Hanuman, exceptionally rendering the quality of the greatest devotee of Lord Rama, is known for his great strength and intellect. He has been given different names, one of them being Kesarinandan which means the son of Kesari. What if we say Kesari Nandan himself was a father even though he had taken a vow of remaining a Brahmachari. Would you believe? The story of the son meeting his father for the first time, and telling him that he was the son of the warrior is interesting. Until this point, even the almighty wasn’t aware of the fact that he was a father. Unfolding the story of Lord Hanuman’s son
Who was the son of Hanuman?
Makardhwaja was his name! The name says it all. He had the features of both a monkey and a reptile. Like father like son, Makardhawaja was also brave and valiant.
Nascence of Makardhwaja
After meeting Sita, Hanuman had set Ravana’s kingdom on fire with his inflamed tail. What happened after the Lanka was burnt into ashes? Where did he go?
Hanuman took a dip into the waters of the sea to cool himself down, and due to the heat, the drop of his perspiration fell into the water. Some say that it was his reproductive fluid (Source) which had fallen. Well, conjectures are always welcome!
This drop went into the mouth of a giant fish like reptile creature, Makara which impregnated her giving birth to Makardhwaja.
Who gave him this name?
Once, this giant fish cum reptile like creature was caught by the men of the King of Patala, Ahiravana (Brother of Ravana). When the fish was cut they found a child inside. The king named him after the fish’s name. Bewildered by his strength, the king of Patala appointed him as the guard of his kingdom.
The weird meet up of the father and his son
Ahiravana kidnapped and took Lord Rama and Lakshmana to his palace. Hanuman followed them and reached his kingdom to rescue them. There he met Makardhwaja at the entrance where he introduced himself as the son of the great Hanuman. Hanuman was startled by his words as he was celibate. In order to know the mystery behind his son’s birth he went into dhyaan and got to know about what all had happened.
The father had to confront his son to enter the palace as Makardhwaja couldn’t betray his master. Therefore, Hanuman had to defeat him so that he could save Lord Rama. Both of them presented loyalty towards their masters and entered into a duel. Hanumaan defeated Makardhwaja and moved towards rescuing Lord Rama and Lakshmana.
The New King of Patala
After killing Ahiravana as they were leaving, Lord Rama asked Hanuman to crown Makardhwaja as the new king of Patala before returning to Lanka and continuing their war with Ravana.
The Heritage
The Jhethwas which is the clan of Kshatriyas claims that they are the descendants of Makardhwaja. Jhethwa is a dynasty of Gujarat and people over their worship Lord Hanuman as their “Ista Devata”. You can also find various temples dedicated to Makardhwaja and Hanuman especially in Gujarat.