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स्पष्ट

हनुमान चालीसाHanuman Chalisa

Forty short verses and three couplets praising Hanuman, Ram's messenger, in old Awadhi. Here is every word, with the stories it assumes you already know.

All 43 verses

श्रीगुरुचरनसरोजरजनिजमनुमुकुरुसुधारि

With dust from my teacher's lotus feet, I clean the mirror of my mind.

बरनउँरघुबरबिमलजसुजोदायकुफलचारि

Then I describe Ram's spotless fame, which the verse says gives life's four fruits: duty, prosperity, pleasure and liberation.

बुद्धिहीनतनुजानिकेसुमिरौंपवनकुमार

Knowing how little sense I have, I call to mind the Son of the Wind.

बलबुधिबिद्यादेहुमोहिंहरहुकलेसबिकार

Give me strength, intelligence and learning, and take away my suffering and my flaws.

जयहनुमानज्ञानगुनसागर

Victory to Hanuman, an ocean of wisdom and goodness.

जयकपीसतिहुँलोकउजागर

Victory to the lord of the monkeys, who lights up all three worlds.

रामदूतअतुलितबलधामा

You are Ram's messenger, the home of a strength nothing can match.

अंजनिपुत्रपवनसुतनामा

You are Anjana's son, known by the name Son of the Wind.

महाबीरबिक्रमबजरंगी

Great hero, brave, with limbs as hard as a thunderbolt.

कुमतिनिवारसुमतिकेसंगी

You drive off bad thinking and keep company with good thinking.

कंचनबरनबिराजसुबेसा

Gold in colour, you shine in fine clothes,

काननकुंडलकुंचितकेसा

with earrings in your ears and curling hair.

हाथबज्रऔध्वजाबिराजै

A thunderbolt and a banner shine in your hands.

काँधेमूँजजनेऊसाजै

A sacred thread of munj grass sits on your shoulder.

संकरसुवनकेसरीनंदन

You are a son of Shiva and the joy of Kesari.

तेजप्रतापमहाजगबंदन

Your radiance and might are so great that the whole world bows to you.

बिद्यावानगुनीअतिचातुर

You are learned, gifted and very clever,

रामकाजकरिबेकोआतुर

and always eager to do Ram's work.

प्रभुचरित्रसुनिबेकोरसिया

You love nothing more than hearing your Lord's story.

रामलखनसीतामनबसिया

Ram, Lakshman and Sita live in your heart.

सूक्ष्मरूपधरिसियहिंदिखावा

Taking a tiny form, you showed yourself to Sita.

बिकटरूपधरिलंकजरावा

Taking a fearsome form, you set Lanka on fire.

भीमरूपधरिअसुरसँहारे

Taking a terrifying form, you destroyed the demons,

रामचंद्रकेकाजसँवारे

and brought Ram's tasks to a good end.

लायसजीवनलखनजियाये

You brought the life-giving herb and revived Lakshman.

श्रीरघुबीरहरषिउरलाये

Overjoyed, Ram pulled you to his chest.

रघुपतिकीन्हीबहुतबड़ाई

Ram praised you highly:

तुमममप्रियभरतहिसमभाई

"You are my dear brother, the equal of Bharat."

सहसबदनतुम्हरोजसगावैं

"A thousand mouths sing your fame," (many take this as Shesha, the thousand-headed serpent)

असकहिश्रीपतिकंठलगावैं

Saying this, Ram hugged you close.

सनकादिकब्रह्मादिमुनीसा

Sanaka and his brothers, Brahma and the great sages,

नारदसारदसहितअहीसा

Narada, Saraswati and the king of serpents,

जमकुबेरदिगपालजहाँते

Yama, Kubera and the guardians of the directions all fall short of saying it.

कबिकोबिदकहिसकेकहाँते

So how could poets and scholars ever tell your glory?

तुमउपकारसुग्रीवहिंकीन्हा

You did Sugriva a great favour.

राममिलायराजपददीन्हा

You brought him to Ram, and that gave him back his throne.

तुम्हरोमंत्रबिभीषनमाना

Vibhishana took your advice,

लंकेस्वरभएसबजगजाना

and became lord of Lanka, as the whole world knows.

जुगसहस्रजोजनपरभानू

The Sun stands an unimaginable distance away, “yuga, thousand, yojanas” in the hymn's words,

लील्योताहिमधुरफलजानू

and you swallowed it, thinking it was a sweet fruit.

प्रभुमुद्रिकामेलिमुखमाहीं

With your Lord's ring held in your mouth,

जलधिलाँघिगयेअचरजनाहीं

you leapt across the ocean, and no wonder you could.

दुर्गमकाजजगतकेजेते

However many hard tasks the world holds,

सुगमअनुग्रहतुम्हरेतेते

all of them turn easy by your grace, the hymn says.

रामदुआरेतुमरखवारे

You stand guard at Ram's door.

होतनआज्ञाबिनुपैसारे

No one gets in without your permission.

सबसुखलहैतुम्हारीसरना

Whoever takes shelter with you finds every happiness, the hymn says.

तुमरच्छककाहूकोडरना

With you as protector, why be afraid of anyone?

आपनतेजसम्हारोआपै

Only you can hold back your own power.

तीनोंलोकहाँकतेंकाँपै

The three worlds shake when you roar.

भूतपिसाचनिकटनहिंआवै

The hymn says ghosts and evil spirits stay away

महाबीरजबनामसुनावै

when the great hero's name is spoken.

नासैरोगहरैसबपीरा

The hymn says illness is destroyed and all pain taken away

जपतनिरंतरहनुमतबीरा

for anyone who keeps repeating the name of brave Hanuman.

संकटतेंहनुमानछुड़ावै

The hymn says Hanuman frees from trouble

मनक्रमबचनध्यानजोलावै

anyone who turns to him in thought, action and word.

सबपररामतपस्वीराजा

Above everyone stands Ram, the king who lived as an ascetic.

तिनकेकाजसकलतुमसाजा

You carried out every one of his tasks.

औरमनोरथजोकोईलावै

Whatever other wish anyone brings to you,

सोईअमितजीवनफलपावै

the hymn says, they receive life's boundless fruit.

चारोंजुगपरतापतुम्हारा

Your might runs through all four ages.

हैपरसिद्धजगतउजियारा

It is famous, a light for the whole world.

साधुसंतकेतुमरखवारे

You protect the holy and the good.

असुरनिकंदनरामदुलारे

You destroy demons, and Ram adores you.

अष्टसिद्धिनौनिधिकेदाता

You can give the eight powers and the nine treasures.

असबरदीनजानकीमाता

Mother Sita granted you this boon.

रामरसायनतुम्हरेपासा

You hold the elixir of devotion to Ram.

सदारहोरघुपतिकेदासा

May you always remain his servant.

तुम्हरेभजनरामकोपावै

The hymn says that by singing to you, a person reaches Ram

जनमजनमकेदुखबिसरावै

and lets go of the sorrows of lifetime after lifetime.

अंतकालरघुबरपुरजाई

At the end of life, the hymn says, that person goes to Ram's city,

जहाँजन्महरिभक्तकहाई

and wherever they are born again, they are known as a devotee of Hari.

औरदेवताचित्तनधरई

One who keeps no other god in mind,

हनुमतसेइसर्बसुखकरई

the hymn says, gains every happiness by serving Hanuman.

संकटकटैमिटैसबपीरा

Trouble is cut away and all pain fades, the hymn says,

जोसुमिरैहनुमतबलबीरा

for whoever remembers Hanuman, the mighty hero.

जैजैजैहनुमानगोसाईं

Victory, victory, victory to Hanuman, my master!

कृपाकरहुगुरुदेवकीनाईं

Be kind to me, the way a beloved teacher is.

जोसतबारपाठकरकोई

The hymn says that whoever recites this a hundred times

छूटहिबंदिमहासुखहोई

is freed from bondage and finds great happiness.

जोयहपढ़ैहनुमानचालीसा

Whoever reads this Hanuman Chalisa,

होयसिद्धिसाखीगौरीसा

gains success, the hymn says, and it calls Shiva to witness that promise.

तुलसीदाससदाहरिचेरा

Tulsidas is forever God's servant.

कीजैनाथहृदयमँहडेरा

Lord, make your home in my heart.

पवनतनयसंकटहरनमंगलमूरतिरूप

Son of the Wind, remover of trouble, you are blessing itself in visible form.

रामलखनसीतासहितहृदयबसहुसुरभूप

King of the gods, live in my heart, along with Ram, Lakshman and Sita.

Ask your elders

“Who taught you the Hanuman Chalisa, and is there one line you still say to yourself when you are worried?”

About the Hanuman Chalisa
Language
Awadhi
Attributed to
Traditionally attributed to Tulsidas (c. 1532-1623)
Period
Late 16th or early 17th century if Tulsidas wrote it; the text itself has no secure date
Verses
43

The Hanuman Chalisa is a hymn to Hanuman, the monkey hero of the Ramayana and Ram's devoted helper. Chalis means forty: there are forty verses in the chaupai metre, with two couplets (dohas) before them and one after. Many people know it by heart, and many homes recite it on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Tradition credits Tulsidas (c. 1532-1623), the poet of the Ramcharitmanas, and the last chaupai names him. That attribution is traditional, not proven. A poet's name in a closing verse doesn't settle who wrote a poem, the hymn is not among the twelve works biographers widely accept as his, and some writers doubt it is his. Many printed versions also differ by a word or two here and there.

It is hard to follow today for two reasons. Awadhi, the eastern Hindi speech of the Ayodhya region, has its own verbs and endings, and Sanskrit words are worn into forms like jasu for yaśas. The hymn also expects you to know the Ramayana already: half a line can stand for a whole episode. Some verses promise protection, relief or reward. We translate what they say and mark that the hymn is speaking. That is a report of the text, not a promise from us.

Sources
  1. Hanuman Chalisa, standard printed text as commonly circulated
  2. Valmiki Ramayana (Kishkindha, Sundara and Yuddha Kandas)
  3. Tulsidas, Ramcharitmanas
  4. Shiva Purana
  5. Manusmriti 1.71
  6. Vedanga Jyotisha
  7. Philip Lutgendorf, Hanuman's Tale: The Messages of a Divine Monkey (Oxford University Press, 2007)
  8. Swami Rambhadracharya, Mahaviri (Hindi commentary, 1984)