Lutgendorf also writes that the skills in Hanuman's resume also seem to derive in part from his windy patrimony, reflecting Vayu's role in both body and cosmos. According to Philip Lutgendorf, an American Indologist, the theological significance of Hanuman and devotional dedication to him emerged about 1,000 years after the composition of the Ramayana, in the 2nd millennium CE, after the arrival of Islamic rule in the Indian subcontinent.
Hanuman is mentioned in several other texts, such as the epic Mahabharata and the various Puranas.Įvidence of devotional worship to Hanuman is largely absent in these texts, as well as in most archeological sites. Hanuman is also son of the wind-god Vayu, who in several stories played a direct role in Hanuman's birth. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and one of the chiranjivis. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic Ramayana. Hanuman ( / ˈ h ʌ n ʊ ˌ m ɑː n/ Sanskrit: हनुमान्, IAST: Hanumān) is a Hindu god and divine vanara companion of the god Rama.
