The Monkey God of the Hindu Epic Ramayana
The Hindu epic Ramayana records that Hanuman is the monkey god, son of the wind god, of immense strength, able to change his form and leap through the clouds, the most faithful follower of Rama. When Rama’s wife Sita was carried off by the demon king Ravana and imprisoned on the island of Lanka, Hanuman leaped across the strait to find her and then helped Rama lead the monkey army across the sea to recover her. For this unreserved loyalty and devotion Hanuman became the most representative symbol of the spirit of "devoted service" (Bhakti) in Hinduism, his temples thronged with worship.
To find the abducted Sita, Hanuman leaped across the strait between India and Lanka, pressing on through the obstruction of a demoness and the assault of a mountain, and at last found Sita in a garden of Lanka, presenting Rama’s ring as a token and comforting her that relief was coming.
Legend says that when some doubted whether Hanuman’s loyalty to Rama was more than show, Hanuman tore open his own chest before them all, and they saw imprinted on his heart the images of Rama and Sita — a story that symbolizes how "devotion" is not spoken allegiance but conviction from the heart, indivisible.
Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.
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