Once, as a young child, thinking the sun to be a fruit, Hanuman sprang upwards with outstretched hands in hopes of grabbing it. Blessed with the potency of his divine father Vayu, he soared through the air, getting closer and closer to his goal. Threatened by his power, Indra, the king of heaven, struck Hanuman down with a thunderbolt, sending him hurling back to the ground where he laid unconscious. Enraged by the sight of his seemingly lifeless son, Vayu withdrew the movement of air necessary for life’s sustenance throughout the universe. Desperate to prevent cosmic disaster, the gods approached Brahma, the engineer of the universe, for help. Understanding Hanuman to be an exalted devotee of Vishnu who would eventually aid Rama in defeating Ravana, Brahma revived the child, after which all of the most prominent gods blessed him with special abilities, thus pacifying Vayu. Named for the broken jaw he incurred from the impact of his fall (hanu means “jaw” and man means “prominent”), Hanuman’s name is a reminder of the precarious nature of unbridled power, and how it can often result in dangerous consequences when unguided.