Panchamukha Hanuman
The five-faced form (Hanuman, Narasimha, Garuda, Varaha, Hayagriva) - protection from all directions.
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God of strength, devotion, courage and selfless service; the perfect devotee and remover of afflictions.
Who Hanuman is
Hanuman is the vanara (divine monkey) hero of the Ramayana - son of the wind-god Vayu, foremost devotee of Rama, and the very model of bhakti: boundless strength placed entirely in the service of the Lord. He leapt across the ocean to find Sita, carried the mountain of healing herbs, and burned Lanka - yet his greatest power is humility before Rama.
What Hanuman embodies
He embodies dasya-bhakti - devotion as joyful servitude - and the union of strength with surrender. A Chiranjivi (immortal), he is present wherever the Ramayana is sung. He represents the disciplined prana (breath/life-force, being Vayu’s son) mastered and offered to the Self (Rama).
Birth & origin
Hanuman was born to Anjana, an apsara cursed to monkey-form, and the vanara king Kesari, conceived by the grace of Vayu (the wind-god) - hence Pavanaputra and Anjaneya. As an infant, mistaking the rising sun for a fruit, he leapt to seize it; Indra struck him with the vajra, breaking his jaw (hanu) - giving him the name Hanuman. The gods then blessed him with their powers and near-invincibility, though a sage’s boon made him forget his strength until reminded - which is why he must be roused to his full might.
When: Treta Yuga (the age of Rama); a Chiranjivi who lives on into every age.
Family & vahana
Parents
Anjana (mother) and Kesari (father); Vayu as his divine father.
Vahana (mount)
None - he is himself the swiftest of travelers, leaping the skies.
Iconography
A powerful vanara, vermilion-hued and saffron-clad, bearing a mace (gada), often tearing open his chest to reveal Rama and Sita enshrined in his heart, or kneeling in devotion with folded hands; sometimes flying with the Sanjivani mountain. Strength rippling, eyes soft with bhakti.
Forms & aspects
Veera Hanuman
The heroic warrior leaping to Lanka.
Dasa Hanuman
The humble servant kneeling before Rama - the heart of his worship.
Bala Hanuman
The child reaching for the sun.
Key stories
The leap to Lanka
Reminded of his power by Jambavan, Hanuman grew vast and leapt a hundred yojanas across the ocean to find Sita in Lanka - bearing Rama’s ring, consoling her, and surveying the enemy. Devotion remembered becomes limitless strength.
The Sanjivani mountain
When Lakshmana lay mortally wounded, Hanuman flew to the Himalayas for the healing herb; unable to identify it, he carried back the entire mountain - service that refuses to fail for want of cleverness.
Rama in his heart
Asked why he wore Sita’s pearls, Hanuman bit each one, finding no Rama within, and discarded them; then he tore open his chest to show Rama and Sita enthroned in his heart - devotion that values only the Lord’s presence.
Mantras
ॐ हनुमते नमः
Om Hanumate Namah
The simple invocation of strength and protection.
ॐ ऐं ह्रीं हनुमते रामदूताय नमः
Om Aim Hreem Hanumate Ramadutaya Namah
Invoking him as Rama’s messenger; the Hanuman Chalisa is his beloved 40-verse hymn.
Major temples
Sankat Mochan (Varanasi)Hanuman Garhi (Ayodhya)Salasar & Mehandipur Balaji (Rajasthan)Namakkal Anjaneyar (Tamil Nadu)Jakhu (Shimla)
Festivals
Hanuman JayantiTuesdays & Saturdays (his days)recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa
How Hanuman is worshipped
Worshipped on Tuesdays and Saturdays with sindoor (vermilion) and oil, betel-leaf garlands, the Hanuman Chalisa and Sundara Kanda, and offerings of laddus. Reciting the Chalisa is said to dispel fear, affliction, and evil.
The teaching
Strength is fulfilled only in service and devotion; the ego that forgets its own power until called to serve is the humble heart. Hanuman teaches that the breath (prana) mastered and offered to the Self, with Rama-nama on the lips, makes a devotee fearless and limitless.