Hanuman: (Un)Popular Opinion.

Hanuman is a hero in India’s popular culture and it is almost impossible to find an Indian who doesn’t know about him. Of all the Indian gods, I rever him the most. I used to scrounge stores for books about Hanuman that would shed some light on his entire personality. It is a disappointing fact that including the Puranas, there is a dearth of written material about him.

Questions and grey areas:

• What does the Valmiki Ramayan say about Hanuman?
• Was Hanuman a human being or belonged to some other species?
• Who depicted him as a slave or follower of Ram?
• Who proclaimed him as a Brahmachari(Hindi: ब्रह्मचारी)?

Since my teens, I have held the opinion that the following opinions about Hanuman are skewed/narrow/unfair:

• A servant/slave(Hindi: दास)/follower of Ram.
• Considering Hanuman as a monkey.
• More brawn than brain.

The posts belonging to this category will be written with the following objectives in mind:

• Highlight his qualities, strengths and weaknesses.
• Reproduce lesser known events related to him.
• Try to expand the narrow, skewed views/opinions about him.