Deity of Swati Nakshatra – Vayu – The Wind God
Lord Hanuman and Bheema – Sons of Vayu

Story of Lord Hanuman and Bheema

During the exile of pandavas in the forest, Draupadi felt a deep desire to possess a flower known as Saugandhika.
She requested bheema to get her that flower. Bheema obliged and walked towards the dense forest from where the fragrance was coming. On his way, he saw a huge monkey resting on his path, blocking
his way. He asked the monkey to get up and clear the way for him. The monkey was in no
mood to oblige. Bheema became arrogant and tried to tell the monkey who he was, and why the monkey should just clear the path for him. He went on to boast about his powers as the son of vayu and brother of Lord Hanuman. Bheema’s words did not have any impact on the monkey, instead the monkey challenged bheema to lift it’s tail and continue towards his destination. Bheema felt humiliated, but he did not have a choice, so he tried to life the tail – but to his surprise he was not able to! Bheema grew impatient, and frustrated – with all his strength he tried it for one last time, and failed again!
He accepted his defeat and pleaded the monkey to tell him who he was, because he understood that he was not just an ordinary monkey.
Lord Hanuman said – “Bheema, I am that Hanuman, your brother. The path ahead is dangerous, i know you have come for the flower, i will show you the pond from where you can collect the flower. I just came to caution you.”
Bheema was filled with tears – and hugged Lord Hanuman – he also requested Lord Hanuman to show his huge form. Lord Hanuman obliged and grew to the size of the entire landscape.
Then Lord Hanuman blessed Bheema and embraced him before he took leave and said the following –
“When you roar like a lion on the battle field, my voice shall join yours and strike terror in the hearts of
your enemies. I will be there on the flag of the chariot of Arjuna .May you be victorious!”

This story resonates very well with Swati Nakshatra.
Sva – means ego, “I”ness. Svati can be translated as the independent one.
Svati’s symbol is a flower bud swaying against the wind. The other symbol for svati is “Coral” – coral is self made and requires very less help from its surrounding to grow. And this adheres with the individuality of this Nakshatra.
While this individuality can be very positive, sometimes it can lead to “ego” – Bheema was very strong and powerful, but his ego was one of his biggest weakness, thus in this story Lord Hanuman in a very loving way teaches his brother by stripping him of his ego and making him humble.