Pan-India · March–April
Also known as Hanuman Janmotsav · Anjaneya Jayanti
When it’s celebrated
The exact date shifts each year — it’s fixed from the panchang. Cast your free kundli or check the calendar for this year’s muhurat.
Significance
Hanuman Jayanti celebrates the birth of Lord Hanuman, the mighty monkey god revered as the embodiment of strength, courage, selfless devotion and unwavering service to Lord Rama. Devotees honour him as a remover of troubles and protector against evil, seeking his blessings for strength, fortitude and steadfast bhakti.
The story
Hanuman was born to Anjana, an apsara cursed to be born as a vanara, and Kesari, with the wind god Vayu as his divine father — hence his epithets Anjaneya and Pavanputra. As a child, mistaking the rising sun for a ripe fruit, he leapt into the sky to seize it and was struck by Indra's thunderbolt, but grew to become the supremely powerful and devoted servant of Rama, playing a pivotal role in the Ramayana, including leaping to Lanka to find Sita.
Rituals
Across India
Hanuman Jayanti is observed across India but on different dates by tradition: the Chaitra Purnima date is most widespread in the North; in Maharashtra it is celebrated on the same full moon at sunrise; in Tamil Nadu and Andhra/Telangana it is marked in the months of Margashirsha or Vaishakha; and in Karnataka as Hanuman Vratam. Despite the date variations, the devotion to the deity of strength and service is universal.
Questions
Hanuman Jayanti celebrates the birth of Lord Hanuman, revered for his immense strength, courage and selfless devotion to Lord Rama. Devotees honour him as a protector and remover of troubles.
Lord Hanuman, the mighty monkey god and devoted servant of Rama, is the sole deity worshipped on this day.
The most widely observed Hanuman Jayanti falls on the full moon (Purnima) of Chaitra, usually in March or April, though some regions observe it on other dates. The date follows the Hindu lunar calendar and changes each year.
Devotees recite the Hanuman Chalisa and Sundara Kanda, offer sindoor and oil to Hanuman idols, visit temples, sing bhajans, keep fasts and organise processions and community feasts.
By legend, Hanuman once smeared his whole body with sindoor on learning that Sita applied vermilion for Rama's long life, wishing to ensure his lord's wellbeing entirely. Devotees therefore offer sindoor to his idols as a mark of devotion.
Book a pooja in your name, find the muhurat, or read the day’s panchang — bring the festival into your own practice.
