Happy Hanumān Jayanti! The birthday of Hanumān is commonly celebrated on the lunar month of Chaitra on Purnima (Full Moon) tithi. We have the tithi starting early on Wednesday, April 5th in London. Hanumān is said to be closely associated with Svāti Nakshatra whose deity is Vāyu (his father), although he was born in Mula. Hanumān is the one who has a pronounced jaw – ( विशिष्ट हनुः अस्य अस्ति इति हनुमान् – viśiṣṭa hanuḥ asya asti iti ). The story goes that he got his jaw disfigured when he was hit with Indra’s Vajra (thunderbolt) as he courageously leapt in the sky to swallow the Sun, mistaking it for a mango. Surya, the solar deity had later become his Guru and taught him the Vedas. Born to an apsara (nymph) Añjanā, he is known as Añjani Putra or Añjaneya. As the son of wind god Vāyu, he is the Māruta putra. He is also a Rudra. Here is a verse from Rāma Raksha Strotram that describes him as the “one who has won over his mind; equals his wind in speed, has won over the control of his senses, best among knowledgeable; is the son of Vāyu, the wind god, is the Chief of the of monkey forces.
मनोजवं मारुततुल्यवेगं
जितेन्द्रियं बुद्धिमतां वरिष्ठम् ।
वातात्मजं वानरयूथमुख्यं
manojavaṃ mārutatulyavegaṃ
jitendriyaṃ buddhimatāṃ variṣṭham |
vātātmajaṃ vānarayūthamukhyaṃ
The one who has perfect balance of mind achieves excellence, therefore we worship Śri Hanumān for excellence, as he is endowed with perfection – the aṣṭa siddhi (described in Pātanjali sūtras). The equanimity of mind is achieved by strongly placing his faith on Śri Rama. Arjuna, the hero of Māhabhārata was called Kapi-Dvaja as he had the insignia of Hanumān on his flag. He too was seeking to hold his restless mind. For increasing our faith and devotion, we worship Śri Hanumān on Tuesdays as Rāma-dūt, the messenger of Śri Ram. We seek to worship him for strength on Saturdays as Vāyu putra. With his help we seek protection against all the known and unknown fears from the malevolent forces that secretly operate within and around us.
Most of all, we should remember him when we underestimate ourselves. Sometimes we are not aware of our own capabilities like Hanumān who was cursed by the Rishis that made him forget his powers in order to end his naughty antics that was disturbing them. He was only reminded much later by Jāmbavān, the King of Bears not to doubt himself and to leap across the sky to Lanka to free Sītā. We too have to take the leap of faith in life, conquering our fears to bring out the best in us.
श्रीरामदूतं शरणं प्रपद्ये ॥
śrīrāmadūtaṃ śaraṇaṃ prapadye ||
I take refuge under the feet of the messenger of Śri Rāma.
The picture is from the image from my collection taken outside the Kala Ram temple in Panchavati.