Devotee of Rama · Remover of troubles
Hanuman
Hanuman, Rama’s devoted messenger and son of the Wind, is the remover of troubles. Recite his Chalisa, keep his days, and see when to worship him next in your city.
- His days
- Tuesday and Saturday
- Next: Tue 27 Oct
- Next Hanuman day
- Choti Diwali
- In 13 days · Sun 8 Nov
Faces east · Purity and success
Hanuman
His own face, looking east: it clears the mind of wrong and grants success.
Faces south · Fearlessness
Narasimha
The man-lion, looking south: Vishnu’s fiercest form, who takes away the fear of enemies and gives victory.
Faces west · Protection
Garuda
The eagle, Vishnu’s mount, looking west: said to guard against poison, black magic and harm.
Faces north · Prosperity
Varaha
The boar, Vishnu’s avatar who lifted the earth from the waters, looking north: he gives wealth and plenty.
Looks up · Knowledge
Hayagriva
The horse-headed form of Vishnu, looking up to the sky: the giver of knowledge and wisdom.
Hanuman took this five-faced form, Panchamukhi, to rescue Rama and Lakshmana from Ahiravana, Ravana’s brother and a sorcerer of the underworld. Ahiravana’s life was held in five lamps burning in five directions, which had to be put out at once, so Hanuman blew out all five together. Tap a lamp to meet each face. Sources differ a little on which way each face looks; this is the common reading.
His days, in your city
Dates and puja times for the city you pick
For New Delhi
The Chaturdashi before Diwali’s new moon, kept as his birthday in Ayodhya and parts of North India.
- Every Tuesday and Saturday
- Tue 27 OctHis days of the week
- Ram Navami
- Thu 15 Apr11:04 am to 1:39 pm
- Hanuman Jayanti
- Tue 20 Apr
Recite the Hanuman Chalisa
जय हनुमान ज्ञान गुन सागर।
जय कपीस तिहुँ लोक उजागर॥
Jai Hanuman gyan gun sagar,
Jai Kapis tihun lok ujagar.
Victory to Hanuman, ocean of wisdom and virtue. Victory to the lord of the vanaras, who lights up the three worlds.
हनुमान जी की जय, जो ज्ञान और गुणों के सागर हैं। वानरों के स्वामी की जय, जिनका उजाला तीनों लोकों में फैला है।
Forty chaupais between opening and closing dohas, by Goswami Tulsidas: recited on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and in times of trouble.
Read the whole ChalisaHis prayers
- Hanuman Chalisa40 verses by TulsidasRead
- Hanuman AartiAarti kije Hanuman lala ki, sung at the end of pujaRead
- Sankat Mochan Hanuman AshtakEight verses for times of troubleSoon
- Bajrang BaanA prayer for protectionSoon
- 108 names of HanumanFor japa with a malaSoon
A simple Tuesday puja
Tuesday and Saturday are Hanuman’s days. Many visit his temple, and many keep a short puja at home or a fast until evening. Follow your family’s way where it differs.
- Clean the place of worship and set his image, often with Rama and Sita, on a red cloth.
- Light a lamp of ghee or sesame oil, and incense.
- Offer sindoor mixed with jasmine oil, red flowers and a garland.
- Offer boondi laddoos, or jaggery and roasted gram, as naivedya.
- Recite the Hanuman Chalisa, once or 7 or 11 times, or chant Om Ham Hanumate Namah.
- Wave the lamp in his aarti, then share the prasad.
What you need
- An image of Hanuman, or of Rama with Hanuman
- A lamp with ghee or sesame oil
- Sindoor and jasmine oil
- Red flowers and a garland
- Boondi laddoos, or jaggery and roasted gram
- The Hanuman Chalisa, to read from
Prayers for the puja
- Hanuman ChalisaRead
Who is Hanuman
Hanuman is the great devotee of Rama in the Ramayana. Son of Anjana and Kesari, and blessed by Vayu, the god of the wind, he is worshipped as the model of strength, courage and selfless service.
He serves without asking anything for himself, and this is why devotees turn to him in difficult times. Many traditions regard him as a form of Shiva, and he is counted among the Chiranjivis, the immortals said to live on wherever Rama’s name is sung.
His name is said to come from hanu, the jaw. As a child he leapt at the rising sun, thinking it was a ripe fruit, and Indra’s thunderbolt struck him on the jaw.
- Bajrangbali one whose body is as strong as a thunderbolt
- Pavanputra son of Vayu, the Wind
- Anjaneya son of Anjana, the name used across South India
- Maruti the name used in Maharashtra
- Sankat Mochan remover of troubles
- Kesari Nandan son of Kesari
ॐ हं हनुमते नमः
Om Ham Hanumate Namah
Om, and Ham, his seed sound: I bow to Hanuman.
ॐ, और उनका बीज मंत्र हं: हनुमान जी को मेरा नमन।
मनोजवं मारुततुल्यवेगं जितेन्द्रियं बुद्धिमतां वरिष्ठम्।
वातात्मजं वानरयूथमुख्यं श्रीरामदूतं शरणं प्रपद्ये॥
Manojavam maruta-tulya-vegam, jitendriyam buddhimatam varishtham,
Vatatmajam vanara-yutha-mukhyam, Shri Rama-dootam sharanam prapadye.
I take refuge in Shri Rama’s messenger: swift as the mind and fast as the wind, master of the senses, wisest of the wise, son of the Wind and leader of the vanara army.
मैं श्री राम के दूत की शरण लेता हूँ: जो मन जितने तेज़ और पवन जैसे वेगवान हैं, इन्द्रियों को जीतने वाले, बुद्धिमानों में सबसे श्रेष्ठ, पवन के पुत्र और वानर सेना के नायक हैं।
Ashta Siddhi, his eight powers
From the Hanuman Chalisa
Becoming as small as an atom
Anima
He made himself as small as a cat to slip into Lanka by night unseen, and as small as a thumb to escape from Surasa’s mouth.
Becoming vast
Mahima
He grew as tall as a mountain before Surasa, and showed Sita his true size so that she would trust his strength.
Becoming heavy
Garima
In the Mahabharata an old monkey lay across Bhima’s path, and the strong Bhima could not lift its tail: it was Hanuman.
Becoming light
Laghima
Light as the wind, his father, he crossed the ocean to Lanka in a single leap.
Reaching anywhere
Prapti
He flew from Lanka to the Himalayas and back in a single night to bring the Sanjivani herb for Lakshmana.
Gaining whatever is willed
Prakamya
The search parties sent east, west and north came back without her; he found Sita: what he set out to do for Rama, he did.
Lordship over nature
Ishitva
When Ravana’s guards set his tail alight, the fire did not burn him, and he set Lanka ablaze instead.
Mastery of all, and of oneself
Vashitva
Jitendriya, master of the senses: a lifelong brahmachari, he is the model of self-control.
अष्ट सिद्धि नौ निधि के दाता।
अस बर दीन जानकी माता॥
Ashta siddhi nau nidhi ke data,
As bar deen Janaki mata.
You can grant the eight powers and the nine treasures, a boon given to you by Mother Sita.
आप आठ सिद्धियाँ और नौ निधियाँ दे सकते हैं। यह वरदान आपको माता सीता ने दिया है।
Tap a power to see how it shows in his story.
What his symbols mean
The mace (gada)
Strength used in service of what is right.
The mountain
He carried the whole Dronagiri mountain to bring the Sanjivani herb for Lakshmana: help that arrives in time.
Sindoor
Seeing Sita wear sindoor for Rama’s long life, he covered his whole body in it. Devotees still offer it to him.
Rama and Sita in his heart
Devotion so complete that the Lord lives inside the devotee.
His stories
Across India
North India
Tuesdays and Saturdays at Hanuman temples, with sindoor and laddoos. In Lucknow the Tuesdays of Jyeshtha are Bada Mangal, with food given out across the city.
Ayodhya
Hanuman Garhi, on its hill above the city, is by custom visited before Rama’s temple, and keeps his birthday on the Chaturdashi before Diwali.
Maharashtra
A Maruti temple stands at the edge of almost every village, and Hanuman Jayanti is kept at sunrise, the hour of his birth.
Tamil Nadu
Hanumath Jayanthi falls in the month of Margazhi, and at Namakkal and other temples he is garlanded with vadai.
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
Many keep a 41-day Hanuman deeksha, ending on Hanuman Jayanti in Vaishakha.
Beyond India
In Trinidad an 85-foot Hanuman stands at Carapichaima, and his Chalisa is recited wherever Hindus live.
His temples
- Sankat Mochan Hanuman TempleVaranasi, Uttar Pradesh
- Hanuman GarhiAyodhya, Uttar Pradesh
- Salasar BalajiChuru, Rajasthan
- Mehandipur BalajiDausa, Rajasthan
- Jakhoo TempleShimla, Himachal Pradesh
- Anjanadri HillNear Hampi, Karnataka, one of the places named as his birthplace
Questions
When is Hanuman Jayanti in 2027?
Hanuman Jayanti is on Tuesday 20 April 2027 in New Delhi. Pick your city at the top of this page for its own date and muhurat.
Which days are Hanuman’s?
Tuesday and Saturday. Many visit his temple, keep a fast or recite the Hanuman Chalisa on these days; worship on Saturday is also said to ease the trouble of Shani, the planet Saturn.
What is Hanuman’s mantra?
Om Ham Hanumate Namah, often chanted 108 times on a mala. Ham is his seed sound (bija).
Why is sindoor offered to Hanuman?
Seeing Sita wear sindoor for Rama’s long life, he covered his whole body in it. Devotees still offer him sindoor mixed with jasmine oil.
What is Panchamukhi (Panchmukhi) Hanuman?
His five-faced form: Hanuman, Narasimha, Garuda, Varaha and Hayagriva, looking east, south, west, north and up. He took it to blow out five lamps at once and defeat Ahiravana in the underworld.
How many times should the Hanuman Chalisa be recited?
Once is enough. Many recite it 7, 11 or 108 times on Tuesdays and Saturdays; the Chalisa itself speaks of reciting it a hundred times.