Hanuman Jayanti

Festival of the god Hanuman’s birthday.
In southern India, this is celebrated on
the full moon in the lunar month of
Chaitra (March–April), whereas in
northern India it is more commonly celebrated on the fourteenth day of the
dark (waning) half of the lunar month of
Kartik (October–November). This latter
date reflects the date of Shivaratri, the
272
Hanuman Chalisa
most important festival of Shiva, which
is celebrated on the fourteenth day of
the waning half of the month Phalgun
(usually in February). The two festivals
are associated because Hanuman is
sometimes deemed an avatar or “incarnation” of Shiva, come to earth to serve
the god-king Rama.
Although Hanuman’s primary mythic importance is as a faithful and powerful servant of Rama, in everyday
religious life Hanuman is a very important deity, with a wide following. His
birthday has no prescribed celebrations,
but usually his devotees (bhakta) often
mark it with worship, festive processions, and devotional reading of religious texts, particularly the Hanuman
Chalisa and the Ramayana.