When Baby Hanuman Tried to Eat the Sun
The famous childhood story of Hanuman mistaking the sun for a fruit.
When Hanuman was a small child on the slopes of the Anjanadri hill, he was unbelievably strong — and unbelievably hungry. One morning he saw the rising sun, glowing red like a ripe fruit, and decided it would make a perfect breakfast.
He leapt high into the sky. Indra, the king of the gods, struck him down with his thunderbolt to protect the sun. Hanuman fell, hurt on his jaw — which is why he is also called Bajrang (jaw-struck).
Vayu, the wind god and Hanuman's father, was furious. He stopped the winds across the world. Frightened, the gods came to revive Hanuman and each gave him a boon: limitless strength, fearlessness, devotion, and the power to never tire.
From that day, baby Hanuman grew up to become the greatest devotee of Lord Rama, ready to use his strength only in service of dharma.
For little hearts: Even mistakes can become blessings when guided by love and devotion.
Continue learning
Related teachings
Arjuna and the Weapons in the Shami Tree
At the end of their exile the Pandavas hid their weapons in a shami tree. A year later Arjuna, disguised as a dance teacher, climbed it to take back his bow. Why people still worship the shami on Dussehra.
Rama and the Untimely Worship of Durga
Before his last battle with Ravana, Rama wakes the Goddess out of season and offers her a hundred and eight lotuses — and when one goes missing, he reaches for his own eye. Why Durga Puja falls in autumn.
The Goddess Who Stood Alone — Shumbha and Nishumbha
A demon king sends a marriage proposal to the Goddess. She replies with a condition, and then with an army of goddesses — whom she takes back into herself before the last fight. The final battle of the Durga Saptashati.
Durga and Mahishasura
The gods cannot defeat the buffalo demon, so their combined fury becomes a single goddess, armed by every one of them. The central story of Navaratri, as the Durga Saptashati tells it.