HANUMAN GOD AND EPIC HERO: The Origin & Growth of Hanuman in Indian Literary & Folk Tradition

God Hanuman has an important place in India and is worshipped by millions of people. He is a god who is the archetype of honesty, loyalty and courage. More than any other folk god, Hanuman is endowed with human qualities so much cherished in the Indian tradition. There is no scholarly work in English on Hanuman that utilises Sanskrit literature to delineate his importance as a god and as confidant of Rama. Although Hanuman is a popular folk god in India, he has not received attention commensurate with his popularity from scholars of religion and mythology. This study seeks to fill this gap and explores the human and superhuman role of Hanuman in Sanskrit texts. With the Ramayana as the basic source, Sanskrit plays and Puranas have also been studied to unravel the complexity of Hanuman’s personality and its development as a character in flesh and blood. Hanuman is also analysed in the context of religious tradition centred on Ramayana. The study focuses on the evolution and change in the theology of Hanuman. He appears as an incarnation of Siva, a god in his own right, a tribal deity and a hero god with power and virility who destroys evil. At a mundane level Hanuman is an ideal human, an upright man, a trusted friend of Rama, a statesman and a brave warrior. In the bhakti tradition, he is the lord, the object of bhakti.