1. Meaning of the name Hanuman

When Lord Hanuman was a child, he mistook the Sun as a ripe mango and flew into the space to consume it. When he swallowed the sun, there was darkness everywhere. To save the world, Lord Indra (king of the Gods) came to rescue the Sun and used his weapon Vajra on Hanuman. Vajra hit Hanuman on his jaw (Hanu in Sanskrit), thus, disfiguring it. Hence, he got the name Hanuman which means one with a disfigured jaw.

2. Hanuman’s promise to Lord Rama

When it was time for Lord Rama to go back to his eternal abode, Vaikuntha, he asked all his devotees to come along with him but Hanuman declined. He said that chanting the holy name “Rama” is sweeter than even heaven. So, he promised Lord Rama that he would stay on Earth as long as there is even a single person chanting his Lord’s name and protect them from all misery and pain.

3. Hanuman prohibited Yama from claiming Rama

When it was time for Rama to depart to his eternal abode, Hanuman wouldn’t allow Yama to enter Ayodhya and claim Rama. To Allow Yama’s entry, Rama had to trick Hanuman to make him understand that it was time for him to leave.

4. Lord Hanuman and Bhima were brothers

Hanuman is also known as Vayuputra meaning son of the wind God. Bhima was born to Kunti, through the mantra of Lord Vayu. Thus, he is a Vayuputra too. Hence, Lord Hanuman and Bhima were brothers.

5. There are 108 names of Lord Hanuman in the Sanskrit language

When Lord Hanuman was a child, he mistook the Sun as a ripe mango and flew into the space to consume it. When he swallowed the sun, there was darkness everywhere. To save the world, Lord Indra (king of the Gods) came to rescue the Sun and used his weapon Vajra on Hanuman. Vajra hit Hanuman on his jaw (Hanu in Sanskrit), thus, disfiguring it. Hence, he got the name Hanuman which means one with a disfigured jaw.

6. Hanuman applied Sindoor all over his body for Rama’s long life

Once, Hanuman saw Mother Sita applying Sindoor in her hair. He asked Mother Sita for doing so. Mother Sita replied that it was for the long life of Lord Rama. Hanuman thought if just a pinch of sindoor in the hair can increase the longevity of Lord Rama’s life then why not apply to the entire body. Thus, he is also known as Bajrang Bali.

7. Hanuman also created his version of Ramayana

After Lord Rama won the war against Ravana, Hanuman went to a mountain and started writing Ramayana with his nails. When Valmiki came to know about this, he asked Hanuman about it. Hanuman carried him on his shoulders, showed him what he had written and asked for his feedback. Tears roll down Valmiki’s eyes as it was so real, so perfect, far superior to Valmiki’s one. He said, “Now who would care about my Ramayana?”. Hearing this, Hanuman destroyed his version without a second thought.

8. Lord Rama gave death penalty to Hanuman

Once, great sages like Narada, Vasishta and Vishvamitra met in Ayodhya. They were debating if Rama himself was stronger than his name (Rama Nama). Sage Narada claimed that Rama Nama was indeed stronger than Rama himself, and decided to prove it. On Narada’s advise, Hanuman respected all the sages except Vishwamitra since he was a king. Angered Vishwamitra went up to Lord Rama and demanded that Hanuman be given a death penalty for his unforgivable behavior. Since Vishvamitra was the guru of Lord Rama, he couldn’t refuse his orders.

Hanuman was confused as to why Rama would want to take his life. But then Narada told him not to worry and to keep chanting the Rama Naam. Rama came and shot his arrows one after the other but Hanuman didn’t get even a scratch. Narad Muni who was watching the whole spectacle admitted that he had provoked Hanuman.

When Rama came to know about Narad’s trickery, he stopped. Thus, it was proved that the Rama Naam was even greater than the Lord himself.

9. Hanuman received boons from various Gods

Here are some of the boons given to Lord Hanuman –

Lord Brahma granted him the boon of long-life, invulnerability to his rod of chastisement and curses uttered by Brahmanas. He was also given the power to kill fear in good people and induce fear in enemies as well as the ability to transform his body as per will.

Lord Shiva gave him the boon of Invulnerability to death by Shiva or his weapons.

Indra gave him the boon of Invulnerability to Indra’s most powerful weapon “Vajra”.

Varuna gave him protection from water.

Agni granted him immunity against fire.

Lord Rama gave Hanuman the boon of immortality so that he could protect the devotees of Lord Rama till the end of the world.

Yama granted him the boon of health and invulnerability to his rod of chastisement.

Kubera gave him the boon that his mace would not harm him and he would not become tired in combat.

Vishwakarma granted him the boon of being invulnerable to the weapons made by him.

Vayu gave him the blessing of being faster than Vayu himself.

10. Hanuman heard the Bhagavad Gita directly from Krishna

During the Mahabharata, when Lord Krishna delivered the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna, three other people heard it as well including Hanuman.

11. Hanuman is an incarnation of Shiva

Hanuman’s mother Anjana and father Kesari prayed to Lord Shiva for a child. Lord Shiva was impressed by their prayers and instructed Vayudev to transfer his divine energy into Anjana’s womb. Hence, Lord Hanuman is known as Vayuputra as well as an incarnation of Lord Shiva.

12. Despite being a Brahmachari, Hanuman had a son named Makardhwaja

After burning the entire Lanka with the fire on his tail, when Hanuman had dipped his tail in the sea to cool off his body, a drop of his sweat fell into the mouth of a mighty fish named Makardhwaja. This fish gave birth to Hanuman’s son Makardhwaja.

13. Numerous saints have seen Hanuman over the last few centuries

including Madhvacharya (13th Century), Tulsidas (16th Century), Shri Samarth Ramdas (17th Century), Raghavendra Swami(17th Century).

14. Once, Lord Hanuman Discarded Mother Sita's Gift.

Once, Mother Sita gave a beautiful pearl necklace as a gift to Lord Hanuman but he politely refused to accept it as anything that is devoid of Rama’s name is of no use to him. To prove his eternal love for Lord Rama and Goddess Sita, he ripped off his chest to show that both of them are always present in his heart.

15. Hanuman’s Curse

As a child, Hanuman was blessed by various gods who gave him various boons. He didn’t know how to control his new-found powers and being a very mischievous child, he used to disturb the sages praying in the forest. But on one occasion, the angry sages knowing that he was a child, placed a mild curse on him, that he would forget all his powers and would only be able to remember them once someone reminds him.

16. Hanuman’s Insatiable Hunger

Once, when Mother Sita was living in Sage Valmiki’s cottage, she invited Hanuman for a lunch cooked by her. Sita was overwhelmed with happiness when she saw Hanuman and cooked numerous dishes for him. He loved the food so much that he finished all the food in the kitchen. All the groceries were almost finished but he was still hungry. In despair, Mother Sita prayed to Lord Rama for his help. Rama advised her to add a Tulsi leaf to the food being served to Hanuman. Sita Ji did the same and Hanuman’s hunger was thus satisfied.

17. Lord Hanuman’s Role In The Mahabharata

1. Hanuman met Arjuna in the form of a small monkey at Rameshwaram. On seeing the Ram Setu bridge, Arjuna wondered why Lord Rama would need the help of monkeys to build the bridge instead of building the bridge by himself using his arrows. The monkey criticized Arjuna saying that a bridge built with arrows wouldn’t be able to bear the weight of even one monkey like himself. Arjuna took it as a challenge and vowed that if the bridge built by him did not suffice, he would jump into the fire.

So, Arjuna built a bridge with his arrows and as Hanuman stepped on it, it fell apart. Arjuna tried again and again but failed. He was really depressed. Just then, Lord Krishna appeared in front of them and asked Arjuna to rebuild the bridge. This time when Hanuman stepped on it, the bridge did not break. Hanuman came in his original form and promised to help Arjuna in the war. During the entire battle, Lord Hanuman was present on the flag of Arjuna’s chariot.

On the last day of the war, Lord Krishna asked Arjuna to step down from the chariot and thanked Hanuman for protecting them throughout the battle. Hanuman Ji appeared in his original form, bowed to Lord Krishna and left the place. As soon as he left, the chariot blew into ashes. Krishna explained to an astonished Arjuna that the chariot would have burnt long back if Hanuman had not protected it from the attacks of celestial weapons used in the war.

2. Bheem had become extremely proud of his strength and considered himself to be the strongest person in the world. To teach his younger brother (Bheem) a lesson, Hanuman took the form of an old monkey and sat in his way. When Bheem asked Hanuman to get his tail out of the way, Hanuman asked him to do it himself. Bheem tried to his full strength but failed. Hanuman then appeared in front of Bheem in his original form and a timely lesson in humility was taught.

18. PanchMukhi Hanuman

During the battle between Rama and Ravana, Ravana asked the king of Patala Lok – Mahiravana to help him out. Mahiravana took the form of Vibheeshana, kidnapped Rama and Laxmana and took them to the Patala Lok.

Hanuman entered the Patala Lok to rescue them. He fought a fierce battle with Mahiravana but was unable to defeat him. He then found that in order to kill Mahiravana, he would have to extinguish five lamps in five different directions. So, took the form of Panchmukhi Hanuman (Hanuman with five faces), extinguished all the 5 lamps and rescued Rama and Laxmana.

19. Lord Hanuman’s mother, Anjana was an apsara

(celestial being) in God Indra’s court named Punjikasthala. She was cursed by a sage to be born as a vanara (female monkey) on Earth and this curse could only be removed if she gave birth to Lord Shiva’s incarnation. So, she took birth as a vanara princess and married Kesari, a vanara chief.

20. Surya was Hanuman’s Guru

Hanuman was fascinated with Surya from birth. He was a great devotee of the Sun God, Surya. So, he selected Surya as his teacher and requested him to teach the scriptures. Surya agreed to teach Hanuman if he could follow his pace. Hanuman did so and became his disciple. He completed the entire scriptures in just 60 hours.

21. Hanuman invented the “Surya Namaskar”

Hanuman offered to pay his “Guru Dakshina” to his Guru Surya but he politely declined. So, Hanuman decided to honor his teacher by offering his gratitude and namaskars, imitating Surya’s movements across the sky each and every day. Thus, the Surya Namaskar was born as Hanuman’s Guru Dakshina to his teacher, Surya.