Hanuman, the Monkey God

Author: Wu Yongnian
Compiler: Wu Yongnian / Country:
Publisher:
Publishing Time: 2001-06-01
Features: Today, Lord Brahma was exceptionally happy and made a move never seen before. He sent cranes to deliver a basket of flowers and a bottle of personally brewed divine wine to the Wind God and his wife. He also wrote the following on the red ribbon of the flower basket: "Congratulations to the Wind God and Anjana on the birth of your precious child."
In the mortal world, pregnancy lasts ten months, while in the celestial realm, it lasts ten years. However, ten years later, the monkey mother Anjana's child was still kicking inside her womb, refusing to come out. Even more strangely, he could still talk to his mother while inside her belly. Whenever this happened, Anjana would become extremely excited.
"Mother," the child said, "I am so comfortable in your belly. I don't want to come out yet. What do you think?"
Whenever the child asked this, Anjana would respond with gentle, motherly words: "My child, if you feel comfortable in my belly, stay there."
Thus, Anjana lived with her big belly for fifty years. On the sixtieth year, the child spoke from her womb: "Mother, I am about to be born today." Hearing this, Anjana was overjoyed. Her son was finally about to be born. But she wondered, "What does he look like? Does he resemble me or the Wind God?"
Suddenly, intense pain shot through her heart. For some reason, the child had never kicked or flipped around so fiercely before. The Wind God watched his wife's belly rise and fall, seeing the sweat dripping from her face as she endured the pain. He was both happy and tender toward her—happy that his son was about to be born, tender because his wife was suffering so much.
He couldn't help but rub his hands and pace around the palace. Hundreds of celestial nymphs also descended from the heavens, ready to assist with the birth. They gathered around Anjana, some wiping away her sweat, while others played melodious birth songs.
After a fierce pain, Anjana suddenly felt an unbearable hunger and craved peaches. The Wind God sent monkeys to the Golden Peach Mountain to pick the largest, golden-peach-sized peach, which was ripe and red like a golden basin. They brought it to the Wind God's palace.
After Anjana ate this giant peach, she gave birth to a round golden ball. The ball spun three times in the birthing basin before emitting ten thousand rays of golden light, accompanied by a thunderous sound. After the noise faded, the golden ball split open, revealing a ripe red peach—not the Wind God's long-awaited son.
The Wind God was puzzled. His son had been kicking and talking in the womb, yet this was just a giant peach. He couldn't help but fly into a rage, grabbing the golden hammer from the weapon rack—the weapon given to him by Lord Vishnu—and swinging it at the giant peach in the birthing basin.
This golden hammer was forged by Lord Vishnu over a hundred years, its weight immeasurable. A single blow could shatter a mountain peak. Anjana, seeing her furious husband raise the hammer, rushed forward to stop him, but it was too late. A deafening crash shook the palace, even the indestructible palace built by her son Narada, and the Golden Peach Mountain trembled three times.
Yet, a miracle occurred. When the Wind God picked up the hammer, he found the giant peach untouched, even the white fuzz on its surface unscathed. To his astonishment, the peach leaped three times in the deep pit, then leaped out and rolled to the Wind God's legs. Enraged, the Wind God thought, "This must be a monster playing with me." He roared, "This isn't my son! It's some monster from hell! Look, hammer!"
With that, he raised the hammer, using all his might to strike the peach again.
(Translation continues with the rest of the story, following the same guidelines.)