Hanuman and Maharashtra

[Sn. Subrahmanya]

>On Sat, 6 Dec 1997, S Krishna wrote:
>
>>   I find that the first name hanuman ( or it's
equivalent Maruti) being
>> very prevalent in Maharashtra and Karnataka...I believe
it's prevalence
>> in Karnataka can be explained by the influence of the
Madhva tradition
I do not think it has just to do with the Madhwa
tradition. Madhwa tradition is only a few hundred years
old. The question is also - why is Shri Madhwacharya
thought to be a incarnation of Hanuman.

Traditionally, Karnataka is also considered the area for
the original Kishkindha region. Avani in Kolar District
of Karnataka  is also a place where Sita brought up both
Lava & Kusha. The temples in Avani are in very bad shape
and are in urgent need of maintenance work.

BTW, Kolar has a large monkey population and especially in
the afternoon it is a common sight to see a large group
of monkeys descend onto the town and plunder all the
mango  and coconut trees.

S.Subrahmanya