Moral Story
How did the Hanuman mark on Arjuna's flag happen?
Arjuna, once during a tour of the country was much surprised to see the bridge constructed by Sri Rama from Ramesvara to Lanka. He also felt that it was not at all proper for Sri Rama to have sought the help of monkeys to construct the bridge. Sri Rama could have made a bridge with arrows. Arjuna put this question to a great scholar who was sitting nearby reading the Ramayana. Neither the Pandit nor the other Brahmins gathered there could give a convincing answer to Arjuna's doubts.
Incidentally to all their surprise, a monkey child went up to Arjuna and told him with pride that a bridge made of arrows would have broken when the monkeys walked on it.
Arjuna said then, "Not at all, no monkey will be able to break the bridge built with Rama's arrows; I can demonstrate, that a monkey cannot break a dam of arrows made even by me ?"
A debate began about the subject. The monkey and Arjuna agreed to a bet that if a monkey broke the bridge made by Arjuna he would end his life by jumping into fire, and if the monkey could not break the bridge it would forever be Arjuna's slave.
Arjuna constructed a bridge with arrows. And, as soon as the monkey set foot on it, it was broken. Arjuna tried a second time. Though now it caused some efforts on the part of the monkey the bridge broke this time also. Arjuna was thus left with no alternative but to die by jumping into the fire. The fire was made ready.
Before Arjuna jumped into the fire a Brahmin boy, who was bathing in the river ran up to Arjuna and told him that his attempt at self annihilation was not justified as the bet was made without an arbiter. Arjuna who was proud and wedded so much to truth did not listen to the boy brushed aside this argument and got ready to end his life.
The boy said: "If both of you are so very insistent about it, compete once again with me as arbiter. This suggestion of the boy was accepted by the confident monkey first, then Arjuna followed the idea of competing once again.
Foreseeing the imminent death, Arjuna constructed the bridge once again with utmost care. This time he prayed in devotion and surrendered himself fully before the almighty God.
The monkey child tried its best to break the bridge, but it failed. It developed its body to the size of a mountain and jumped on the bridge. Even then it did not break. It tried all its might for hours but failed.
The monkey, who was Hanuman in disguise, realized that only Rama could do such wonders, ran up to the boy who was acting as arbiter and prostrated at his feet crying 'Sri Ramachandra, My Lord'.
Arjuna also understood that everything happened at the divine will. He prostrated before the boy crying 'Bhagvan, you incarnate in the form Krishna, slave to devotees'.
Hanuman kept his word by remaining as the emblem of Arjuna's flag.