Hanuman ji
His story, his role in the Ramayana, and what his recurring symbols mean, told for someone who has never encountered any of it before.
The name and the form
Hanuman ji is a central deity of Hindu devotion: a vanara, a being of the forest, part monkey and part man, and the greatest devotee of Rama. His name is sometimes linked to hanu (jaw) and man (prominent), a reminder of the childhood blow that marked his jaw; the word kesariya (saffron) names his coloring and gives this site's name.
He is shown orange or saffron, with a mace (gada) in one hand and, often, an open chest revealing Rama and Sita within. It is a way of saying that devotion holds the divine inside.
The story, in order
Hanuman ji is born to Anjana and the wind god Vayu, which is why he is called the son of the wind and why he can fly. As a child he leaps at the sun, mistaking it for a fruit, and is struck down; the gods grant him powers in apology, then set a condition: he will remember them only when reminded.
He grows up not knowing his own strength. The turning point comes when he meets Rama, the prince of Ayodhya, and recognizes in him the form he was born to serve. From that moment his strength returns, and he becomes Rama's messenger and servant.
Rama's wife Sita has been taken to Lanka by Ravana. Hanuman ji leaps across the ocean, finds her in a grove, and brings back her message and a token. Later he carries a mountain of healing herbs across the sky to save Rama's brother Lakshmana. Finally he fights in the war that frees Sita and ends Ravana's rule.
After the war, Rama returns to Ayodhya and is crowned. Hanuman ji is offered a place at court; he chooses instead to remain where Rama's name is spoken, which is why devotees say his presence lingers wherever Rama is remembered.
His role in the Ramayana
The Ramayana is the epic of Rama, an avatar of Vishnu, and his quest to rescue Sita. Hanuman ji is not the hero of that quest. Rama is. But he is the one who makes it possible: the messenger who finds Sita, the envoy who tries peace first, the warrior who carries the mountain, the servant who asks for nothing but the chance to serve.
That is why devotees turn to him. He is the model of bhakti, devotion without demand, and the one approached for strength, courage, and the removal of obstacles. A stotra addressed to him, such as the Hanuman Chalisa or the Bajrang Baan, is recited with that in mind.
Symbols and terms, glossed in place
- वज्र vajra
- Thunderbolt: the weapon of Indra, and the simile used for Hanuman ji's strike. "Bajrang" (vajra-limbed) is a name built on it.
- गदा gada
- His mace: the weapon he carries, and a sign of strength.
- सिंदूर sindoor
- Vermilion. The story goes that Hanuman ji, seeing Sita apply sindoor for Rama's long life, covered his whole body in it. That is the origin of his orange color, and of offerings of sindoor to him.
- दोहा doha
- A two-line verse form; the Chalisa opens and closes with a doha, with chaupais between.
- चौपाई chaupai
- A four-line verse; the body of the Hanuman Chalisa.
- Awadhi, attributed to Tulsidas
- Awadhi is a language of north India. The Hanuman Chalisa, the Bajrang Baan, and the Sankatmochan Hanuman Ashtak are traditionally attributed to Tulsidas (c. 1532–1623), who also wrote the Ramcharitmanas. "Attributed" means the ascription is traditional rather than documented.
- kesariya
- Saffron: Hanuman ji's color, and this site's name.
Practice
Devotees recite for Hanuman ji on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and on Hanuman Jayanti, whose date varies by region and calendar. See practice guidance and the recitation set.