Hanuman was known for his strength and heroism but before he became a strong hero, he was known to be a young mischievous child. His tricks and mistakes would end up getting him into a lot of trouble but taught him a very valuable lesson. This is the story of one such mistake, Hanuman and the Sun Mango.
The young God had the strongest sweet tooth and it was about to become a big problem. Hanuman's mother had gone and one of the few things that could cheer him up was the sweet, juicy taste of a mango. Hanuman became obsessed with mangos and began to believe that the sun was a giant mango hanging from the sky. Every day Hanuman, who is a monkey God, jumped and jumped as high as he could to try and reach for the mango hanging from the sky and then one day he found he could fly just like his father, Wind God Vayu. As soon as he discovered he could fly he immediately began to fly towards the sun to take a giant bite out of it. When he arrived to the sun and took a bite, Suryadeva, the Sun God, became furious. Unbeknownst to Hanuman, he wanted the Sun God all along. Suryadeva was enraged that such a young monkey would try to eat him. Suryadeva cried out to the Gods and Lord Indra heard. Lord Indra laughed at first and told the young child to return home and to stop bothering the Sun God but Hanuman only continued to look at the Sun as a mango. Lord Indra flashed a lightning bolt at young Hanuman and he went falling to the ground unconscious. When Hanuman's father, Vayu, saw this he became enraged. He decided that if his son was going to be dead, then he would be too. It is imperative for the wind to blow throughout the world and without it the gods and all the people would suffocate and die. Lord Indra took back his thunderbolt and returned Hanuman to his previous state.
When Hanuman came back to life, all of the Gods returned back to their original state. The Sun was where it belonged, the Wind was blowing as it should and the lightning was landing where it was supposed to. Hanuman now needed a teacher in order for him to learn all things and Suryadeva happened to be an all-knowing teacher. Hanuman rose up to the Sun God and asked him to be his teacher and Suryadeva immediately refused due to previous events. He was eventually convinced by Hanuman and realized what a good boy he was and how great he could be. In the end Suryadeva became his teacher and taught Hanuman all he needed to know and how to be a strong, courageous and brave monkey God.
Hanuman was a young mischievous boy who often got into trouble but in the end he made a relationship with a superior God that taught him all he knows today. Without Suryadeva, Hanuman would not be the hero he is today and would not have been able to help Rama retrieve his wife Sita.
Author's Note: I wanted to tell this story because it is light-hearted and talks about the importance of the mango in Hanuman's life. This story shows how a mistake as a young child can sometimes lead to something much greater. Although Hanuman made one of the biggest mistakes a child could make, it gave him a relationship with the Sun God. The relationship ended up being one of the greatest things to happen to him. It also shows how a mistake can sometimes set a whole world off balance. If Indra had not taken back his lightning bolt the whole world would have been suffering. I really liked the moral of this story, many children make mistakes growing up. It is nice to read a story where that mistake ends up being a great thing in the end. This story incorporates food in a cute and fun way and tells a great story, with a positive theme in the meantime. This story gave me the opportunity to show Hanuman's character but to also discuss the mango, which is a very important food in India. The word mango originally came from India and the mango is of great significance and is very popular in India. This story is a great reminder of a courageous god that comes into contact with a traditional Indian food.
Bibliography: Hanuman and the Sun Mango