The 12 names of Hanuman ji are: 1. Hanuman (हनुमान), 2. Anjanisunu (अंजनीसूनु), 3. Vayuputra (वायुपुत्र), 4. Mahabala (महाबल), 5. Rameshta (रामेष्ट), 6. Phalgunasakha (फाल्गुनसखा), 7. Pingaksha (पिंगाक्ष), 8. Amitavikrama (अमितविक्रम), 9. Udadhikramana (उदधिक्रमण), 10. Sitashokavinashana (सीताशोकविनाशन), 11. Lakshmanapranadata (लक्ष्मणप्राणदाता) and 12. Dashagrivadarpaha (दशग्रीवदर्पहा).
They come from a short Sanskrit prayer, the Hanuman Dwadash Naam Stotram (हनुमान द्वादश नाम स्तोत्र). Each name recalls something Hanuman ji is or something he did for Shri Ram. Below is what each name means, the stotra itself, and a free PDF.
The 12 Names of Hanuman Ji and Their Meaning
Each name, in Devanagari and in English letters, with what it means and the story behind it. Eight of the twelve deeds are also sung in the Hanuman Chalisa: the chaupai links open its meaning.
| # | Name | Meaning, and the story behind it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | हनुमान Hanuman | The one with the (struck) jaw; hanu means jaw. As a child he leapt at the rising sun, taking it for a fruit, and Indra’s vajra struck his jaw; from then on he was called Hanuman. Chaupai 18. |
| 2 | अंजनीसूनु Anjanisunu | Son of Anjana. His mother is Anjana. Chaupai 2: “अंजनि-पुत्र”. |
| 3 | वायुपुत्र Vayuputra | Son of Vayu, the wind god. Chaupai 2: “पवनसुत”; the closing doha: “पवनतनय”. |
| 4 | महाबल Mahabala | Of great strength. Chaupai 2: “अतुलित बल धामा”. |
| 5 | रामेष्ट Rameshta | Dear to Shri Ram. Shri Ram calls him as dear as his brother Bharat. Chaupai 12. |
| 6 | फाल्गुनसखा Phalgunasakha | Friend of Phalguna, that is Arjuna. In the Mahabharata he sits on the flag of Arjuna’s chariot. |
| 7 | पिंगाक्ष Pingaksha | With tawny, reddish-brown eyes. |
| 8 | अमितविक्रम Amitavikrama | Of boundless valour. Chaupai 3: “महाबीर बिक्रम बजरंगी”. |
| 9 | उदधिक्रमण Udadhikramana | Who crossed the ocean. He leapt across the sea to Lanka. Chaupai 19. |
| 10 | सीताशोकविनाशन Sitashokavinashana | Who ended Sita ji’s sorrow. He found her in the Ashok Vatika and gave her Shri Ram’s ring and news. Chaupai 9. |
| 11 | लक्ष्मणप्राणदाता Lakshmanapranadata | Who gave Lakshman ji his life back. He brought the sanjeevani when Lakshman ji fell in battle. Chaupai 11. |
| 12 | दशग्रीवदर्पहा Dashagrivadarpaha | Who broke the pride of Dashagriva, the ten-headed Ravana. He burnt Lanka and fought Ravana’s army. Chaupais 9 and 10. |
Hanuman Dwadash Naam Stotram (हनुमान द्वादश नाम स्तोत्र)
The twelve names come from this stotra of four verses. The first two verses are the names; the last two say when to recite them.
हनुमानञ्जनीसूनुर्वायुपुत्रो महाबलः।
रामेष्टः फाल्गुनसखः पिङ्गाक्षोऽमितविक्रमः॥१॥
उदधिक्रमणश्चैव सीताशोकविनाशनः।
लक्ष्मणप्राणदाता च दशग्रीवस्य दर्पहा॥२॥
एवं द्वादश नामानि कपीन्द्रस्य महात्मनः।
स्वापकाले प्रबोधे च यात्राकाले च यः पठेत्॥३॥
तस्य सर्वभयं नास्ति रणे च विजयी भवेत्।
राजद्वारे गह्वरे च भयं नास्ति कदाचन॥४॥
Some books print the first line of verse 4 as “तस्य मृत्युभयं नास्ति सर्वत्र विजयी भवेत्”.
In English letters
Hanumananjaneesoonur vayuputro mahabalah,
Rameshtah phalgunasakhah pingakshomitavikramah. (1)
Udadhikramanashchaiva seetashokavinashanah,
Lakshmanapranadata cha dashagreevasya darpaha. (2)
Evam dvadasha namani kapeendrasya mahatmanah,
Svapakale prabodhe cha yatrakale cha yah pathet. (3)
Tasya sarvabhayam nasti rane cha vijayee bhavet,
Rajadvare gahvare cha bhayam nasti kadachana. (4)
Meaning
Verses 1 and 2 are the twelve names (the table above). Verse 3: these are the twelve names of the great lord of the vanaras; whoever recites them at bedtime, on waking and when setting out on a journey… Verse 4: …has nothing to fear and wins in battle; at a king’s court or in a deep cave, he never knows fear.
हिंदी में: ये महात्मा कपीन्द्र (वानरों के राजा) के बारह नाम हैं। जो इन्हें सोते समय, जागने पर और यात्रा पर निकलते समय पढ़ता है, उसे किसी बात का भय नहीं रहता और वह युद्ध में विजयी होता है; राजा के दरबार में या किसी गहरी गुफा में भी उसे कभी डर नहीं लगता।
This is what the stotra itself says. Devotees recite it for courage and a calm mind; it is a prayer, not a guarantee.
The 12 Names as a Mantra (Namavali)
ॐ हनुमते नमः
ॐ अञ्जनीसूनवे नमः
ॐ वायुपुत्राय नमः
ॐ महाबलाय नमः
ॐ रामेष्टाय नमः
ॐ फाल्गुनसखाय नमः
ॐ पिङ्गाक्षाय नमः
ॐ अमितविक्रमाय नमः
ॐ उदधिक्रमणाय नमः
ॐ सीताशोकविनाशनाय नमः
ॐ लक्ष्मणप्राणदात्रे नमः
ॐ दशग्रीवदर्पघ्ने नमः
In puja, each name is said in this form, “Om … namah”, often with a flower or a few grains of rice (akshat) offered at each name.
When to Recite the 12 Names, and How Many Times
The stotra names three times: when you go to sleep, when you wake up, and when you set out on a journey. Many devotees also say the names on Tuesday and Saturday, Hanuman ji’s days. There is no fixed number: some say them once, some 11 times, and some keep it up for 21 days with a sankalp. What matters more than the count is saying them with attention. Reading the Hanuman Chalisa with them is common, and both fit in a few minutes.
Hanuman Ji’s Names in the Hanuman Chalisa
The Chalisa itself calls Hanuman ji by many names: राम दूत, Shri Ram’s messenger (chaupai 2); अंजनि-पुत्र and पवनसुत, son of Anjana and of the wind (chaupai 2); महाबीर and बजरंगी, the great hero with limbs like a vajra (chaupai 3); कपीस, lord of the vanaras (chaupai 1); संकर सुवन and केसरीनंदन, a form of Shiva and son of Kesari (chaupai 6); बलबीरा, the mighty hero (chaupai 36); गोसाईं, master (chaupai 37).
Other names people use every day are Bajrangbali, Maruti, Anjaneya (in the South), Sankat Mochan and Pavanputra (see Hanuman on Wikipedia). More about him on our Who Is Lord Hanuman page.
The 12 Names in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Other Languages
The same twelve names in seven more scripts, written letter for letter from the Hindi spelling in the table. Marathi uses the Devanagari names above.
Telugu (తెలుగు): హనుమాన, అంజనీసూను, వాయుపుత్ర, మహాబల, రామేష్ట, ఫాల్గునసఖా, పింగాక్ష, అమితవిక్రమ, ఉదధిక్రమణ, సీతాశోకవినాశన, లక్ష్మణప్రాణదాతా, దశగ్రీవదర్పహా
Kannada (ಕನ್ನಡ): ಹನುಮಾನ, ಅಂಜನೀಸೂನು, ವಾಯುಪುತ್ರ, ಮಹಾಬಲ, ರಾಮೇಷ್ಟ, ಫಾಲ್ಗುನಸಖಾ, ಪಿಂಗಾಕ್ಷ, ಅಮಿತವಿಕ್ರಮ, ಉದಧಿಕ್ರಮಣ, ಸೀತಾಶೋಕವಿನಾಶನ, ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಣಪ್ರಾಣದಾತಾ, ದಶಗ್ರೀವದರ್ಪಹಾ
Tamil (தமிழ்): ஹனுமான, அஞ்ஜனீஸூனு, வாயுபுத்ர, மஹாப³ல, ராமேஷ்ட, பா²ல்கு³னஸகா², பிங்கா³க்ஷ, அமிதவிக்ரம, உத³தி⁴க்ரமண, ஸீதாஶோகவினாஶன, லக்ஷ்மணப்ராணதா³தா, த³ஶக்³ரீவத³ர்பஹா
Malayalam (മലയാളം): ഹനുമാന, അഞ്ജനീസൂനു, വായുപുത്ര, മഹാബല, രാമേഷ്ട, ഫാല്ഗുനസഖാ, പിംഗാക്ഷ, അമിതവിക്രമ, ഉദധിക്രമണ, സീതാശോകവിനാശന, ലക്ഷ്മണപ്രാണദാതാ, ദശഗ്രീവദർപഹാ
Gujarati (ગુજરાતી): હનુમાન, અંજનીસૂનુ, વાયુપુત્ર, મહાબલ, રામેષ્ટ, ફાલ્ગુનસખા, પિંગાક્ષ, અમિતવિક્રમ, ઉદધિક્રમણ, સીતાશોકવિનાશન, લક્ષ્મણપ્રાણદાતા, દશગ્રીવદર્પહા
Bengali (বাংলা): হনুমান, অঞ্জনীসূনু, বায়ুপুত্র, মহাবল, রামেষ্ট, ফাল্গুনসখা, পিঙ্গাক্ষ, অমিতবিক্রম, উদধিক্রমণ, সীতাশোকবিনাশন, লক্ষ্মণপ্রাণদাতা, দশগ্রীবদর্পহা
Odia (ଓଡ଼ିଆ): ହନୁମାନ, ଅଞ୍ଜନୀସୂନୁ, ବାୟୁପୁତ୍ର, ମହାବଲ, ରାମେଷ୍ଟ, ଫାଲ୍ଗୁନସଖା, ପିଙ୍ଗାକ୍ଷ, ଅମିତବିକ୍ରମ, ଉଦଧିକ୍ରମଣ, ସୀତାଶୋକବିନାଶନ, ଲକ୍ଷ୍ମଣପ୍ରାଣଦାତା, ଦଶଗ୍ରୀବଦର୍ପହା
In Tamil, a small number after a letter marks the Sanskrit sound, as in Tamil stotra books and on our Tamil Hanuman Chalisa page.
12 Names of Hanuman Ji PDF and Phone Picture
The stotra and the twelve names with their meaning, on one page you can print or keep on your phone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions people often ask about the 12 names of Hanuman ji, in English and in Hindi.
Read the full Hanuman Chalisa in Hindi, its meaning, the Hanuman Aarti and the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Ashtak.