Long before the age of Rama, on a sacred mountain called Anjana Parvat, there lived a devoted apsara named Anjana. She had come to earth due to a sage's curse and had taken birth as the daughter of a vanar (monkey) chieftain. Though her form was of this world, her heart was ever turned toward the divine.
Anjana's husband was Kesari, the brave and noble king of the vanars. Together they lived a life of dharma тАФ righteous conduct, devotion, and tapasya (spiritual discipline). Yet one deep longing remained in Anjana's heart: she yearned for a son.
Anjana prayed to Lord Shiva with complete surrender. For years she performed severe tapasya тАФ standing in one posture, fasting, offering her prayers with unwavering faith. Pleased by her devotion, Lord Shiva appeared before her and granted her the boon she sought. He promised her a son who would be his own divine reflection тАФ a child of extraordinary strength, wisdom, and unwavering devotion.
At this time, King Dasharatha of Ayodhya was performing the Putrakameshti Yajna тАФ a sacred fire ritual тАФ to receive divine prasad (blessed offering) that would grant him sons. The fire god Agni rose from the yajna and presented the prasad. As it was being carried, the wind god Vayu, on the Lord's instruction, carried a portion of that divine prasad to where Mata Anjana sat in meditation.
Receiving the prasad, Anjana consumed
it with deep reverence. By the combined grace of Lord Shiva and the divine wind, she conceived a child of extraordinary qualities.
When the child was born, the earth itself seemed to celebrate. The sky filled with light. Flowers rained down from the heavens. The sages on nearby mountain peaks came out of their ashramas and offered blessings. Even the mountains seemed to bow.
The child was golden in form, his body radiating with divine light. His eyes shone like the sun. His voice, even in infancy, carried the resonance of thunder. He was named Hanuman тАФ a name given after an incident that would come soon. He was also called by many other sacred names: Pawan Putra (son of the wind), Anjaniputra (son of Anjana), Kesari Nandan (son of Kesari), Mahaveer (the great hero), and Bajrang Bali (one with a body as strong as vajra, the divine thunderbolt).
From the very moment of his birth, Shri Hanuman was destined for greatness. He had been sent into the world not for himself, but for the sacred purpose of serving Shri Rama тАФ whose own arrival on earth was still to come.
Every birth has a purpose. Hanuman's purpose was devotion itself.
