The Upside-Down King Read online

  Sugriva’s responses did not satisfy Vali, and he yelled at his brother, ‘Leave this kingdom. Now. If you enter my lands, I will kill you. As an act of revenge, I will detain your wife, Ruma. She will not be accompanying you.’

  Left with no choice, Sugriva departed from the land.

  Sage Matanga lived in Rishyamukha Mountain. As Vali grew powerful, his arrogance also grew and became the cause of a curse from Matanga, who said, ‘O Vali, your pride is at a peak, and you have become blind to your flaws. If you enter the kingdom of Kishkindha, you will instantly die!’

  Vali, therefore, stayed away from Kishkindha. Sugriva took advantage of this and came back to the kingdom to rule it. But he was aware that he must not cross the kingdom’s boundaries at any cost.

  Yet, Vali remained extremely powerful. He had the ability to travel in all directions to perform his daily prayers to Lord Surya, who moved from east to west, and even had a special boon that allowed him to gain half of his opponent’s energy whenever he fought anyone in single combat. It made him virtually indestructible, but he remained unhappy at the loss of his kingdom.

  Kishkindha is recognized today as the heritage site of Hampi in northern Karnataka. It is this kingdom that gave rise to the great empire of Vijayanagara.

  A Greater Purpose

  Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati were living together happily for a long time. One day, Parvati felt that she was carrying a baby in her womb. As time passed, she became certain that the baby was extraordinary. So she turned to her husband and said, ‘I can feel the baby bursting with energy inside my body, and I cannot keep it much longer. Tell me, what should I do?’

  ‘Why don’t you transfer the energy and the baby to Mother Earth?’ advised Lord Shiva. ‘After all, she is the epitome of patience and perseverance, and she can hold anything.’

  So Parvati transferred the baby to Mother Earth through her belly button. Surprisingly, Earth also found it difficult to hold the child in her womb. As she struggled to take care of it, Vayu, the lord of the wind, visited her and saw the condition she was in.

  He said, ‘Please don’t worry. I have a solution. Anjana Devi, the queen of the monkeys, who is married to King Kesari, is desperate for a baby and is a great devotee of Shiva. For years, she has been performing a penance to become a mother. And this baby is Shiva’s own child. I will transport the baby to Anjana’s womb. What could be a better reward for her penance?’

  Thus, the unborn baby was transferred to Anjana’s womb with the help of Vayu. In due course, a baby boy was born and named Anjaneya.

  Even when the child was young, he was extraordinary in every way, mentally agile and physically very strong. Everyone was delighted by him. He had the blessings and protection of Lord Shiva, Lord Vayu and King Kesari. Nobody could touch him.

  One day, Anjaneya saw the sun shining in the sky, looking like a juicy yellow mango! Since he was hungry, he flew to the sky and chased the sun, who ran straight to Indra. The sun complained to the king of the gods that he was in danger because of the young monkey prince.

  Indra was upset with Anjaneya. He took his mighty weapon Vajrayudha and slapped Anjaneya on the cheek. Anjaneya’s face and chin changed shape, and he began falling from the sky. When Vayu saw this happening, he was distraught. ‘How dare Indra hit this baby whom I brought to Anjana’s womb from Mother Earth? This child is precious and a reflection of Shiva!’

  Upset, the lord of the wind vanished from the earth and people began dying without air. The world came to a standstill.

  Everyone requested Indra to ask for forgiveness from Vayu and to bless Anjaneya.

  Indra saw the threat to the human race and asked Vayu for forgiveness, and the wind returned to the earth.

  From that day on, Anjaneya was called Hanuman, or ‘the one with a prominent chin’. He also has many other names, like Maruti, Kesari Nandana and Bajaranga Bali (‘the strong one’).

  All the gods promised Vayu to assist the young child, and each gave a boon to the young monkey prince.

  Brahma’s boon protected Hanuman such that nobody would be able to kill him with any weapon in a war.

  Shiva blessed him with longevity, spiritual wisdom and the ability to cross oceans.

  Indra declared that Vajrayudha would no longer have any effect on Hanuman, because he would be stronger than the weapon itself.

  Varuna, the lord of water, promised Hanuman that he would always be protected by water.

  Agni, the god of fire, blessed him with immunity from burning.

  Surya gave him two boons—Yagima and Garima—through which he could change his size any time and become miniature or gigantic.

  Yama, the lord of death, blessed him with a healthy life free from Yamadanga (the weapon of Yama), thus making him immortal.

  Kubera blessed him that he may always be happy and content.

  Vishwakarma vouched that he would be protected from all his creations that were in the forms of weapons.

  Vayu blessed him with more speed than he had himself—he would be faster than the wind.

  Once Hanuman had received all these boons, he wanted to receive his education from Surya and learn everything. He enlarged his body, went to the sun god and asked him to teach him. Surya, however, refused. ‘I would really love to teach you, but I am always on the move in my chariot. How will I be able to teach you effectively?’

  Hanuman smiled. ‘O Sun God, don’t worry. I will stand still, keeping one leg in the east and one in the west. I will listen to you with concentration.’

  Surya was happy to see his devotion and taught him all that he knew.

  When Hanuman finished learning, he asked what gurudakshina his teacher would accept.

  Surya refused to take any because he felt lucky to have such a devoted and sincere student like Hanuman.

  When Hanuman insisted, Surya said, ‘Go to Kishkindha, where my spiritual son, Sugriva, resides. He requires a wise minister and a companion. You are born for a great purpose, and that will be possible only if you are there. Help my son until you get called for your duty.’ Surya knew that a day would come when Hanuman would meet Rama and Lakshmana during the course of his duty to Sugriva.

  During his childhood, Hanuman was very mischievous. He troubled sages while they were in meditation and disturbed them. One day, some of the sages became upset, even though they knew that Hanuman was a child and born to fulfil a greater purpose. ‘You have great power, child, but may you forget all about it until the right person comes along and reminds you,’ they admonished Hanuman.

  In the Ramayana, when Hanuman had to cross a stretch of water to reach Lanka, he became worried. How would he do it? Then Jambuvanta the bear reminded Hanuman of his powers, thereby helping him cross the ocean. That’s how Hanuman rediscovered his powers, which stayed with him for ever after.

  Five Candles, One Breath

  Ahiravana and Mahiravana were Ravana’s powerful and ruthless stepbrothers who ruled Patala Loka. They were devotees of Goddess Mahamaya.

  When Indrajit, son of Ravana and Mandodari, met his end fighting for his father in the war, Ravana became dejected. He remembered his stepbrothers and called upon them. When they arrived, he said to them, ‘You must capture Rama and Lakshmana and sacrifice them to Mahamaya. Since these are pious princes, your sacrifice will bring you prosperity.’

  Almost instantly, Ravana’s youngest brother, Vibhishana, learnt of this development through his spies and sent word to Hanuman. ‘You must take care of Rama and Lakshmana because either Ahiravana or Mahiravana will attempt to kidnap them as they rest.’

  Forewarned, Hanuman kept a tight vigil on the brothers and thwarted Ahiravana’s multiple attempts. In a smart move, Ahiravana took the form of Vibhishana and entered the camp. Before Hanuman or the soldiers could react, Ahiravana kidnapped the brothers and took them to Patala.

  Humiliated, Hanuman went to Vibhishana. ‘Sir,’ he said, ‘I have failed my duty. I mistook Ahiravana to be you and allowed him inside the camp. I was cheated. Ple