Hanuman's Tale: The Messages of a Divine MonkeyHanuman, the devoted monkey helper of Rama and Sita, has long been recognized as a popular character in India's ancient Ramayana epic. But more recently he has also become one of the most beloved and worshiped gods in the Hindu pantheon - enshrined in majestic new temples, but equally present in poster art, advertising, and mass media. Drawing on Sanskrit and vernacular texts, classical iconography and modern TV serials, and extensive fieldwork and interviews, Philip Lutgendorf challenges the academic cliché of Hanuman as a "minor" or "folk" deity by exploring his complex and growing role in South Asian religion and culture. This wide-ranging study examines the historical evolution of Hanuman's worship, his close association with Shiva and goddesses, his invocation in tantric ritual, his physical immortality and enduring presence in sacred sites, and his appeal to devotees who include scholars, wrestlers, healers, politicians, and middle-class urbanites. Lutgendorf also offers a rich array of entertaining stories not previously available in English: an expanding epic cycle that he christens the "Hanumayana." Arguing that Hanuman's role as cosmic "middle man" is intimately linked to his embodiment in a charming and provocative simian form, Lutgendorf moves beyond the Indian subcontinent to interrogate the wider human fascination with anthropoid primates as boundary beings and as potent signifiers of both Self and Other. |
Contents
3 | |
Hanuman in History and Historiography | 35 |
Hanuman in Hindi Popular Literature | 89 |
Forty Tales of Hanuman | 125 |
5 A Readers Guide to the Hanum257yana | 177 |
Hanuman in the Cultural Landscape | 237 |
Hanuman Goddesses and Women | 299 |
Hanuman and His Kin in Transcultural Discourse | 333 |
Two Poems in Praise of Hanuman | 397 |
Glossary | 403 |
Principal Hanum257yana Sources by Author | 407 |
408 | |
425 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Ahiravana animal Anjana appears ashram asks associated avatara Ayodhya Balaji Banaras become Bhairava bhakti Bhima birth boon Brahman Ca¯lı¯sa century chapter cited cosmic cult darshan deity demon Devi devotion divine epic episode especially forest Garuda goddess gods Govindchandra Hanu Hanuma¯yana Hanuman Hanuman worship hero Hindi Hindu human hymn ibid identified immortality incarnation India Indra invoked Jain Kalya¯n_ king Krishna Lakshmana Lanka later Lord Madhva Maha¯bha¯rata mantra Maruti modern monkey monkey’s mother motif mountain murti Muslim narrative narrator netherworld notes offers popular poster Pradesh pura¯n_a Ra¯ma¯yan_a Ra¯mcaritma¯nas rakshasa Rama Rama story Rama’s Ramanandis Ramayana Ramdas Ravana religious retellings ritual role Rudra sacred sadhu sage Sankat Mochan Sanskrit scholars Shani Sharma Shatrughna Shiva shrines simian sindur Sita Sita’s sometimes storytellers suggests Sugriva Sundaraka¯n_d_a Swami tail tale tantric temple texts themes tradition Tulsidas Tulsidas’s Vaishnava Valmiki variant Vayu Vedic Vibhishana Vishnu Vrishakapi yakshas yuga