Kesari was king of the monkeys, and his wife was Anjana. Vayu the Wind-God gave her a child, but she wandered off and left the baby alone.

The little baby grew hungry, and when he saw the sun overhead he thought it was a mango, so he flew up into the sky, wanting to eat the mango.

The gods were amazed at the power of Vayu's son! Indra the Storm-God grew angry and struck the baby with a thunderbolt. The baby then fell down to the ground and broke his jaw; that is how he got the name "Big-Jaw" — Hanuman.

Vayu picked up Hanuman and rocked the baby in his lap. Indra's attack on Hanuman made Vayu angry, so he stopped the air from moving. No one in the three worlds was able to breathe!

Brahma went to Vayu, and he healed Hanuman. Vayu then let the air move so that everyone could breathe again.

Next, all of the gods bestowed blessings on Hanuman. Indra gave him protection against thunderbolts, the Sun gave him radiance, Yama freed him from all sickness, and Vishvakarma made him invulnerable to weapons.

Satisfied, Vayu then carried Hanuman back to his parents, Kesari and Anjana.

Having received boons from the gods, Hanuman grew up to be a strong and fearless monkey. He was also mischievous! He would tease the sages of the forest, breaking their pots, tearing up their clothes and interfering with their sacrifices.

Finally the sages cursed Hanuman. "You will forget all your powers!" they shouted at him, and Hanuman no longer remembered the boons he had received.

It was not until he heard the words of King Jambavan years later, on the shore of the sea, that he remembered the supernatural abilities that allowed him to jump all the way to Lanka.

Young Hanuman sought wisdom. He learned all he could from books and wanted to learn more, so his parents sent him to Surya, the all-seeing Sun God.

Surya, however, remembered how baby Hanuman had once attacked him and refused. "I travel all day; I don't have time to stop for lessons."

"I will run backwards, never stopping, always looking at you and hearing your words," said Hanuman. So Surya became Hanuman's guru, and Hanuman's face was burned black.

After completing his studies, Hanuman wanted to give Surya a gift. "Look after my monkey son, Sugriva," said Surya, and Hanuman obeyed.

When the god Shiva heard that Vishnu had been born in human form, Shiva wanted to pay his respects. Shiva thus became a street performer, playing his drum while a monkey danced to the beat. Hanuman was that monkey.

The drummer performed for King Dasharatha and his family, and little Rama was enchanted by the dancing monkey. "Let me keep the monkey!" Rama pleaded, and so Hanuman became Rama's pet.

When Vishvamitra took young Rama away to fight the rakshasas, Rama told Hanuman to go to Kishkindha where they would meet again later, for Vishnu knew what was to come.

Rama, looking for food in the forest, found an orchard guarded by a ferocious monkey: Hanuman. They fought, and Rama knocked Hanuman unconscious.

When Shiva saw this, he grew angry. "How dare you!" he shouted, and so Shiva fought Rama. The fight went on and on.

Shiva's wife Parvati then told them to stop. "You are both part of the One!" she reminded them. "There is no need to fight."

Hanuman then regained consciousness and apologized to Rama. "My monkey-nature made me do it," he said.

Rama gladly embraced Hanuman, and so Hanuman, with Shiva's blessing, became Rama's devoted ally.