Hanuman statue (bronze) in execution as shown in photo, 13 cm high.

Hanuman (Sanskrit: हनुमान् , English: Hanuman) is a deity in Hinduism who takes the form of a talking monkey. He plays an important role in the Ramayana, in which he helps the god Rama rescue his wife Sita from Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. Hanuman symbolizes bhakti (devotion) with his loyalty to Rama and is especially popular in the north of India. According to some researchers, the Chinese mythological figure Sun Wukong (Son Goku) is based on Hanuman. In the epic, Hanuman was the son of an Apsara, a heavenly nymph named Punjikasthala, who became a female ape through a curse. She was a student of Brihaspati, teacher of the gods. She was given the gift of being freed from her curse after giving birth to an incarnation of Shiva. In her rebirth as Anjani/Anjana, she marries Kesari and begs Shiva's blessing to be born to her. King Dasaratha makes a fire sacrifice because he could not produce offspring for his kingdom. The god of fire Agnidew brings him the sacred pudding that he gives to his three wives. His three wives are given the pudding, but Kaikeyi refuses it at first and a hawk takes some of the pudding and drops it from the sky deep into the forest. Vayu/Pawan, god of the wind, blows it into the hands of the ape Anjana, who was worshiping Shiva at the time and received the pudding in her hands. She eats it as a blessing to him. She then also becomes pregnant, just like the three wives of King Dasaratha. This is how Hanoeman, Shankarsuwan, Kesarinandan, Vayuputra/Pawanputra and also Anjaneya are born. His mother Anjana is then freed from her curse as a monkey. She wants to leave for heaven and Hanoeman asks his mother how he will be raised. She assures him that he can never be destroyed and that fruits as ripe as the sun will be his food. Being divine in nature, little Hanuman imagined that the sun was a ripe fruit for eating. He flew towards it and was watched by Rahu who then went to Swarga to inform Indra, king of the gods, about a threat to the celestial bodies by a monkey. Very close to the sun, Hanuman is stopped by a thunderclap from Indra. Hanuman falls back to earth lifeless. Vayu flies into a rage and leaves the earth for the underworld of Patala. Life on earth is in danger of perishing. Brahma and all the gods from Indra's kingdom come to beg Pavandew to return as life on earth perished. Pavadew agrees. They then bring Hanuman to life and provide him with even more exceptional divine gifts and attributes. He became the embodiment of all gods and goddesses together. Surya offers Hanuman to become his teacher. Because Hanuman possesses exceptional gifts, it was possible for him to acquire all the knowledge of his teacher within 60 hours. As the earth revolved on its axis, Hanuman flew with Surya, the sun. Surya was very pleased with his student and did not have to do anything in return for Hanoeman. Hanuman insisted, whereupon Surya asked Hanuman to help and assist his son Sugriva who lives in the Kishkindha forest. In other versions of the myth, Rama makes the monkey general immortal out of gratitude for his help in the battle against Ravana. The monkey asked to be allowed to live as long as Rama would be spoken of. Hanuman finds out the whereabouts of the kidnapped Sita and wants to free her, but she does not want him to touch her (only her husband Rama is allowed to do that). Hanuman then takes a golden flower with him, with which he can prove to Rama that Sita is still alive. Hanuman's tail is set on fire, but Agni ensures that he remains unharmed and the city is set ablaze. Hanuman warns Rama and the great battle begins. Ravana is killed by Rama, aided by Hanuman and his monkey army, and Sita is freed.