Hi,

Our earlier post on Hanuman was about the book review of “Amma, Tell me about Hanuman” by Bhakti Mathur.

As it is Hanuman Jayanti on Friday, we would like to share with you some more facts, stories, videos and activities about Lord Hanuman. There are many links in this post so take your time reading it and exploring the links.

Hanuman Jayanti

Hanuman Jayanti is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Hanuman, the Vanara god, widely venerated throughout India. The event is celebrated on the 15th day of the Shukla Paksha (Waxing moon period), during the month of Chaitra (the Chaitra Pournimaa).

Hanuman is an ardent devotee of Lord Rama and is worshipped for his unflinching devotion to that god. From early morning, devotees flock Hanuman temples to worship him.

Hanuman Jayanti is an important festival of Hindus. Hanuman is the symbol of strength and energy. Hanuman is said to be able to assume any form at will, wield rocks, move mountains, dart through the air, seize the clouds and rival Garuda in swiftness of flight. He is worshipped as a deity with magical powers and the ability to conquer evil spirits.

Videos / Audios

I have watched the Hanuman animation movie with my daughter and I think it is made very well. The animation quality, the catchy songs will ensure the kids enjoy it too.

One of my favorite songs is Mahabali Maharudra (Link given here is only for the audio. The video is not so good for this link). We often put it on and love the energy it instills within us. Just like our energetic Hanuman.

We also like this Akdam Bakdam song which shows him as a very active and a powerful child.

The most beautiful musical renditions related to Hanuman are Maruti Stotra (especially for Maharashtrians) and Hanuman Chalisa.

There are also very beautiful bhajans (Devotional songs) related to Hanuman. If you have any favorite ones, please send us the links in the comments. We would love to listen to them.

We haven’t seen this Hanuman serial but many recommend it: Sony TV’s Mahabali Hanuman

Interesting information

The funny thing about mythology is it doesn’t have facts. Each story has it’s variations and no one can really say which one of them is true. However, each one is magical in it’s own endearing way. Remember to take in the meaning each one has to offer.

Here are some good reads I found online.

Some more stories in short on: Interesting facts about Hanuman

Names of Hanuman with their meaning: He has 108 names.

Everything about Hanuman in short: On Hinduwebsite

Significance of his Gada: on Shree Hanuman Blogspot

Activities

I was searching for craft activities to do with our Hanuman book. Unfortunately there aren’t many choices.

Here are a few of them I found especially suitable for kids.

Coloring pages

For younger kids:

Coloring sheets from Activity Village 

Coloring Panda has many options.

For older kids:

Coloring book offers an image with intricate details.

Games

Try this online game for 5 years and up: From “Where’s Hanuman?“

You can also create your own memory game with images or simply words.

Crafts

• Make a crown: You can use many of the templates available online. Print it on a thicker card paper. The kids can decorate the crown, if you want them to spend some time doing that. Then cut out the crown shape and just staple the ends together for the correct size. If you want to directly print a crown, here’s a template I found on Imom.
• Make a Hanuman mace: I could not find any of the fun kid’s crafts related to Hanuman. We wanted to make something easy and quick. Just what the kids need. So we created something on our own. Here are the details.

You will need:

Permanent markers, Glitter cello tape, Gems stickers, Skewer, Table tennis ball, Incense stick or a pointy pin and scissors.

Steps:

(1) First light the incense stick and poke a hole through and through the plastic ball. Please ask an adult to help you with this step. Alternatively you can also use something sharp to poke this hole.

(2) Now, poke a skewer through and through. Note, the pointed end of the skewer is quite sharp.

(3) To blunt this cover it with glitter cello tape. Also use a glitter cello tape to cover the stick part of the skewer which acts as the bottom of the mace. Use permanent markers, glitter cello tapes and sticker gems to decorate the mace. Alternatively. you can also use glitter glue tubes. These will give a better 3D effect.

That’s it. Wasn’t that simple?

Role play:

Dress up in an orange color dhoti and wear a golden crown. Add a Hanuman mace to your attire and you are now ready to enact Hanuman’s role. You can also fill air in your mouth to make your face look more like Hanuman’s. Don’t forget to take some snaps and send them to us.

Jai Bajrangbali.

I hope you have enjoyed this post.

Do let us know what you love best about Hanuman.

Love,

Poornima

Image credits: Google images, activity village