What Is the Significance of Hanuman’s Different Forms?

Forms of Hanuman 

Hanuman  is depicted as red in color, mostly, and sometimes, black. In the case of red Hanuman, it is because his body is smeared with sindur or vermilion. The black hue could be on account of Shani’s (Saturn) influence. Hanuman is also said to be an incarnation or son of Rudra (Shiva), who has a red complexion. There is a story which offers another explanation for his red color. Once Hanuman noticed Sita applying a red mark at the parting of her hair with sindur. When he asked her for the reason, she replied that she did it for prolonging Rama’s life. As Hanumanh had great love and devotion for Rama, he began to apply sindur all over his body from that day onwards. Another story says that when Hanuman was flying to Lanka with the Dronagiri hills, an arrow struck him, and his leg was injured. When a mixture of sindur and oil was applied to the wound, it healed. Hence, it is said that sindur and oil are dear to Hanuman. Let us find out how many forms Hanuman has and their significance.

Das Maruti and Veer Hanuman

Hanuman’s two popular forms are Das Maruti (Maruti is another name for Hanuman), the servitor, and Veer Hanuman, or the courageous one. In the servitor form, Hanuman stands before Rama in obeisance with folded hands. His tail rests on the ground. As Veer Hanuman, his stance is battle-ready, and his tail is upright. Also, his right hand is turned towards his head. Sometimes, one can also see a demon lying crushed under his feet. Devotees worship Veer Hanuman to get rid of problems like ghosts, evil spirits, evil eye, black magic, etc.

Panchamukhi Hanuman (Hanuman with five faces)

Hanuman also has a five-faced form called Panchamukhi Hanuman. The five faces are those of the eagle (Garuda), boar (Varaha), horse (Hayagriva), lion (Simha), and the monkey or his own face (Kapi). This form of Hanuman has ten arms, holds a flag, a sword, a human head, and other weapons. He keeps guard and controls the 5 directions – North, South, East, West, and the upward direction. Hanuman himself faces the east. Hanuman took this form to rescue Rama and Lakshmana, who were being held captive by Mahiravana, the king of Patala, who was an ally of Ravana. In order to kill Mahiravana, Hanuman had to extinguish 5 lamps simultaneously. It was for this reason he assumed the form of Panchamukhi Hanuman. o The East-facing Hanuman is “Sri Anjaneyaswami Mukha”, who can remove all sins and bestow purity of mind o The South-facing Hanuman is “Sri Narasimhaswami” who removes the fear of enemies and bestows victory. o The West-facing Hanuman is “Sri Mahaviragarudaswami”, who drives away evil spells, black magic influences, etc., and gets rid of all poisonous effects in one’s body. o The North-facing Hanuman is “Sri Lakshmi Varahamurthyswami”, who removes the problems caused by bad planetary influences and bestows prosperity. o The upward-looking Hanuman is “Sri Hayagreevaswami”, who bestows victory, knowledge, progeny, and Mukthi.

Dakshinmukhi Maruti

In this form, his idol’s face is towards the south; hence it is called Dakshinamukhi (dakshin = south, mukhi = face). Such Hanuman idols can be found in Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, etc. (in Maharashtra) and Basavgudi (in Karnataka). Hanuman facing the right side is said to be aggressive (emits energy), like Ganesha with his trunk pointing towards the right. People worship both these forms to overcome the negative effects of distressing energies. In Ganesha and Hanuman, the Sushumna nadi is always active. But when their forms change, there will be some slight variations. Then, either the Surya or Chandra nadi will be activated to some extent.

Half Ganesha and Half Hanuman 

One can see the idol of Adyanta Maha Prabhu, which is half Hanuman and half Vinayaka. At the Adyar Madhya Kailas temple in Chennai, the idol is an amalgam of both these deities in the style of Ardhanareeswara (Shiva and Parvati) and Sankaranarayana (Shiva and Narayana). ‘Aadiyantha’ means 'beginning to end' (aadi is 'beginning', and antha is 'end'). A Tamil saying goes, "Begin with Ganesha and end up with Anjaneya". Devotees visit the temple to invoke the duo’s blessings against the adverse effects of the Navagrahas. The significance of this deity is that Ganesha and Hanuman are the only two deities who are completely free from the influence of the Navagrahas.

 Hanuman Temples

There are many Hanuman temples in India. Here are eight of the most famous Hanuman temples in India  Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Jakhu Temple, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Mahavir Mandir, Patna, Bihar. Bala Hanuman Temple, Jamnagar, Gujarat. Hanuman Mandir, Allahabad, UP. Namakkal Anjaneyar Temple, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu. Hanumangarhi, Ayodhya, UP. Panchamukhi Hanuman Temple, Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu. Jai Hanuman!