ॐ हनुमते नमः ॥
बीज सहित रूप
ॐ हं हनुमते रुद्रात्मकाय हुं फट् ॥
Frequently asked questions about Hanuman Mool Mantra
What is the Hanuman mool mantra?
Om Hanumate Namah - salutations to Hanuman, the simplest of his japa formulas. The longer beej form with ham and the hum phat ending belongs to a stricter tantric practice; the namah form is the household one.
When is it chanted?
Tuesdays and Saturdays, at dawn or the evening lamp, and at Hanuman Jayanti. A mala of a hundred and eight is usual, and it is chanted at night too, since it is the standard mantra against fear.
How does it relate to the Chalisa?
The mantra is short and counted; the Hanuman Chalisa is a forty-verse hymn read straight through. Many devotees keep the mantra as daily japa and the Chalisa on Tuesdays, or read both together.
Are there rules about celibacy or purity?
Serious Hanuman sadhana traditionally asks for brahmacharya during the sankalpa period, and abstention from meat and alcohol. For ordinary daily japa what is asked is a bath and clean clothes - the stricter rules attach to a vowed undertaking, not to remembering him.
What is offered with it?
Sindoor in chameli oil, a boondi laddu, gud-chana or a banana, red flowers, and a chameli-oil or ghee lamp. The Hanuman puja samagri page lists the rest.
About the Hanuman Mool Mantra - Om Hanumate Namah
The Hanuman Mool Mantra - "Om Hanumate Namah", the root (mula) mantra of Lord Hanuman, the embodiment of strength and devotion.
Meaning
A simple salutation - "I bow to Hanuman" - invoking the mighty, devoted servant of Rama, the giver of strength, courage and protection.
Benefits
Chanted (especially on Tuesdays and Saturdays) for strength, courage, protection from evil and negativity, and the removal of fear and obstacles.
Word by Word Meaning
Om - the Pranava. Hanumate - to Hanuman, in the dative case: "for Hanuman, unto Hanuman." The name itself is traditionally derived from hanu (jaw) - marked when Indra's thunderbolt struck him in childhood - and is also read as "he whose pride is destroyed," the perfectly humble servant. Namah - salutation, a bow.
"Om, salutation to Hanuman." The tradition regards Hanuman as chiranjivi - ever-living, present wherever the name of Rama is sung - and as the perfect union of strength (bala), devotion (bhakti) and self-mastery. His simple name-mantra invokes all three.
How to Chant
Chant 108 repetitions on Tuesdays and Saturdays, Hanuman's own days, ideally in the morning after bathing or at dusk before his image with a lamp of sesame oil. Sindoor, boondi or bananas are his traditional offerings. Practising continence, truthfulness and physical discipline on the day of japa is the classical niyam, since Hanuman is the patron of brahmacharya and strength. Many devotees follow the japa with one reading of the Hanuman Chalisa.
Who Chants It, and When
Wrestlers and athletes chant it for strength; travellers for protection on the road; students for steadiness; and households chant it whenever fear, nightmares or a sense of oppression enters the home, for Hanuman's name is the tradition's first shield against negative influence. In astrology, Hanuman worship on Saturdays is also the beloved folk remedy for the hardships of Saturn - those passing through Sade Sati often take up this mantra; you can check your own status with the Sade Sati calculator.
The tradition explains the Saturn connection with a story: Shani once sought to seize Hanuman, was effortlessly subdued, and promised never to trouble Hanuman's devotees. Behind the story stands a teaching - Hanuman embodies exactly the virtues Saturn tests for: discipline, humility, tireless service and devotion without demand. Chanting his name while cultivating those virtues is the whole remedy; the mantra and the conduct are one practice.
The Hanuman Mool Mantra - Om Hanumate Namah above is given in both Devanagari (Sanskrit) and Roman transliteration so you can read it in whichever script you are comfortable with - switch between the two using the buttons above, share the link, or download a PDF.
A mantra is a compact formula for japa, not a long hymn. Forty-verse hymns live under Chalisa; lamp-songs under Aarti; longer stotras under Stotram. Browse every formula on the Mantra index. Count repetitions with the online japa mala counter.
