Panchamukha - The Vayuputra!

Lord Hanuman – The Son of Anjana and Kesari, is one of the most important Gods of the Hindu religion. He is known by other names such as Vayuputra (The Son of Vayu, the God of Air), Anjaneya (Son of Anjana), Maruthi (Son of Marut) and Pavanputra (Son of Pavan). Marut and Pavan are the other names of Vayu.

Lord Hanuman played an important role in the epic, Ramayana, as one of the ardent devotees of Lord Rama. His role in locating Sita, abducted by Ravana – King of Lanka, and fighting the war against the demon king is of indisputable importance.

From the Ramayana

At a point in the Ramayana, Ravana orders his brothers, Ahiravana and Mahiravana, to kill Lord Rama and his brother Lakshmana. The demon brothers – Ahiravana and Mahiravana – attempt to kidnap Lord Rama & Lakshmana but all their efforts are thwarted by Hanuman.

The demon brothers eventually resort to disguising themselves as Vibhishana – the brother of Ravana who became a supporter of Lord Rama, so that they could get through Hanuman. They kidnap Lord Rama & Lakshmana and hide them in their kingdom, Pathala Loka (the underground world), which is inhabited only by demons. The demon brothers plan to use the unconscious Lord Rama & Lakshmana as a sacrificial offering to their Goddess.

In Search of the Lord

Aghast at the thought that he had allowed the kidnapping of his Lord, Hanuman immediately sought the help of Vibhishana, who guided him to Pathala Loka. 

At the gates of Pathala Loka, stood Makardhwaja - the gatekeeper. He appeared to be partly a Vanara (monkey) and partly a reptile. Makardhwaja conveyed that he was actually Hanuman's son, born out of the sweat dropped by Hanuman in the Lankan Ocean, which had entered a Makar (reptile). Hanuman blessed him and continued on his journey towards finding his Lord.

After long searches, he finally located the unconscious brothers, Rama & Lakshmana. But Hanuman was in a fix; he could not rescue his Lord and Lakshmana, unless Ahiravana and Mahiravana were killed. And to kill the demon brothers, he had to extinguish five lamps lit in different directions; the catch here was that, he had to complete this at the same instant.

Panchamukha Anjaneya

Hanuman immediately assumed a form, where he had five faces, each facing a different direction, so that he could blow the lamps simultaneously. The five faces were:

   

     1)      Hanuman – facing the east 

     2)      Narasimha – facing the south

     3)      Garuda – facing the west

     4)      Varaha – facing the north

     5)      Hayagriva – facing the sky

** Hanuman facing east grants purity of mind and success. Narasimha facing south grants fearlessness. The west facing Garuda removes black magic and poisons. The north facing Varaha, showers prosperity, wealth. Hayagriva facing the Sky, gives Knowledge and good children.

Making use of the Panchamukha form (Five Faces), Hanuman was able to extinguish all the five flames at the same instant. This form is commonly known as Panchamukha Anjaneya or Panchamukhi Anjaneya. After defeating the demon brothers, Hanuman crowns Makardhwaja, the King of Pathala Loka.

He revives Lord Rama & Lakshmana and flies them back to the battleground – where a fierce war ensues between Lord Rama’s army & Ravana’s army.

Budhdirbalam yaso' dhairyam Nirbhayatva-maro'gata |
Ajadatyam Vakpatutvam ca Hanumatsmaranadbhavet ||

Meaning: Wisdom (budhi), physical strength (balam), fame (yashas), courage (dhairyam), fearlessness (nirbhayam), good health (marogata) , vigilance (ajadatyam), eloquence in speech (vakpatutvam) are bestowed upon us, on bowing to Lord Hanuman.