Hanuman
Chalisa
(The Hanuman-Forty)
By
Saint
Thulasi das
Translated by
P.R.Ramachander
(Hanuman Chalisa, the boon of Tulsidas to
all the Hindus in the world, will find a place in every home where it can act
as a panacea for all problems, be they physical, mental or spiritual. It is a
prayer addressed To Hanuman, possibly the greatest character Of Ramayana, next
only to Rama and Sita.
God Hanuman was born to Anjana, a monkey. His father is considered to be
Lord Shiva and/or Lord Vayu. As a baby,
when his mother advised to him to eat any fruit which is purple, he jumped
towards the rising Sun God. Indra hit
him with his Vajra to save the sun. Hanuman fell down in a coma. Vayu his
father took his child away and hid in a cave. Because of this all beings on the
earth, who were depending on Vayu to breath started dying. All the gods
entreated Lord Vayu, not to be angry and gave Baby Hanuman, several boons.
Later in life Hanuman became a friend of Sugreeva, the younger brother of Vali.
Vali started tormenting Sugreeva due to some misunderstanding. Because of this
Sugreeva was forced to hide in Rishya mooka mountains. Sri Rama and Lakshmana
reached this mountain in search of Sita who was stolen by Ravana. Hanuman met
them and was instrumental in getting a treaty signed between Sri Rama and
Sugreeva. Sri Rama killed Vali and made Sugreeva the king of monkeys. Even at
the first meeting Lord Hanuman became charmed by the personality of Sri Rama
and became his devotee. As per the treaty, he went in search of Sita, to the
south along with a big army of monkeys. He crossed the sea and brought back the
news of Sita’s well being to Rama. Later before the war, he requested Rama to
have a treaty with Vibheeshana the brother of Ravana. During the war between Rama and Ravana he
played a very major role. When Indrajit, the son of Ravana, killed Lakshmana,
he brought the
Sage Valmiki wrote the story of Rama in Sanskrit. Though the story
became very popular among scholars , there was a need to write it in the
several regional languages , It was written in Hindi by Sage Thulasi Das ,
Instead of adopting the scholar’s Hindi to do the translation, Sage Thulasi Das
adopted the very popular colloquial form of Hindi called Vraja Bhasha . Because
of this, even the very common man could understand it easily. Among the Hindi
knowing Hindus, even today, it is the number one book.
Saint Thulasi Das who was a great admirer of Hanuman, also wrote these
forty verses praising Hanuman and called it “Hanuman Chalisa”. This is possibly
the most popular Hindu prayer written in Hindi even today.. Its extreme
simplicity makes it dear to every one’s heart. )
Sri Guru charana saroja raj,
Nija mana mukura sudhar,
Varanau Raghuvara vimala yasa,
Jo dayaka phala char.
Having cleaned the
mirror of my mind,
With the lotus like
feet of my teacher,
I describe the
unsullied fame of Lord Rama,
Which would give me the
four fold wealth.
Budhi heena thanu jaani ke,
Sumeerou pavana kumar,
Bala budhi vidhya dehu moheem,
Harau klesa vikar.
Though I am one
without any brain,
I place in my mind,
the son of wind,
And pray to him earnestly
to give me,
Wisdom, knowledge and
strength,
And steal away from
me all my miseries.
Jaya Hanuman gnan guna sagara,
Jaya kapeesa thihu loka ujagara. 1
Victory to Hanuman,
the sea of wisdom and character,
Victory to the lord
of Monkeys,
Whose fame echoes in all
the three worlds.
Rama dhootha , athulitha bala dhama,
Anjani puthra pavana sutha nama, 2
You are the emissary
of lord Rama,
You are the storehouse
of incomparable strength,
You are the son
of monkey called Anjani,
And you are also the
son of God of wind.
Maha veera vikrama bhaja rangi,
Kumathi nivara sumathi ke sangi. 3
You are the a great
valorous hero who worships Rama,
You cure bad
characters and is the friend of those who do good,
Kaanchan varna viraja suvesha,
Kannan kundala kunchitha kesa. 4
You are the of golden
colour and dress yourself well,
You wear golden ear
rings and have curly hair.
Hatha bajra aur thwajaa virajai,
Kanthe munja janehu sajai. 5
You have a flag and
thunderbolt in your hands,
You wear sacred
thread made of Munja grass,
Shankara suvana ,kesari nandana,
Theja prathapa maha
jaga vandana. 6
You are the son of
Lord Shiva as well as Kesari,
You with your glowing self are saluted by the entire world.
Vidhyavan, gunee athi chathura,
Ram kaaja karibe ko aathura. 7
You are the wise ,
good and very sharp witted,
You are the anxious
to do the work of Rama.
Prabhu charitha sunibhe ko rasiya,
Rama Lakshmana Sita mana basiya. 8
You are ecstasic to hear the history of Rama,
In your mind resides Rama, Lakshmana and Sita.
Sookshma roopa dhari siya him dikhava,
Vikata roopa dhari Lanka jarava. 9
You took a micro form
and saved Sita,
You took a fearful
form and burnt Lanka.
Bheema roopa dhari asura samhare,
Ramachandra ke kaj sanvare, 10
You took a big macro
form for killing asuras,
And completed the
task of Ramachandra,
Laaya sanjeevan lashana jiyaye,
Sri Raghuveera harashi ura laye, 11
You saved Lakshmana’s
life by Bringing Sanjeevini,
And brought happiness
to the hero of Raghu clan,
Raghupathi keeni bahuth badayi,
Thum mama priya hee Bharatha sama bhayi. 12
You were greatly
praised by Lord Rama,
And were told, “you
too are my brother like Bharatha.”.
Sahasra vadana thumharo yasha gavaim,
Aaha kahavai Sri pathi kantha lagavai, 13
Embracing you, said
Rama, the consort of Sita
“Even The thousand
headed snake sang your praise.”
Sanakadhika brahmadhi muneesa,
Narada saradha sahitha aheesa,
14
Yama , Kubhera dikapala jahamthey,
Kavi kovidha kahi sakaim kahamthey, 15
The sanaka sages, the
Lord Brahma,
Sage Narada, Goddess
Saraswathi, the lord Shiva,
The god of death, god
of wealth, the guardians of directions,
And great poets tried
to explain your glory adequately but
failed.
Thum upakara sugreevaheem keenha,
Rama milaya rajapatha deenha,
16
By making him meet
Rama ,
And getting him again
the kingship,
You provided
inestimable help to Sugreeva.
Thumharo manthra Vibheeshana maana,
Lankeswara bhaye saba jaga jaana. 19
All the world knows ,
That Vibheeshana
became king of Lanka,
Because he obeyed
your holy words.
Yuga sahasra yojana para Bhanu,
Leelayo thahi madura bala janu.
18
Thinking that he is
but a sweet fruit,
You swallowed Lord
sun,
Who is thousands of
miles away.
Prabhu mudrika meli mukha maheem,
Jaladhi landhi gaye acharaja naaheem. 19
You crossed the ocean
, holding the Lord’s ring,
In your mouth, and
this is nothing surprising for you,
Durgama kaj jagat ke jethe,
Sugama anugraha thumhare dethe,
20
You provide victory in difficult times
To the people of the world
and give your blessings
Rama dware thuma rakhawale,
Hotha na agyan bina paisare.
21
You are the
guard to the door to the mind of Rama,
And without your permission,
none can enter there.
Sab sukha lihai
thumhari sarana,
Thum rakshak kahu ko darna,
22
All pleasures start
from you,
And when you give
protection,
Why is there a need
to fear any one,
Aapana theja samarou aapai,
Theenom loka hankthe kaapain, 23
You alone can control
the burst of your energy,
Seeing which all the
three worlds shiver,
Bhootha pisacha nikata nahi aavai,
Mahabeera Jap naama sunavai.
24
Evil spirits and
ghosts do not come near,
When they hear the
name of the great hero, Hanuman.
Nasai rog harai sab peera,
Japatha niranthara hanumath beera. 25
Diseases and
sufferings are destroyed,
When the Name of
Hanuman is repeated always.
Sankata se Hanuman chudavai,
Mana karma vachana dhyana jo lavai. 26
Hanuman will save you
from sorrow,
Who meditates on him
with mind, action and words.
Sab par Ram thapasvi raja,
Tinake kaja sakala thum sanja. 27
You fulfilled all
jobs of Rama,
Who fulfilled desires
of all his devotees.
Aur manoradha jo koi lavai,
Soye amitha jeevan phala Pavai.
28
And any of those who
bring their desires to you
Would get them
fulfilled and get a better life.
Charahu yuga prathap thumhara,
Hai parasidha jagatha ujiyara.
29
In the four eons your
name is famous,
And is famous all
over the three worlds.
Sadu santh ke thum rakware,
Asura nikanddana rama dhulare. 30
You protect the sages
and devout,
You kill asuras as
per wish of great Rama.
Ashta sidhi nava nidhi ke datha,
Aasa vara dheen Janaki matha.
31
You were granted
eight occult powers,
And nine types of
wealth,
By the boon of mother
Sita,
Ram rasayana thumhare pasa,
Sada rahow Raghupathi ke dasa,
32
You have with you the
essence of Rama,
And would always
remain his slave,
Thumhare bhajan ram ko pavai,
Janma janma ke dukha bisaravai,
33
Antha kala Raghupati pura jayee,
Jahan janma Haribaktha kahayee, 34
By devotion to you,
one gets Rama,
And get removed
sorrows of several births,
And at death he goes
to the place of Rama,
And all his life
would be pointed to as devotee of Vishnu.
Aur devatha chitha na darayee,
Hanumath seyi sarva sukha karayee.
35
He who does not think
about gods other than him,
Would get all
pleasures from Hanuman himself.
Sankata harai, mitai sab peera,
Jo sumirai Hanumath bala beera. 36
All sorrows vanish
and all obstacles are finished,
For him who always
remembers the very strong Hanuman.
Jai jai jai Hanuman gosai
Krupa karahu Gurudeva kee nayi. 37
Victory, victory,
victory to the saint Hanuman,
Oh great teacher
please show mercy on us.
Yah satha baar pata kara joyi,
Chootahi bandhi .maha sukha hoi.
38
He who reads this one
hundred times,
Would be freed from shackles
and get great pleasure.
Jo yah pade Hanuman chaleesa,
Hoi sidhi sake goureesa.
39
Whoever reads this
“Hanuman forty”,
Would get powers with
Lord Shiva as witness.
Thulasidasa sada Hari Chera,
Keejai nada hrudaya maha dera.
40
Thulasi das who is
always a devotee of Hari,
Requests Hari to
reside in his mind always.