Celestial father – Vayu

Father – Kesari

Mother – Anjana

As per the legends, Hanuman was born to Kesari, a male monkey chief and Anjana, a female monkey, in Anjana Mountains in the Kingdom of Kishikanda.

Earlier Anjana was an apsara in the court of Brahma. Once she disturbed a sage during his meditation. The age cursed her for disturbing his meditation. She once saw a monkey meditating with his legs folded. Anjana threw fruits on the meditating monkey. In the next moment, the monkey turned into a sage and cursed Anjana for disturbing his meditation. The angry sage cursed Anjana that she would be turned into a monkey when she falls in love with anyone. Anjana started crying and begged for forgiveness. The sage forgave Anjana and said that the ma she will fall in love with will love her despite her monkey face. The sage added that Anjana will be released from the curse when she would give birth to a child who will be an incarnation of Lord Shiva.

Anjana took birth on earth to get rid of the curse. Anjana lived in the forest, one day she saw a man and fall in love with him. The moment she fall in love she turned to a monkey. The man came to her and introduced himself as Kesari, chief of kingdom of monkeys. Anjana looked at him and surprised that he was a monkey faced human who has the power to change himself as monkey and human. He asked Anjana to marry him. Anjana and Kesari were married in the forests. Anjana performed deep tapasya worshiping Lord Shiva. Pleased Shiva asked her wish. Anjana said she wanted Shiva as her son in order to get rid of her curse from the sage. Shiva accepted her request.

She then give birth to a monkey faced boy who is the incarnation of Lord Shiva and is came to be known in different names such as Anjaneya which means the son of Anjana, Kesari Nandana which means the son of Kesari, Vayu Puthra or Pawanputra Hanuman which means the son of Vayu, the God of Wind. In his childhood itself, Hanuman was very powerful.  He got the powers of his father Kesari, the mother Apsara Anjana, he is as speed as Wind as he is the son of Lord Vayu. By the birth of Hanuman Anjana was released from the curse and returned to Heaven.

When Anjana was worshiping Shiva, the King Dasharatha of Ayodhya was also performing the ritual of “Putrakama Yagya” in order to have children. As a result, he received some sacred pudding (kheer) to be shared by his three wives, which led to the births of Ram, Lakshman, Bharat, and Shatrughna. By divine ordinance, a kite snatched a part of that pudding and dropped it while flying over the forest where Anjana was engaged in worship. Vayu (Wind God) delivered the falling pudding to the outstretched hands of Anjana, who consumed it. Hanuman was born to her as a result.

Hanuman is thus also called the son of Vayu (the Wind God) due to the legends associated with Vayu’s role in Hanuman’s birth.