Monkey, Man, Murti: The Multi-faceted Hanuman: Journal of Vaishnava Studies

Abstract

Much like the mischievous Lord Krishna, who stole butter from the milkmaids and broke their clay jugs, Hanuman was an impish, yet
powerful, child. As an infant, Hanuman attempted to swallow the sun when he mistook it for a ripe piece of fruit. Indra saved the sun from Hanuman’s impertinence by hurling a thunderbolt that struck the young monkey on the jaw, knocking him unconscious to the ground. Hanuman’s father Vayu, god of the wind and air, withdrew with his wounded child into a cave, and the world began to suffocate without his presence. The gods acted quickly; Brahma restored Hanuman to life and Indra and the others granted him boons such as wisdom, eloquence, strength, and freedom from the snare of death. Indra also gave him the name Hanuman or “one having (-mān or -mant) a [prominent or disfigured] jaw (hanu)”