Hanumath Jayanthi
[Lord Anjaneya Swami's Date of Birth]
The age of the Ramayana is still to be identified, and there are many authors who credit different dates to the actual time when the events took place. Each of them advances their reasons for the same after long research. But the original Ramayana of Valmiki gives us the Date of Birth of Lord Rama according to the Hindu calendar, and each one of us celebrates it the same every year. But in the case of Lord Anjaneya, there is no clue about the date of birth according to the Hindu calendar. We should agree to the point that it is not possible to pinpoint the date of birth of such mythological characters either. Therefore, we should leave this to the traditional belief and not go about thrusting our belief and traditions on others in this regard.
In Tamil Nadu, the Hanumath Jayanthi is celebrated on the new moon day of the Markazhi month (Dec-Jan) and on the constellation of the 'Moola' star as per the solar calendar.
In general, many in India believe that Lord Anjaneya was born on the full moon day of the bright fortnight (Sukla Paksha) of the Chaitra lunar month. This is generally celebrated as Hanumath Jayanthi as a practice in part of Andhra, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and some portions of northern India. The Rama Navami falls on Chaitra masa Sukla Navami, and the following full moon, the Hanumath Jayanthi, is celebrated throughout Karnataka and Andhra. In both of these states, the entire sukla paksha of chaitra masa is devoted to Lord Rama, and the celebration is concluded on the full moon day with the Hanumath Jayanthi celebration. As per the incantation of Sri Guru Samartha Ramadasa (who is believed to be the amsa of Maruthi), Maruthi was born in mathu masa (chaitra masa) on full moon day at the sunrise time.
It is interesting to note that the last Jain Teerthankar Mahavir's birthday also falls on the Chaitra masa full moon day. More interestingly, Lord Hanuman is also worshipped as Mahavir in North India.
But in northern Bihar and in portions of Uttar Pradesh, the Hanumath jayanthi is celebrated during the Vishak masa (May-June), krishna paksha, and thasami thithi (tenth day of the waning moon). There is a sloka by name 'Hanumath mangashtakam' in which this has been testified. The origin of this Sloka is not known. Interestingly, in the third sloka of the same astakam, it is stated that Hanuman is married to Swarchala Devi also. Therefore, this sloka may not be the basis on which this part of the people are celebrating the Hanumath Jayanthi in Vishak. In Aliganj, near Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, devotees of Hanuman worship the Lord on the Tuesday following the full moon of Vishak month, known popularly as 'bada mangal'. On that day, the devotees go to the Hanuman temple of Aliganj by walk from Lucknow and nearby places. [For details about these temples in Aliganj, go to the temples section of our site, Old Aliganj Temple and New Aliganj Temple].
According to Sri Agastya Samhita, Sri Anjaneya was born on a Tuesday in Karthika month (November-December), Mesha Lagna, on Krishna Chaturdasi, and in the Swathi constellation.
It is difficult and futile to make known the origin of a rishi, or the river, is the saying. If we can conserve this energy of ours in offering our services to the Lord, we are sure to benefit.
Each day is the Lord's new form.
Each day is His birthday.
Everyday is His birthday.
Let us smaran His name.
|| Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram ||
|| Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram ||
ED [13th January 2002]