Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c4.812

c4.812

17B) *The mark on Arjuna’s flag is Hanūmān, and the following story is attached to it*. Arjuna, once during a tour of the country was much surprised to see the Dam constructed by Śrī Rāma from Rāmeśvara to Laṅkā. He also felt that it was not at all proper on the part of Śrī Rāma to have sought the help of monkeys to construct the dam. Śrī Rāma could have made a dam with arrows. Arjuna put this question to a great scholar (Pandit) who was sitting nearby reading the Rāmāyaṇa. Neither the Pandit nor the other brahmins gathered there could give a convincing answer to Arjuna’s doubts. Then a monkey child went up to Arjuna and told him with pride that a dam made of arrows would have broken when the monkeys walked on it. Arjuna said then, “no, no, no monkey will be able to break the dam built by Rāma’s arrows; which monkey will break a dam of arrows made even by me?” And, a debate began about the subject. The monkey and Arjuna agreed to a bet that if a monkey broke the dam made by Arjuna he would end his life by jumping into fire, and if the monkey could not break the dam it would for ever be Arjuna’s slave. Arjuna constructed a dam with arrows. And, as soon as the monkey set foot on it it was broken. Arjuna tried again. Though now it caused some efforts on the part of the monkey the dam broke this time also. Arjuna was thus left with no alternative but to die by jumping into fire and a fire was accordingly lit. Before Arjuna jumped into the fire a brahmin boy, who was bathing in the river ran upto Arjuna and told him that his attempt at self annihilation was not justified as the bet was made without an arbiter. When Arjuna who was wedded so much to truth brushed aside this argument and got ready to end his life the boy said : "If you are so very insistent about it you (Arjuna and the monkey) compete once again with me as arbiter. This suggestion of the boy was accepted. The monkey child tried its best to break the dam, but it failed. It developed its body to the size of a mountain and jumped on the dam. Even then it did not break. Then he ran up to the boy who was acting as arbiter and prostrated at his feet crying 'Rāmacandra'. At the same moment Arjuna also prostrated before the boy crying 'Śrī Kṛṣṇa, slave to devotees'. The boy asked both of them to get up, and after admonishing them for their conceit gave them good advice. He also asked the monkey child to keep his word by remaining as the emblem of Arjuna's flag. (The monkey boy was actually Hanūmān and the brahmin boy Śrī Kṛṣṇa).