Hanuman Jayanthi / Hanuman Vijayotsavam

          ! Om! Ham! Hanumathey! Sri Rama Dhootaya Namaha !!!!

Hanuman Jayanthi is the birthday of Lord Hanuman, an incarnation of Lord Shiva. It is generally celebrated on the full moon day (chaitra poornima) of chaitra masa. 
Hanuman known as Bajranga  bali , Anjineya and Maruti is one of the powerful Gods, an exceptional brahmachaari and more importantly a sincere devotee of Lord Rama .He is also known as pavanasuta  or pavanakumara, as he was born to the Wind God (Vayu )- Kesari and Anjani devi.  Hanuman is either worshipped individually or with Rama. 

Greatness of Hanuman - is the significance of Hanuman jayanthi:-

The idol of Hanuman is generally coated with kumkuma / Sindoor/ vermilion because according to the legend, Hanuman once enquired Sita about her putting Sindoor to the forehead.... to this Sita replied that sindoor ensures the long life of her husband. Upon hearing this, Hanuman applied sindoor all over his body for the immortality of His Lord Rama. Such was the devotion of Lord Hanuma towards Rama, desireless and a selfless service without expecting any fruit in return for his worship. Rama  was deeply indebted to Hanuma for the deeds he did to him - like the crossing of the ocean simply by uttering the name Ram, burning the city  Lanka with his tail , bringing Sanjeevani from mountains and saving Lakshmana, sita etc.,..  Rama gave him a boon of an everlasting life and told hanuma that his murti will be placed infront of him and he will be worshiped first.

Yatra yatra raghunatha kirtanam;

Tatra tatra kritha masthakanjalim;
Bhaspavaari paripurna lochanam;
Maarutim namata raakshasanthakam

MEANING: “We bow to Maruti, Sri Hanuman, who stands with his palms folded above his forehead, with a torrent of tears flowing down his eyes wherever the Names of Lord Rama are sung”

Hanuman Jayanthi Celebrations: 

Sankata Mocha temple situated in Varnasi is one of the famous temples dedicated to Lord Hanuman.
On this auspicious day, devotees read Hanuman chalisa ( attached below) and recite the name of Rama, visit temple and apply sindoor/ kumkuma from his body considering it holy. In many temples we see that Vada mala will be put on Hanuman, so a special vada  made with Udad dal with lots of peppercorns is offered as prasadam to God on this day. Its a traditional recipe in South India.

                                                

I found this on net that on this day,the Principle of Sree Hanuman (Maruti) is 1000 times more active on Earth. Thus we benefit more by chanting 'Sri Hanumate Namaha' as much as possible...!!!
Links:
 Hanuman Chalisa - in English with meaning
Kannada - Anjineya songs by balamurali krishna

Facts Taken From Valmiki Ramayanam :- ( Info emailed to me by my friend Raji nallan)
1. most of the people think or say that sita is elder to rama but the fact is sita is younger to rama and the difference is 7yrs.
2. there is nothing called lakshmana geetha or lakshmana rekha that sita should not cross while lakshmana was going to search rama.
3. when Ravana came to the place where rama lived in the forest in the disguise of saint ..sita came forward to offer him fruits...then he asked who she was and why was she here...then sita herself said that she was sita and they came here for vanavasam ...then Ravana did not break earth and took sita...he changed his disguise to raavana and dragged sita by catching her hair and stepped into pushpkavimanam and he held her tightly with his hands and made her sit on his laps.
4.when sita rama kalyanam was going on  rama's age was 13 and sita's age was 7 and when they went for vanavasam rama's age was 25 that of sita's was 17.
5.rama ruled ayodhya for about 11thousand yrs.


EKA SLOKA SUNDARAKANDAM: 
dhrutyaa sagara langhanam,hanumatho lanka madotsaranam
thatra sokha vanecha margana, mata srijanaki daarshanam,
rama kshema nivedanam,vanataru pradvamsanam,
samyuge raakshasamhananam ,puri pradahnam ,ramayane sundaram