Hanuman and the Curse

Statue of Hanuman in Haladiagada, Kendrapada, Orissa, India.

Photograph taken by Sujit Kumar (2007).

When Hanuman promised to remain on earth as long as Rama’s story was told, he didn’t expect it to be repeated quite so much. It took but a few years before he determined that the Ramayana would be told long after the Himalayas had crumbled into dust and India had sunk into the ocean. He wasn’t entirely enthusiastic about this. He enjoyed life but one can only eat so much fruit before getting sick of it. After several millennia, having exhausted whatever pleasures he could gain from food, he moved onto pranks and tricks. He would throw papayas, mangos, and pears at whoever happened to pass by.

One day, while lounging on a tree branch, Hanuman woke to the sound of footsteps. They were coming from down the path and getting louder. Through the foliage, Hanuman soon spied a hooded man making his way down the path. This traveler was muttering some prayer. Without hesitation, Hanuman picked up a half-eaten mango, aimed it at the man’s head, and threw it as hard as possible.

The mango hit its mark and the man let loose a flurry of expletives. Hanuman soon saw that this was a very old man with a long, gray beard. The monkey now felt some remorse at his actions. Had he known the passer-by was a decrepit old man, he would have thrown something smaller. Hanuman leapt down from the tree branch and went up to him to apologize.

Before Hanuman could speak, the man said to him, “Do you normally throw things at passers-by?”

Hanuman replied, “Living out here can get pretty boring.”

“I’m sure this is the best way to deal with it,” the man said sarcastically, rubbing the bump on his head. “Since you obviously don’t care much about your fellow creatures, I’m placing a curse on you. Maybe then you’ll stop throwing fruit at people’s heads.”

“Oh no. Please don’t!”

“Apparently, I have to. As you may have heard, there are brothers by the name of Pandava who have been wandering these parts for several years. You will remain in this very clearing until one of them should tug on your tail.”

“Great. At this rate, I’ll never leave earth.”

It dawned on the old man that he wasn’t talking to just any monkey. “You must be Hanuman! I’d love to hear of Rama and his great deeds.”

“I will, but only if you break that curse once I’m done telling the story.”

The old man was just about to reply when an enormous rakshasa ran into the clearing. Both Hanuman and the man were frightened. The old man, contrary to Hanuman’s preconceptions, hadn’t any magical powers. He was but a simple villager and nearly powerless against the demon. The rakshasa picked this old man up and swallowed him whole. Hanuman could hear the old man’s cries from inside the demon’s stomach.

“Help me! Help me!” the man cried.

Hanuman tried to leap back into the forest but the old man’s curse held and he couldn’t leave the clearing. He thought he would die. However, he soon realized the implications of his promise. If he was to remain on earth until the Ramayana was no longer told, he likely couldn’t be killed. And if he couldn’t leave the clearing, the rakshasa couldn’t take him away. Hanuman gathered up some of rocks nearby and began to toss them at the rakshasa. The demon seemed annoyed, but it didn’t go away. Hanuman realized that he would have to fight the demon barehanded. He punched, kicked, bit, and scratched the demon with all his might. The rakshasa soon swallowed him whole.

The inside of the demon’s stomach smelled of putrid meats of unknown origin.

“Disgusting!” cried Hanuman. He nearly retched.

From somewhere else in the stomach, he heard the old man cry, “Hanuman, is that you?”

“Old man?” Hanuman replied. “You’re still alive?”

“From what I could hear, you fought very bravely,” the man said.

“Thank you, but this fight isn’t over.”

The rakshasa tried to run back into the jungle but an enormous weight in its stomach stopped it. It couldn’t move out of the clearing. To add to the rakshasa’s troubles, Hanuman began to scrape and bite at the demon’s stomach. The monster made a horrible cry. Hanuman tore a hole in the stomach and all of its contents spilled out.

After giving the dead rakshasa a good kick in the head, the old man thanked Hanuman profusely. He said to the monkey, “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Yes, lift this curse.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, but a curse can’t be lifted by the person who cast it. It will only be lifted until its terms have been fulfilled.”

“Great. Well, thanks. I guess you can go now.”

“I will still do something for you. I am a carpenter. I will build you a great house and there you will be able to move about as you wish. It’s the least I can do.”

The old man brought his sons and neighbors over to the clearing. There, they worked night and day to build Hanuman as elaborate a house as they could possibly build. Thus began a tradition among the local villagers to visit Hanuman each day and give him as many fine foods as he could eat. In turn, Hanuman told them the story of Rama, of the prince’s strength and of his wisdom. Hanuman eventually tired of the house. Hanuman appreciated the villagers’ attentions, but he soon tired of the house. Again and again he would try to find some way out of the clearing. He became extraordinarily sad. One day, while Hanuman sat in the middle of the road, contemplating all that had happened in his life, he felt a tug at his tail.

Author’s Note

Like some of my other stories, I decided to focus this narrative on someone who plays a rather minor role in the their epic. Hanuman is different, though, in that he plays a minor role in the Mahabharata but is very important in the Ramayana. In the Ramayana, Hanuman is important because he brings to Rama a mountain with magic herbs. These herbs help heal Rama’s soldiers. Without Hanuman’s help, it’s unlikely that Rama would have been able to defeat Ravana.

Hanuman has a rather distinct personality. He is known as a trickster. When he was a child, Hanuman tended to mess with those sages who lived in the forest. While I didn’t know about his reputation as a trickster prior to writing my story, it now seems only natural that he should while away the hours by tossing fruit at passers-by.

Of course, this story isn’t set just within the timeframe of the Mahabharata. It spans that time period from shortly after the events of the Ramayana to Bhima’s time in the forest. I thought that it would be interesting to provide some information about how Hanuman spent that time between the two epics.

Bibliography

Quora. “What fruit grows in India?”

Various authors. The Mahabharata (public domain).

Various authors. The Ramayana (public domain).

Wikipedia. "Hanuman"