Hanuman Chalisa
Forty chaupais in the language of the people — Awadhi — that children learn before they can read. Who wrote the Hanuman Chalisa, what does it tell us about Hanuman, and why do millions recite it when they are afraid?
The verse
A hymn in the people's language
The Hanuman Chalisa — chālīsā means "forty" — is written not in Sanskrit but in Awadhi, a form of Hindi. Its forty chaupais (four-part verses), framed by dohas at the beginning and end, are sung in homes, temples and gyms, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and in moments of fear. It is traditionally attributed to the 16th-century poet-saint Tulsidas, author of the Ramcharitmanas.
It begins with the guru
Before praising Hanuman, the Chalisa begins by cleaning the mirror of the mind with the dust of the guru's lotus feet: "śrī guru carana saroja raja nija manu mukuru sudhāri". Only a clear mirror can reflect the divine. Then comes the famous first chaupai — and a story about how the poem was written…
The journey continues for members
- The story of its writing
- What the verses tell
- How to recite
- A note on what mantras promise
Sources
- Hanuman Chalisa — attributed to Tulsidas, Awadhi
- Ramcharitmanas — Tulsidas