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Monday	Closed	CLOSED
Tuesday	10.00am - 4.30pm	All Galleries, shop and cafe
Wednesday	10.00am - 4.30pm	All Galleries, shop and cafe
Thursday	10.00am - 4.30pm	All Galleries, shop and cafe
Friday	10.00am - 4.30pm	All Galleries, shop and cafe
Saturday	10.00am - 4.30pm	All Galleries, shop and cafe
Sunday	10.00am - 4.30pm	All Galleries, shop and cafe

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1001 Stories Collection

The Story of Hanuman

Audio

Added on 29th June 2020

Oral tradition Indian epic
Found in the Ramayana

Asia Animals

1001 , Audio , Text

Hanuman, the monkey god, leads his army into battle with the demons to help Rama rescue Sita.

Story

After Sita is kidnapped from her husband Rama by an evil demon called Ravana, Hanuman has his godlike powers returned to him so he may fly across the channel to Sri Lanka and rescue her. Hanuman finds Sita, but helping her get back to Rama is not as easy as it seems…

Why we chose it

Hanuman was one of the characters celebrated in our 26 Characters exhibition in 2014. Author Jamila Gavin chose him as her favourite character.

Where it came from

The story is found in the Indian epic Ramayana written by Valmiki. It is estimated that it was written in the 3^rd century BCE. In the epic, Hanuman is depicted as a creative character who is a messenger for Rama.

Where it went next

Hanuman’s is one of the most popular figures in Indian religion. There are many stories of his birth and early adventures. In the 16^th century the poet Tulsidas wrote the devotional song Hanuman Chalisa. There are lots of temples and statues dedicated to Hanuman across India. The first film about Hanuman was produced in 1976. Later, the animated movie Hanuman (2005) was released and proved very popular amongst children.

Associated stories

Hanuman appears in other sources. He is mentioned in both the Mahabharata and the Skanda Purana. Similar themes are seen in the Jataka tales where the Buddha is described as a monkey-king.

In the museum

Find the photograph of Jamila Gavin dressed as Hanuman from our 26 Characters exhibition.