Hanuman Jayanti, the celebration of the birth of the monkey God (Hindu), Hanuman is celebrated today. Most specifically, Hanuman Jayanti is celebrated on the full moon day of the Hindu lunar month, Chaitra which marks the birth of Lord Hanuman. By the grace of Shiva and Vayudev, Anjani, the wife of Kesari, King of Monkeys, gave birth to Hanuman. Birth of Hanuman
Punjikasthala, a damsel in the abo
de of Indra, was cursed to assume the form of a female monkey-a curse that could only be nullified if she would give birth to an incarnation of Lord Shiva. Reborn as Anjani, she performed intense austerities to please Shiva, who finally granted her the boon that would cure her of the curse. When Agni, the god of fire, gave Dasharath, the king of Ayodhya, a bowl of sacred dessert to share among his wives so they may have divine children, an eagle snatched a part of the pudding and dropped it where Anjani was meditating, and Pavan, the god of wind delivered the drop to her outstretched hands. After she took the divine dessert, she gave birth to Hanuman. Thus Lord Shiva incarnated as a monkey, and was born as Hanuman to Anjani, by the blessings of Pavan, who thus became Hanuman’s godfather.
