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| Jai Hanuman |
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In the Assembly of Indra, the Lord of Gods, amongst a number of beautiful nymphs, one was named Punjiksthala. She was very restive and intemperate by nature. Once she disturbed a sage in his meditation. The sage got annoyed and cursed her, "You have done an evil deed and because of this act, you shall be born in the form of a she-monkey in your next birth." Punjaksthala was shocked. She fell at the feet of the sage and cried, "O sage! I beg your pardon. I have not offended you knowingly. I did not mean to disturb your meditation or to insult you. Please show pity on me and take back the curse."
The sage cooled down at the entreaties of Punjiksthala and taking pity on her, he said, "Alright! The curse cannot be undone. I can only reduce it to the extent that you shall be able to change your form to that of a human being at your will." In due course of time, Punjiksthala was born to Kunjar who was one of the chiefs of monkeys. She was named Anjana.
Anjana was very beautiful as she had been in her earlier birth. When she grew up, she was married to another monkey-chief called Kesari. He was very strong and brave. When many years had passed, Kesari and Anjana got worried because no child had been born to them.
At last they prayed to Shiva. They performed very hard penance. Shiva was pleased. He said, "You shall get a son who will he invincible. But for this, you have to seek the blessings of God Vayu, the Lord of Air.
Then Anjana started worshipping God Vayu. When the God was pleased, he appeared before her and said, "I am happy with your faith in me. Your wish will be granted. I, myself, shall be born to you. Thus your desire will be fulfilled." Kesari and Anjana were delighted that their wish was to be fulfilled and were going to get a son. It is mentioned in many religious books that when he was born, he was wearing golden ear-rings. He had a cap on his head, which was decorated with rare jewels. Holy thread, Yagyopawit, was around his neck. The colour of his body, eye and hair was golden yellow and a mace in one of his hands. He is also called the eleventh incarnation of Rudra, another incarnation of Shiva. Now, here is given the legend which relates how he came to be named 'Hanuman':
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