The Monkey God

I have written many times about the beautiful Langur Monkey residing around Arunachala. To find out more about the Langur go to this link here and to read about the lovely Anjaneya Temple off the Girivalam Roadway, check out this link here.

The Langur monkey is held in high regard because of its historic association to the God Rama, so was particularly enchanted with the following story and video about a special event at a Temple in North India between the God Rama and the Langur.

. . . . .

The photographs below are of an event that occurred in April (2011) at the Kalika Mata Temple in Ratlam M.P.





During a recital of the Ramayana (story of Rama, Sita and Hanuman) a Langur monkey appeared. As Langurs are regarded throughout India as manifestations of the monkey God Hanuman, the crowds believed that the Langur had come to bless the function.



The Langur first went and sat near the singers and listened to their singing, then moved amongst the Swamis, blessing them and thereafter sat in front of the painting of Rama. He thereupon took prasad in front of the picture (sitting in the same way as the Monkey God in the painting) and after left quietly.





To see the whole lovely event, view the below video.

Video of Langur at Temple Function

Hanuman Temple, Girivalam Roadway

In response to a request from a reader of Arunachala Grace I am posting the below photographs of the Veera Hanuman Koil located off the Girivalam Roadway. The Temple which is managed by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) Department is comparatively new, and the Chief Priest informed me that its only about 30 years old.

The Temple is set on two acres of land off the Girivalam Roadway near the Rajarajeshwari Koil. Thus far I have not been able to find out its history or the reason why a Hanuman Temple is located here at this Shiva Sthalam and if any reader has information on this Temple I would be very happy to hear from you.

A sign of the times -- a sannyasin chatting on a mobile at the Temple.

The Temple gardens have several shrines, including one of Lord Krishna and another of Lord Vishnu. There also seems to be several sadhus situated in the compound. This Temple is extremely popular with local town folk and Sundays is a day of pilgrimage and many town folk head out to the Hanuman Koil for puja and blessings.

With a little attention this Temple set in two acres of garden could be quite lovely, but currently seems to be underfunded and neglected. Need some help here Mr.Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) Department!

Hanuman; Monkey God

Like Lord Ganesha, Hanuman; The Monkey God, is loved in a special, tender way, by children and adults alike. To find out more about Hanuman check this link. This is a particularly significant time for Lord Hanuman as he figures prominently in the mythology of Lord Rama's battle with the Demon King Ravana, a story relevant considering the upcoming Diwali Festival of November 8th.

Below an actor dressed up as Hanuman and going from place to place around Tiruvannamalai for donations.

Great outfit and makeup!

Also in keeping with the theme of monkeys, below a sweet old chap of around 15 years of age, who was recently attacked by dogs and is now recovering at the local Tiruvannamalai Animal Shelter.

The monkey has been rejected by his own group and is just too old and slow to keep safe by himself, so the Shelter is trying to find a nice, loving sanctuary at which he can enjoy his old age. Sadly a home was found for him at an Animal Shelter at Nilgris, but at the last moment it was decided that as Nilgris is located at a considerably higher altitude it would be just too cold and damp for a monkey who has spent its entire life enjoying the sunny climes of Tiruvannamalai. I will continue to post updates on our little monkey friend.

However, I would mention that today, I spent about 15 minutes at the Animal Shelter and while talking with the Shelter's Founder, watched our caged monkey and even though he is very cramped for space, he seemed very peaceful and content. He certainly has lots of people and animal friends chatting, playing, talking and petting him.