Hanuman Jayanti Countdown

Hanuman Jayanti celebrates the birth of Hanuman, the mighty monkey deity of the Ramayana revered as the embodiment of devotion, strength and selfless service. In most of India it falls on Chaitra Purnima, the full moon of the Hindu month of Chaitra (March–April), with temple prayers beginning at sunrise — the hour tradition holds Hanuman was born.

History

Hanuman's story is told in the Ramayana of Valmiki, one of the great Sanskrit epics, composed in the centuries around the start of the common era. He is described as the son of Anjana and the vanara chief Kesari, born with the blessing of Vayu, the wind god — hence his names Anjaneya, "son of Anjana," and Pavanputra, "son of the wind." The epic gives him some of its most beloved episodes: the great leap across the sea to Lanka, the discovery of Sita in the ashoka grove, and the flight that carried an entire Himalayan mountain of healing herbs to save the wounded Lakshmana. Tradition holds that he was born at sunrise on the full moon of Chaitra, which is why his birthday observances begin before dawn. Devotion to Hanuman deepened through the medieval centuries, flourishing especially from the sixteenth century when the poet-saint Tulsidas retold Rama's story in the Ramcharitmanas and composed the Hanuman Chalisa, forty verses in praise of Hanuman that remain among the most recited prayers in India. Hanuman shrines multiplied along roadsides, riverbanks and village gates, where he is honoured as a guardian, and wrestlers and gymnasts adopted him as the patron of their akharas, or training grounds. The festival's date varies by regional calendar, a variance the different traditions have long maintained. North and West India, along with Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, observe the birthday on Chaitra Purnima; in Andhra and Telangana it also opens a forty-one-day Hanuman Deeksha of disciplined devotion. Tamil Nadu keeps Hanumath Jayanthi in the month of Margazhi (December–January), Karnataka observes Hanumad Vrata in Margashirsha, and in Odisha the birthday is honoured at Pana Sankranti, the Odia New Year in mid-April.

Meaning

Hanuman Jayanti honours the qualities Hanuman personifies in Hindu tradition: bhakti, or single-hearted devotion, together with courage, humility and strength placed wholly in the service of others. Though capable of leaping oceans and lifting mountains, Hanuman claims nothing for himself; every feat is performed for Rama, which is why he is held up as the perfect devotee and why his image so often shows him kneeling with folded hands. For devotees the day is a renewal of that ideal. Reciting the Hanuman Chalisa or the Sundara Kanda, fasting, and visiting temples at sunrise are ways of asking for the protection, discipline and fearlessness associated with him. Athletes and wrestlers honour him as the patron of physical culture, while households invoke him as a remover of obstacles and guardian against harm — strength made gentle by devotion.