Rainbow Flower and Hanuman

Hundreds of years ago, there was a kingdom called Ayodhya. There was a very powerful king there called King Dasharath. He had four sons: Ram, Lakshman, Nakul, and Sahadev.

For some reason, something bad happened. Ram, his wife Sita, and his brother Lakshman had to go away. They had to live in the jungle for 14 years. So they went to the jungle and were living there.

They had a very, very strong friend named Hanuman. He was half monkey, half human, and he could fly. He was the strongest person on earth. He could push a tree and it would fall. He could blow air and create a windstorm. He was very dedicated to Ram, Lakshman, and Sita.

One day, a very big evil ogre from Sri Lanka came and took Sita away in his flying chariot. Ram and Lakshman were very angry. They told the ogre, "We are very powerful. We have Hanuman with us. We will destroy your kingdom."

So they went to Sri Lanka and had a big war. They completely destroyed the evil kingdom and rescued Sita. But while this was happening, Lakshman got injured. Some poison went into him.

The doctors said, "He cannot survive unless we get a special flower. It's a rainbow flower called the Sanjeevani flower. It is on top of Bukit Timah Hill in Singapore."

"In Singapore?" they asked.

"Yes," said the doctor. "On top of Bukit Timah Hill, there is a jungle. Inside there is one tree which has these rainbow flowers—big flowers with all rainbow colors and magical powers. You have to get that flower. Only then can Lakshman survive."

So they told Hanuman, "Hanuman, you can go because you can fly. Jump to Singapore, go to this mountain, get the flower, and come back quickly."

Hanuman said, "Jai Shri Ram! I will go."

So Hanuman jumped and flew full speed to Singapore. It took him only one hour to get there from Sri Lanka. He asked someone, "Where is Bukit Timah Hill?" They showed him the way.

He went up the hill. But because he was in such a hurry, he forgot what type of flower he had to get! The doctor had said "rainbow flower," but Hanuman forgot. He thought, "Was it a green flower? Or a pink flower?"

He saw many, many flowers—yellow, red, green, blue, white. The whole jungle was full of flowers.

"Oh my god," he said. "I have forgotten what type of flower to get!"

In those days, there were no phones. If he went back to Sri Lanka to ask, it would take too long, and Lakshman would not survive. He had not taken any notes because he was in a hurry.

It was silly because he was sitting right next to the big tree with the rainbow flowers and unicorns, but he didn't realize it.

He thought, "If I take the wrong flower back, Lakshman will die, and it will be my mistake."

Then he realized he was very, very strong. So he went down to the base of the hill. He grabbed the whole hill with both his hands. He picked it up! He put the entire Bukit Timah Hill on his hand and flew back to Sri Lanka.

The whole of Singapore was looking up. "Look! There is a flying monkey carrying a whole mountain!"

Hanuman flew all the way back. He was worried he might fall into the sea because the mountain was so heavy, but he kept saying "Jai Shri Ram" and flew on.

When he arrived, people said, "What is this? We asked you to get a flower. Why did you bring the whole mountain? Where are we going to keep it?"

Hanuman said, "I'm sorry, I forgot which flower it was."

They laughed and said, "You are so dedicated. You brought the whole mountain to save your friend."

He gently put the mountain down. The doctors went up, found the rainbow flowers, gave them to Lakshman, and Lakshman was saved.

And that is the story of how Hanuman saved Lakshman by flying with a mountain. And that Bukit Timah Hill is now permanently in Sri Lanka. They took it from Singapore, and Singapore still doesn't have such a big hill anymore.