"HANUMAN IN MAHABHARAT:ON ARJUNA’S CHARIOT"
Arjuna was a skilled archer and was capable of conjuring wonders with his arrows.
During the Mahabharata war, he requested Lord Hanuman to be present on his chariot to which Hanuman asked him to prove his mettle. Arjuna then claimed that he could reconstruct the bridge Rama’s army had built to cross the ocean. Intrigued by his claims, Hanuman challenged him to create a bridge that would be able to withstand his weight. He promised that if Arjuna succeeded in the task, Hanuman would accompany him on his chariot. An eager Arjuna, created the bridge in a jiffy but it collapsed even faster as soon as Hanuman set foot on it. A crestfallen Arjuna approached Lord Krishna who convinced Hanuman that Arjuna should be given another chance. With Krishna’s blessing Arjuna built the bridge again, and this time it did not crumble under Hanuman’s weight. Hanuman then realised the fact that Krishna was an incarnation of his revered Lord Vishnu and was overwhelmed. He agreed to aid Arjuna in his battles with the Kauravas and thus Arjuna’s chariot featured Hanuman on its flag.
After the battle of Kurukshetra, Krishna asked Arjuna to step down the chariot. Krishna thanked Hanuman to stay with them during the war in the form of a flag on the chariot. Hanuman came in his original form, bowed to Krishna and flew away. As soon as he left, the chariot turned into ashes. Krishna explained to a shocked Arjuna, that the chariot would have burnt long time back due to the effects of celestial weapons thrown at it during the war. However, Lord Hanuman protected it.
