When Shri Ram Took His Bow Against Hanuman

Once, in the kingdom of Ayodhya, Sage Vishwamitra arrived at Shri Ram’s court with a request. He told Shri Ram that a powerful king named Yayati had committed a grave offense against dharma, and as a result, the sage wanted Ram to punish him.

Shri Ram, being ever-obedient to the sages, immediately agreed. However, there was one problem—King Yayati had taken refuge under Hanuman!

When Hanuman came to know that Shri Ram was coming to punish the king, he humbly requested Shri Ram to forgive him. But Vishwamitra, being a great rishi and Ram’s guru, insisted that justice must be served. Shri Ram, bound by his duty towards his guru, picked up his bow and prepared to fight.

Hanuman, on the other hand, had vowed never to raise a weapon against Shri Ram. Instead of picking up any arms, he simply folded his hands, sat down in meditation, and began chanting “Jai Shree Ram!” with absolute devotion.

As Ram released his arrows, something incredible happened—the arrows lost their power as soon as they reached Hanuman! No matter how many arrows Ram shot, none could harm him. The divine weapons, instead of attacking Hanuman, simply circled around and fell away.

This continued for some time, and finally, the devatas and rishis intervened, revealing the truth:

“Prabhu, Hanuman’s devotion is so pure that even your weapons cannot harm him. Your own divinity protects him because he chants your name with unwavering faith.”

At that moment, Shri Ram put down his bow and smiled. He walked toward Hanuman and embraced him with great love.

Rishi Vishwamitra, seeing Hanuman’s devotion, was deeply moved and forgave the king. The battle was never meant to be won by power—it was a divine test that proved the greatness of Hanuman’s bhakti.

This story shows that true devotion is more powerful than even the mightiest of weapons, and that Hanuman’s surrender to Shri Ram was so absolute that even Ram himself could not go against it.