Hanuman Jayanti

When it falls

Chaitra Purnima (the full moon)

• 2026 · Wednesday, 1 April 2026
• 2027 · Tuesday, 20 April 2027

Significance

Hanuman Jayanti celebrates the birth of Hanuman — the monkey-god of the Ramayana, the vanara whose strength is matched only by his devotion to Rama. He is the patron of the strong and the loyal: the one who leapt the ocean, carried a mountain, and asked for nothing in return.

He is loved especially for humility inside power — a being who could do almost anything, content to be of service. For many he is also a guardian against fear and adversity, and Tuesdays and Saturdays are kept in his name.

How it’s observed

The day brings readings of the Hanuman Chalisa, processions, and offerings of sindoor (vermilion) and boondi — Hanuman is depicted smeared in vermilion, from the tale of his coating himself in it out of love for Rama and Sita. Wrestlers and akharas (traditional gymnasiums) hold him as their patron.

The timing, explained

In the north and west, Hanuman Jayanti is kept on Chaitra Purnima — the full moon of the first lunar month. (Several regions observe it on other days — a Margashirsha or Vaishakha reckoning in the south — one of those cases where a single birth is honoured on different days by different traditions.)

Keep reading

• What is Purnima?
• See it on the calendar
• All festivals