| Hanuman, the monkey 
        God is considered Chiranjeevi (will live eternally).  He is stong, full 
        of valour, with various skills and powers.  At the same time , he is 
        wise, a great gnani, a yogi, a brahmachari.  He had the one thought only 
        - that of serving his Lord Rama with utmost humility and devotion.  He 
        is known as Siriya Thiruvadi. He is considered to be an amsam of Lord 
        Siva.   He is known by 
        various names  Hanuman - (His jaw & cheek had gone in 
        when struck by the Vajrayudha of Indra)
 Anumandhayya - (in Karnataka)
 Aanjaneyalu - (in Andhra Pradesh)
 Aanjaneyan - (for he is the son of Anjana)
 Maruthi - ( son of Vaayu - in Maharashtra)
 Anumandhan
 Vaayunandhan
 Kesarinandhanan
 Aadhitasishyan
 Siriya Thiruvadi (for he was the vahanam 
        for Rama)
 He is worshipped in 
        the temples as Bhaktha Hanuman & Veera Hanuman.  He is seen seated 
        humbly in front of Rama vigrahmas in the Rama sannadhis.  There are also 
        separate temples for Hanuman.  As Bhaktha Hanuman he is seen holding 
        both hands together in prayer.  He is seen as Veera Hanuman, holding the 
        mace in one hand & the sanjeevi Parvatham in the other.   Devotees are blessed 
        with courage, valour, wisdom, gnanam.  He is very happy when he hears 
        the Rama namam.  Hence repeating the Raama namam is the best way to get 
        his blessings.   His life 
        Hanuman or Anjaneya is the son of Anjana 
        Devi.  She was once a celestial maiden & was born as a monkey-woman as a 
        result of a curse.  She was living happily with her husband Kesari.  
        When king Dasaratha performed a yagna praying for off-springs, he was 
        yielded a pot of payasam(pudding) from the yaga fire.  His wives shared 
        the prasada & thus Rama, Lakshmana, Bharatha & Shatrugana were born.  A 
        portion of this payasam was carried by the Lord of winds - Vayu Deva & 
        fell in the hands of Anjana Devi and she gave birth to a lovely & strong 
        son.  Since Vayu Deva was responsible for the payasam reaching Anjana, 
        he is also considered the father of Hanuman. (Vayu Puthran Hanuman).
 He grew up as a strong 
        & mischievous young lad.  He could travel as fast as the wind.  He 
        mistook the glowing sun to be a fruit & flew upto the sky & reached for 
        the sun.  Such was his might & will power even as a child.  Lord Indra 
        was upset & strcuk Anjaneya with his thunderbolt (Vajraayudham).  Vaayu 
        Deva was upset that his son was struck & he stopped blowing.  The whole 
        world was in trouble without winds.  All the Gods offered various 
        powerful boons to Anjaneya, thus making him more powerful & invincble 
        than before.  Vayu Bhagavan was pleased & started his work again. 
         Anjaneya was causing 
        trouble to the rishis & others, not really realising the might his 
        powerful & playful actions.  The angered rishis curesed him that he 
        would cease to realise & recognise his powers unless someone remnded him 
        of it.  This calmed him down & he started his lessons with the rishis.  
        He wanted to learn from Surya Bhagavan who is eternally travelling.  The 
        mighty Hanuman travelled with Surya at his speed and mastered all the 
        scriptures.  As Guru dakshina Anjaneya agreed to serve Sukriva, the son 
        of Surya.  He thus became a trusted and valued minister of Sugreeva, a 
        monkey king.   He played a major role 
        in the happenings in Ramayana, the great epic. When Rama was banished 
        from his kingdom Ayodhya by his mother Kaikeyi, he reached the forests 
        with his wife Sita & borther Lakshmana.  Sugreeva with his army & 
        Hanuman was in hiding from his brother Vaali.  Hanuman met Rama & 
        thereafter was with Rama forever.  When Sita Devi was abducted by Ravana, 
        the demon king, he flew across the oceans & found Sita Devi in the 
        Ashoka vanam in Lanka.  He consoled Sita Devi and set fire to Lanka, 
        destorying many asuras.  He served as the emissary of peace to Ravana's 
        court.  He assisted Rama in crossing the ocean by building the sethu 
        bridge along with his vanara freinds.  During the war he flew to bring 
        the Sanjeevi mountain, full of medicinal herbs to revive Lakshmana who 
        had fallen.  When the victorious Rama returned to Ayodhya & was crowned 
        king, he continued to serve him, ever at his service.   He featured in the 
        other epic Mahabaratha.  He stood by the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra 
        war.  He stabilised and protected Arjuna's chariot by being present in 
        the flag flying in the chariot.  He was thus honoured with witnessing 
        the Geetopadhesam firsthand.   Worship & 
        offerings  Anjaneyar is worshipped with offerings of 
        butter & Vadaimalai (a garland of vadais).  Butter is applied to the 
        mouth & tail of Hanuman vigrahams in temples.  Devotees pray to the Lord 
        & apply dots of kumkumam to his tail from the starting point to the tip 
        of the tail to pictures at home.
 
 Some of the 
        Hanuman temples/sannadhis in India  There are separate temples just for 
        Hanuman & also separate shrine for him in some of the Vishnu & Siva 
        temples.
 Tirupati 
        The Hanuman sannadhi is just opposite the 
        Venkatachalapthi's sannadhi
 Sholingapuram 
        Hanuman temple is situated on a hill 
        opposite to the the hill on which is the temple for Narasinga Perumal.  
        He is Yoga Anjaneyar, with 4 hands with changu, charam.
 Suchindram 
        Suchindram is located 13 kms away from 
        Kanyakumari, Tamilnadu.  There is a huge 18ft high idol of Lord Hanuman.
 A simple prayer to Anjaneya  
        Asaathya Saadhaka Swaamin  
        Asaathyam Thavakim vadha  
        Raama Dhootha Kribhaa Sindho  
        Math Kaaryam Sadhakka Prabho   |