The Hanuman Chalisa

The Hanuman Chalisa is a devotional poem in praise of Hanuman, composed in Awadhi by the saint-poet Tulsidas (traditionally 1532 to 1623), who also wrote the Ramcharitmanas. The name comes from chalis, forty: it has forty verses, each of the type called chaupai. It is probably the most widely recited devotional text in north India.

Structure

The poem opens with two short couplets (doha), the first a prayer to the teacher, followed by forty verses of praise, and ends with a closing couplet. A few lines before the forty verses set up the prayer ("Shri guru charan saroj raj ..."), and the closing couplet asks Hanuman to dwell in the heart with Rama, Lakshmana and Sita.

What the verses speak of

The verses praise Hanuman as the son of the wind and the strength of the monkeys, as the devoted servant of Rama, as the one who leapt across the ocean to find Sita, set fire to Lanka and brought the herb that revived Lakshmana, and they speak of his power to remove fear and suffering. They are written in simple, rhythmic Awadhi that is easy to learn by heart.

How it is recited

Many families recite it daily, and especially on Tuesdays and Saturdays, in the morning or at dusk, before an exam, a journey or an event, and on Hanuman Jayanti. Some recite it eleven or a hundred and eight times on special occasions. Many take it as a quiet daily habit, without any claim for a result.

The text

The Chalisa is an old and well-known public-domain text, but we do not print it here, because we could not read a reliable edition in preparing this site and we do not type sacred texts from memory. Please use a printed copy from your family, a temple, or a reliable publisher; the Gita Press edition is widely used. See also the aartis of Hanuman and our Hanuman puja.

This page describes common practice in plain words. Families and temples differ, and your own tradition comes first. We do not print the words of the aartis and chalisas here; use a printed book from your family or temple for the exact text.