Hanuman

For many years now Hanuman has been one of my all time favorite deities. Before I came to Delhi I was told that there was a huge Hanuman statue near where I would working. I was, naturally, very excited. Not only there the huge statue, which I can see from the metro each day, but it's part of a temple. Of course I went my first week here. I went on a Tuesday night and it was insanely busy. I found out later that Tuesday and Saturdays are the big, busy days at this temple. I was also told, a couple of weeks after going, that the temple is part of a front for the mob. I don't understand it completely, but apparently some gang opened the temple to keep their money looking clean - or at least safe from prying eyes. It's all rather strange and confusing, but it's still an awesome sight from the train each day.

Inside this temple there are lots of mirrored mosaics and altars with various deities. None of this was new to me, having visited Hindu temples before. What was new and strange were passageways in the shape of open mouths. For example, the entrance to the temple is up a ribbed ramp that is the tongue of a monkey, whose mouth you must walk through to get in. This monkey head is at the feet of the Hanuman statue. This is really odd - Hanuman is the monkey king and there's a body-less monkey head at his feet, serving as the entrance into his temple. Inside, there is another mouth entryway. This time it is the mouth of a serpent, complete with jagged and scary looking teeth, a la screeching eels from the Princess Bride. Looking through the serpent's mouth there is narrow passageway with a statue of another god, in a cage. From the outside it looked as though there was also a way to exit the temple through yet another mouth-door, but I wasn't able to find that exit.

Another bizarre feature of this temple is in the large statue of Hanuman. It is possible to see, from street level, that behind Hanuman's hands there are two figures in his chest. These are supposed to be Rama and Sita, of the Ramayana, sitting in Hanuman's heart. According to certain websites on Tuesday and Saturdays at 8:15 am and pm the arms of the statue open to reveal Rama and Sita. I have been unable to confirm this, but I hope to try before I leave.

Not too far away there is another Hanuman temple - this one apparently legit. This one is within a stone's throw of Connaught Place, or CP, a central shopping, eating, and hotel area. This Hanuman Temple was much more in keeping with other temple I have been to - no 100+ foot statue here. The temple is in the middle of a small market area. Inside the temple there are altars with the various Hindu Gods. There is also a lingam-yoni, which represent the male and the female, the fountain of life and the source of all that is. In addition, there was a statue of Nandi, a sacred bull associated with the God Shiva, as is the lingam.

Because Hanuman is an avatar of Shiva it is not surprising to see them in the temple, though at first they seem out of place. So many years have gone by since I studied Hindu cosmology that at first I thought the Shiva lingam was oddly placed in the temple, but as I pulled the cobwebs off my recollections of my first-year Religions of South Asia class it all started to make sense.

When we went there were others there doing puja. I went to go observe and try to get a better sense of what was being done. One of the two men behind the altar motioned me over and gave me a tilak - colored dot between the eyebrows that gives protection and a blessing. He also gave me blessed temple sweets. I was very interesting to see and hear. There were many clanging bells because Hindus believe that bells make the om sound.