Hanuman Jayanti is the birthday of Anjaneya, son of Anjana and the wind god Vayu, and the greatest of Rama's devotees. Most of India keeps it on the full moon of Chaitra. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana that full moon begins a forty-one-day vow, the Hanuman Deeksha, and the birthday is celebrated at its end, on the tenth day of the dark half of Vaisakha.
The story
As a child Hanuman leapt at the rising Sun, taking it for a fruit. Indra struck him down with the thunderbolt and broke his jaw, the hanu that gave him his name. Vayu, in grief, withdrew the air from the world until the gods restored the child and each gave him a boon. He forgot his own strength until Jambavan reminded him of it on the shore, before the leap to Lanka.
Tirumala claims him for its own. Anjanadri, one of the seven hills, is held to be where Anjana did her penance and where he was born.
బుద్ధిర్బలం యశో ధైర్యం నిర్భయత్వమరోగతా । అజాడ్యం వాక్పటుత్వం చ హనుమత్స్మరణాద్భవేత్
Wisdom, strength, fame, courage, fearlessness, health, alertness and skill in speech: all come from remembering Hanuman
Said before any undertaking
How it is kept
- Hanuman DeekshaDevotees wear saffron and a mala for forty-one days from Chaitra Pournami, and end the vow at a Hanuman temple on this day.
- Sindooram and betel leavesThe image is covered in orange sindooram and garlanded with tamalapakulu (betel leaves) and with strings of vada.
- RecitationThe Hanuman Chalisa and the Sundara Kanda of the Ramayana are read, the Chalisa often 108 times.
- AppaluSweet jaggery fritters are the offering most associated with him in Telugu homes.
Why this date
In the Telugu calendar Hanumajjayanti is the tenth tithi (Dasami) of the dark half of Vaisakha, given on the day it is in force at sunrise. The Chaitra Pournami date observed elsewhere in India is about forty days earlier.
Hanuman Jayanti in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Thursday | |
| 2026 | Tuesday | |
| 2027 | Monday | |
| 2028 | Friday | |
| 2029 | Wednesday | |
| 2030 | Sunday |
More Telugu festivals
27 MarchSri Rama Navamiశ్రీరామ నవమి
19 AprilAkshaya Tritiyaఅక్షయ తృతీయ
25 JulyTholi Ekadasiతొలి ఏకాదశి
29 JulyGuru Pournamiగురు పౌర్ణమి
19 MarchUgadiఉగాది
21 AugustVaralakshmi Vratamవరలక్ష్మీ వ్రతం
Where to see Hanuman Jayanti
In the Telugu states
- KondagattuTelanganaThe hill temple of Anjaneya near Jagtial, where most of Telangana's Deeksha pilgrims end their vow.
- Anjanadri, TirumalaAndhra PradeshThe hill held to be his birthplace, with the shrine at Japali Teertham in the forest.
- ParitalaAndhra PradeshA 135-foot Anjaneya beside the highway between Vijayawada and Hyderabad, among the tallest in the world.
Across India
- Anjanadri, HampiKarnatakaThe hill above the Tungabhadra that Karnataka holds to be his birthplace, in the Kishkindha of the Ramayana.
- Hanuman Garhi, AyodhyaUttar PradeshThe fortress temple pilgrims visit before they go on to Rama's.
- Sankat Mochan, VaranasiUttar PradeshFounded, by tradition, by Tulsidas, who wrote the Hanuman Chalisa.
- Salasar BalajiRajasthanA Hanuman shown with beard and moustache; its great fair is on the Chaitra full moon.