~ 92. Yet Another Story of Hanuman ~


Others tell a different story about Hanuman:
Dasharatha took the celestial kheer and gave it to his three wives: Kaushalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra.
Kaushalya ate and conceived Rama. As she ate, a crow snatched some kheer, flew away, and dropped the kheer into the mouth of the apsara Anjana; she conceived Hanuman. 
Kaikeyi ate and conceived Bharata. As she ate, a crow snatched some kheer, flew away and dropped the kheer into the mouth of the rakshasi Kaikasi; she conceived Vibhishana. 
No crows bothered Sumitra when she ate the kheer and conceived her two sons, first Lakshmana and then Shatrughna.



Inspired by: Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana by Devdutt Pattanaik
Notes: This story is on p. 16 of the book.  The Ananda Ramayana reports that a portion of Kaushalya's kheer is taken by a crow and falls into Anjana's mouth, and she gives birth to Hanuman. In another version of the story, a crow takes part of Kaushalya's portion to Kaikesi, and she gives birth to Vibhishana. 

No comments:

Post a Comment