protection and blessings. They join in temples to worship him and present religious offerings. In return, the devotees receive prasadam by the temple priests as sweets, flowers, coconuts, tilaka, sacred ash (udi) and holy water from the river Ganges (Ganga jalam). People who revere him also recite various devotional hymns and prayers like the Hanuman Chalisa and read holy scriptures like the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Devotees visit temples and apply a tilaka of sinduram to their foreheads from Hanuman's murti. According to legend, when Hanuman found Sita applying sinduram to her forehead, he enquired about this custom. She replied that doing so would ensure a long life for her husband, Rama. Hanuman then proceeded to smear his entire body with sinduram, thus ensuring Rama's immortality. In Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Hanuman Jayanti is celebrated on the New Moon day in Margali (Dhanu) month. Famous Hanuman temples in these states like Nanganallur, Namakkal, Suchindram, Thrikkaviyoor and Alathiyoor celebrate this day with pomp. In Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Hanuman Jayanti is celebrated by a diksha of 41 days, beginning on Chaitra Purnima, and concluding on the tenth day during Krishna Paksha in Vaishaka. In Maharashtra, Hanuman Jayanti is celebrated on the full moon day (pūrnima) of the Hindu lunar month of Chaitra. A special feature of Hanuman Jayanti is that according to some religious almanacs (panchāngs) the birthday of Hanuman falls on the fourteenth day (chaturdashi) in the dark fortnight of the month of Ashvin, while according to others it falls on the full moon day in the bright fortnight of Chaitra. On this day in a Hanuman temple, spiritual discourses begin at dawn since Hanuman is believed to have been born during sunrise. During the time frame of birth, the spiritual discourse are halted and the offering of food (prasadam) is distributed to everyone. Spiritual discourses are organised in most of the Hindu temples of the region on this day. In Odisha, Pana Sankranti (April 13/14/15) is believed to be the birthday of Lord Hanuman. The temples remain crowded and people chant Hanuman Chalisha throughout the day. Reading the Sundarkaand on this day is also said to be a pious exercise. The day also marks the beginning of the New Year in the traditional Odia Solar Calendar. The festival occurs in the solar Odia calendar (the lunisolar Hindu calendar followed in Odisha) on the first day of the traditional solar month