Editing Hanuman (section)

==Temples and shrines==
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[[File:Hanuman-vijayawada-paritala.jpg|thumb|200px|41 meters (135 ft) high Hanuman monument at Paritala, [[Andhra Pradesh]]]]
[[File:Punchamukhi Hanuman Temple 1.jpg|thumb|[[Panchmukhi Hanuman Temple]] in [[Karachi]], Pakistan is the only temple in the world which has a natural statue of Hanuman]]
[[File:The green Hanuman statue in Batu Caves (1).jpg|thumb|The green Hanuman statue in Batu Caves, Malaysia]]
Hanuman is often worshipped along with Rama and Sita of [[Vaishnavism]], and sometimes independently of them.<ref name="Claus2003p280">{{cite book|author1=Peter J. Claus|author2=Sarah Diamond|author3=Margaret Ann Mills|title=South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=au_Vk2VYyrkC&pg=PA280 |year=2003|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-93919-5|pages=280–281}}</ref> There are numerous statues to celebrate and temples to worship Hanuman all over India. Vanamali says, "[[Vaishnavite]]s or followers of [[Vishnu]], believe that the wind god [[Vayu]] underwent three incarnations to help Vishnu. As Hanuman he helped [[Rama]], as [[Bhima]], he assisted [[Krishna]], and as [[Madhvacharya]] (1238–1317) he founded the Vaishnava sect called [[Dvaita]]".{{Sfn|Vanamali|2010|p=14}} [[Shaivism|Shaivites]] claim him as an avatar of [[Shiva]].<ref name="Claus2003p280"/> Lutgendorf writes, "The later identification of Hanuman as one of the eleven rudras may reflect a [[Shaiva]] sectarian claim on an increasing popular god, it also suggests his kinship with, and hence potential control over, a class of awesome and ambivalent deities". Lutgendorf also writes, "Other skills in Hanuman's resume also seem to derive in part from his windy patrimony, reflecting [[Vayu]]'s role in both body and cosmos".{{Sfn|Lutgendorf|2007|p=67}} According to a review by Lutgendorf, some scholars state that the earliest Hanuman [[murti]]s appeared in the 8th century, but verifiable evidence of Hanuman images and inscriptions appear in the 10th century in Indian monasteries in central and north India.{{sfn|Lutgendorf|2007|p=60}}
[[File:Wall Carvings at Undavalli Caves.jpg|thumb|Wall carvings depicting the worship of Hanuman at [[Undavalli Caves]] in [[Guntur District]].]]
Tuesday and Saturday of every week are particularly popular days at Hanuman temples. Some people keep a partial or full fast on either of those two days and remember Hanuman and the theology he represents to them.{{sfn|Lutgendorf|2007|pp=11–12, 101}}

Major temples and shrines of Hanuman include:
* The oldest known independent Hanuman temple and statue is at [[Khajuraho]], dated to about 922 CE from the [[Khajuraho Hanuman inscription]].<ref>Reports of a Tour in Bundelkhand and Rewa in 1883–84, and of a Tour in Rewa, Bundelkhand, Malwa, and Gwalior, in 1884–85, Alexander Cunningham, 1885</ref>{{sfn|Lutgendorf|2007|pp=59–60}}
* [[Hanumangarhi, Ayodhya]], is a 10th-century temple dedicated to Hanuman.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hanuman Garhi|url=http://www.uptourism.gov.in/post/hanuman-garhi|access-date=2020-07-28|website=www.uptourism.gov.in|archive-date=28 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728155251/http://www.uptourism.gov.in/post/hanuman-garhi|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Panchmukhi Hanuman Temple]] is a 1,500-year-old temple in Pakistan. It is located in Soldier Bazaar in [[Karachi]], [[Pakistan]]. The temple is highly venerated by Pakistani Hindus as it is the only temple in the world which has a natural statue of Hanuman that is not man-made ([[Swayambhu]]).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Five historical Hindu temples of Pakistan|url=https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/five-historical-hindu-temples-of-pakistan-33163|access-date=2020-12-04|website=WION|date=17 February 2018 |language=en|archive-date=23 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191123101658/https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/five-historical-hindu-temples-of-pakistan-33163|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Academy|first=Himalayan|title=Hinduism Today Magazine|url=https://www.hinduismtoday.com/|access-date=2020-12-04|website=www.hinduismtoday.com|language=en|archive-date=6 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506123703/https://www.hinduismtoday.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Jakhu temple]] in [[Shimla]], Himachal Pradesh contains a monumental 108-foot (33-metre) statue of Hanuman  and is the highest point in Shimla.<ref>''The Indian Express'', [[Chandigarh]], Tuesday, 2 November 2010, p. 5.</ref>
* The tallest Hanuman statue is the [[Paritala Anjaneya Temple|Veera Abhaya Anjaneya Swami]], standing 135 feet tall at Paritala, 32&nbsp;km from [[Vijayawada]] in [[Andhra Pradesh]], installed in 2003.{{sfn|Lutgendorf|2007}}
* [[Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh|Chitrakoot]] in Madhya Pradesh features the Hanuman Dhara temple, which features a panchmukhi statue of Hanuman. It is located inside a forest, and it along with Ramghat that is a few kilometers away, are significant Hindu pilgrimage sites.<ref>{{cite book|author=Swati Mitra|title=Temples of Madhya Pradesh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=THW_OkoTuE4C&pg=PA41|year=2012|publisher=Eicher Goodearth and Government of Madhya Pradesh|isbn=978-93-80262-49-9|page=41}}</ref>
* The Peshwa era rulers in 18th century city of [[Pune]] provided endowments to more Hanuman temples than to temples of other deities such as Shiva, [[Ganesh]] or [[Vitthal]]. Even in present time there are more Hanuman temples in the city and the district than of other deities.{{sfn|Lutgendorf|2007|pp=239, 24}}
* One of the major temples of Hanuman is [[Hanuman temple, Salangpur|Hanuman Temple Salangpur]] in based in [[Salangpur, Gujarat|Salangpur]], [[Gujarat]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Raymond Brady Williams |url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontosw0000will |title=An introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-521-65422-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontosw0000will/page/128 128] |quote=hanuman sarangpur. |access-date=14 May 2009 |url-access=registration}} Page 128</ref> There is also a statue of Hanuman which is 54&nbsp;ft tall.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Amit Shah Unveils 54-Feet-Tall Statue Of Lord Hanuman At Gujarat Temple |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/amit-shah-unveils-54-feet-tall-statue-of-lord-hanuman-at-gujarat-temple-3926616 |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=NDTV.com}}</ref>
[[File:Ramlila artists.jpg|thumb|left|In India, the annual autumn season Ramlila play features Hanuman, enacted during Navratri by rural artists (above).]]
* Outside India, a major Hanuman statue has been built by Tamil Hindus near the Batu caves in Malaysia, and an {{convert|85|ft|m|0|adj=on}} Karya Siddhi Hanuman statue by colonial era Hindu indentured workers' descendants at [[Carapichaima]] in [[Trinidad and Tobago]]. Another Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple has been built in [[Frisco, Texas]] in the United States.<ref>[https://www.dallasnews.com/news/frisco/2015/08/06/new-hindu-temple-serves-friscos-growing-asian-indian-population New Hindu temple serves Frisco's growing Asian Indian population] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028043624/https://www.dallasnews.com/news/frisco/2015/08/06/new-hindu-temple-serves-friscos-growing-asian-indian-population |date=28 October 2017 }}, Dallas Morning News, 6 August 2015</ref> In 2024, another Hanuman statue was inaugurated in Texas with the name [[Statue of Union]], which is now the fourth-tallest statue in the US.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-08-21 |title=90-ft Hanuman Statue of Union unveiled in Texas, 3rd tallest in US |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/90-ft-hanuman-statue-of-union-unveiled-in-texas-3rd-tallest-in-us/articleshow/112663661.cms |access-date=2024-09-04 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>

===Festivals and celebrations===
Hanuman is a central figure in the annual [[Ramlila]] celebrations in India, and seasonal dramatic arts in southeast Asia, particularly in Thailand; and Bali and Java, Indonesia. Ramlila is a dramatic folk re-enactment of the life of Rama according to the ancient Hindu epic ''[[Ramayana]]'' or secondary literature based on it such as the ''[[Ramcharitmanas]]''.<ref name=":3">{{cite book |author=James G. Lochtefeld |url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch |title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-8239-2287-1 |pages=271–272 |url-access=registration}}</ref> It particularly refers to the thousands<ref name="SchechnerHess51">{{cite journal | last1=Schechner | first1=Richard | last2=Hess | first2=Linda | title=The Ramlila of Ramnagar [India] | journal=The Drama Review | volume=21 | issue=3 | year=1977 | pages=51–82 | doi=10.2307/1145152 | jstor=1145152 }}</ref> of dramatic plays and dance events that are staged during the annual autumn festival of [[Navratri]] in India.<ref>{{cite web | title=Navratri – Hindu festival | author=Encyclopedia Britannica | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Navratri | year=2015 | access-date=28 May 2017 | archive-date=22 February 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222124136/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Navratri | url-status=live }}</ref> Hanuman is featured in many parts of the folk-enacted play of the legendary war between Good and Evil, with the celebrations climaxing in [[Vijayadashami]].<ref name=unescodussehra>[http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/en/RL/ramlila-the-traditional-performance-of-the-ramayana-00110 Ramlila, the traditional performance of the Ramayana] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131032510/http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/en/RL/ramlila-the-traditional-performance-of-the-ramayana-00110 |date=31 January 2017 }}, UNESCO</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Sv7Uk0UcdM8C Ramlila] ''Pop Culture India!: Media, Arts, and Lifestyle'', by Asha Kasbekar. Published by ABC-CLIO, 2006. {{ISBN|1-85109-636-1}}. ''Page 42''.</ref>

The Ramlila festivities were declared by UNESCO as one of the "Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity" in 2008. Ramlila is particularly notable in the historically important Hindu cities of [[Ayodhya]], [[Varanasi]], [[Vrindavan]], [[Almora]], [[Satna]] and [[Madhubani district|Madhubani]] – cities in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.<ref name=unescodussehra/>

Hanuman's birthday is observed by some Hindus as [[Hanuman Jayanti]]. It falls in much of India in the traditional month of Chaitra in the [[lunisolar]] [[Hindu calendar]], which overlaps with March and April. However, in parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Hanuman Jayanti is observed in the regional Hindu month of Mārgaḻi, which overlaps with December and January. The festive day is observed with devotees gathering at Hanuman temples before sunrise, and day long spiritual recitations and story reading about the victory of good over evil.<ref name="Melton2010p1310"/>