Offering a sindoor chola to the idol and reciting the Hanuman Chalisa are the core traditions of Hanuman Jayanti. Of all the Hindu festivals I’ve seen people observe abroad, Hanuman Jayanti is one of the simplest to do properly at home, because the puja doesn’t require elaborate setup or hard-to-find ingredients. For the date, see the Hanuman Jayanti muhurat article.
Puja samagri
- Sindoor, chameli (jasmine) oil
- Red flowers, hibiscus especially
- A betel leaf, laddoo or boondi as bhog
- A copy of the Hanuman Chalisa or Sundarkand
A quick note on sourcing abroad: sindoor is available at any Indian grocery store, and chameli oil (jasmine oil) is commonly stocked as well. If you can’t find chameli oil specifically, some families use til (sesame) oil as a substitute. The key is mixing the oil with sindoor to make a paste thick enough to apply on the idol as a coating.
Steps
- Bathe in the morning and visit a Hanuman temple or the home shrine.
- Mix sindoor with chameli oil and offer it as a chola to the idol. Apply it generously. The word “chola” literally means garment, so you’re symbolically dressing Hanuman in sindoor.
- Offer red flowers and a betel leaf. Hibiscus is traditional, but any red flowers work.
- Recite the Hanuman Chalisa, and the Sundarkand if time allows. The full Sundarkand takes 60 to 90 minutes depending on pace, so many families do it as a group reading.
- Offer laddoo or boondi as bhog and distribute prasad.
Why the Hanuman Chalisa matters on this day
The Hanuman Chalisa, written by Tulsidas in Awadhi, is 40 verses (chaalis means forty) summarizing Hanuman’s qualities, his deeds in the Ramayana, and his role as a protector. It’s probably the most widely recited Hindu text in daily practice. On Hanuman Jayanti specifically, many devotees recite it multiple times. Some temples organize a path of 11 or even 108 recitations through the day. If you’re doing puja at home, even a single focused recitation is enough. Speed doesn’t earn extra points here. Read it slowly, understand the words.
The story behind the sindoor
Tradition holds that Hanuman, seeing Sita apply sindoor in her hair parting, asked her why. She said it was for Ram’s long life. Hanuman, hearing this, thought: if a small line of sindoor in the parting can benefit Ram, then covering his entire body in sindoor should benefit Ram even more. So he did exactly that. The logic is childlike and absolute, which is precisely the point. Hanuman’s devotion isn’t calculated. It’s total, without half-measures, without asking whether it makes logical sense. That’s why the sindoor chola offering on Hanuman Jayanti isn’t just ritual. It’s a reminder of what unconditional devotion looks like.
Temple visits vs. home puja
If there’s a Hanuman temple near you, visiting in the morning is ideal. Many temples distribute prasad (usually boondi laddoo) and organize group Chalisa recitation. But if you’re in a city without a nearby temple, home puja works just as well. Hanuman is one of those deities where the tradition is clear: he doesn’t require elaborate arrangements. Sindoor, oil, a flower, a laddoo, and genuine recitation. That’s the puja.