English
Hanuman and the Sanjeevani Herb
Source: Valmiki Ramayana, Yuddha Kanda (sargas 73–74; second episode sargas 101–102)
The war in Lanka was at its fiercest. Ravana's son Indrajit, invisible in the sky, released the Brahmastra. Such a rain of arrows fell that Rama and Lakshmana collapsed unconscious, and with them countless heroes of the vanara army.
Night fell. Silence lay over the battlefield. Only two warriors remained who could still stand: Vibhishana and Hanuman. Carrying torches, they began to move among the wounded.
They found the aged bear-king Jambavan, pierced all over with arrows, unable even to open his eyes. Recognising Vibhishana's voice, his very first question was, “Is Hanuman, son of the Wind, alive?”
Vibhishana was astonished: “You ask not about Rama and Lakshmana, but about Hanuman?” Jambavan replied, “If Hanuman lives, this slain army lives too. If he does not, then though we breathe, we are dead.”
Hanuman stepped forward and bowed. Jambavan said, “Child, cross the ocean and go to the Himalaya. Between the peaks of Rishabha and Kailasa shines a mountain of herbs. On it grow four herbs: Mritasanjivani, Vishalyakarani, Savarnyakarani and Sandhani. Bring them here.”
Hanuman took on a giant form and with a single leap flew into the sky. Ocean, cities, rivers and forests fell away behind him, and he reached the Himalaya.
There he saw the mountain of herbs. But as soon as he drew near, the herbs sensed that someone had come to take them. Suddenly they hid themselves, and the whole mountain looked like any other.
Hanuman searched for the herbs, but they would not show themselves. His patience turned to anger. He said to the mountain, “Will you not show mercy even to Shri Rama? Then watch: today I will carry you off yourself.”
And he tore the whole peak out by its roots, with its trees, its minerals and its glowing herbs. Holding it up on his hand, he flew back across the sky, like a second sun moving through the heavens.
As Hanuman reached the battlefield near Lanka, the fragrance of the herbs spread through the air. That fragrance alone began to work a miracle.
Rama and Lakshmana woke as if from sleep. The arrows fell out of the vanaras' bodies on their own, their wounds closed, and the heroes who had lain senseless rose to their feet. Shouts of victory rang through the army.
Valmiki notes that none of the rakshasas rose, because on Ravana's orders their dead warriors had already been thrown into the sea.
His work done, Hanuman carried the peak back to the Himalaya, set it in its place, and returned to Shri Rama's side.
The mountain appears once more in the Ramayana. Later, when Lakshmana was struck senseless by Ravana's spear, the vanara physician Sushena asked Hanuman to fetch the same herbs. Once again Hanuman could not tell which herb was which, so once again he brought back the whole peak.
Sushena crushed the herb and held it to Lakshmana's nose. The arrows came out, the pain vanished, and Lakshmana rose to his feet. Shri Rama held his brother close to his heart. Both times, when every road seemed closed, it was Hanuman's devotion and courage that opened the way.
What this story teaches
Jambavan saw in Hanuman the life of the whole army. A true servant is one who does not give up even when the way seems closed, and has the courage to lift the whole mountain.
The popular Sanjeevani story, in which Lakshmana is struck down by Meghanada's spear, Hanuman must return before sunrise, and the demon Kalanemi and Bharata's arrow over Ayodhya appear, comes mainly from Goswami Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas (Lanka Kand) and later tradition. This retelling follows the Valmiki Ramayana.
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