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Hanuman is hands-down the most popular and the most deeply loved character of the great Indian epic. The practise of worshipping Him predates the earliest versions of the Ramayana of course, but since then He has amassed more than a predominantly aboriginal, cult following.
His wondrous attributes - immortality, superlative inner beauty, extraordinary strength, having attained all eight Yogic siddhees, the fact that He is a polymath, and capable of the highest levels of devotion - renders Him popular with the young and the old alike. In Exotic India's extensive collection of Hanuman books, there is something for every age-group.
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In its extant form, Valmiki’s Ramayana is an epic poem of some 50,000 lines. The text survives in several thousand partial and complete manuscripts, the oldest of which appears to date from the 11th century A.D. The text has several regional renderings, recensions and sub recensions. The Great Epic Ramayana is traditionally divided into seven Kandas (books), which are the following:
I. Bala Kanda
II. Ayodhya Kanda
III. Aranya Kanda
IV. Kishkindha Kanda
V. Sundara Kanda
VI. Yuddha Kanda
VII. Uttara Kanda
Each Kanda deals with a particular period of Rama’s life in chronological order.
The Hanuman Chalisa is a popular Hindu hymn devoted to the monkey god, Hanuman, himself a devotee of Lord Rama. Chalisa is derived from the Hindi word, chalis (sometimes spelled calis), which means “forty.” The Hanuman Chalisa is, therefore, so-called because it has 40 verses that praise Hanuman. Millions of Hindus recite the hymn daily from memory. The hymn is believed to have been composed by the 16th-century poet, Goswami Tulsidas, who also wrote "Ramcharitmanas," an adaptation of the epic poem, "Ramayana."
Referred to as an incarnation of Lord Shiva by some, Hanuman's devotion and heroics helped Lord Rama defeat Ravana in the war, which took place after Sita's abduction. Having dedicated his whole existence to finding Sita, Hanuman braved several hurdles to ultimately reach Lanka and find Sita. He offered to help her escape but she refused, saying Rama's honour is at stake and she wouldn't risk that at any cost. Hanuman then went back to Rama and eventually set Lanka on fire with his tail.
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