Hanuman Jayanti 2027: Date, Sunrise Puja and the Story of Hanuman’s Birth

Hanuman’s birth and his story

Hanuman is the son of Anjana and the vanara chief Kesari, and through the blessing of Vayu, the wind god, he is also called Pavanputra and Maruti; many traditions regard him as an incarnation of Shiva. A well-known childhood story explains his name. Seeing the rising Sun, the infant took it for a ripe fruit and sprang into the sky to seize it. Indra struck him with his vajra (thunderbolt), injuring his jaw, hanu in Sanskrit. When the grieving Vayu withdrew the air from the world, the gods revived the child and showered him with boons of strength and protection.

In the Ramayana he becomes Rama’s most devoted servant. He leaps the ocean to find Sita in Lanka and gives her Rama’s ring as a token, and when Lakshmana lies wounded in battle he flies to the Himalaya and, unable to single out the sanjeevani herb, carries back the whole Dronagiri mountain. Strength placed entirely in the service of devotion is what Hanuman stands for, and his birthday celebrates exactly that.

Many calendars and temples now prefer the name Hanuman Janmotsav (birth festival) to Hanuman Jayanti, because tradition counts Hanuman among the chiranjivi, the ever-living, and holds that he is present wherever Rama’s story is told. Both names refer to the same observance.

How the Hanuman Jayanti date is fixed

In North India, Hanuman Jayanti falls on Chaitra Purnima, the full moon that completes the bright half of Chaitra. It usually comes between late March and late April, six tithis after Ram Navami. A full-moon day carries the same month name in purnimanta and amanta calendars, so Chaitra Purnima is the label in both.

Because Hanuman is held to have been born at sunrise, the rule follows the udaya tithi: the festival is kept on the day when Purnima prevails at sunrise. A full moon can begin in the afternoon of one day and end before the next sunrise, or touch two sunrises, and panchangs may then settle on different days. That, together with the separate regional dates described below, is why “Hanuman Jayanti kab hai” can bring more than one answer. The date and Purnima timings on this page apply the sunrise rule to New Delhi.

Hanuman Jayanti puja vidhi

Devotees rise before dawn, bathe and reach the temple or home shrine by sunrise. After a sankalp, Rama is remembered first, since tradition holds that Hanuman is most pleased when his lord is honoured. The image of Hanuman is then offered chola, sindoor (vermilion) mixed with jasmine oil and spread over the murti, usually by the temple priest. A folk story explains the custom: seeing Sita apply sindoor for Rama’s long life, Hanuman smeared his whole body with it.

Red flowers, a red cloth or sacred thread, and a lamp of ghee or jasmine oil follow. The bhog is simple: boondi laddoo, roasted gram with jaggery, and bananas. Then come the recitations: the Hanuman Chalisa, often repeated 11 or 108 times, the Sundarkand of the Ramcharitmanas, which narrates Hanuman’s journey to Lanka, and the Bajrang Baan. Aarti and the sharing of prasad close the puja.

Later in the day many towns see processions with images of Hanuman, saffron flags and devotional music, and temples run bhandaras, free community meals. Those who fast usually break it in the evening or the next morning, after first offering the food to the deity.

Traditional dos and don’ts

The day is kept with a discipline that mirrors Hanuman’s own. Traditionally devotees observe celibacy, eat only sattvic food and keep meat, alcohol and tobacco away. Many fast until evening on fruit and milk; tradition allows a lighter fast for the elderly, the unwell, children and expectant mothers. Clean clothes, red or saffron where possible, are worn for the puja.

Temples keep their own customs, especially around the chola offering, which in many places only the priest makes, and devotees traditionally respect those rules. Service is part of the day, whether feeding people at a bhandara or giving to those in need. People try to steer clear of anger, falsehood and arguments, in keeping with a deity remembered as much for humility as for strength.

Regional dates and famous temples

Hanuman’s birthday is unusual in having several dates. Ayodhya and some North Indian traditions celebrate it on Kartika Krishna Chaturdashi, the eve of Diwali. Tamil Nadu keeps Hanumath Jayanthi on the new moon of the Tamil month of Margazhi, with Moola nakshatra, and in Karnataka devotees observe Hanuman Vratam on Margashirsha Shukla Trayodashi. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana a 41-day deeksha begins on Chaitra Purnima and ends with Hanuman Jayanti on Vaishakha Krishna Dashami, while Odisha honours Hanuman’s birth on Pana Sankranti, the Odia new year, when the Sun enters Aries.

Certain temples draw especially large crowds: Hanumangarhi in Ayodhya; Sankat Mochan in Varanasi, which tradition links with Tulsidas; Salasar Balaji and Mehandipur Balaji in Rajasthan; and Jakhu on the hilltop above Shimla, where Hanuman is said to have paused on his way to fetch the sanjeevani. In the South the towering Anjaneyar of Namakkal is adorned with a vada-mala, a garland of vadas, and devotees in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh offer garlands of betel leaves.

Astrological significance

The festival falls on Purnima, a Purna (“full”) tithi whose classical deity is Chandra, the Moon. With the Sun in late Pisces (Meena) or early Aries (Mesha), the full Moon stands opposite in Virgo (Kanya) or Libra (Tula), most often in Hasta, Chitra or Swati nakshatra. Chitra, near which this full moon falls, gives the month of Chaitra its name.

The sunrise rule ties Hanuman closely to Surya. Besides the childhood leap at the Sun, tradition makes Surya his teacher, so the dawn hour of his birthday carries a double meaning. Hanuman is also worshipped every week on Tuesday, the day of Mars (Mangal), and on Saturday, the day of Saturn (Shani).

Folk tradition tells that Hanuman freed Shani from Ravana’s captivity and that the grateful Shani promised not to trouble Hanuman’s devotees. For that reason many people who believe they are passing through a hard Saturn period, such as Sade Sati, turn to the Hanuman Chalisa on Saturdays. This is a matter of faith and custom rather than a remedy with promised results, and the festival itself remains, above all, a day of devotion.