Hanuman is an ardent devotee of Lord Rama and one of the central characters in the various versions of the epic Ramayana found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. As one of the Chiranjivi, he is also mentioned in several other texts, such as the Mahabharata,the various Puranas and some Jain, Buddhist, and Sikh texts. Several later texts also present him as an incarnation of Shiva.Hanuman is the son of Anjana and Kesari and is also son of the wind-god Vayu, who according to several stories, played a role in his birth.

His theological origins in Hinduism are unclear. Alternate theories include him having ancient roots, being a non-Aryan deity who was Sanskritized by the Vedic Aryans, or that he is a fusion deity who emerged in literary works from folk Yaksha protector deities and theological symbolism