Shri Hanuman was born to the humanoid creatures called the vanaras. His mother Anjana was an apsara who was born on earth as a female vanara due to a curse. She would be redeemed from this curse on her giving birth to a son. The Valmiki Ramayana states that his father Kesari was the son of Brihaspati and that Kesari also fought on Rama’s side in the war against Ravana. Anjana and Kesari performed intense prayers to Shiva to get a child. Pleased with their devotion, Shiva granted them the boon they sought. Shri Hanuman, in another interpretation, is the incarnation or reflection of Shiva himself.
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Shri Hanuman is often called the son of the deity Vayu; several different traditions account for the Vayu’s role in Hanuman’s birth. One story mentioned in Eknath’s Bhavartha Ramayana (16th century CE) states that when Anjana was worshiping Shiva, the King Dasharatha of Ayodhya was also performing the ritual of Putrakama yagna in order to have children. As a result, he received some sacred pudding (payasam) to be shared by his three wives, leading to the births of Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna. By divine ordinance, a kite snatched a fragment of that pudding and dropped it while flying over the forest where Anjana was engaged in worship. Vayu, the Hindu deity of the wind, delivered the falling pudding to the outstretched hands of Anjana, who consumed it.Shri Hanuman was born to her as a result.Another tradition says that Anjana and her husband Kesari prayed Shiva for a child. By Shiva’s direction, Vayu transferred his male energy to Anjana’s womb. Accordingly, Shri Hanuman is identified as the son of the Vayu.
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Another story of Shri Hanuman’s origins is derived from the Vishnu Purana and Naradeya Purana. Narada muni , infatuated with a princess, went to his God Vishnu, to make him look like God Vishnu, so that the princess would garland him at swayamvara (husband-chosing ceremony). He asked for hari mukh (Hari is another name of Vishnu, and mukh means face). God Vishnu instead bestowed him with the face of a vanara. Unaware of this, Narada Muni went to the princess, who burst into laughter at the sight of his ape-like face before all the king’s court. Narada Muni, unable to bear the humiliation, cursed Vishnu, that Vishnu would one day be dependent upon a vanara. God Vishnu replied that what he had done was for Narada Muni’s own good, as he would have undermined his own powers if he were to enter matrimony. God Vishnu also told that Hari has the dual Sanskrit meaning of vanara. Upon hearing this, Narada repented for cursing his ideal. But God Vishnu told him not repent as the curse would act as a boon, for it would lead to the birth of Shri Hanuman, an avatar of Shiva, without whose help Rama (Vishnu’s avatar) could not kill Ravana.