Hanuman the Monkey King

Hanuman is the son of Vayu, the Hindu god of Wind, and is looked upon by Hindus as the ultimate hero. He represents the figure of the ideal being, as he is humble yet brave. Hanuman's physical prowess, mental discipline and spiritual purity have made him extremely popular all over India.

As a child, Hanuman mistook the rising sun for a fruit and tried to eat it, in the process disrupting the movements of the nine astrological bodies, the Grahas. When Indra, lord of the skies, hurled his thunderbolt to stop Hanuman, Vayu was so angry that he sucked away the air from the three worlds causing all creatures to choke. Vayu wouldn't release the wind until Indra promised to give Hanuman supernatural powers.

More About Hanuman

Hanuman is best known from the Indian epic the Ramayana. In this masterwork, Sita, the wife of Prince Rama, is abducted by the demon Ravana. Hanuman leads his army of monkeys and bears to build a bridge from India to the island of Lanka, where Sita was being held.

As Hanuman's armies attacked, Prince Rama rode in on Hanuman's shoulders and fired an arrow into Ravana, killing the demon and liberating Sita.