Hanuman was born to Anjana, a female vanara, and Kesari, a male vanara, near Trimbakeshwar, Maharashtra. According to the Vedas, his mother was an apsara who was born on Earth as a female vanara due to a curse. She would be redeemed from this curse on her giving birth to an incarnation of Lord Shiva, who is also known as Rudra, and endowed with the Supreme Power of exalted devotion to Bhagwaan Hari. Hanuman is endowed with 28 transcendental divine opulences, with perfection in each.
Hanuman was born in Aanjan,[4] a small village about 18 km away from Gumla. The name of the village is derived from the name of the goddess Anjani, mother of Mahaveer Hanuman. Aanjani Gufa (cave), 4 km from the village, is believed to be the place where Anjani once lived. Many objects of archaeological importance obtained from this site are now held at the Patna Museum. It is also debated that Hanuman was born on Anjaneya Hill, in Hampi, Karnataka, near the Risyamukha mountain on the banks of the Pampa, where Sugreeva and Sri Rama met. There is a temple that marks the spot.
Anjana, along with her husband Kesari, performed intense prayers to Lord Shiva to beget Him as her Child. Pleased with their devotion, Shiva granted them the boon they sought. Hence, Hanuman is also known as “Maharudra” because he was born of the boon given to Anjana by Shiva. The Valmiki Ramayana states that Kesari is the son of Brihaspati and that Kesari also fought on Rama’s side in the war against Ravana.
Several different traditions account for Hanuman’s birth. One is that at the time that Anjana was worshipping Lord Shiva, elsewhere, Dasharatha, the king of Ayodhya, was performing the Putrakama Yagna in order to have children. As a result, he received some sacred pudding, payasam, to be shared by his three wives, leading to the births of Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna. By divine ordinance, a kite snatched a fragment of that pudding and dropped it while flying over the forest where Anjana was engaged in worship. Vayu, the Hindu deity of the wind, delivered the falling pudding to the outstretched hands of Anjana, who consumed it. Hanuman was born to her as a result.
Hanuman, in one interpretation, is the incarnation or reflection of Shiva. Other interpretations, such as that of Dvaita, consider Hanuman to be the son of, or a manifestation of, Vayu, god of wind. When Ravana tried to enter the abode of Shiva, he called Nandishwara “a monkey”. Nandishwara in turn cursed Ravana, that a monkey would burn his Lanka.
– Jaya Srinivas
Sri Anjaneeyam ...! 