Introduction Hanuman Jayanthi is the day of birth of Lord Hanuman on earth and it is celebrated with piety all over the country. Hanuman is a great devotee of Lord Rama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the God of protection and perseverance. Also known as Maruthi, he is also a God in his own right. He is monkey-faced and remains as a rare combination of power, courage, scholarship and humility. Hanuman Jayanthi is celebrated on Chaitra Pournima, the full Moon day in the month of Chaitra, that is March-April.
Importance of the Occasion
Hanuman is a Chiranjeevi, that is, the one who lives forever and hence, is believed to be physically present on earth to receive our prayers in person and shower his blessings on us. It is also believed that the prayers made to him on the day of his Jayanthi will be many times more effective and hence people chant the name of the Lord as Shri Hanumate Namaha with faith, as many times as possible on this auspicious day.
Hanuman Jayanthi Celebration
This is a sacred occasion, when people offer worship to Lord Hanuman at home and also in temples with fervour. Hanuman idols are well decorated and many offerings are also made to the deity, which include the specialty called sunthwada, a sweet made of dry ginger. Hanuman is believed to have been born around sunrise time and hence Kirtans consisting of religious discourses and devotional songs, are conducted even before sunrise and are concluded at dawn, the Lord’s time of birth. Then, ritualistic worship is offered to the deity amidst the chanting of hymns. Arti is taken at the end and sacred Prasad is distributed to all the devotees.
The Process of Worship The ceremonial worship of Lord Hanuman has its own laid down procedures. Tuesdays and Saturdays are considered as most auspicious for Maruthi worship, when people in large numbers offer prayers to him in temples. An image of seated Hanuman is said to represent the un-manifested form of the Lord and hence is not normally placed for worship. Instead, people keep the manifested form of the Lord for prayers, so that his energy is manifest and that can destroy negativity. Normally, the idol in a praying posture or the one whose face is turned to the left is worshipped, for getting good spiritual progress. People worship Hanuman by applying Sindoor, the vermillion paste on his body, offering him oil and calotropis leaves, and by breaking coconut before him. These are said to have the capacity to create immense divine consciousness in the devotees.
It is firmly believed that Hanuman worship can mitigate the difficulties caused by the feared planet Saturn. Hence prayers are offered to him especially during the trying period of Saade-Saati, the period of seven and a half years, when the Saturn effect can be most severe. A ritual is done in this regard, when 14 numbers of black urad grains are placed in the oil that is taken in a bowl, and the devotee sees his or her own face in it and then offers the oil to Lord Maruthi, with prayers for freeing him or her from Saturn effects. It is believed that the reflection of the face in the oil transfers the negative energy of the person to the oil and when it is offered to the Lord, all the negativities get destroyed, by the grace of Maruthi.
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