Hanuman

Hanuman is the monkey god of strength, courage and devotion, the loyal servant of Rama in the Ramayana. He is shown with a monkey face, a mace and a muscular body, often tearing open his chest to show Rama and Sita within. Worship is chiefly Vaishnava, and Hanuman is also honoured as a form of Shiva in some traditions. In Odisha, the eight Hanuman guardians of Puri, the Asta Mahavira, protect the Jagannath temple town. Hanuman Jayanti, observed in Odisha around Pana Sankranti in April, is the main festival.

The Valmiki Ramayana names Hanuman as the son of Anjana and the wind god Vayu. As a child he mistook the sun for a fruit and leapt toward it, and Indra struck him with the thunderbolt, which disfigured his jaw, hanu, and is given as the origin of his name. The gods then granted him boons of...