Week 7 Story: Anjana and Kesari's Unique Love Story

Hello, readers, and welcome to my first story. Today we will be covering how my mum and dad met.

When my mum, Anjana, was a child she saw a monkey meditating in the woods doing a double pigeon pose. She thought it was really funny, so she decided to throw some sticks at the monkey. 

Oh, how she would regret this so. 

What she did not know was that he was a powerful sage who took on the form of a monkey in order to do his prayers. Her throwing sticks at him disturbed the sage from his prayers. This caused him to get angry and when he saw who was messing with him, he cursed my mum. 

The sage told her, "As soon as you fall in love, you will turn into a monkey. Anjana was devastated. "You will, however, find your true love waiting for you in the Karanga woods. He will not mind your appearance, and if you have a son, the curse will be lifted." 

Anjana felt better that there was a sliver of hope.

Years passed and now she was of the age to get married. She remembered what the sage had told her years ago and decided to go to the woods to look for her one true love. 

She came across a river and saw a hunter fighting with a streak of tigers. She instantly fell in love with the man. She cried out as she saw her reflection in the water. The sage was right, and she instantly turned into a monkey. She ran away to hide behind a tree. 

Meanwhile, the hunter heard a scream and left his battle with the streak of tigers to find the person. 

Anjana was crying with her hands covering her face when, all of a sudden, the hunter found her sitting at the base of a tree. "Who are you? Why are you crying? asked the hunter. Please do not look at me. I was cursed by a sage to turn into a monkey whenever I fell in love. Intrigued, the hunter told Anjana, "Just let me see your face." 

Anjana decided to look at the hunter and to her dismay, he was a monkey as well. She must have not been able to see the hunter properly. "Anjana, I am Kesari. The leader of all monkeys. I have the ability to shift between the monkey form and the human form. I would be delighted if you were to become my wife." 

She became ecstatic and, of course, accepted his proposal. 

Just then Anjana remembered what the sage had said, "Your true love will not mind your appearance." He must have said this because he knew that my love would be a monkey. 

Being a devotee of Shiva, she performed many ceremonies. One day Shiva appeared before her and offered her a wish since he was pleased with her worshipping him. Anjana told Shiva, "I would like to have a son, so I can be free from this curse." 

Shiva accepted her wish and told her to drink some water from his palm. 

Instantly, Anjana became pregnant, and, in time, she gave birth to a little monkey-faced boy who she named Anjaneya which means son of Anjana. Kesar and Anjana were so happy to see their son. Seeing that she gave birth to a son, the curse was released from her.

Anjana and Kesari with their newborn son, Anjaneya. (Source: Hinduscriptures)

Author's Note: So, this is the story that my mum told me when I was younger. It is not exactly the same as when my mum told me because that was ages ago. I have the story relatively the same, but some details might be a little off. But I hope you enjoyed the story of how my mum and dad met.  

Side note: Anjaneya is actually me. I will tell you later how I got the name Hanuman. So stay tuned. 

Bibliography: The Story of Hanuman, KidsGen