that Sri Rama was
on his way and ere long her sufferings would come to an end.

ii.  Again, Lakshmana and the entire army of Sri Rama were bound by
Brahmaastra, Sri Rama laments bitterly thinking that his dear brother
and others had died. Jambavan knew that the only herb that could bring
them alive was on the mountain called Sanjeevi and that the only person
capable of fetching it was Hanuman. Taking directions from Jambavan,
Hanuman flew northwards beyond the Himalayas, Kapilai and Meru mountain
and spotted the Sanjeevi mountain . Not wanting to waste time in
searching for the herbs, he plucked and lifted the whole Sanjeevi
mountain and flew back in time to the battlefield. As he was
approaching, the herbal breeze brought them back to life and they woke
up as if from deep sleep.

iii.  Sri Rama had promised to Bharata that he would return to Ayodhya
immediately on the completion of the 14 yearsÂ’ exile. Sri Rama knew that
if he put a ‘no show’, at the appointed time, Bharata would commit
suicide in a fire ordeal by ‘Praayopavesam’.

Precisely as apprehended, Bharata had indeed ignited the fire and was
circumambulating as a prelude to his plunging into the fire. Unable to
witness the ghastly sight, the citizens of Ayodhya were pathetically
screaming. Tension was building up in a crescendo moment by moment.

Right then, Hanuman appeared with the tidings of Sri RamaÂ’s arrival,
extinguished the flames  with his bare hands. Meanwhile, Sri Rama,
Lakshmana, Sita and his entourage arrived in the Pushpaka Vimanam and
landed (on the helipad?) bringing great relief to one and all..

HANUMANÂ’S ENCOUNTER WITH BHIMA
Once as requested by Draupadi, Bhima set out to fetch a lotus flower. On
his way, he went on uprooting trees. As he neared the Himalayas, there was 
Hanuman  resting and blocking his way. When asked to give way, Hanuman
bade him to lift his tail and go. Bhima tried his best but could not
even move the tail. On learning that Hanuman was his own elder brother 
( both being the sons of Windgod), Bhima fell at his feet and sought his
blessings. Hanuman blessed him and promised to help him in the
Kurukshetra war by being atop ArjunaÂ’s flag.

HANUMANÂ’S ENCOUNTER WITH ARJUNA
Once, Arjuna asked Hanuman why Sri Rama should have taken so much
efforts to build a bridge across the ocean putting the Vanaras to lot of
strain and boasted that if he were to be there, he would have
constructed a bridge made of arrows which could bear the load of the
entire world. This was inspite of HanumanÂ’s advice not to be so ego centered,
Arjuna proceeded to demonstrate by building a bridge of arrows. But, it
broke unable to bear the weight of Hanuman. Arjuna felt humbled and fell
at HanumanÂ’s feet and begged to be excused.

SRI RAMAÂ’S GIFT TO HANUMAN
At the time of Coronation, Sri Rama wanted to gift something valuable to
Hanuman as a token of gratitude for all the help he had rendered. But
could not find one as adequate recompense. So, he offered himself and
embraced Hanuman. Except for Sita, the only other person who had the
blessings of the Lord was Hanuman. What greater object could he give than
this?

HANUMAN - THE CHIRANJEEVI
It is said that when Sri Rama returned to Paramapada at the end of his
Avatar, he invited Hanuman to accompany him. But, Hanuman politely
declined saying that he can neither give up the Sarira embraced by the
Lord, nor would he be able to witness the Lord in the form of Sri Rama
in the Paramapada and preferred to stay back. Sri Rama blessed him with
Chiranjeevitvam - eternal life. 

It is believed that Hanuman attends wherever Pravachanam of Srimad Ramayanam
is delivered. For this purpose, even to this day, a special low wooden seat
(Manai) is provided exclusively for Hanuman in the hall where Srimad Ramayana
Pravachanam is delivered . Hanuman is believed to listen the Pravachanam with
folded
hands and eyes filled with tears of joy.

Yathra Yathra Raghunaatha Keerthanam
Thathra Thathra Kritham Hasthaka Anjalim /
Bhaashpa Vaari Paripoorna Lochanam
Maarutim Namatha Raakshasa  Anthakam //

Skeptics of moden days may argue that these episodes are figments of
imagination of the poet  forming part of an epic story and question
whether  today in practical life, Hanuman can help us out in solving our
day to day problems. 

There have been numerous instances of practical experiences in which
SINCERE prayers to Hanuman have brought INSTANT relief even in the most
trying situations. Let us understand that the emphasis is on the word
SINCERE- UNCONDITIONAL FAITH- not half hearted, disbelieving approach, and
certainly not as a challenge. But, the prayer should be WITHOUT ANY
RESERVATIONS, WHOLE-HEARTED, UTTERLY FAITHFUL AND IN A SPIRIT OF UTMOST
HUMILITY. THE PROOF OF ITS EFFICACY CAN WELL BE WITHIN YOUR PERSONAL
EXPERIENCE !

A Sloka found to be most effective in this regard is as follows:
Several people have reported that in most excruciating circumstances,
constant repetition of the Sloka with the abovementioned faith, have in
fact, brought INCREDIBLY INSTANT relief. No joking. Try and find for
yourself !

Asaadhya Saadhaka Swaamin
Asaadhyam Thava Kim Vadha /
Raama Dhootha Krupaa Sindhoh
Muth Kaaryam Saadhaya Prabhoh //

May Hanuman shower his choicest blessings on all of us.
Dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy