Murtis with bell on the tail of Hanuman was installed by Sri
Vyasatirtha, a Madhava scholar and poet, during the sixteenth century AD. As per
some regional versions, the reason for bell on tail is based on an incident in
the Ramayana. Such murtis are widely found in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and
Telangana. In this Hanuman murti, the tail is raised above the head and has a
bell tied at the end of the tail.
Reason For Bell On Tail Of Hanuman
It is believed that Hanuman got the boon to live on earth
forever from Bhagavan Sri Ram. After giving the boon, Sri Ram gave darshan to
Hanuman in the form of Lord Vishnu.
Srihari Vishnu the advised Hanuman to transfer all his
spiritual powers to a bell and tie it on his tail. Those who want favors from
Hanuman can ring the bell and seek it. It is said that the sound of the bell on
the tail of Hanuman is similar to chanting the name of Sri Ram.
It is said that after prayers when a devotee rings the bell,
Hanuman opens his eyes and bless the devotees and helps in fulfillment of their
desires.
It is believed that the posture of Hanuman with bell was adopted by Sri Vyasatirtha for worship and to help devotees.
Hanuman With Bell On Tail Story In Ramayana
When the war in Ramayana was over, several monkeys who were
part of the army of Sri Rama was missing. They were not among the dead or
alive.
A search party was arranged to find out the missing monkeys.
Finally, Hanuman discovered that the monkeys were trapped
under a huge bell.
Hanuman entered his tail through the holder of the bell and
lifted it up.