Vayu

Quick Facts

About Vayu

God of the wind, called Pavana and Maruta, who fathered Bhima on Kunti and Hanuman on Anjana, so that the epic's two greatest strong-armed figures are brothers. When Bhima came upon the sleeping ape in the plantain wood, it was his own elder brother lying across the path. In the Anushasana Parva it is Vayu who speaks from the sky to the thousand-armed Kartavirya, telling the boasting emperor to cast off his pride and bow to the Brahmanas.

In Their Words

Cast off this sinful attitude and bow to the Brahmanas, for by injuring them thou wilt bring ruin on thyself.

Vayu

Traits

• swift
• invisible
• paternal
• admonishing

Story Appearances

• The Birth of the PrincesFather of Bhima by Kunti's mantra❧ 16 min
• The Meeting of BrothersFather of both brothers in the plantain wood❧ 19 min
• The Wind Answers the Thousand-Armed KingThe voice that humbles Kartavirya❧ 21 min

Stories Featuring Vayu

28 further tales on this site name Vayu, in canonical reading order.

• The Elephant and the TortoiseTwo brothers who could not divide a houseAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Apsara Sent to Break a SageMenaka's fear, and the child left on the MaliniAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Ascetics at the GateThe morning five orphans were handed to HastinapuraAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• The King Who Made Fire SickTwelve years of butter and the appetite it ruinedAdi Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Council at PrabhasaThe Yadavas find the exiles on the shore and argue about ending the exile by forceVana Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Weapons That Must Not Be ShownA demonstration the three worlds could not surviveVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Arrow From Behind the TreeA wife who read the omens, and a king who would not listenVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Bird With the Burnt WingsA search that ended at a cliff, and the brother of JatayuVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Testimony of the ElementsWhat Rama said when she was brought back to himVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• Indra Comes to GandhamadanaMatali brings Arjuna home from heaven, and the king of the gods follows him downVana Parva ‧ 11 min
• Garuda's Map of the WorldThe four directions described from a bird's backUdyoga Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Sacrifice of BattleDuryodhana makes the coming war his own rite, and his father disowns him for itUdyoga Parva ‧ 23 min
• Sanjaya Describes the EarthThe blind king asks what the earth is worth, and his charioteer answers with the whole of itBhishma Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Elephant Corps and the King of AngaBhima breaks Duryodhana's elephant division and beheads the Anga king in mid-fallDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The One Who Walked Before the CarVyasa tells Arjuna whose lance was breaking the ranks in front of himDrona Parva ‧ 24 min
• Fortune Changes SidesWhy Sri deserted the asuras, told on a bank of the GangaShanti Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Son Struck From the Fire SticksA hundred years of penance, a parrot on a branch, and a child born of frictionShanti Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Road of WorksBrahman and the first Rishis stand a thousand years on the shore, and sacrifice is foundedShanti Parva ‧ 22 min
• The Signs of Approaching DeathYajnavalkya tells the king of Mithila which door the soul leaves by, and how a man learns that his year has begunShanti Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Names That Cleanse SinAsked what destroys sin, Bhishma answers with a litany of gods, rivers, mountains, sages and kingsAnushasana Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Three Sages Who Saved the GodsAgastya burns the Danavas, Vashishtha brings down the Sarayu, and Atri becomes the moon and the sunAnushasana Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Brahmanas Who Deserve WorshipNarada tells Krishna whom he bows to, and Bhishma tells a king what it costs to forgetAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• Gifts Under the Lunar MansionsNarada tells Devaki what to give under each star, and the gods ask Brahman for ground to stand onAnushasana Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Mysteries of Religion, Part OneThe deities, the Pitris and the Rishis each give up a duty whose reason is secretAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Brahmanas and the KapasThe gods lose heaven and earth, and men on the ground win them backAnushasana Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Child Who Stopped Indra's ArmA boy on Uma's lap holds the thunderbolt in the airAnushasana Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Fires Inside the BodyA wife asks what her husband's stillness is worthAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Return of the PortionsWho everybody turned out to have beenSvargarohana Parva ‧ 17 min

Character Arc

1. 1Two Sons of One WindHanuman and Bhima are begotten by the same god in different ages
2. 2The Voice From the SkyHe tells the thousand-armed emperor that the Brahmana stands above him
3. 3The Peak of MeruThe wind carries what nothing standing can hold

Key Relationships

• Son➝Bhima
• Son➝Hanuman
• The King He Rebuked➝Kartavirya
• Fellow Regent➝Indra

Places in Vayu's Story

Drawn from the stories Vayu appears in.

• Naimisharanyaनैमिषारण्य
• The Oceanसमुद्र
• Alamva Lakeआलम्ब
• Gandhamadanaगन्धमादन
• Amaravatiअमरावती
• Forest Hermitageवन आश्रम
• Banks of the Malini Riverमालिनी नदी
• Himavatहिमवत्
• Mount Shatashringaशतशृङ्ग
• Hastinapurहस्तिनापुर
• Banks of the Gangaगङ्गा तट
• Banks of the Yamunaयमुना तट

Related Characters

Others counted among the Divine Beings.

• ❉Krishna
• ◭Hanuman
• ❧Kacha
• ≈Goddess Ganga
• ★The Eight Vasus
• ॐSage Vyasa