Mainaka () or Mainaka Parvata, is a mountain from the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

epic

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

, the son of

Himavan Himavat (Sanskrit: हिमवत्, lit. ''frosty'') is the personification of the Himalayan mountains in Hinduism. He is the guardian deity of the Himalayas, and finds mention in the epic ''Mahabharata'' and other Hindu scriptures. Nomencl ...

. He is the brother of the goddess

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

. Mainaka is an ally of

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

, having helped the deity on his journey to Lanka.

Legend

According to the Brahmanda Purana, in the ages of yore, the mountains had wings, and used to ascend and descend towards the earth as they liked. Due to the fears of the populace, Indra made the mountains stand in a row, and cut off their wings. During this time, the god of the wind,

Vayu Vayu (, sa, वायु, ), also known as Vata and Pavana, is the Hindu god of the winds as well as the divine massenger of the gods. In the '' Vedic scriptures'', Vayu is an important deity and is closely associated with Indra, the king of ...

, took away his friend Mainaka and granted him safety in the ocean. Mainaka and the ocean became close allies. Hanuman, who was the son of Vayu, became the friend and saviour of Mainaka. Owing to this, Mainaka gave refuge for Hanuman on his way to Lanka.

References

{{Reflist Ramayana Locations in Hindu mythology Mythological mountains