Makardhwaja (or Magardhwaja) is the son of Hindu god Hanuman who is born out of his sweat. Makardhwaja has appearance in various regional versions of the Ramayana.
SRI HANUMAN By SRI SWAMI SIVANANDALord Hanuman and Makardhwaja, his son
There are many unmatching accounts of his birth, however all of them mentions him being born to a Makara (or Magara) after Hanuman took a dip into the ocean and his sweat drop fell into the mouth of the ''Makara'', impregnating her. ''Makara'' begets Makardhwaja who was later raised by the Ahiravana, a demon king who ruled

Patala In Indian religions, Patala (Sanskrit: पाताल, IAST: pātāla, lit. ''that which is below the feet''), denotes the subterranean realms of the universe – which are located under the earthly dimension. Patala is often translated as un ...

and a brother of

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. ...

. When Makardhwaja grew up, Ahiravana, seeing Makardhwaja's strength and virility, gave him job of guarding the gates of his kingdom.

Birth and thereafter

When Hanuman took a dip in the waters of the sea (after burning down the whole of Lanka with his inflamed tail), a drop of his sweat fell into the mouth of a mighty

Makara ''Makara'' ( sa, मकर, translit=Makara) is a legendary sea-creature in Hindu mythology. In Hindu astrology, Makara is equivalent to the Zodiac sign Capricorn. Makara appears as the vahana (vehicle) of the river goddess Ganga, Narmada, a ...

. Out of this, Makardhwaja was born. According to another, slightly different version, when Hanuman took a dip in the sea, to cool himself after burning Lanka; a drop of his sweat, due to the extreme heat generated in his body due to extreme labor by him, fell into the mouth of a giant fish-eat-reptile like creature,

, thus impregnating it. The fish was caught by people of Ahiravana, who ruled

, the nether-world. Markardhwaja was discovered when the stomach of the fish was cut open and thus he was named after it and was brought up by them.

Story in The Ramayana

According to Ramayana told by

Valmiki Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on the attributio ...

, this story has no place in it. However, in local folk tales this story is related. When Ahiravana took

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

and

Lakshmana Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja () ...

, Hanuman followed them to their rescue. He was challenged at the gate of Patala by a creature, who was part ''Vanara'' and part reptile - a ''Makara''. He introduced himself Makaradhwaja and son of Hanuman, the mighty warrior. Hanuman was amused and said that, I am myself the Hanuman but he could not be his son, as he was ''Brahmachari'' (a

celibate Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both, usually for religious reasons. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, th ...

) since birth. However, Hanuman then closed his eyes in

dhyana Dhyana may refer to: Meditative practices in Indian religions * Dhyana in Buddhism (Pāli: ''jhāna'') * Dhyana in Hinduism * Jain Dhyāna, see Jain meditation Other *''Dhyana'', a work by British composer John Tavener (1944-2013) * ''Dhyana'' ...

to see the events described above of Makardhwaja's birth. Makardhwaja asked him for his blessings, however, he said to Hanuman, that he will have to fight him to enter Patala, as he cannot betray Ahiravana, his

mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

. Hanuman defeats Makaradhwaja in a duel and then ties him to the back to proceed further to ultimately kill Ahiravana and rescue Rama & Lakshamana as Makardhawaja is presented as the exemplary devotee (bhakta) of Ahiravana as Hanuman for Rama. While returning from patal lok Shri Ram takes a glance at Makradhwaj in pain, post enquiring Hanuman narrates the story to Shri Ram. Shri Ram being impressed by Makardhwajs stand for his mentor and fight with Hanuman declares him the king of Patal Lok as then king Ahiravan was killed.

Lineage

The

Jethwa Jethwa (or Jethva, Jaitwa, Jethi) is a clan (Gotra) Rajput and Koli castes of Gujarat. See also *rathwa Origin It has been suggested that the Saindhava dynasty ruling eastern part of Saurashtra peninsula is now represented by the presen ...

clan of

Kshatriya Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...

s claim their descent from Makardhwaja. As per folk tales of their clan, Makardhwaja had a son named Mod-dhwaja and he had a son named Jethi-dhwaja. Jethwas claim descant from Jethi-dhwaja and worship

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 ...

as their Iṣṭa-devatā. The Jethwa dynasty of Gujarat, who once ruled major part of

Kathiawar Kathiawar () is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat (Gulf of Cambay) in the east. In the northeast, it is ...

and later the princely state of Porbandar, therefore, had the image of Hanuman on their royal flag.''Kutch Gurjar Kshatriya Community: A brief history & glory: Section : History of Rajput surnames, their origin and Myths : Sub-section : History of Jethwa : by Raja Pawan Jethwa, Kolkata (2007).Page 81.''

Temples

Temples dedicated to Makardhwaja can be found in India, especially in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, where Jethwas once ruled. Some noted temples in Gujarat are at *Odadar village near Porbandar. * Hanuman-Dandi at

Bet Dwarka Bet Dwarka (also spelled Beyt Dwarka) or Shankhodhar is an inhabited island at the mouth of the Gulf of Kutch, situated off the coast of the town of Okha, Gujarat, India, and north of the city of Dwarka. Northeast to southwest, the island measur ...

, where idols of Makardhwaja and Hanuman are worshiped together.DANDI SRI HANUMAN TEMPLE, BET/BEYT DWARKA
/ref> * Chinchawan, Tq. Wadwani Wadwani, Dist. Beed (Maharashtra) * Karahiya near

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

*Balaji Makardhwaja Temple at

Beawar Beawar () is a city in Ajmer district of Rajasthan, India. Beawar was the financial capital of Merwara state of Rajputana. As of 2011, the population of Beawar is 342,935. It is located 70 kilometres from Ajmer, the district headquarters and ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

- which is dedicated to both father-son duo in form of Balaji Hanuman and Makardhwaja.

References

{{Ramayana Vanara in the Ramayana Characters in the Ramayana Mythological human hybrids