{"collection":"Hinduism","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/hin/hmvp/hmvp40.htm","path":"hin/hmvp/hmvp40.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/hin/hmvp/hmvp40.htm","text":"Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic, by W.J. Wilkins, [1900]\nOver the mighty leaders of the Monkey army associated with R\u0101ma in the destruction of R\u0101vana was King\n \n \nClick to enlarge\nSUGRIVA.\n[paragraph continues] Sugriva. When Vishnu, before leaving heaven to become incarnate as R\u0101ma, asked the gods to\u2014\nthey consented, and \"begot in countless swarms brave sons disguised in sylvan forms.\" Of Sugriva it is said\u2014\nWhen R\u0101ma finds this King of the Monkeys, he was an exile, having been driven from his throne by his brother B\u0101li. Kabandha, a giant slain by R\u0101ma, gives the following description of the king to the wandering hero:\u2014\nR\u0101ma discovers his retreat, hears the story of his wrongs, promises to slay B\u0101li, the usurper, and assist Sugriva to regain his throne; Sugriva on his part\nsolemnly promises to aid R\u0101ma in his search and to enable him to release Sit\u0101 from R\u0101vana's bonds. R\u0101ma very soon fulfils his part of the compact. He marches with Sugriva and the others to B\u0101li's city; Sugriva challenges B\u0101li to fight, and just as he is getting the worst of it, R\u0101ma lets fly his arrow, which gives B\u0101li his mortal wound. Ere this chief dies, he strongly reproves R\u0101ma for slaying one who had never harmed him and for slaying him too in a secret and cowardly manner. He asks\u2014\nR\u0101ma reminds B\u0101li that Fate had ordained his death, against which it was useless to contend, with which statement B\u0101li agrees, and, withdrawing his unkind words, asks for R\u0101ma's forgiveness.\nOn the death of B\u0101li, Sugriva is again installed as King of the V\u0101nars, and R\u0101ma gives him four months for the enjoyment of his long-lost wife and kingdom. At its expiration, as Sugriva appeared to be so absorbed with pleasure as to forget his engagement to assist R\u0101ma, Lakshman reminds him of his duty in no measured terms. At length the order is given to collect the forces. An army of monkeys, bears, etc., goes forth in search of Sita,\n \n \nClick to enlarge\nMONKEYS CONSTRUCTING THE BRIDGE AT LANKA.\nwho, it is discovered, is somewhere in the southern district over which Hanum\u0101n is supposed to rule, who after diligent inquiry learns her whereabouts. The army marches to the seashore; a bridge connecting the island of Lanka (Ceylon) with the mainland is erected by Nala, and the attacking army surrounds the city. No sooner were they in sight of the city of the foe than\n[paragraph continues] They continue to fight with uncertain result until R\u0101vana calls to his aid his magical arts\u2014\nIn the course of the great fight, a giant named Kumbhakarna, a brother of R\u0101vana, came forth from the city and did great execution amongst the V\u0101nar host, devouring his victims as fast as they were slain, though they were numbered by thousands. Some idea of the size of this monster may be gained from the fact that\n[paragraph continues] B\u0101li's son Angad tried to rally the V\u0101nar host, but he was soon dashed senseless on the ground.\" Hanum\u0101n had already been severely wounded by the monster. And now he attacks Sugriva, who hurled a hill at him, but\n[paragraph continues] This compliment the monster returns by throwing his spear, which Hanum\u0101n caught as it flew, and broke it across his knee. Then\n[paragraph continues] The giant enters Lanka with his captive, and is greatly lauded by the people; but his triumph was of short duration, for\nLakshman tried to slay this monster; but it was left for R\u0101ma to finish the work, whose arrows cut off limb after limb, and at last severed head from body. After his death, two brothers, Nikumbha and Kumbha, came forth to do battle for their chief. Sugriva seized Kumbha and hurled him into the sea; on his reaching the shore he struck Sugriva such a blow on his chest that he broke his own wrist with the shock. Sugriva returned the blow by another beneath the neck, which proved fatal. His brother now attacked Sugriva;\nSugriva and his heroic army continued faithful to their king's promise until R\u0101ma's victory was won, though death had considerably thinned their ranks; but this loss was made good as, in answer to R\u0101ma's prayer, Yama gave up the whole of the V\u0101nars who had died in the struggle. When R\u0101ma was about to return home in the magic car, Sugriva asked that he and the V\u0101nar chiefs might accompany him to his capital. Their request being granted, they took part in the installation of R\u0101ma as king, and received from that grateful monarch rich presents as a reward for their faithful service.\nHanum\u0101n, on the whole the most useful of the Monkey leaders of the expedition to Ceylon, was the son of V\u0101yu, by a V\u0101nar or monkey mother. \"His birth is thus described\u2014\n \n \nClick to enlarge\nHANUMAN.\nAt length the son was born. When a child, seeing the sun rising, and thinking it to be the fruit of a tree, he sprang up three hundred leagues to clutch it. On another occasion Indra let a bolt fly at him which caused him to fall violently on a rock. The fall shattered his cheek, and hence the name Hanum\u0101n, the long-jawed one, was given to him. His father seeing this became angry, and the breezes ceased to blow, until the gods in terror came to appease V\u0101yu: Brahm\u0101 promised that this boy should not be slain in battle, and Indra declared that his bolts should never injure him in the future.\nThe Monkey leader rendered most valuable service to R\u0101ma. It was he who discovered Sita's abode, and carried a message to her from R\u0101ma. It was he who set fire to Lanka and caused fear to enter the hearts of the R\u0101kshasas dwelling there. It was he who bore R\u0101ma on his shoulders as he crossed over from India to Lanka. Hanum\u0101n thus speaks of his wondrous power:\nAll these powers he devoted to the service of R\u0101ma; for, when that hero and his brother were wounded in the fight, and nothing else could restore them, Hanum\u0101n fled to the Himalayas from Ceylon, and returned almost immediately with the medicinal herbs that grew there, though, on reaching the hills, he had some difficulty \u2020 in finding them:\n[paragraph continues] Hanum\u0101n is described in the \"Uttara K\u0101nda\" of the R\u0101m\u0101yana, \u2020 as a being possessed of great learning. \"The chief of the monkeys, measureless, seeking to acquire grammar, looking up to the sun, bent on inquiry, go went from the mountain where the sun rises to that where he sets, apprehending the mighty collection. The chief of the monkeys is perfect: no one equals him in the S\u0101stras, in learning, and in ascertaining the sense of the Scriptures. In all sciences, in the rules of austerity, he rivals the preceptor of the gods.\"\nR\u0101ma himself thus speaks of Hanum\u0101n's knowledge of the Scriptures, when he came to the exile as Sugriva's envoy:\nTo this day Hanum\u0101n is regarded as divine, and in some parts of India is largely worshipped. Living monkeys are regarded as his representatives: hence many temples swarm with them, and it is regarded a meritorious act to feed them, and a sacrilegious act to injure them.\nNala, another of the monkey chiefs, was a son of Visvakarma; and as the son of the architect of the gods, the builder of their beautiful cities, and the forger of their wonder-working weapons, as might have been expected, his work was of a similar nature to that for which his illustrious parent was celebrated. When the army reached the sea, and the difficulty of crossing to Lanka presented itself, as R\u0101ma was preparing to shoot one of his mighty arrows to dry up the ocean, the Sea Deity presented himself, amidst a great commotion of the elements, and thus addressed him:\nHis first word of advice was this, that R\u0101ma, instead of shooting at the sea, should direct his arrow towards the North, to destroy a race of demons who were hateful to him, and then he went on to say\u2014\nNala declares that he has the will and power to accomplish this great and necessary work; and as an encouragement to R\u0101ma to believe that he will complete it, said\u2014\nR\u0101ma trusts Nala's skill, and orders the V\u0101nars to bring materials for the bridge:\nThis chief is said to have sprung from Agni, and is described as\nThough thus eulogized, no very special feats of his are recorded in the R\u0101m\u0101yana. He held a post of honour as the leader of a division of the army, and his special work appears to have been to provide sentries, and generally to guard the forces of Sugriva from the sudden attacks of the enemy. As the son of Agni he was able to see clearly, and by his watchfulness rendered good service.\nVaruna aided R\u0101ma by the gift of this leader, who was the father of T\u0101r\u0101, the wife of B\u0101li, Sugriva's brother and the usurper of his throne. To him was\ngiven the command of the army of the West. Sugriva, addressing him, said\u2014\nAfter searching in vain for traces of the missing princess, he and the other unsuccessful leaders returned to R\u0101ma and Sugriva, and said\u2014\nThough they could not learn the exact spot where Sit\u0101 was hidden, they discovered that she had been carried towards the South, the quarter under Hanum\u0101n's special charge, and thus considerably narrowed the sphere of the quest. In the great encounter with the foe, Sushena did good service; for when R\u0101ma and Lakshman were overcome by Indrajit's magical noose, Sugriva and his comrades were greatly distressed. The V\u0101nar king, however, being aware that Garuda could release them from the spell by which they were bound, told Sushena, when they regained their strength and senses, to fly with them to Kishkindha hermitage, where they could dwell in safety, whilst he himself fought against R\u0101vana, and rescued the royal lady. Then Sushena, as the physician, said\u2014\nThese plants were brought by Hanum\u0101n; the wounded recovered, and fought with renewed vigour.\n395:* Griffiths's \"R\u0101m\u0101yana,\" i. 92.\n395:\u2020 Ibid., i. 93.\n395:\u2021 Ibid., iii. 337.\n396:* The dress of a hermit.\n396:\u2020 Griffiths's \"R\u0101m\u0101yana,\" iv. 91.\n398:* Griffiths's \"R\u0101m\u0101yana,\" v. 121.\n399:* Griffiths's \"R\u0101m\u0101yana,\" v. 122.\n399:\u2020 Ibid., v. 197.\n399:\u2021 Ibid., v. 198.\n399:\u00a7 Ibid., v. 199.\n400:* Griffiths's \"R\u0101m\u0101yana,\" v. 199.\n400:\u2020 Ibid., v. 229.\n403:* Griffiths's \"R\u0101m\u0101yana,\" iv. 272.\n404:* Griffiths's \"R\u0101m\u0101yana,\" iv. 275.\n404:\u2020 In seeking for these leaves, Hanum\u0101n was exposed to considerable danger. K\u0101lanemi, an uncle of R\u0101vana, was promised the half of the kingdom if he would slay Hanum\u0101n. To effect this, he went to the Himalayas and, disguised as a devotee, invited Hanum\u0101n to eat with him. Hanum\u0101n refused; but on entering a tank near, a crocodile seized his foot. This reptile Hanum\u0101n dragged out of the tank and killed it, from whose body a lovely Apsaras arose, whom Daksha had cursed to live in that form until her release was accomplished by Hanum\u0101n. This nymph, in gratitude for his kindness, warned Hanum\u0101n of his danger. The monkey god went to K\u0101lanemi, and telling him that he saw through his disguise, took him by the feet, and whirled him through the air to Lanka, where he fell before the throne in R\u0101vana's palace.\n405:* Griffiths's \"R\u0101m\u0101yana,\" iv. 225.\n405:\u2020 Muir, O. S. T., iv. 490.\n405:\u2021 Griffiths's \"R\u0101m\u0101yana,\" iv. 25.\n406:* This Nala must not be confounded with another person of the same name, whose history is given in the Mah\u0101bh\u0101rata. Nala of the Mah\u0101bh\u0101rata was King of Nishadha, the husband of Damayanti, whom he obtained in marriage, although Indra, Agni, Varuna, and Yama were amongst the suitors for her hand.\n406:\u2020 Griffiths's \"R\u0101m\u0101yana,\" v. 66.\n407:* Griffiths's \"R\u0101m\u0101yana,\" v. 67.\n407:\u2020 Ibid., v. 68.\n408:* Griffiths's \"R\u0101m\u0101yana,\" v. 68.\n408:\u2020 Ibid., v. 94.\n409:* Griffiths's \"R\u0101m\u0101yana,\" iv. 208.\n409:\u2020 Ibid., iv. 224.\n410:* Griffiths's \"R\u0101m\u0101yana,\" v. 152.","title":"Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic: Part III. The Inferio...","type":"page"}