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. He soon figured that the Ramayana would be told long after the Himalayas had crumbled into dust and India had sunk into the ocean. Needless to say, he wasn’t completely enthusiastic about this. He enjoyed life, for the most part, 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. To those wanderers who passed by his little hut, he would throw berries, oranges, and pears.

One day, while he was napping on a tree branch, Hanuman woke to the sound of footsteps. They were coming from down the path and getting louder. Soon Hanuman spied, through the foliage, a hunched figure making its way down the path. The figure was muttering some prayer. Hanuman thought for a moment and decided that, yes, he would pelt this traveler with fruit. Taking up a half-eaten apple, he aimed it at the figure’s head and threw it as hard as possible.

The apple hit its mark and the figure let loose a long series of expletives. When it turned to face the direction of the thrower, Hanuman saw that this figure was an 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 the man to apologize.

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

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

“Only a boring monkey can be bored,” the man said, angrily, rubbing the bump on his head.

“Boring? I’m not boring.”

“No, not for long.”

“What do you mean?” Hanuman asked.

“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 you have told the story of Rama to one of these brothers.”

“Really?” replied Hanuman. “I also have to stay here on earth until the story of Rama is no longer told.”

“Rama? 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.”

So Hanuman began to tell the old man Rama’s tale. He was just to the part about Jatayu’s death when an enormous rakshasa ran into the clearing. Both Hanuman and the old 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 was frightened. If the rakshasa could eat a magical being, he himself had little chance of surviving. He tried to leap back into his tree but the old man’s curse held and he couldn’t move off the road. 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. He 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 may have to fight the demon barehanded. He fought bravely against the rakshasa but was soon swallowed.

The inside of the rakshasa’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?”

“I was swallowed, too.”

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

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

The rakshasa tried to run back into the jungle but it felt an enormous weight in its stomach stopping 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 was soon able to tear a hole in the rakshasa’s stomach and all of its contents spilled out.

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.”

Hanuman lived in this house for several more centuries. He was lonely and bored and longed for the day when one of the Pandavas should meet him. One day, while he was sitting in the middle of the road, contemplating all that had happened in his life, he felt a strong tugging at his tail.

Author’s Note

Like some of my other stories, I decided to give a story to someone who, while serving a major role in the Ramayana, serves as more of a side character in the Mahabharata. In this case, that character is Hanuman. Hanuman plays an essential role in the Ramayana, in part because he brings to Rama a mountain with magic herbs, the latter of which allows Rama’s soldiers to be healed. Without Hanuman there to help, it’s unlikely that Rama would have been able to defeat Ravana. In the Mahabharata, Hanuman seems to take on the role of mentor more than he does the role of a soldier. In addition, Hanuman is known as a trickster and, when he was a child, tended to mess with those sages who lived in the forest. While I didn’t know prior to originally writing this 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 Arjuna’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

Various authors. The Mahabharata (public domain).

Various authors. The Ramayana (public domain).

Wikipedia. "Hanuman."