Hanuman
Hanuman Jayanti
The birth of the son of the wind — strength in service of love.
Tithi: Chaitra Purnima
In the simplest words
Hanuman ji's birthday — the day we celebrate the strongest, humblest hero, who could leap an ocean but bowed to Ram like a child.
The story & purpose
On Chaitra's full moon, Anjana's son was born with the speed of his father the wind. Hanuman is the tradition's proof that the greatest power is the one that bows — strength made humble by devotion.
His story is bhakti's favourite argument: powers that could leap oceans lay forgotten under a curse until someone reminded him who he was — and remembering, he crossed the sea in a sentence. The Chalisa, Tulsidas's forty verses, remains India's most-recited poem for exactly that service: it reminds the reciter, verse by verse, of what devotion makes possible.
What is done
Sunrise darshan
He was born at sunrise — temples begin before dawn.
Chalisa & Sundarkand
Hanuman Chalisa recitations, often 11 or 108, and Sundarkand path.
Sindoor & boondi
Sindoor-chola for the murti; boondi or besan laddoo as naivedya.
Best timings
Early morning (sunrise) puja is the tradition of the day.
Exact muhurat varies by city and tradition — for the precise hour, consult a local panchang for your location.
Worth knowing
South India keeps Hanuman Jayanti on other dates — Margashirsha in some regions.
Tuesdays and Saturdays remain his weekly days across the year.
Jambavan's telling of his birth — Anjana, Kesari, and Vayu's gift — is in Valmiki's Kishkindha Kanda, sarga 66.
Mantras of this festival
Note: Date traditions differ by region; this is the Chaitra Purnima observance.