Sri Hanuman
As baby Anjaneya was sleeping in the cradle, his mother Anjana stepped out to gather some fruits for the child. Quite unexpectedly, the child woke up and feeling very hungry got out of his bed and searched for something to eat. He saw the Sun rising like a red apple. Desiring to pluck it, the baby pounced over the skies to reach the Sun. That was about the time when Raahu was to catch Surya being the day of the Solar eclipse. Finding a rival in Anjaneya, Raahu complained to Indra.
On receiving the call, Indra rushed to the spot mounted on his Airavatam. To Anjaneya’s eyes, Raahu appeared more attractive than the Sun and Airavtam even more so. So, he gave up his ‘hot pursuit’ of the Sun and turned instead to Airavatam. Enraged, Indra struck Anjaneya with his Vajraayudham. Anjaneya’s cheeks got disfigured and he fell down. Incidentally, “Hanu ” means cheek and because of this incident, Anjaneya came to be known as Hanuman.
Vaayu (God of Wind) was overwhelmed with grief on seeing the plight of his dear son who had been mercilessly hit by Indra unmindful of the fact that Anjaneya was a baby. He gathered up his son and hid within a cave. With the movement of air coming to a standstill, the entire world suffered asphyxiation.
The Devas reported the matter to Brahma who rushed to the spot with all the Devas. He gently massaged Hanuman. At the touch of Brahma, Anjaneya regained his normalcy. Brahma told all the Devas that Anjaneya was a Mahapurusha who had a mission to accomplish in assisting Raama in his Avataara Rahasya and ordered that all the Devas should shower their blessings on Anjaneya.
Hanuman’s life is all about serving our master with unswerving faith and devotion. It is said that when Lord Rama was leaving the earth He invited all his followers to join Him, at which point Hanuman is said to have declined the invitation for the simple reason that he always wanted to be His servant and not be one with Him.
The celebration of Hanuman Jayanti commemorates the birth of Hanuman, and varies by time and tradition in each state of India. In most northern states of India, the festival is observed on the full-moon day of the Hindu month of Chaitra (Chaitra Purnima). In Karnataka, Hanuman Jayanti is observed on Shukla Paksha Trayodashi, during the Margashirsha month or in Vaishakha, while in a few states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu, it is celebrated during the month of Dhanu (called Margazhi in Tamil). Sri Ganesha Temple celebrates Hanuman Jayanthi in both the Margazhi and Chaitra Masa with a special abhishekam, alankaram and offerings like the “Vadamala” and Betel leaves Mala.
On every third Tuesday, Sri Hanuman is worshiped, with Abhishekam, and the recitation of Hanuman Chalisa, Nama Ramaynam followed by Archana and Deeparadhana.