Hanuman was the supreme ruler of the monkey kingdom. According to the Hindu epic, Ramayana, Hanuman had formidable powers and was the most famous monkey god. Hanuman, who had four heads and eight arms, was both wise and brave. He was in a quest for the wife of Rama, the prince of Ayodhya, who was the embodiment of Hindu god Vishnu. Hanuma successfully rescued her from ten demonic kings in Lanka, or present day Sri Lanka. He is popularly worshipped as the monkey god.
Incidentally, China’s monkey king Sun Wukong could also ride clouds in the sky. According to Journey to the West, he caused havoc in heaven, which resembles Hanuman’s battle in Lanka. Although many experts have different opinions about the resemblance between these two characters, the late Hu Shih, a well-known intellectual, believed that the all-powerful Chinese monkey king was not “made in China,” but was an in fact imported product from India. It is highly likely that Sun was created in the image and likeliness of Hanuman. (Translated by Ethan Zhan)
猴界至尊以印度史詩《羅摩衍那》裡法力高強的神猴哈奴曼最為著名。四臉八手的祂智勇雙全，為印度三相神之一毗濕奴化成的阿逾陀國王子羅摩尋妻，成功把她從位於現今斯里蘭卡的楞伽城十頭魔王手中救出，被民間奉為「猴神」。
Photo: Chan Shih-hung, Taipei Times
照片：自由時報記者詹士弘攝
無獨有偶，中國齊天大聖孫悟空也有騰雲駕霧武功，祂在《西遊記》裡大鬧天宮的事蹟，與哈奴曼大戰楞伽城行徑如出一轍。儘管不少專家各持己見，知名學者胡適還是認為，神通廣大的中國美猴王「不是國貨，乃是一件從印度進口的」，極可能參考哈奴曼形象而來。(自由時報綜合報導)
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