The Sanjeevani — Saving Lakshmana

The war in Lanka was at its most intense. Ravana, seeing his armies being destroyed by the vanar sena, called upon his son Indrajit — also known as Meghanada — one of the most formidable warriors of the age. Indrajit had defeated Indra Dev himself and was a master of illusion and celestial weaponry.

In the heat of battle, Indrajit used the Shakti weapon — a weapon of divine force given to Ravana by Lord Brahma — and struck Lakshmana. The blow was devastating. Lakshmana fell to the ground, gravely wounded, his breath faint, his body still.

Shri Rama rushed to his side. When he saw Lakshmana lying there, the composure that Rama had maintained through the entire war broke. He wept. In that moment, the pain of a brother was more present than the purpose of the war. He said to Hanuman: "If I lose Lakshmana, I lose everything. Even Sita I would not seek without him beside me."

The vaidya (physician) Sushena, who was with the army, examined Lakshmana and said that he could be saved — but only by a herb called Sanjeevani, which grew on the Dronagiri mountain in the Himalayas. And it had to reach them before sunrise, or the darkness would take Lakshmana permanently.

Hanuman did not wait. He expanded his form, invoked the name of Rama, and rose into the night sky.

He flew north at extraordinary speed — across the ocean, across the subcontinent, until the great peaks of the Himalayas appeared below him, white and vast and silent. He found Dronagiri mountain and searched its slopes for the Sanjeevani herb.

But the mountain was dense with herbs of all kinds, and Hanuman could not identify which one was the Sanjeevani. Every herb looked similar in the dark. Time was running out.

In that moment, Hanuman made a decision that has become one of the most celebrated in all of sacred literature:

If he could not identify the herb, he would bring all of it.

He placed his hands beneath Dronagiri mountain, braced himself, and lifted it entirely from the earth. The mountain — with all its forests, its herbs, its streams — rose into the sky in Hanuman's hands.

He turned south and flew back toward Lanka with the mountain.

There are accounts that on his way back, he passed over Ayodhya — the city of Rama — and was spotted by Bharata, Rama's devoted brother, who was protecting the kingdom in his absence. Not knowing who this great being was flying with a mountain in the night sky, Bharata shot an arrow that struck Hanuman, and he fell momentarily. When he explained who he was and what his errand was, Bharata was overcome with remorse and offered to carry him in his swiftest arrow toward Lanka. Hanuman, ever mindful of Lakshmana's condition, accepted and arrived in Lanka just before the first light of dawn.

The vaidya Sushena took the mountain, identified the Sanjeevani immediately, and administered it to Lakshmana. Its fragrance alone began to work — Lakshmana's eyes opened. His colour returned. He sat up, his wounds healed, strong and whole.

Shri Rama embraced Lakshmana with the full weight of his relief. Then he turned to Hanuman.

There are no words for what passed between them in that look. Some debts are beyond speech.

Hanuman, who had lifted an entire mountain, simply folded his hands and bowed.

The image of Hanuman carrying Dronagiri mountain is one of the most recognised in all of Hindu sacred art. It is a symbol not merely of physical power, but of something rarer: the willingness to do whatever is needed, no matter how impossible, when the one you love needs you.

Hanuman could not find the herb. So he brought the mountain.

That is the nature of his devotion.