Śri Maha-gaṇapataye Namah

We discussed that Hanuman manifested in two forms. In the first form, He continued to meditate seated upon the Gandhamādana Mountain. In the second form as a vānara he arrived to serve his parents. Exactly at that time, brothers Vali and Sugriva had performed intense austerities and obtained extraordinary powers. Among them both, Vali’s austerities were more intense and aggressive. He obtained the boon that half the strength of his opponent should transfer into him in any combat.

As a result of this special boon, Vali would draw into himself half of his opponent’s energy during every combat which resulted in his indisputable victory in every combat. As the opponent would lose half his energy, he would be as good as dead, while Vali’s energy levels would surge tremendously.

In beginning episodes we had discussed Ruksharajasa who became the emperor for all the vānaras. We discussed that Ruksharajasa dipped into the mystical pond and having transformed into a female, gave birth to Vali and Sugriva and that, upon subsequent dipping into that pond he regained his original male form. After ruling for a significant period of time, Ruksharajasa, the emperor of the vānaras, passed away.

Death is inevitable. Even after living for 108, 120 or 10,000 or 20,000 years, eventually, the living entity has to abandon this body. Upon Ruksharajasa’s death, his eldest son Vali rightfully ascended the throne. Sugriva, the younger of the two, became the crown-prince of the land and a subordinate of Vali.

Vali and Sugriva thereafter appointed Hanuman as their prime minister. A minister’s role was not limited merely to giving timely advice but it also included instilling into the king the courage necessary to handle any situation that suddenly popped up. He would shower complete and whole-hearted love towards his master and hence, a minister was thus one who was totally close to the master’s heart.

Due to the competence of the supremely intelligent minister Hanuman, Vali’s kingdom expanded significantly and almost covered the entire earth. Vali constantly glorified Hanuman’s intelligence and wisdom, due to which Hanuman’s intelligence multiplied significantly.

Did we not discuss that Hanuman was cursed to forget all his supernatural powers? Hanuman can recollect his supernatural abilities and his inherent capacities only when He is glorified profusely. As Vali would constantly singing Hanuman’s glories, Hanuman turned, even more, wiser during Vali’s rule.

The reason I ask devotees to constantly praise Lord Hanuman, to chant Hanuman Chalisa for longer stretches or to continually chant the mantra ‘Om Namo Hanumate Nama’ can be clearly grasped now. It is imperative to constantly glorify Hanuman in order to earn his complete grace. His mantra should be chanted or written often. In order to facilitate and make easy the chanting of Hanuman Chalisa for the Kannada-speaking people, Swamiji has translated Hanuman Chalisa into Kannada as well. Chant Hanuman Chalisa every single day. It contains the entire story of Hanuman. This translation into Kannada is verbatim so that the original essence is retained.

Going ahead in the story we shall discuss Vali being cursed by Matanga Maharishi.

Such was Vali’s prowess that playfully he would kill not just the vānaras but also mighty demons who were otherwise unconquerable. Just as in movies, the story undergoes a twist midway, here too, the story suddenly takes a drastic turn.

Jaya Guru Datta