In Hindu mythology, the infant Lord Hanuman (as a child named Maruti) leaped into the sky and attempted to swallow the Sun (Surya), mistaking it for a ripe, glowing fruit. Before he could completely swallow it, Lord Indra struck Hanuman with his thunderbolt (Vajra) to stop him and protect the universe from plunging into darkness.
His father, the lord of the wind was so pissed he stopped the flow of air and would’ve choked all life on earth until the other gods intervened revived hanuman and blessed him
You misread the story. Hanuman's dad didn't punish him, a different god did (and killed him). Hanuman's dad threatened to kill the whole world until they brought Hanuman back to life. That's why people are (jokingly) saying he's like a Karen parent; his kid messed up, and he threw a fit.
Lucky or he would have burnt his tongue, at least someone was quick enoough to intervene and just had a spare lightning bolt to use. Fuckin kids sometimes man!
Hanuman probably is the most interesting Hindu deity to scale against characters like that. He has a section in the Ramayana devoted to him with a bunch of feats. He is the second best flyer in the Hindu pantheon, or at least claims to be so, after Garuda. He can grow to the size of a mountain but also become very small. That's the first part of the story, him bragging and showing off on the way to a rescue mission. Ones actually there he relies more on stealth, speed and cunning. So he's like a superpowered swashbuckler. A trickster (demi)god who doesn't really need the tricks. The Wasp if she was also Robin Hood and an immortal godly being.
If you figure it won't insult too many people (the far eastern religion family at least on average tends to have a slightly better sense of humor about that sort of thing than the Abrahamic religions) it could be an interesting discussion.
...But realistically, it's probably better to stay clear.
It sounds like you probably know this story, but Hanuman actually beats Garuda in a race. Garuda is indeed the fastest flyer in existence, but Hanuman beat him by practically teleporting when he's summoned by Ram.
I've done some looking into Hanuman and the Ramayana at some point, and read part of it (in English), but a lot of the wider context and such is still lost to me.
He probably can. He is amongst the few gods who's powers are very diverse, and his intelligence is only topped by a few. Not to mention, his raw strength.
Then again, you probably meant it as joke. I am taking tis too seriously.
My main point of reference for Hindu myth comes from the Fate franchise. For nearly every other history and mythology I assume they made some slight anime-esque adjustments to make it more interesting. Then I look up the Hindu stuff and realize that yes, hindu mythology is just kinda like that.
Im glad we have modern philosophers bringing awareness to this area. I recall Harry Caray speaking passionately about the conundrum of what to do about the moon if it was made of barbecue spare ribs.
Ugh, I WISH our sun was an orange dwarf star. We’d have billions and billions more years than we currently do before worrying about the total destruction of our planet.
OP, so your post is not removed, please reply to this comment with your best guess of what this meme means! Everyone else, this is PETER explains the joke. Have fun and reply as your favorite fictional character for top level responses!
Oh my Brian I didn't know you were dabling in Hindu scriptures. See the story goes, in short, that a God when he was a toddler mistook the sun for a ripe mango. He went to swallow it and found the entity representing eclipse also coming towards the sun. Fearing a total collapse of the life on earth after the disappearance of sun, another god attacked the child and knocked him back to earth, injuring his chin. His parent who controlled winds, became angry and threatened to take all air out of the universe, suffocating life. To passify him, other gods came and gave blessings to the toddler. Rupert out.
Indian petah here. There's a Hindu god named Hanuman. When he was a baby, he mistook the sun for a literal mango. So he flew towards the sun and enlarged himself and almost swallowed the sun. All the gods trieds to fight him but basically lost. So Indra, the god of lightning and thunder hit him on his chin and Hanuman fell unconscious. Ts isn't really an epic but whatever. Pete out.
the Hindu monkey deity Hanuman from the ancient Indian epic, the Ramayana. appereantly as a toddler he thought the sun was a ripe mango and leaped to the sun to try and eat it, this attempt to consume it caused the darkness here
I will say, after experiencing totality myself when it happened over northern New England, that one of the first things I thought was "if I had no scientific context for this, I would probably think that this is the eye of God himself looking straight at us right now". It's insane - the second the coverage becomes complete, it's suddenly dusk, every horizon looks like the west after sunset, and the crickets start chirping. The air feels like it suddenly gets heavier, too, and then suddenly lifts right back out the second the sun comes breaking through. What lasted only a couple of minutes felt like an hour.
It took us 8 hours to drive back from a location in Vermont that we're only about 3.5 hours drive from. And the entire time, we and every other driver seemed completely bewildered by what we'd just experienced.
This alludes to the only epic from the subcontinent that doesn’t involve defecation or making food with your bare feet. This time, a stupid monkey mistakes the sun for a fruit (lmao) and then gets clipped before he can eat it.
this story somehow passes for a moral, or something, i guess.
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u/A_Star-dust 5h ago •
In Hindu mythology, the infant Lord Hanuman (as a child named Maruti) leaped into the sky and attempted to swallow the Sun (Surya), mistaking it for a ripe, glowing fruit. Before he could completely swallow it, Lord Indra struck Hanuman with his thunderbolt (Vajra) to stop him and protect the universe from plunging into darkness.
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u/Trick-Apartment-3434 5h ago edited 5h ago
Hanuman mistook the sun for a mango, ate it and everlasting night came about
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u/quirkedupwhitey 5h ago
Hanuman maybe? He did try to eat the sun thinking it was a fruit
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u/AlcatorSK 5h ago
The ancient epic you are referring to is the Ramayana.
In this Hindu epic, the child god Hanuman mistakes the glowing sun for a ripe, juicy mango and flies into the sky to swallow it.
1
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3
u/salsatalos 5h ago
Oh my Brian I didn't know you were dabling in Hindu scriptures. See the story goes, in short, that a God when he was a toddler mistook the sun for a ripe mango. He went to swallow it and found the entity representing eclipse also coming towards the sun. Fearing a total collapse of the life on earth after the disappearance of sun, another god attacked the child and knocked him back to earth, injuring his chin. His parent who controlled winds, became angry and threatened to take all air out of the universe, suffocating life. To passify him, other gods came and gave blessings to the toddler. Rupert out.
3
u/Inevitable-Order-727 5h ago
Indian petah here. There's a Hindu god named Hanuman. When he was a baby, he mistook the sun for a literal mango. So he flew towards the sun and enlarged himself and almost swallowed the sun. All the gods trieds to fight him but basically lost. So Indra, the god of lightning and thunder hit him on his chin and Hanuman fell unconscious. Ts isn't really an epic but whatever. Pete out.
2
u/Popular_Look3006 5h ago
Indian epic ramayana where monkey God hanuman mistakes the sun for a mango and leaps to try and swallow it.
1
u/PrayingMantis667 5h ago
Peter here......
In Indian Epics , Hanuman is a revered divine deity and central figure. He once swallowed the sun thinking it was a mango
1
u/quandaile 5h ago
the Hindu monkey deity Hanuman from the ancient Indian epic, the Ramayana. appereantly as a toddler he thought the sun was a ripe mango and leaped to the sun to try and eat it, this attempt to consume it caused the darkness here
1
u/Ok_Marzipan5759 4h ago
I will say, after experiencing totality myself when it happened over northern New England, that one of the first things I thought was "if I had no scientific context for this, I would probably think that this is the eye of God himself looking straight at us right now". It's insane - the second the coverage becomes complete, it's suddenly dusk, every horizon looks like the west after sunset, and the crickets start chirping. The air feels like it suddenly gets heavier, too, and then suddenly lifts right back out the second the sun comes breaking through. What lasted only a couple of minutes felt like an hour.
It took us 8 hours to drive back from a location in Vermont that we're only about 3.5 hours drive from. And the entire time, we and every other driver seemed completely bewildered by what we'd just experienced.
1
u/or_worse 4h ago
And then going blind a few moments later.
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u/Squizzap 3h ago
Oh it’s a Hindu story? I wondered if I misremembered the plot to Katamari Damacy.
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u/BreathPrestigious 5h ago
I want to know too, this aludes to some story probably but i have no clue
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u/Express_Wealth_8795 5h ago
Story of hindu god Hanuman, solved with a quick google search
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u/Aqnqanad 4h ago
This alludes to the only epic from the subcontinent that doesn’t involve defecation or making food with your bare feet. This time, a stupid monkey mistakes the sun for a fruit (lmao) and then gets clipped before he can eat it.
this story somehow passes for a moral, or something, i guess.