🚩 Hanuman Jayanti (Chaitra Purnima) Puja Vidhi — step by step
This is the household vidhi — the birth puja at sunrise, Sundarkand-Chalisa in the day, aarti and prasad in the evening; chola and flag at the temple.
How to do Hanuman Jayanti (Chaitra Purnima) — the steps
- Bathe in Brahma Muhurat, wear red/saffron; sankalp — 'I keep the Hanuman Jayanti vrat for the protection of the family and the removal of trouble.' Fruit/one meal during the day (many homes only do the puja, no fast).
- Puja at sunrise (time above — the hour of birth): red cloth on the idol/picture of Hanuman ji (with the Ram Darbar); a water bath, then sindoor and jasmine oil (chola — offered by men where that is the custom), red flowers and garland (marigold-hibiscus), paan-beeda, cloves and cardamom, boondi laddoo/besan laddoo, jaggery-chana; incense and lamp (jasmine/ghee).
- Hanuman Chalisa 1/7/11 times, Bajrang Baan, Sundarkand (complete or collective); 108 chants of 'Om Ham Hanumate Namah'; the name of Rama — dearest of all to Hanuman.
- Listen to the birth story (below); tell the children of Hanuman's childhood leela (swallowing the sun thinking it a fruit); a tilak of Hanuman's sindoor on the foreheads of men and children — protection.
- Temple: offer a flag (red/saffron) at the Hanuman temple, chola, oil and sindoor; distribute boondi prasad and chana-jaggery; a bhandara.
- Charity: red cloth, jaggery-chana, boondi, oil — to the needy/a gaushala; roti and banana to dogs and monkeys.
- Evening: the aarti 'Aarti kije Hanuman lala ki', lamps; Purnima — arghya at moonrise, the Satyanarayan katha (if possible); break the fast.
- Night/next day: the tradition of Sundarkand reading (continue on Tuesdays/Saturdays); share Hanuman ji's prasad until the next day.
Puja samagri checklist
Sindoor, jasmine oil, red flowers, boondi laddoo, paan-beeda — the mark of Hanuman ji's puja.
- Idol/picture of Hanuman ji (with the Ram Darbar), red cloth, wooden seat
- Sindoor, jasmine oil (chola), saffron/red cloth-langot, janeu
- Red flowers (marigold-hibiscus-rose), garland, Tulsi leaves
- Paan-beeda, cloves, cardamom, betel nut, roasted jaggery-chana, boondi/besan laddoo, banana-fruit
- Lamp (ghee/jasmine oil), incense, camphor, aarti thali, bell
- Red/saffron flag (for the temple), roli, akshat, mauli
- Hanuman Chalisa/Sundarkand/Bajrang Baan book, rosary
- Charity: red cloth, jaggery-chana, oil; panjiri and banana if the Satyanarayan katha is held
Boondi laddoo, jaggery-chana, paan-beeda — Bajrangbali's bhog
Hanuman ji loves boondi/besan laddoo, roasted chana-jaggery, banana, paan-beeda (cloves-cardamom-betel nut), malpua and imarti; fruit in the fast, kheer on the Purnima.
- Boondi laddoo (or homemade besan boondi fried in ghee and set in syrup) — the main bhog; besan laddoo, imarti, malpua
- Jaggery with roasted chana, banana-apple, paan-beeda
- Fasting meal: fruit and milk, sabudana, singhara halwa; kheer-poori after the moon arghya on the Purnima
- Temple bhandara: halwa-poori-chana, boondi prasad
- South (Hanuman Jayanti/Janmotsav): vada mala (a garland of vadas), panakam, butter-mishri; Maharashtra: sunthwada, coconut after the oil and sindoor
Rules — do's and don'ts
✅ Do
- Puja at sunrise (the hour of birth) — time above; red/saffron clothes
- Sindoor-jasmine chola, boondi laddoo, paan-beeda; a flag at the temple
- Reading of the Sundarkand/Chalisa — with the family; the name of Rama without fail
- A sindoor tilak for children and men — protection; share jaggery-chana
- Purnima — moon arghya, the Satyanarayan katha
❌ Don't
- Meat, alcohol, anything tamasic in Hanuman worship — strictly forbidden; a day of celibacy
- In many traditions women do not touch the idol with chola and sindoor — offer flowers, bhog and readings (your own custom)
- Not Tulsi alone for Hanuman ji — offer in Rama's name; charanamrit is fine
- No black or white clothes in the puja
- Do not throw removed chola sindoor in the garbage — into water/a plant
Vrat katha
By the boon of Pavan Dev and the penance of Mata Anjani, at sunrise on Chaitra Purnima, Hanuman was born to the monkey-king Kesari — the eleventh Rudra-portion of Shiva, son of the Wind. Hungry as soon as he was born, he… Read the full katha →
Frequently asked questions
When is Hanuman Jayanti in {Y}?
The date at the top is this year's Chaitra Purnima (the North-Indian tradition) — from panchang calculations; the Delhi times for sunrise (the hour of birth) and moonrise are shown too. The date differs in the south, Karnataka and Andhra (Margashirsha/Vaishakha).
Can women worship Hanuman ji?
Yes — flowers, bhog, lamp, Chalisa-Sundarkand and the fast are all fine; in folk tradition, in many places, offering sindoor chola to the idol and touching the feet is done by men (Hanuman is a bal-brahmachari) — it depends on the custom of the home and temple; the shastras do not forbid women's worship.
Why sindoor for Hanuman ji?
Hearing that the sindoor in Sita's parting was for Rama's long life, Hanuman smeared his whole body with it — Rama was pleased and granted that those who offer sindoor and oil would receive his grace; hence the sindoor-jasmine chola.
Hanuman Jayanti or Hanuman Janmotsav?
Many scholars say 'Janmotsav' instead of 'Jayanti' — because Hanuman is a Chiranjeevi (Jayanti is for the departed); both names are in use, the festival is the same.
Hanuman worship for Mangal dosha/Shani affliction?
Hanuman is held to pacify both Mangal and Shani — Hanuman Chalisa on Tuesdays and Saturdays, sindoor and oil, charity of jaggery-chana for Manglik dosha/Sade Sati; taking the vow from the Jayanti is best. See your dosha on the Kundali page.
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