A Wisdom Archive on Hanuman

Introduction and links to related topics

Hanuman - A huge, white monkey, son of the Wind, and one of the heroes of the Ramayana. Hanuman''s unparalleled strength was exceeded only by his perfect devotion to Lord Rama, for whom he performed many acts of magic and daring.

Anjana - Anjana (Sanskrit) (feminine of anjana)

The mother of Hanumat or Hanuman, the celebrated monkey god of the Ramayana, who is therefore called Anjaneya (son of Anjana). In her previous birth she was a goddess, but due to a curse was born as a monkey in the Himalayas. The birth of her son, Hanuman, lifted the curse and after a period Anjana ascended to svarga (heaven).

Cynocephalus - Cynocephalus (Ancient Greek) The Egyptian Hapi. There was a notable difference between the ape-headed gods and the "Cynocephalus" (Simia hamadryas), a dog-headed baboon from upper Egypt. The latter, whose sacred city was Hermopolis, was sacred to the lunar deities and Thoth Hermes, hence an emblem of secret wisdom - as was Hanuman, the monkey-god of India, and later, the elephant-headed Ganesha.

The mission of the Cynocephalus was to show the way for the Dead to the Seat of Judgment and Osiris, whereas the ape-gods were all phallic. They are almost invariably found in a crouching posture, holding on one hand the outa (the eye of Horus), and in the other the sexual cross. Isis is seen sometimes riding on an ape, to designate the fall of divine nature into generation.

Hanuman - Hanuman or Hanumat (Sanskrit) Monkey-god of the Ramayana. The son of Pavana, god of the winds, or spirit, Hanuman is fabled to have assumed any form at will, wielded rocks, removed mountains, mounted the air, seized the clouds, and to have rivaled Garuda in swiftness of flight.

According to the epic, Hanuman and his host of semi-human monkey-beings became the allies of Rama, the avatara of Vishnu, in his war with the Rakshasa-king of Lanka, Ravana, who had carried off Rama''s wife, the beautiful Sita. As advisor to Rama and leader of his army, Hanuman showed unparalleled audacity, wit, and wisdom, thereby accomplishing great feats.

The deep reverence that the Hindus for ages have held for this monkey-being is based on an intuitive, but nevertheless traditional, remembrance of the connection, more intimate than at present, that existed during Atlantean and even Lemurian times between human beings and the apes and even monkeys.

The monkeys, although now static stocks, were originally derivative from Lemurian humanity, just as the anthropoids were later derivatives from miscegenations between undeveloped Atlantean savages and the monkeys of those distant times. Therefore, there is a strain of manas, however as yet undeveloped, in the anthropoid and the simian stocks.

Hanuman - The monkey king, and one of the heroes of the Ramayana. He was devoted to Lord Rama, for whom he performed many acts of magic and daring.

Cynocephalus - Cynocephalus (from Latin canus dog + cephalus head)

The dog-headed ape (Simia hamadryas) which in Egyptian mythology was called Amemet (eater of the dead) whose master was Thoth or Tehuti. In the Judgment scene in The Egyptian Book of the Dead, Amemet is represented as seated by Thoth, ready to inform his master when the pointer marks the middle of the beam on the balance, when the heart is being weighed in the scales. After Thoth makes his announcement to the gods concerning the result of the weighing of the heart, the company of the gods decree that Amemet shall not be permitted to prevail over the successful candidate.

"There was a notable difference between the ape-headed gods and the ''Cynocephalus'' . . . , a dog-headed baboon from upper Egypt. The latter, whose sacred city was Hermopolis, was sacred to the lunar deities and Thoth-Hermes, hence an emblem of secret wisdom -- as was Hanuman, the monkey god of India, and later, the elephant-headed Ganesha. The mission of the Cynocephalus was to show the way for the Dead to the Seat of Judgment and Osiris, whereas the ape-gods were all phallic" (TG 92).

"The dog-headed ape was a glyph to symbolise the sun and moon, in turn, though the Cynocephalus is more a Hermetic than a religious symbol. For it is the hieroglyph of Mercury, the planet, as of the Mercury of the Alchemical philosophers, ''as,'' say the Alchemists, ''Mercury has to be ever near Isis, as her minister, as without Mercury neither Isis nor Osiris can accomplish anything in the great work.'' Cynocephalus, whenever represented with the Caduceus, the Crescent, or the Lotus, is a glyph of the ''philosophical'' Mercury; but when seen with a reed, or a roll of parchment, he stands for Hermes, the secretary and adviser of Isis, as Hanuman filled the same office with Rama" (SD 1:388).

Ramayana - Ramayana (Sanskrit). The famous epic poem collated with the Mahabharata. It looks as if this poem was either the original of the Iliad or vice versa, except that in Ramayana the allies of Rama are monkeys, led by Hanuman, and monster birds and other animals, all of whom fight against the Rakshasas, or demons and giants of Lanka.

Aksha - Aksha aksa (Sanskrit) (from the verbal root aksh to reach, pass through, pervade)

An axle, axis, wheel, car; a die for gambling, a cube; rarely, inner knowledge, as the axis or pivot of life. As a neuter noun, either an organ or an object of sense perception. In the Ramayana, Aksha (akshakumara) was one of the three sons of Ravana, king of the demons, and was slain by Hanuman in Lanka.

Hanuman - Hindu deity usually represented as a monkey.

Treta Yuga - Treta Yuga (Sanskrit) [from treta triad, triple + yuga age]

The second of the four great yugas which constitute a mahayuga (great age). It is said that during this age three parts of truth prevail; its duration is 1,296,000 years.

In the Mahabharata Hanuman, the learned monkey chief, gives a description of the treta yuga: "In the Treta Yuga sacrifice commenced, righteousness decreased by one-fourth; men adhered to truth, and were devoted to a righteousness dependent on ceremonies. Sacrifices prevailed with holy acts and a variety of rites. Men acted with an object in view, seeking after reward for their rites and their gifts, and were no longer disposed to austerities and to liberality from a simple feeling of duty" (abridgment by Muir 1:144).

See also SATYA YUGA

Monkey God - Monkey God.

See HANUMAN

Chhaya-grahini - Chhaya-grahini chaya-grahini (Sanskrit) Shadow-catcher; in the Ramayana, it "was able to arrest the aerial progress of Hanuman by seizing on his shadow on the surface of the Sea" (BCW 6:341).