Where Is The Hanuman Hill Sanjeevani Buti Located Now?
As news of the Uttarakhand government’s decision to launch a Rs 25-crore expedition in the upper reaches of the Himalayas to find the mythical life-restoring sanjivani herb goes viral, this is a good time to recall that the people of a Himalayan village still haven’t forgiven the monkey god Hanuman for disfiguring the mountain on which this mythical plant grew.
It’s a fascinating mashup of real life and mythology.
Reviving Lakshman
The sanjivani is best known for its appearance in the Valmiki Ramayana. According to this epic, when Ram was battling Ravan in far-off Sri Lanka in order to rescue his wife, Sita, from the Sri Lankan ruler’s clutches, his brother Lakshman was seriously wounded.
Ram then sent for the physician Sushena to help revive his brother, and it is said that Sushena ordered Ram’s main attendant, Hanuman, to fly to the greatest among the mountains, the Himalayas (Nag Sreshta Himavant), and bring him the mrit sanjivani (literally, an infuser of life) plant so that he could revive the comatose young warrior.
It’s a fascinating mashup of real life and mythology.
Reviving Lakshman
The sanjivani is best known for its appearance in the Valmiki Ramayana. According to this epic, when Ram was battling Ravan in far-off Sri Lanka in order to rescue his wife, Sita, from the Sri Lankan ruler’s clutches, his brother Lakshman was seriously wounded.
Ram then sent for the physician Sushena to help revive his brother, and it is said that Sushena ordered Ram’s main attendant, Hanuman, to fly to the greatest among the mountains, the Himalayas (Nag Sreshta Himavant), and bring him the mrit sanjivani (literally, an infuser of life) plant so that he could revive the comatose young warrior.
