Śri Maha-ganapataye namah

We discussed that Indra who was rushing to help the Sun, saw the little boy who was on the verge of swallowing the Sun and hence in great anxiety screamed, ‘Hey stop, stop.’ However, little Ānjaneya was not at all fascinated by Indra, else he would have dashed in that direction seeking to gobble him up. On the contrary, he was fascinated by Indra’s elephant, which illumined brightly with its white complexion. Now the little boy abandoned the Sun and instead flew towards elephant Airavata in great excitement. Indra was astonished, aghast and the same time amused seeing this boy’s antics.

‘O this boy is truly astounding! He had the audacity to chase Rahu and was about to eat up the Sun. Now he is desirous of catching my elephant. Phew! I am relieved that he is not fascinated by me, else I do not know what fate I would meet’- thought Indra anxiously.

Even as he was thinking, the boy neared his elephant Airavata. Knowing that the boy would gobble up his elephant, Indra was now mad with rage. Without Airavata he would be bereft of a vehicle. He would be hurled into the air. In that anger and eagerness to protect his vehicle, he quickly lifted his thunderbolt and gave the boy a strong blow on his left jaw.

With this blow, Hanuman reeled in the skies before losing consciousness and collapsing on a mountain peak. Due to this fall, he further injured his right jaw. He was almost lifeless.

Wind-god Vayu who witnessed this incident was mad with rage. ‘Is this how Indra is supposed to behave with an infant? If at all the little one had to eat up the Sun, could he not get another Sun as replacement? Could he not replace his elephant? Should a small child be punished so severely with the thunderbolt? What does Indra think of himself?’ He immediately carried his son and went into a deep cave and turned still. The moment the wind-god locked himself up, movement of air came to a standstill in the entire world!

A few minutes without electricity is a nightmare for us. We feel restless as if we are about to collapse. Imagine living without air. What would be one’s condition? Wind is the life-force (prana). Without air, we cannot survive.

Jaya Guru Datta