What Is the Significance of Panchamukhi Hanuman? 6
Hanuman is the incarnation of the tenth rudra or part of Lord Shiva, who
is said to have eleven rudras in all. He was born to Kesari, the king of
monkeys, and Anjana. As the son of Anjana, Hanuman is also known as
Anjaneya. He is god incarnate of might and mind.
During the Rama–Ravana Lanka yudh or war, Hanuman assumed his
panchamukhi or five-faced form to kill Ahiravana, a powerful demon, a
black magician, and possessor of a mysterious weapon, the nagapasha,
darts that would secretly inject serpent poison into human body. Ahiravana,
the brother of Ravana, had taken Rama and Lakshmana to the netherworld
as captives while the two were sleeping at night.
The only way to kill Ahiravana was to extinguish the five lamps lit up in
five different directions, all at the same instant. To accomplish this almost
impossible task, Hanuman assumed a panchamukhi form and blew out the
lamps in one go. Rakshasa Ahiravana was killed and thus, Hanuman freed
Rama and Lakshmana.
The five faces of Hanuman are that of an eagle, Garuda, facing the west;
a boar, Varaha, facing the north; a horse, Hayagriva, facing the sky; a lion,
Narasimha, facing the south; and the fifth being the original Hanuman,
facing the east. The panchamukhi Hanuman has ten arms holding ten
different weapons, including his own celebrated weapon, the gada.
This form of Hanuman is worshipped both in south India as well as in
north India for protection from a variety of afflictions. The face towards the
east is Hanuman’s original form, the kapimukha or monkey face, whose
worship removes all blemishes of one’s past deeds and confers purity of
mind. Devotion to this face appeases saturn too, and provides protection
against its affliction.
The west-facing garudamukha drives away evil spells, black magic
influences and negative spirits, and also flushes out all poisonous effects
from the human body. It protects one from troubles and miseries brought
about by one’s spouse.
The north-facing varahamukha wards off ill effects caused by the
negative influences of planets adversely placed in one’s birth chart and
confers all eight types of prosperity—ashta aishwaryas. This mukha also
provides relief from sufferings created by the planet Rahu.
The south-facing narashimhamukha dispels fear of enemies and bestows
victory over every opposition. Besides, it mitigates sufferings caused by the
bad effects of Mars, the mangaladosha.
The sky-facing Hayagriva or urdhvamukha confers knowledge, victory, a
good spouse, and also saves one from the curse of being childless.
One of the most famous pilgrimage centres—the Hanuman Dhara
Temple, at Chitrakut, in central India—is said to be the resting place of
Lord Hanuman. It is believed that after the coronation of Lord Rama,
Hanuman requested him for a place where the burn injuries on his tail could
be cured, which he incurred during the Lanka yudh. Rama then shot an
arrow into the ground, and a stream of water spurted out from that spot.
Rama asked Hanuman to rest there and cool the burning sensation in his tail
with the waters. A 40-foot-tall monolithic green granite idol—green stands
for wisdom—of panchamukhi Hanuman has been installed in Thiruvallur,
in Tamil Nadu, which was known as Rudravarnam in olden days.
Hanuman was Surya’s disciple. He had a great command over Sanskrit
and his pronunciation was flawless. He is considered as the epitome of
wisdom. Generally, it is believed that Hanuman remained a bachelor.
However, some devotees in south India believe that Hanuman married
Survachala, the daughter of his guru, Surya. This belief, however, is not
acknowledged by most devotees. Interestingly, he had a son—not from
Survachala—named Makaradhvaja, who fought alongside him when he
went to Patalaloka or the netherworld to free Rama and Lakshmana from
Ahiravana. After killing the demon Ahiravana, Hanuman coronated
Makaradhvaja as the king of Patalaloka.
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