Hanuman eats the Rising Sun

Hanuman eats the Rising Sun

Debi Prasad Choudhary

Los Angeles, 01/18/2026

A little cute monkey lived in a beautiful forest. The forest had trees with profuse sweet fruits. His home was surrounded with herbs of fragrant flower. He lived with his loving human mother and father. He was always dressed well with expensive dresses and jewelry. He was no ordinary monkey. He had divine look and possessed enormous strength and magical power. He could jump long distances. He could lift very heavy objects like mountains if he wanted. 

All day he would wonder around and play. He never realized his power and did not know what to do with them. Often he would indulge with mischief deeds. When elders and wise would perform Puja to please Gods, he would disturb them and often eat away their stuff and through things around, simply to amuse himself. Just to contain him, the sages cursed him that he would not realize his great powers until he meets his master Sri Ram at a later age until he is grown up. He became calm and behaved normally.

His mother was very loving and would prepare delicious food for him every day. Hanuman was very fond of sweets and especially sweet fruit. In the morning, he would be very hungry and look for food every where. Usually, his mother would pacify him by giving few fruits before giving a full meal. When there is a delay, Hanuman would cry restlessly and jump around. Food was his first thing that he looked for every morning. And, his parents gave him what he wants effortlessly.

One day, in a cloudy morning, his mother was taking care of grains and cloths that might get wet if unattended. His mother was busy more urgent household activities. Hanuman got up and was as usual very hungry. He cried a lot and jumped around to draw attention of his mother for food. Mother was busy and ddi not realize that her dear son is now up and jumping for food. She also out of sight in the back yard collecting the cow dung cakes that were spread around for drying. The cow dung cakes were used as fuel.

After few minutes of crying and jumping, Hanuman was restless. He was hungry and tired of not getting attention of his mother. He looked at the sky and found the red sun behind the clouds. He thought it was a delicious fruit like he gets every morning from his mother. Immediately, he jumped and ate the rising sun, mistaking that it was a sweet fruit!

As the sun disappeared, the whole world was plunged into darkness. Human on earth and Gods in heaven did not realize what happened. One of the Gods, who witnessed Hanuman eating the sun described the event to others. All Gods and men from all worlds came together to the house where Hanuman lived with his parents. They prayed and urged Hanuman to release the sun. Blinking his eyes with mischief, Hanuman obliged them and released the sun. The light in the world was back again.

Hanuman's parents were a bit worried. Now on, they were careful and guarded their sun and attended to all his needs in timely basis.

A little, cute monkey lived in a beautiful forest.
The forest was full of tall trees and sweet fruits.
Colorful flowers grew all around his home.

He lived with his loving mother and father.
They cared for him every day.

The little monkey was dressed nicely.
He wore bright clothes and shiny jewelry.
He was not an ordinary monkey.

He looked special and divine.
He was very strong and full of magic.
He could jump very far.
He could lift very heavy things if he wanted.

All day long, he played and jumped around.
He laughed and explored the forest.
He did not know how strong he really was.

Sometimes, he played little tricks.
When wise elders prayed quietly,
the little monkey would run around and giggle.
He did not mean harm—he just liked to play.

To help him grow calm and wise,
the sages said he would remember his great strength later,
when the time was right.
After that, the little monkey became gentle and calm.

His mother loved him very much.
She cooked tasty food for him every day.
He loved sweets and sweet fruits the most.

Every morning, he woke up hungry.
He looked here and there for food.
His mother would smile and give him fruits first,
and then a full meal.

One cloudy morning, his mother was very busy.
She was saving grains and clothes from the rain.
She was working in the backyard too.

The little monkey woke up hungry, as always.
He called out and jumped around.
But his mother did not hear him.

He waited and waited.
His tummy rumbled.

Then he looked up at the sky.
He saw the red sun hiding behind the clouds.

“That looks like a big sweet fruit!”
the little monkey thought.

With one happy jump,
he leaped into the sky and caught the sun!

Suddenly, the world became dark.
People on earth were surprised.
Gods in the sky were surprised too.

One god saw what had happened.
He told everyone about the little monkey.

Gods and people came together.
They gently asked the monkey to give back the sun.

The little monkey blinked and smiled.
He opened his hands and let the sun go.

The sun went back into the sky.
Light returned everywhere.

His parents were relieved and held him close.
From that day on,
they took extra care of their little monkey
and made sure he was always happy and fed.