Hanuman Mandir

Getting there

• By road

  Shivaji Stadium is the nearest bus stand, and it also has the Airport Express Metro Line nearby. Rajeev Chowk is the nearest metro station, and the temple is well connected by road and Delhi Metro.

Why devotees come here

Hanuman Mandir stands on Baba Kharak Singh Road (old Irwin Road), about 250 m southwest of Connaught Place in central Delhi. Its main idol is Bala Hanuman, Hanuman as a child. The spire ends in a crescent moon, not the usual Aum or Sun symbol.

Local tradition counts this temple among five Delhi temples from the days of the Mahabharata. The sanctum with the Hanuman idol sits on the north wall, on the right side of the entry foyer. Legend says the emperor gave the spire its crescent moon finial after he was pleased with the poet Tulsidas. Tulsidas wrote the Ramacharitamanas and the Hanuman Chalisa, and he is believed to have visited this temple.

The present temple was rebuilt by Jai Singh II of Amber in 1724, around the time of the nearby Jantar Mantar. Some accounts give an earlier temple on the site to Man Singh I of Amber, who lived in Akbar's reign. It is also claimed that the crescent moon kept the temple from being destroyed by invading rulers.

The reported height is 108 ft (32.9 m). The ceiling of the main mandap is painted with scenes from the Ramayana. The approach is a set of marble steps from the road into the main foyer.

Festivals

• Purnima in Chaitra, March to AprilHanuman Jayanti

  The birthday of Hanuman is celebrated with great fanfare, and devotees throng the temple to pray on the day.

Tips for your visit

• Tuesday and Saturday are special days of worship, when devotees gather here in large numbers.
• This is a popular place for women to get mehndi, temporary henna tattoos.
• The approach is a set of marble steps from road level into the main foyer.

Questions people ask