Hanuman and the Mountain

Night had fallen over the battlefield of Lanka.

Rama's army had been fighting for many days against the army of the demon king Ravana, to rescue Rama's wife Sita. And that day, something terrible had happened. Rama's beloved brother Lakshmana had been struck down and lay on the ground, barely breathing.

Rama knelt beside him, holding his hand. "Lakshmana," he whispered. "Brother, wake up." But Lakshmana did not move.

The only hope

The physician of the army, the wise Sushena, examined Lakshmana carefully.

"There is still hope," he said. "Far to the north, in the Himalayas, there is a mountain covered with healing herbs. One of them, the sanjivani, can bring back someone who is close to death. But it must be brought here before the sun rises. After that, it will be too late."

Everyone looked at each other. The Himalayas were at the other end of India, thousands of miles away. How could anyone get there and back in a single night?

Then all eyes turned to Hanuman.

Hanuman flies

Hanuman was the son of the Wind god. He was the strongest and the fastest of all the vanaras, and he loved Rama and Lakshmana with his whole heart.

He did not hesitate for a moment.

"I'll go," he said.

He bowed to Rama. Then he grew bigger and bigger, until he was as tall as a hill. He bent his knees, and with a great roar he sprang into the sky.

He flew north through the darkness, over the sea, over forests and rivers, over sleeping villages and wide plains. The wind rushed past his ears. Below him, the land of India slipped away mile after mile.

At last, the snowy peaks of the Himalayas rose up, shining in the moonlight. Among them he found the mountain of herbs, its slopes glowing softly with a thousand plants.

Which one?

Hanuman landed on the mountain and began to search.

But there were so many herbs! Big ones and small ones, leaves and flowers, roots and creepers, all glowing and shining in the dark. Which one was the sanjivani? He had never seen it before. And the herbs, it is said, hid themselves from him.

Hanuman searched and searched. The night was passing. The sun would rise soon. If he chose the wrong one, Lakshmana would not live.

Hanuman stood on the mountain and thought.

Then his face lit up.

"If I can't find the right herb," he said, "I'll take them all!"

The whole mountain

Hanuman wrapped his great arms around the peak. He pulled. He heaved. The ground rumbled. And with a mighty effort, he tore the whole mountaintop away from the earth and lifted it up in his hands.

Holding the mountain high, he leapt back into the sky and flew south as fast as the wind.

In the battle camp, everyone was watching the sky, counting the moments until dawn. Then someone shouted and pointed. Something was coming through the night: a glowing light, getting bigger and bigger.

It was Hanuman, carrying a mountain.

He landed gently beside Rama and set the mountain down. Sushena ran to it, found the sanjivani at once, crushed its leaves and held them under Lakshmana's nose.

Lakshmana breathed in. His eyes opened. He sat up, strong and well again, just as the first light of the sun touched the sky.

Rama threw his arms around Hanuman and held him close. There were no words big enough to thank him.

About this story

This episode comes from the Yuddha Kanda, the book of the war, in the Ramayana. In Valmiki's epic, Hanuman makes the journey to the herb mountain for the wounded heroes; some details told here, such as the race against the sunrise, come from later, much-loved retellings. The story became one of the best-loved in India. Pictures of Hanuman flying with a mountain in his hand are seen all over the country, as a symbol of devotion, strength and never giving up. This version is a shortened, simplified retelling.