Panchamukhi Hanuman Significance

Hanuman is the incarnation of the tenth Rudra or part of Lord Shiva, who is said to have eleven Rudras in all. He was born to Kesari, the king of monkeys, and Anjana. As the son of Anjana, Hanuman is also known as Anjaneya. He is god incarnate of might and mind.

During the Rama–Ravana Lanka yudh or war, Hanuman assumed his panchamukhi or five-faced form to kill Ahiravana, a powerful demon, a black magician, and possessor of a mysterious weapon, the nagapasha, darts that would secretly inject serpent poison into human body. Ahiravana, the brother of Ravana, had taken Rama and Lakshmana to the netherworld as captives while the two were sleeping at night.

The only way to kill Ahiravana was to extinguish the five lamps lit up in five different directions, all at the same instant. To accomplish this almost impossible task, Hanuman assumed a panchamukhi form and blew out the lamps in one go. Rakshasa Ahiravana was killed and thus, Hanuman freed Rama and Lakshmana.

The five faces of Hanuman are that of an eagle, Garuda, facing the west; a boar, Varaha, facing the north; a horse, Hayagriva, facing the sky; a lion, Narasimha, facing the south; and the fifth being the original Hanuman, facing the east. The panchamukhi Hanuman has ten arms holding ten different weapons, including his own celebrated weapon, the gada.

This form of Hanuman is worshipped both in south India as well as in north India for protection from a variety of afflictions. The face towards the east is Hanuman’s original form, the kapimukha or monkey face, whose worship removes all blemishes of one’s past deeds and confers purity of mind. Devotion to this face appeases saturn too, and provides protection against its affliction.

The west-facing garudamukha drives away evil spells, black magic influences and negative spirits, and also flushes out all poisonous effects from the human body. It protects one from troubles and miseries brought about by one’s spouse.

The north-facing varahamukha wards off ill effects caused by the negative influences of planets adversely placed in one’s birth chart and confers all eight types of prosperity—ashta aishwaryas. This mukha also provides relief from sufferings created by the planet Rahu.

The south-facing narashimhamukha dispels fear of enemies and bestows victory over every opposition. Besides, it mitigates sufferings caused by the bad effects of Mars, the mangaladosha.

The sky-facing Hayagriva or urdhvamukha confers knowledge, victory, a good spouse, and also saves one from the curse of being childless.

One of the most famous pilgrimage centres—the Hanuman Dhara Temple, at Chitrakut, in central India—is said to be the resting place of Lord Hanuman. It is believed that after the coronation of Lord Rama, Hanuman requested him for a place where the burn injuries on his tail could be cured, which he incurred during the Lanka yudh. Rama then shot an arrow into the ground, and a stream of water spurted out from that spot.

Rama asked Hanuman to rest there and cool the burning sensation in his tail with the waters. A 40-foot-tall monolithic green granite idol—green stands for wisdom—of panchamukhi Hanuman has been installed in Thiruvallur, in Tamil Nadu, which was known as Rudravarnam in olden days.

Hanuman was Surya’s disciple. He had a great command over Sanskrit and his pronunciation was flawless. He is considered as the epitome of wisdom. Generally, it is believed that Hanuman remained a bachelor.

However, some devotees in south India believe that Hanuman married Survachala, the daughter of his guru, Surya. This belief, however, is not acknowledged by most devotees. Interestingly, he had a son—not from Survachala—named Makaradhvaja, who fought alongside him when he went to Patalaloka or the netherworld to free Rama and Lakshmana from Ahiravana. After killing the demon Ahiravana, Hanuman coronated Makaradhvaja as the king of Patalaloka.