Cast of Characters:

Indra: God of the Storms and Kings of the Gods (Devas), though he serves more as a first among equals rather than a Celestial Dictator.

Vayu: God of the Winds, father of the Divine Being Hanuman.

Hanuman: One of the more beloved deities through the Hindu world, Hanuman bears the countenance of an anthropomorphic monkey. Often depicted bearing a mace, or opening his chest cavity to show the triad of Rama-Sita-Laxman

Surya: the Sun God

Rahu: Shadow Planet of the Solar Eclipse

The Vajra: a Weapon, but not just any old Weapon. A cosmic level thunderbolt, described in terms of such magnitude that it would make History Channel producers jump out of their chairs and shout, Ancient Aliens!

Icarus: Greek kid who flee too close to the sun

Back Characters:

Anjana: Hanuman’s earthly mother, who was impregnated by a drop of magical nectar that was carried to her by Vayu, the Wind. A relatively less known deity, she is popular in Javanese culture, where she appears frequently in puppetry (Wayang) as Dewi Anjani

Rama-Sita-Laxmana: it’s impossible to separate Hanuman from these three Deities, however, this is a prequel story about Hanuman; at this point, the only connection to his future best friend is that the drop of magical nectar that led to his conception came from the same ritual that produced Rama and Laxmana.

Valmiki: the legendary author of the Ramayana, the epic poem from which this story comes.

The Story:

One morning, Queen Anjana was feeding her son Hanuman fruit. Seeing the rising Sun, he decided to pursue what he thought was an even brighter and shinier fruit.

Being divine, he could fly after the Sun, as well as increase in size.

Surya, the Sun, was rightfully terrified, and cried out.

Even Rahu, Shadow Planet of the Solar Eclipse, screamed in protest. If it was anyone’s job to eat Surya, it was Rahu’s.

Indra, King of Gods, intervened hastily, and fired his dreaded weapon, the Vajra Thunderbolt.

Hanuman was struck on the chin, and like Icarus, went tumbling down from an Angry Sun.

*

Once again, while Indra was the King of the Gods, he couldn’t necessarily overpower the other Devas.

Which meant that he had to deal not just with a grieving father, but also a power of equal force.

Vayu retired to a cave, and in his raging despair, used all of his powers.

*

When Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest, wailed for her abducted daughter Persephone, the fields turned barren.

What do you think happened when the Worlds faced Vayu’s overwhelming sadness?

They were breathless.

Vayu emptied the air from the Universe, leaving everyone, even his fellow Gods, to suffocate.

*

All of the Gods, including Indra, gathered before Vayu, and plead their case; for themselves, and for all living beings.

To appease the God of Wind, they resurrected Hanuman; on seeing his son alive, Vayu relented, and everyone took a breath.

Literally.

*

And the take-away?

Sometimes, flying too close to the Sun pays off.

Not only was Hanuman resurrected, but the Gods gifted him, each in their own way.

As far as Indra was concerned, that meant giving Hanuman immunity to the very weapon that had felled him…

And so Hanuman was imbued with a Body of Lighting, and no longer had to fear the King of the Gods, or his dreadful Vajra.

Or much of anything, for that matter.

*

The real take-away?

Don’t tell Icarus this story.