Hanuman Jayanti celebrates the birth of Hanuman, the monkey (vanara) devotee and helper of Rama, revered as the model of selfless devotion (bhakti), strength, courage and celibate service. The date varies by region: much of the north keeps it on the full moon of Chaitra (March-April), while Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and other traditions observe it at different times of the year, a divergence that reflects the different local narratives of his birth. Hanuman is among the most widely and fervently worshipped of Hindu deities, his image present at innumerable roadside and village shrines, and Tuesday and Saturday are his special days.
The festival is kept with visits to Hanuman temples, the offering of vermilion (sindoor) and oil with which his images are anointed, the distribution of sweets, and above all the recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa, the forty-verse Hindi hymn of Tulsidas that is one of the most recited devotional texts in India; in many temples it is chanted continuously through the day. Hanuman's appeal lies in his combination of immense power with complete humility and loyalty, and he is invoked for protection, for the removal of fear and adversity, and as the ideal of the devotee who places all his strength at the service of the divine.