Hanuman Ji is the son of Mata Anjana and the vanara chief Kesari. He is also called Vayuputra and Pavanputra because of Vayu Dev’s role in his birth. In the Ramayana, his extraordinary strength is inseparable from intelligence, humility and devotion to Shri Rama.
The child who reached for the sun
As a child, Hanuman saw the rising sun and leapt towards it, taking it for a ripe fruit. Indra struck him with his thunderbolt, injuring his jaw. Grieved by the injury, Vayu withdrew the air that sustained living beings. The devas intervened and blessed the child. This childhood episode is recalled by Jambavan in the Kishkindha Kanda when he reminds Hanuman of his strength.
Later traditional accounts describe Hanuman learning from Surya Dev. They also tell of sages restraining his childhood mischief with a curse: he would forget his exceptional powers until someone reminded him. These details belong to the wider Hanuman tradition and are not all narrated together in one episode of the Ramayana.
Meeting Rama and searching for Sita
Hanuman was serving Sugriva when Rama and Lakshmana arrived near Rishyamukha while searching for Sita. His thoughtful words impressed Rama, and he brought the brothers to Sugriva. Their friendship led to the search parties sent in different directions to find Sita, whom Ravana had taken to Lanka.
Rama’s first impression of Hanuman was formed through speech, before any display of strength. Hanuman had approached the strangers on Sugriva’s behalf to learn who they were. His manner was measured and his words well chosen. By bringing Rama and Sugriva together, he helped two people facing different losses become allies. His service began with understanding a situation and creating trust.
At the seashore, Jambavan encouraged Hanuman to undertake the crossing. Hanuman leapt over the ocean, overcoming obstacles with both courage and judgment. In Lanka he searched carefully until he found Sita in the Ashoka grove. He spoke of Rama and showed her Rama’s ring to establish his identity. Sita entrusted him with her chudamani, a jewel to carry back as a sign of their meeting.
His meeting with Sita required particular care. She was surrounded by enemies, and an unfamiliar visitor could easily seem another deception. Hanuman first brought Rama’s story within her hearing, then gave the sign that only a trusted messenger could carry. When he offered to take her away, Sita explained her concerns and her wish that Rama himself should overcome Ravana. Hanuman listened. He left with her message rather than treating his own strength as the only answer to her suffering.
The return from Lanka and the war
Before leaving, Hanuman confronted Ravana’s forces. Taken before Ravana, he urged him to return Sita. When his captors set his tail alight, Hanuman used the fire against Lanka and then made sure Sita was safe. He returned across the sea with news that gave Rama and the search party renewed hope.
During the war, Hanuman served as a warrior and messenger. When life-restoring herbs were needed for the wounded, he went to the mountain where they grew. Unable to identify the required herbs, he carried the mountain’s herb-bearing summit back. The familiar Sanjivani retelling especially remembers him as the one who brought help when Lakshmana’s life was in danger; the war narrative contains more than one journey for healing herbs.
Service that continues beyond the coronation
After Ravana’s defeat, Hanuman carried the news of victory to Sita and later announced Rama’s return to Bharata. Rama’s coronation did not bring his devotion to an end. Later tradition honours him as a chiranjivi, one whose presence continues through the ages, and the Mahabharata also tells of his encounter with Bhima.
The Mahabharata brings Hanuman into the journey of Bhima, who is also associated with Vayu. Bhima found a monkey lying across his path and asked him to move. Invited to lift the monkey’s tail himself, the powerful warrior discovered that he could not shift it. His confidence gave way to respect, and Hanuman revealed who he was. Their encounter joins the Ramayana and Mahabharata worlds through a lesson given without a battle: strength grows wiser when it can acknowledge a power greater than its own.
For devotees, Hanuman’s story therefore closes with continuing service, not an account of his death. The child of boundless energy becomes the companion who places every gift at Rama’s feet. His courage in Lanka and his gentleness towards Sita are remembered together: strength finds its fullest purpose in protecting and serving others.