Hanumān’s Childhood

The Uttara Kāṇḍa of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa tells the story of Hanumān’s birth and early life. It begins with the śāpa (a curse) that brought his mother Añjanā to earth. It goes on to his birth as the son of Añjanā and Vāyu, his leap at the sun as a baby, the strike of Indra’s vajra (thunderbolt), the origin of his name, the anger of Vāyu, the varas (boons) of the devas, the ṛshis’ counter-śāpa, his study under Sūrya and his promise to Sugrīva.

Añjanā, the apsarā who became a vānarī

Hanumān’s mother Añjanā was not born a vānarī. She was an apsarā (a celestial dancer) who had been cursed. The Uttara Kāṇḍa says she was sent to earth in the form of a vānarī because of a wrong she had done. In this form she became the wife of Kesarī, a great vānara king.

Añjanā was beautiful and devoted, and she performed tapas (austerity). She wished for a child with extraordinary qualities. (Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 43)

The birth of Hanumān

By the grace of Vāyu, the deva of the wind, Añjanā conceived and gave birth to a son. Vāyu is called the divine father of the child. He is also the one who placed the divine spark in Añjanā’s womb. So the child was the son of Añjanā by her husband Kesarī, and at the same time an aṃśa (a portion) of Vāyu. This made him Vāyu-putra, the son of the wind.

The child was born with great marks. He blazed like the sun, he was strong as a mountain, and his body shone with light. From the first moment of his life he gave out divine energy. (Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 44)

The leap at the sun

When Hanumān was a baby, he could not yet speak, but he already had huge strength. One morning he lay in his mother’s āśrama (hermitage) and saw the rising sun on the horizon. To the baby, the red ball of dawn looked like a ripe fruit. He felt hungry.

The divine child leaped into the sky toward the sun. He rose through the air at great speed and was about to seize the sun in his hands.

At that same time Rāhu, who causes eclipses, was also coming near the sun at his appointed time. Rāhu arrived and found the baby already there, reaching for the sun. Rāhu fled in fear to Indra and told him that some unknown being was about to swallow the sun.

Indra came on his divine elephant Airāvata to find out what was happening. He saw baby Hanumān reaching for the sun and struck him with the vajra. (Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 44–45)

The broken chin and the name Hanumān

The vajra struck Hanumān’s chin (hanu) and broke it. The baby fell from the sky and landed on the earth, unconscious.

Vāyu, his divine father, saw this. He was filled with anger and grief. In his rage, Vāyu drew back all the air from the three worlds.

Without air (prāṇa), every living being began to choke. Plants withered. Animals gasped. The devas and all other beings were left helpless. All of creation was close to death.

Because the hanu of the child was broken by the vajra, he came to be called Hanumān, “he whose hanu was broken”. This is how the Uttara Kāṇḍa explains his name. (Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 45)

The devas give varas

The three worlds were in distress. Brahmā and all the devas hurried to Vāyu and begged him to give back the air. They came to the place where the baby lay and gave him varas, both to bring him back to life and to calm Vāyu:

• Brahmā: Hanumān would be safe from death by Brahmā’s weapon, and he would live as long as he wished.
• Indra: the vajra would no longer be able to harm his body. It had once broken his chin, but now his body could not be hurt by the vajra.
• Agni: he would be safe from fire.
• Varuṇa: he would be safe from water and from Varuṇa’s noose.
• Yama: he would be safe from the kāladaṇḍa (the staff of death).
• Kubera: he would be safe from Kubera’s weapon.
• Śiva: he would be safe from Śiva’s weapons.
• Viśvakarma: he would be safe from every tool and weapon Viśvakarma had made.

With these varas from the great devas, the baby Hanumān could hardly be killed. Vāyu was pleased. He let the wind blow again, and life came back to the three worlds. (Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 46)

The ṛshis’ counter-śāpa

As Hanumān grew from a baby into a boy, his power troubled the āśramas. His energy had no limit and his pranks were huge. He pulled up sacred trees, broke the quiet practice of the ṛshis, threw things into the yajña fires, and made chaos in the hermitages. The ṛshis could not control him, because he was too strong to be stopped.

So the ṛshis spoke a mild but weighty counter-śāpa. Hanumān would forget how great his own powers were until another person reminded him. He would keep all the varas he had received. But he would not remember them, and he could not use them at will, until someone told him he had these powers.

This is why, in the Sundara Kāṇḍa, it is Jāmbavān who reminds Hanumān of his powers before the leap to Laṅkā. Without that reminder, Hanumān would not have thought of crossing the sea. (Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 47)

Study under Sūrya

When Hanumān came of age, he looked for a guru. He went to Sūrya, the deva of the sun, and asked him to take him as a student and teach him all the Vedas, the śāstras (sacred teachings) and every kind of knowledge.

At first Sūrya refused. He was always moving, crossing the sky from dawn to dusk, and he could not stop to teach. How could a student learn when his teacher never stood still?

Hanumān found a way. He flew beside Sūrya, always facing him, and kept pace with him across the sky. So Sūrya taught as he moved and Hanumān learned as he travelled with him. In this way Hanumān received the full teaching of all the śāstras: the Vedas, grammar, music and every branch of knowledge.

When his study was finished, Sūrya asked Hanumān for his dakshiṇā (the fee or gift a student gives his teacher at the end of study). Hanumān asked Sūrya what he wished. Sūrya said: “Care for my son Sugrīva. Protect him, serve him, and be his companion.” Sugrīva, the vānara prince, was Sūrya’s own son, and he needed a loyal protector. Hanumān promised to fulfil this dakshiṇā. (Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 48–49)

The promise to Sugrīva

With this promise made, Hanumān returned to Kishkindhā and became the companion and protector of Sugrīva. Hanumān served Sugrīva as the dakshiṇā owed to his guru Sūrya. This is the root of the friendship between Hanumān and Sugrīva. Later it let Sugrīva become the ally of Bhagavān Rāma and let Hanumān find Sītā in Laṅkā.

His divine birth, the gifts of all the devas and his study under Sūrya all led to this: he was to be in the right place at the right time to serve Śrī Rāma. (Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 49)

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 43–50 (Añjanā, Chapter 43; birth, Chapter 44; the leap at the sun, Chapters 44–45; the broken chin and the name, Chapter 45; the varas, Chapter 46; the ṛshis’ counter-śāpa, Chapter 47; study under Sūrya, Chapters 48–49; the promise to Sugrīva, Chapter 49)
• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa (Jāmbavān reminds Hanumān of his powers)