Images of Sanatan - Why does Panchamukhi Hanuman have five heads?
Why does Hanuman have 5 heads in this picture? And why do people worship this form? Here’s the story of Panchamukhi Hanuman.
You’re watching Ep. 3 of our new series “Images of Sanatan” in which I tell you the hidden meanings, stories & lessons behind the most popular photos in our Dharma that you’ve definitely seen but never really understood…
Surprisingly, the 5-headed form of Hanuman does NOT appear in the Valmiki or Tulsidas versions, which are the two most popular variations of the epic.
Instead, it gets mentioned in the Bengali Krittivasi Ramayana, and also has references in the Ananda Ramayana, a modern retelling attributed to Valmiki himself, as well as the Marathi Sant Eknath’s Bhavarth Ramayana. It is a major folklore for people in Tantrik/Shakta circles & those who worship Shiva.
The story goes that in the final battle between Sri Ram & Lanka’s Ravan, the demon king approaches Ahiravana, a dark sorcerer & ruler of Patal Loka, the dark netherworld.
While Ram & his bro Lakshman are sleeping, he captures & kidnaps them away at night by using trickery & dark magic. Hanuman, being the devoted protector, rushes to the rescue, only to find that much like Voldermort’s Horcruxes, Ahirvana has hidden his life force in five oil lamps burning in different directions.
To destroy him, one must extinguish all the deepas at once, a nearly impossible task, which makes Hanuman invoke the inner divine in him, manifesting the Panchamukhi form. After successfully blowing off all lamps, Hanuman & Ram end Ahirvana’s life & move back to the battlefield to continue the war.
His primary face, Anjaneya, faces the east, like the shining sun, standing for devotion & courage. The ugra fierce Narasimha, facing the south, signifies intense angry protection against evil & death. The Garuda, facing the west, combats black magic, poison & negative energies. Varaha, the boar facing the North, grants wealth, prosperity, rescue & protection. And Hayagriva, the upward-facing horse, grants knowledge, wisdom & spiritual growth.
Together, these 5 faces correspond to our 5 senses, 5 elements & 5 koshas or layers of the spiritual body. The Panchamukhi story gives us the wisdom that we have the Divine sitting within us, and when invoked, it manifests
The form is worshipped by healers, exorcists & tantrik practitioners as a symbol of protection from negative energies, danger & loss. We have a Sri Pancha Mukhi Hanuman kavacha stotra you can recite to feel safer, too.
If this form fascinates you, you should definitely visit Karnataka’s Panchamukhi Anjaneya Swamy Temple near Mantralaya, paying homage to the vision seen by Raghvendra Swami in the 1600s. There are other ancient temples in Rameshwaram, Secundarabad & even Karachi celebrating this form.