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Festival Calendar

Hanuman Jayanti 2026

Birth anniversary of Hanuman on Chaitra Purnima.

Hanuman Jayanti 2025Hanuman Jayanti 2027
Hanuman Jayanti 2026 date
Thursday, 2 April 2026
Tithi: Chaitra Purnima
Tithi window: 07:12 AM, Wednesday, 1 April 2026 → 07:45 AM, Thursday, 2 April 2026
See the full panchang for Thursday, 2 April 2026

Today's Panchang

Kashi reference · computed live
Tithi
Saptami
till 20:47
Nakshatra
Ashwini
till 21:21
Yoga
Shula
Karana
Vishti
Sunrise
05:26
Sunset
18:41
Moon sign
Aries
Sun sign
Cancer

Muhurat & timings

Kashi/IST · astronomically computed
  • Sankalp (sunrise)05:48
  • Sunset18:14
  • Fasting window (tithi)2026-04-01 · 07:12 → 07:45
  • Parana (tithi ends)07:45

The significance of Hanuman Jayanti

Hanuman Jayanti marks the birth of Hanuman — son of the wind, servant of Rama, and the deity most turned to for strength, courage and protection. In the north it falls on the Purnima of Chaitra; several regions keep it on other days, but the Chaitra full moon is the most widely observed.

Hanuman is the rare god worshipped for what he gives others rather than himself. He asks nothing, owns nothing, and carries Rama's name as his whole wealth. To keep his day is to ask for the same: the strength that serves, not the strength that rules.

His worship is simple and physical — sindoor, chameli oil, a red flag, the Chalisa read aloud — because Hanuman is the god of doing, and his day is kept in effort more than in ceremony.

Hanuman Jayanti puja vidhi

  1. 1Clean the space and place an image of Hanuman, ideally facing him toward an image of Rama.
  2. 2Light a lamp of chameli or til oil and offer red flowers, especially marigold and moli thread.
  3. 3Apply sindoor to Hanuman — the offering he is said to love most, recalling how he smeared it over his body for Sita's long-married life.
  4. 4Offer a bhog of laddu, boondi or besan, and a paan.
  5. 5Read the Hanuman Chalisa, then the Bajrang Baan or Sundarkanda; close with aarti.
  6. 6Give the prasad to all, and do some act of service — feeding, cleaning, or helping — in his name.

Mantra

ॐ हं हनुमते नमः

Om Ham Hanumate Namah

Salutations to Hanuman — with the seed-sound of his boundless energy.

Vrat rules

  • Rise before dawn, bathe, and begin with the sankalpa to keep the day in Hanuman's name.
  • The fast is usually phalahar — fruit, milk and a single satvik meal; grains and salt are avoided by many.
  • The Hanuman Chalisa is read, often forty times, and the Sundarkanda is recited or heard.
  • Sindoor mixed with chameli (jasmine) oil is offered to the murti, and a red flag or bunting is common.
  • Celibacy, truthful speech and physical service (shram-daan) are kept through the day.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Assuming a single date — Hanuman Jayanti falls on Chaitra Purnima in the north but on other days in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
  • Bringing non-vegetarian food, onion or garlic near the worship, or breaking brahmacharya on the vrat day.
  • Using ordinary red powder instead of sindoor mixed with chameli (jasmine) oil, the offering Hanuman is said to love.
  • Reading the Chalisa carelessly or in haste rather than with attention — the day is about devotion in effort.

The vrat katha of Hanuman Jayanti

Anjana, an apsara born as a vanara, prayed long to Shiva for a son. As she worshipped, the wind-god Vayu carried to her a share of the sacred payasam meant for Dasharatha's queens, and Hanuman was born of Shiva's grace and the wind's strength.

As a child he saw the rising sun and, mistaking it for a ripe fruit, leapt to swallow it. Indra struck him down with the vajra, breaking his jaw — hanu — and from that the name Hanuman. Vayu, grieved, withdrew the air from the worlds until the gods relented and blessed the child with a boon each: indestructibility, freedom to choose his death, immunity to weapons. So was made the one being strong enough to leap the ocean and carry a mountain, who chose to spend all of it in another's service.

Hanuman Jayanti timeline

  1. Pre-dawn

    Devotees bathe and begin with the Hanuman Chalisa; many keep a phalahar fast for the day.

  2. Sunrise — the birth

    In the northern tradition Hanuman's birth is marked at sunrise on the Chaitra Purnima; the murti receives the sindoor-chola.

  3. Through the day

    The Chalisa is read forty times, the Sundarkanda and Bajrang Baan recited; Hanuman temples hold continuous kirtan.

  4. Aarti & prasad

    Laddu, boondi and paan are offered and shared; an act of seva in Hanuman's name closes the day.

Famous places & temples

Salasar & Mehandipur Balaji, Rajasthan

Two of the most thronged Hanuman shrines — Salasar for the bearded Balaji, Mehandipur for its rites against affliction.

Sankat Mochan, Varanasi

Founded in the tradition of Tulsidas, who is said to have had darshan of Hanuman here; vast crowds and a famous music festival.

Anjanadri / Hampi, Karnataka

Held by many to be Hanuman's birthplace in ancient Kishkindha, marked by the hilltop Anjaneya temple.

Jakhu Temple, Shimla

A hilltop shrine with one of the tallest Hanuman statues, tied to the Sanjeevani episode of the Ramayana.

Interesting facts

  • ◆Hanuman's birthday is kept on different days across India — Chaitra Purnima in the north, Kartik Krishna Chaturdashi in parts of the west, and a Margashirsha day in Tamil Nadu.
  • ◆He is one of the chiranjivi, the immortals held to be still present wherever the Ramayana is recited.
  • ◆The sindoor offering comes from the story of Hanuman smearing his whole body with it on seeing Sita apply it for Rama's long life.
  • ◆Panchmukhi (five-faced) Hanuman, worshipped in some temples, unites the faces of Hanuman, Narasimha, Garuda, Varaha and Hayagriva.

Common questions

When is Hanuman Jayanti?

In North India it is kept on the Purnima (full moon) of Chaitra. Maharashtra keeps the same day; Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra observe it on different days, so the date depends on region. This year's Chaitra Purnima date is shown above.

Why is sindoor offered to Hanuman?

Custom recalls that Hanuman, seeing Sita apply sindoor for Rama's long life, smeared it over his whole body out of devotion. Sindoor mixed with chameli oil is therefore his most loved offering.

How many times is the Hanuman Chalisa read?

There is no fixed rule, but reading it forty times (or in multiples) on the day is a common vow, along with the Sundarkanda and Bajrang Baan.

Festival days follow the classical attribution rules — udaya (sunrise), pradosha (evening), nishita (midnight), madhyahna or aparahna vyapini as each festival prescribes — computed for Kashi/Varanasi (IST). Regional observance can differ by a day in some years.

Other major festivals in 2026