Panchmukhi Hanuman

Published on 20th January, 2019, in Mid-day. One of the popular images of Hanuman is one where he has five faces and five pairs of hands. It is known as the Panchmukhi, or five-faced, Hanuman. It reminds us of Krishna's Vishwarupa described in the Bhagavad Gita, albeit a diminutive version. It transforms Hanuman from a dependable servant of Ram to a very independent deity worshipped in his own right. Besides the monkey head, there is the head of a lion, an eagle, a wild boar, and a horse. The horse represents Hayagriva, the god of wisdom, the Varaha represents Vishnu's boar form, the eagle represents ..