Panchamukha (Devanagari: पञ्चमुख) (alternatively Panchamukhi) is a Sanskrit word meaning 'five-faced'. Most of the Hindu deities are shown as having several faces.
Origins of the Panchamukhi
The origin of Sri Panchamukhi Hanuman can be traced to a story in Ramayana. During the war between Lord Rama and Ravana, Ravana took help of Ahiravana, the king of Pathala. Lord Hanuman in order to protect Lord Rama and Lakshman formed a fortress with his tail. Ahiravana took the form of Vibhishana the noble brother of Ravana and took Lord Rama and Lakshman to Pathala loka..
Hanuman entered pathala loka in search of Rama and Lakshmana, He found that life of Ahiravana was hidden in the five lamps which were placed in different directions. He could be killed only by extinguishing all five lamps the same time. To accomplish this Hanuman had to take the form of Panchamukha Hanuman.
This form of Hanuman has five faces. Hayagriva, Narasimha, Garuda and Varaha are the four other faces along with Hanuman's face. Hanuman, using the five faces in different directions, blew out the lamps thereby killing Ahiravana.
According to Hanumath Prakaranam in Sri Vidyarnavatantram, Anjaneya has five faces (Pancha Mukha) and ten weapons. Hanuman is a great yogi (mystic) having transcended the five senses (Pancha Indriyas). In Kamba Ramayanam (in Tamil), the significance of number five is beautifully narrated as follows: The son of one of the five elements (son of wind - Pavana Thanaya) crossed one of the five elements (water – the ocean), through one of the five elements (sky), met daughter of one of the five elements (daughter of earth - Sita Devi) burnt down Lanka by one of the five elements (fire). Sundara Kanda highlights the heroic exploits of Lord Hanuman at Lanka.
By many, it is considered auspicious to circle the Hanuman idol 5 times, 14 times, 23 times, 32 times or any amount in which the digits of which add to five.
The pancha mukha hanuman is rare idol of Hanuman. There are many legends and interpretations of this. One of the legend is that Lord Hanuman appeared before Raghavendra Swami in a unique way amalgamating within him the avataras of "varaha, garuda, anjaneya, narasimha and hayagreeva", thus five-headed.
Panchamukhi, located on the south bank of river Tungabhadra near Manchala now known as Mantralayam is where Raghavendra Swami performed penance for 12 long years in a cave. In appreciation of his Yoga, Lord Panchamukhi Pranadevaru, Kollahpura Mahalakshmi, Lord Venkateshwara of Tirupati and Kurmavathara gave him darshan. Then Raghavendra Swami left for Mantralaya where he entered into Samadhi. A temple, the Panchamukhi Anjaneyaswamy temple, was constructed on the spot where Raghavendra Swami performed penance.
Details of Panchamukaa
East facing Anjaneya to grant Ishta Siddhi to humanity. South facing Karala Ugraveera Narasimha to grant Abhista Siddhi to humanity. West facing Mahaveera Garuda to grant Sakala Sowbhagya to humanity. North facing Lakshmi Varaha to grant Dhana Prapthi to humanity. Urdhva Mukha being Hayagriva to grant Sarva Vidya Jaya Prapthi to humanity.
Interpretations of Panchamukaa-The Five Ways of Praying to the Lord
These five ways are known as Naman, Smaran, Keerthanam, Yachanam and Arpanam. The five faces of Panchamukaa are each a depiction of one these five forms of worship. Lord Hanuman always used to Naman, Smaran and Keerthanam of Lord Sri Rama. He totally surrendered (Arpanam) to his Master Sri Ram. He also begged (yachanam) Sri Rama to bless him with undivided love. From the Bhagavat Gita
In the Bhagavat Gita, Lord Krishna tells Arjun, "He who acts for me, who is engrossed in me, who is my devotee, who is free from attachment, he reaches me". We find all these 5 qualities enshrined in Hanuman. Each of his faces represent these five divine qualifications. Maybe an artist thought over about this before making the Vigraham. There is a belief that one of the faces is that of Sri Vinayaka. Half Ganesha and half Hanuman The idol of Adyanta Maha Prabhu depicts a figure of half Anjaneya and half Vinayaka.
At Madya Kailas temple Adyar Madras, the idol is an amalgam of Sri Vigneshwara and Sri Anjaneya in the style of Ardhanareeswara (Siva and Parvati) and Sri Sankaranarayana (a combination of Siva and Narayana). The word Aadiyantha stands for "beginning to end" (Aadi = beginning & Antha = end).
There is a Tamil saying "Begin with Ganesa and end up with Anjaneya".
Many people visit the temple to receive a blessing of the "Twins" against the influence of Navagrahas. The importance of the idol is that Sri Vigneswara and Sri Anjaneya are the only two deities who are totally free from any influence over them whatsoever by the Navagrahas. It is believed that, the devotees can and do influence the Navagrahas themselves proportionate to the devoutness with which the devotees address themselves to Sri Aadiyanta Prabhu!
Panchmukhi of Basatiyawala
Panchmukhi Hanuman temple of Basatiyawala exists in Yamunanagar district of Haryana near Kalesar National Park.
As part of INR1200 crore Morni-Kalesar tourism development plan announced in January 2019, the Government of Haryana is developing this temple, along with Kalesar Mahadev temple, Kapal Mochan Tirth, Sharda Mata Temple of Chotta Trilokpur, Lohgarh fort capital of Banda Singh Bahadur.[1]
Sri Viswaroopa Panchamukha Anjaneyaswami Temple, Tiruvallur
Lord Hanuman is worshipped all over India with various names like Anjaneya, Hanumanji, Maruti, Bajrang Bali, Mahavir, Pavan Kumar. He was born to the Wind God and Anjana Devi. He is one of the seven chiranjeevis (immortal ones).
The Sun God Surya is considered as his Guru.
The Valmiki Ramayana has a seperate section called Sundara Kandam or Sundar kand, which describes in detail the leelas of Lord Hanuman is his search for Sita , across the sea.
The Sundara Kandam comprises 2885 verses and the word Sundara means beautiful. The esoteric significance of the sundara kandam is important. The ocean represents the ocean of samsara. Lord Rama represents the paramatma and Sita Devi represents the jivatma. Hanuman represents the Guru or Divine teacher.
Origin of Sri Panchamukha Hanuman
The origin of Sri Panchamukha Hanuman can be traced to a story in the Ramayana. During the war between Lord Ram and Ravana, Ravana took the help of Mahiravana who was the king of pathala. Lord Hanuman in order to protect Lord Ram and Lakshman formed a fortress with his tail. But Mahiravana took the form of Vibeeshana and took Lord Ram and Lakshman to pathala loka.
Hanuman entered pathala loka in search of Rama and Lakshmana. He found out that to kill Mahiravana he had to extinguish 5 lamps at the same time. So he took the Panchamukha form with Hanuman, Hayagriva, Narasimha, Garuda and Varaha faces and extinguished the lamps. Mahiravana was killed immediately.
The story apart, Sri Panchamukha Hanuman was the upasana deity of Sri Ragavendra Tirtha, the saint of Mantralaya. The place where he meditated on Panchamukha Hanuman is now known as Panchamukhi, wherein a temple for Panchamukha Hanuman has been built.
There is also a shrine for Panchamukha Hanuman at Kumbakonam. This is taken as the reference for the sculpturing of the Swami Murti in our ashram.
The Mahapradishtai of 32 feet tall Sri Viswaroopa Panchmukha Anjaneyaswami at Periakuppam Village at Tiruvallur ( 45 kms from Chennai, enroute to Tirupathy ) was performed on the 6th June, 2004 with the blessings of Gurudev Poojyasri “Mantramurthy Dasan.” S. Venkatesa Bhattachariar Swamigal, Fonder Trustee of Sri Viswaroopa Panchmukha Anjaneyaswami Foundation, a registered trust.
This happened to be a unique event for the entire humanity. The uniqueness is due to the fact that this is the one and only Pradishtai in the entire world under the MANTRA SHASTRA.
The main objective behind this Mahapradishtai is Gurudev’s commitment to pass on, for the benefit of the entire humanity, the all powerful Moola Mantras of Sri Anjaneyaswami, Sri Narasimhaswami, Sri Mahaveera Garudaswami, Sri Lakshmivarahamurthi Swami and Sri. Hayagreevaswami which he inherited from his Guruji.
Gurudev was an exponent of Mantra Shastra and he had alleviated the miseries of so many individuals / institutions by conducting poojas/ homams by way of pariharams. He had the good fortune of having, as his Guru, Sri Rengaswami Bhattachar of Aanathandevapuram who was conferred with the tiltle of “Mantramurthy” by none other than the great Paramacharya of Kanch Mutt in recognition of his mastery of Mantra Shastra.
After the construction of the Mandapams, it is proposed to engrave the Moola Mantras on the walls facing each Mukha so that any one, without any discrimination whatsoever can chant the Moola Mantra in the prescribed manner and get their wishes fulfilled and prayers answered. The powerful Shakthi of Guru Parampara will make this happen.
Significance of the Five Faces
The face towards the East is “Sri Anjaneyaswami Mukha” which removes all blemishes of sin and confers purity of mind
The South facing mukha of “Sri Narasimhaswami” removes fear of enemies and confers victory
The West facing mukha of “Sri Mahaviragarudaswami” drives away evil spells, black magic influences and removes all poisonous effects in one’s body
The North facing mukha of “Sri Lakshmi Varahamurthyswami” wards off the troubles caused by bad influences of the planets and confers all prosperity Ashta Aishwarya
The face looking upwards of “Sri Hayagreevaswami” confers knowledge, victory, progeny and mukthi
Some Highlights of the Pradishtai
Tallest (32′) Sri Panchamukha Anjaneyswami in Viswaroopa form, magnificently sculpted out of a massive monolithic green granite stone (36′ X 20′ X 10′) transported from Hassan, Karnataka
The Only pradishtai in the whole under Mandra Shastra
The place of pradishtai was known as Rudhra Vanam in legendary times where great sages like Agasthya have done penance.
Objectives of the Foundation
Annadhanam
Establishment and running of Vedha Patashalas
Propagation of Mantra, Yantra and Tantra Shastras
Medical and Educational assistance to poor and needy
Establishment and maintenance of Ghoshala
Establishment and maintenance of old age homes / Orphanages
Location of Asramam
Tiruvallur is situated at 45 kms from Chennai on the Chennai – Tiruttani – Thirupati route and the famous Vaidhya Veera Raghavaswami Temple is situated here. The nearest Airport is Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is is also connected by rail. You need to get down at Tiruvallur railway station.
From Chennai, to reach the Panchamukha Anjaneya Swami Ashram, take the road identified by a Ashram sign board from “oil mill junction” at Tiruvallur and be guided by sign boards placed at every intersection.
Temple Address :10, Devi Meenakshi Nagar, Rajajipuram Part – III, Periyakuppam, Tiruvallur – 602 001, Tamil Nadu.
Phone: 91-44-27600641 Website : www.panchamukha.org
My note- of forwarding- I read the above from Wikipedia and the ashram website and found informative and thought of forwarding.
Origins of the Panchamukhi
The origin of Sri Panchamukhi Hanuman can be traced to a story in Ramayana. During the war between Lord Rama and Ravana, Ravana took help of Ahiravana, the king of Pathala. Lord Hanuman in order to protect Lord Rama and Lakshman formed a fortress with his tail. Ahiravana took the form of Vibhishana the noble brother of Ravana and took Lord Rama and Lakshman to Pathala loka..
Hanuman entered pathala loka in search of Rama and Lakshmana, He found that life of Ahiravana was hidden in the five lamps which were placed in different directions. He could be killed only by extinguishing all five lamps the same time. To accomplish this Hanuman had to take the form of Panchamukha Hanuman.
This form of Hanuman has five faces. Hayagriva, Narasimha, Garuda and Varaha are the four other faces along with Hanuman's face. Hanuman, using the five faces in different directions, blew out the lamps thereby killing Ahiravana.
According to Hanumath Prakaranam in Sri Vidyarnavatantram, Anjaneya has five faces (Pancha Mukha) and ten weapons. Hanuman is a great yogi (mystic) having transcended the five senses (Pancha Indriyas). In Kamba Ramayanam (in Tamil), the significance of number five is beautifully narrated as follows: The son of one of the five elements (son of wind - Pavana Thanaya) crossed one of the five elements (water – the ocean), through one of the five elements (sky), met daughter of one of the five elements (daughter of earth - Sita Devi) burnt down Lanka by one of the five elements (fire). Sundara Kanda highlights the heroic exploits of Lord Hanuman at Lanka.
By many, it is considered auspicious to circle the Hanuman idol 5 times, 14 times, 23 times, 32 times or any amount in which the digits of which add to five.
The pancha mukha hanuman is rare idol of Hanuman. There are many legends and interpretations of this. One of the legend is that Lord Hanuman appeared before Raghavendra Swami in a unique way amalgamating within him the avataras of "varaha, garuda, anjaneya, narasimha and hayagreeva", thus five-headed.
Panchamukhi, located on the south bank of river Tungabhadra near Manchala now known as Mantralayam is where Raghavendra Swami performed penance for 12 long years in a cave. In appreciation of his Yoga, Lord Panchamukhi Pranadevaru, Kollahpura Mahalakshmi, Lord Venkateshwara of Tirupati and Kurmavathara gave him darshan. Then Raghavendra Swami left for Mantralaya where he entered into Samadhi. A temple, the Panchamukhi Anjaneyaswamy temple, was constructed on the spot where Raghavendra Swami performed penance.
Details of Panchamukaa
East facing Anjaneya to grant Ishta Siddhi to humanity. South facing Karala Ugraveera Narasimha to grant Abhista Siddhi to humanity. West facing Mahaveera Garuda to grant Sakala Sowbhagya to humanity. North facing Lakshmi Varaha to grant Dhana Prapthi to humanity. Urdhva Mukha being Hayagriva to grant Sarva Vidya Jaya Prapthi to humanity.
Interpretations of Panchamukaa-The Five Ways of Praying to the Lord
These five ways are known as Naman, Smaran, Keerthanam, Yachanam and Arpanam. The five faces of Panchamukaa are each a depiction of one these five forms of worship. Lord Hanuman always used to Naman, Smaran and Keerthanam of Lord Sri Rama. He totally surrendered (Arpanam) to his Master Sri Ram. He also begged (yachanam) Sri Rama to bless him with undivided love. From the Bhagavat Gita
In the Bhagavat Gita, Lord Krishna tells Arjun, "He who acts for me, who is engrossed in me, who is my devotee, who is free from attachment, he reaches me". We find all these 5 qualities enshrined in Hanuman. Each of his faces represent these five divine qualifications. Maybe an artist thought over about this before making the Vigraham. There is a belief that one of the faces is that of Sri Vinayaka. Half Ganesha and half Hanuman The idol of Adyanta Maha Prabhu depicts a figure of half Anjaneya and half Vinayaka.
At Madya Kailas temple Adyar Madras, the idol is an amalgam of Sri Vigneshwara and Sri Anjaneya in the style of Ardhanareeswara (Siva and Parvati) and Sri Sankaranarayana (a combination of Siva and Narayana). The word Aadiyantha stands for "beginning to end" (Aadi = beginning & Antha = end).
There is a Tamil saying "Begin with Ganesa and end up with Anjaneya".
Many people visit the temple to receive a blessing of the "Twins" against the influence of Navagrahas. The importance of the idol is that Sri Vigneswara and Sri Anjaneya are the only two deities who are totally free from any influence over them whatsoever by the Navagrahas. It is believed that, the devotees can and do influence the Navagrahas themselves proportionate to the devoutness with which the devotees address themselves to Sri Aadiyanta Prabhu!
Panchmukhi of Basatiyawala
Panchmukhi Hanuman temple of Basatiyawala exists in Yamunanagar district of Haryana near Kalesar National Park.
As part of INR1200 crore Morni-Kalesar tourism development plan announced in January 2019, the Government of Haryana is developing this temple, along with Kalesar Mahadev temple, Kapal Mochan Tirth, Sharda Mata Temple of Chotta Trilokpur, Lohgarh fort capital of Banda Singh Bahadur.[1]
Sri Viswaroopa Panchamukha Anjaneyaswami Temple, Tiruvallur
Lord Hanuman is worshipped all over India with various names like Anjaneya, Hanumanji, Maruti, Bajrang Bali, Mahavir, Pavan Kumar. He was born to the Wind God and Anjana Devi. He is one of the seven chiranjeevis (immortal ones).
The Sun God Surya is considered as his Guru.
The Valmiki Ramayana has a seperate section called Sundara Kandam or Sundar kand, which describes in detail the leelas of Lord Hanuman is his search for Sita , across the sea.
The Sundara Kandam comprises 2885 verses and the word Sundara means beautiful. The esoteric significance of the sundara kandam is important. The ocean represents the ocean of samsara. Lord Rama represents the paramatma and Sita Devi represents the jivatma. Hanuman represents the Guru or Divine teacher.
Origin of Sri Panchamukha Hanuman
The origin of Sri Panchamukha Hanuman can be traced to a story in the Ramayana. During the war between Lord Ram and Ravana, Ravana took the help of Mahiravana who was the king of pathala. Lord Hanuman in order to protect Lord Ram and Lakshman formed a fortress with his tail. But Mahiravana took the form of Vibeeshana and took Lord Ram and Lakshman to pathala loka.
Hanuman entered pathala loka in search of Rama and Lakshmana. He found out that to kill Mahiravana he had to extinguish 5 lamps at the same time. So he took the Panchamukha form with Hanuman, Hayagriva, Narasimha, Garuda and Varaha faces and extinguished the lamps. Mahiravana was killed immediately.
The story apart, Sri Panchamukha Hanuman was the upasana deity of Sri Ragavendra Tirtha, the saint of Mantralaya. The place where he meditated on Panchamukha Hanuman is now known as Panchamukhi, wherein a temple for Panchamukha Hanuman has been built.
There is also a shrine for Panchamukha Hanuman at Kumbakonam. This is taken as the reference for the sculpturing of the Swami Murti in our ashram.
The Mahapradishtai of 32 feet tall Sri Viswaroopa Panchmukha Anjaneyaswami at Periakuppam Village at Tiruvallur ( 45 kms from Chennai, enroute to Tirupathy ) was performed on the 6th June, 2004 with the blessings of Gurudev Poojyasri “Mantramurthy Dasan.” S. Venkatesa Bhattachariar Swamigal, Fonder Trustee of Sri Viswaroopa Panchmukha Anjaneyaswami Foundation, a registered trust.
This happened to be a unique event for the entire humanity. The uniqueness is due to the fact that this is the one and only Pradishtai in the entire world under the MANTRA SHASTRA.
The main objective behind this Mahapradishtai is Gurudev’s commitment to pass on, for the benefit of the entire humanity, the all powerful Moola Mantras of Sri Anjaneyaswami, Sri Narasimhaswami, Sri Mahaveera Garudaswami, Sri Lakshmivarahamurthi Swami and Sri. Hayagreevaswami which he inherited from his Guruji.
Gurudev was an exponent of Mantra Shastra and he had alleviated the miseries of so many individuals / institutions by conducting poojas/ homams by way of pariharams. He had the good fortune of having, as his Guru, Sri Rengaswami Bhattachar of Aanathandevapuram who was conferred with the tiltle of “Mantramurthy” by none other than the great Paramacharya of Kanch Mutt in recognition of his mastery of Mantra Shastra.
After the construction of the Mandapams, it is proposed to engrave the Moola Mantras on the walls facing each Mukha so that any one, without any discrimination whatsoever can chant the Moola Mantra in the prescribed manner and get their wishes fulfilled and prayers answered. The powerful Shakthi of Guru Parampara will make this happen.
Significance of the Five Faces
The face towards the East is “Sri Anjaneyaswami Mukha” which removes all blemishes of sin and confers purity of mind
The South facing mukha of “Sri Narasimhaswami” removes fear of enemies and confers victory
The West facing mukha of “Sri Mahaviragarudaswami” drives away evil spells, black magic influences and removes all poisonous effects in one’s body
The North facing mukha of “Sri Lakshmi Varahamurthyswami” wards off the troubles caused by bad influences of the planets and confers all prosperity Ashta Aishwarya
The face looking upwards of “Sri Hayagreevaswami” confers knowledge, victory, progeny and mukthi
Some Highlights of the Pradishtai
Tallest (32′) Sri Panchamukha Anjaneyswami in Viswaroopa form, magnificently sculpted out of a massive monolithic green granite stone (36′ X 20′ X 10′) transported from Hassan, Karnataka
The Only pradishtai in the whole under Mandra Shastra
The place of pradishtai was known as Rudhra Vanam in legendary times where great sages like Agasthya have done penance.
Objectives of the Foundation
Annadhanam
Establishment and running of Vedha Patashalas
Propagation of Mantra, Yantra and Tantra Shastras
Medical and Educational assistance to poor and needy
Establishment and maintenance of Ghoshala
Establishment and maintenance of old age homes / Orphanages
Location of Asramam
Tiruvallur is situated at 45 kms from Chennai on the Chennai – Tiruttani – Thirupati route and the famous Vaidhya Veera Raghavaswami Temple is situated here. The nearest Airport is Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is is also connected by rail. You need to get down at Tiruvallur railway station.
From Chennai, to reach the Panchamukha Anjaneya Swami Ashram, take the road identified by a Ashram sign board from “oil mill junction” at Tiruvallur and be guided by sign boards placed at every intersection.
Temple Address :10, Devi Meenakshi Nagar, Rajajipuram Part – III, Periyakuppam, Tiruvallur – 602 001, Tamil Nadu.
Phone: 91-44-27600641 Website : www.panchamukha.org
My note- of forwarding- I read the above from Wikipedia and the ashram website and found informative and thought of forwarding.
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