Hanuman's ADOLESCENCE
Hanuman was born to a mother named Anjana, and a father named Vayu. Vayu is the deity of wind, and Anjana was a human that was transformed into a monkey after a sage cursed her. Perhaps why Hanuman already had a negative perception from those around him was due to his lineage. Hanuman's mother already had negative history with the sages, and Hanuman's hyperactive nature was reminiscent to that of Vayu's occasional overbearing gale. Hanuman was alone in his early life. He spent the fleeting days after his birth surviving in a jungle resting on a mountain. Hanuman, even being an infant, was incredibly powerful. The immense strength he displayed was the reason he could survive alone even after his birth, and it earned him the epithet "mighty one," which is what the other creatures residing in the jungle referred to Hanuman as.
Years passed, and young Hanuman had begun to grow lonesome in his quiet life of solitude. Hanuman decided to seek out comrades that he could share his days with. Hanuman adventured throughout the jungle for some time until he came upon a sage. The sage was in deep meditation, and looked severely malnourished. Hanuman thought to bring the sage food to start up a friendship, so he acquired a mango from the jungle, and offered it to the man. The sage did not even open his eyes, nor showed any signs of being aware of Hanuman's presence. Hanuman tried to break the man from his trance by shaking him, yet the sage still was locked in what seemed like deep slumber. Hanuman then whacked the sage on the head with his fist. Hanuman, however, had yet to learn how to hold back his strength. The blow that Hanuman produced was intended to simply awaken the sage, but it instead killed him. The other sages residing in the jungle quickly learned of this event, and cursed Hanuman to forget his own strength. Hanuman then became like any normal youngling, one who was constantly afraid of the dangers around him.
Hanuman had secluded himself on a tall tree for quite some time. He would only move to other trees to grab food, and his feet hadn't touched the ground since the sages placed their curse on him. One day, the sun was shining exceptionally intensively on Hanuman's frame. Hanuman was growing annoyed at the sun's constant bombardment of heat, so he decided to make a leap towards the sun in order to ask it to cool down. Hanuman, forgetting the reality of the massive strength in his legs, leaped as hard as he could towards the sun. Hanuman soared upwards at a speed that surpassed sound. He had remembered the strength he possessed, but he could not stop his velocity even after he was right in front of Surya, the Sun God. Hanuman's head bashed into Surya's abdomen, and wounded the god to the point that the sun would not shine for three months.
Hanuman had become infamous in the eyes of the gods and sages. He was determined to right his wrongs. There came a time when it was the seventh day of a ceaseless rainstorm. Hanuman, being young and naïve, thought that he could make amends somewhat by freeing the jungle of this rain. He leapt towards the storm clouds. Indra, god of thunder, knew of Hanuman's previous antics with Surya, so he anticipated Hanuman's leap. Indra sent a torrent of concentrated lightning bolts towards the leaping Hanuman. One of the bolts successfully landed. The lightning bolt pierced Hanuman's jaw, breaking and disfiguring it. The impact of the bolt sent Hanuman crashing back down to the mountain jungle, where a blazing fire had erupted from Indra's barrage of lightning. The jungle was seared away considerably by the fire, and the creatures of Hanuman's homeland finally banded together and forced Hanuman into exile. Hanuman was now scorned by all things alike, and forced out of his home to wander alone. This is where Hanuman's journey begins.
Author's Note:
This is my take on an origin story for Hanuman. Most of it is completely original, with slight inspiration from a couple of Hanuman stories I have read this semester. The curse of the sages is something that happens to Hanuman in many versions of his origin story. The events leading to that curse are completely original on my end though. The same concept applies for the Surya and Indra part of my story. The end result is mostly the same as some of the original tales, but the set up and motivation for both of Hanuman's leaps into the sky are made up by me.
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