Vanara
Vanara is a Sanskrit word literally meaning "a human having the fur or tail of a monkey". It popularly refers to the race of monkey-like humanoids in the Hindu epic Ramayana who were brave and inquisitive by nature.
According to the Ramayana, the vanaras lived primarily in the region of Kishkindha in present-day southern India, where Lord Rama met them during his search for Sita. The vanaras helped Rama in his search, and also in his battle against Ravana, Sita's abductor.
The characteristics of a vanara, as described in the epic are amusing, childish, mildly irritating, badgering, hyperactive, adventurous, bluntly honest, loyal, courageous, and kind. They are at least a foot shorter than an average human and their bodies are covered with light fur, generally brown in colour.
The greatest and most famous vanara is Lord Hanuman, a loyal devotee of Lord Rama. Some of the other notable vanaras were Hanuman's mother Anjana, his foster father Kesari, Sugriva, Vali and Angada.
| The Rāmāyaņa by Valmiki |
|---|
| Characters |
| Dasaratha | Kausalya | Sumitra | Kaikeyi | Janaka | Manthara | Rama | Bharata | Lakshmana | Shatrughna | Sita | Urmila | Mandavi | Shrutakirti | Viswamitra | Ahalya | Jatayu | Sampati | Hanuman | Sugriva | Vali | Angada | Jambavantha | Vibhishana | Tataka | Surpanakha | Maricha | Subahu | Khara | Ravana | Kumbhakarna | Mandodari | Mayasura | Indrajit | Prahasta | Akshayakumara | Atikaya | Lava | Kusha |
| Other |
| Ayodhya | Mithila | Lanka | Sarayu | Treta Yuga | Raghuvamsa | Lakshman Rekha | Aditya Hridayam | Oshadhiparvata | Sundara Kanda | Pushpaka Vimana | Vedavati | Vanara |
| Hinduism | Hindu mythology | Itihasa |  |
|---|---|
| Female Deities: Gayatri | Saraswati | Lakshmi | Dakshayani | Parvati | Durga | Shakti | Kali | Sita | Devi | Radha | Mahavidya | more... | |
| Male Deities: Brahma | Vishnu | Shiva | Rama | Krishna | Ganesha | Kartikeya | Hanuman | Lakshmana | Indra | Surya | more... | |
| Texts: Vedas | Upanishads | Puranas | Ramayana | Mahabharata | |
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Non-human races in Hindu mythology