Prasanna

The Shri Hanuman Chalisa is a significant part of the Hanuman Bhakti tradition.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 14 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 14 Brahma and his Mind-born Sons

सनकादिक
ब्रह्मादि मुनीसा ।
नारद सारद
सहित अहीसा ॥

Sankadhik
Brahmaadi muneesa.
Narada-Sarad
sahita Aheesa.
Sanak,

Brahma, and other sages.
Narada, Saraswati,
alongwith the lord of serpents.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 14 Meaning in English

In the previous verse, Ram who is Vishnu praises Hanuman. In this verse, praise is being showered by Brahma and the sages. Brahma is the creator-god of Hinduism, but never worshipped. The Creator in Hinduism is not a creator of material things, but the creator of self-identity (aham) and seeker of divine identity (atma). This creation happens on the canvas that is nature.

In nature, there are non-living things (a-jiva) and living organisms (sa-jiva). The living have awareness of death, and hence yearning for life, hunger for food and fear of becoming food. In humans, this hunger and fear is amplified. We imagine a world where there is ample food and no threats.

Failure to get this world creates sorrow. We feel like victims, and are filled with self-pity. The creator of these emotions is not worshipped in Hinduism. The destroyer of these emotions is worshipped in Hinduism. The creator of aham brings sorrow (dukkha). The destoyer of aham, the embodiment of atma, brings joy (ananda).

Happiness comes from knowledge, embodied as the goddess known as Saraswati, here referred to as Sharada. The sages (muni), including Sanaka and Narada, mark the struggle to acquire this knowledge. They worship Hanuman, as they recognize that Hanuman has this knowledge.

Hanuman has this knowledge because he has genuinely seen Ram, recognized him as Vishnu, the embodiment of dharma, who has outgrown his own hunger and fear, and empathizes with other people’s hunger and fear, and so is always in a state of ananda, despite huge calamities.

The first of Brahma’s sons were the Sanat-kumars. They have various names such as Sana, Sanaka, Sanata, Sananda. Typically, they are visualized as four prepubescent boys. In the Puranas, sexual activity must not be taken literally: the male form represents the mind and the female form represents matter. The attraction of a sage for a nymph is a metaphor for the response of the mind to sensory stimuli.

Prepubescent boys do not have the wherewithal to engage with the world, or even desire it. They wander everywhere seeking the wisdom that will bring happiness. As long as they don’t grow up, and engage with the world, the knowledge will elude them. But they don’t know that and so wander through space and time, never growing up or old.

Narada, born after the Sanat-kumars, is an adult, capable of engaging and desiring the world. However, he chooses not to be part of the material world, and goes around telling all living creatures that living in the material world is full of hunger and fear and suffering, and has no meaning, until he is cursed by Brahma that he will never escape the material world unless he gets everyone to engage with it. For unless one engages with the world, experiences hunger and fear, one will never outgrow hunger or fear, never gain empathy or find meaning. In other words, without the material, there can be nothing spiritual.

Saraswati is called Sharada because Sharada was the name of a popular script in India about a thousand years ago, used to write the Vedas, before the Devanagari script became popular. Brahma wants to possess her, and when he does that, she runs away from him, and Shiva beheads Brahma.

Knowledge has to be internalized, transformed into wisdom, not memorized. Brahma is beheaded because he chooses the path of the brahmin (crumpled mind that seeks to dominate others using his knowledge and position) rather than the path of the brahmana (expanded mind that internalizes the Vedas and so feels no urge to dominate).

The Aheesha mentioned in this verse refers to the lord of serpents (naga), just as Kapish mentioned in the first chaupai refers to the lord of monkeys. It can refer to Vasuki, king of serpents, who rules the nether regions. It could refer to AdiAnanta-Sesha, on whose hoods rests the earth.

Or it could refer to the serpent Kundalini, coiled at the base of our spine, embodying our primal survival instincts, which can rise up and stir the flowering of wisdom in our mind, turn knowledge into wisdom. In wisdom, we see the world for what it is, rather than trying to control the world like Brahma and his children and being trapped in hunger and fear and meaninglessness, we become like Ram and Hanuman.

When Hanuman was a child, he did not know his strengths. He picked up boulders and mountains, trees and elephants, as if they were toys and hurled them around. So the sages declared that Hanuman would lose all memory of his great strength.

It would reveal itself as needed. Every time Hanuman faced a crisis, or needed to solve a problem, he became aware of his hidden strengths and talents. In other words, the serpent of wisdom slowly rose up his spine, making him increasingly aware of the world, and the context, so that he could decide wisely how to make use of his incredible natural strength.

Eventually, his great strength enabled him to leap across the oceans and carry mountains across land. But thanks to his teacher Surya, and thanks to his experience of Ram, he was able to transform knowledge into wisdom, use Saraswati not to cling to wealth (which is a mark of hunger) or dominate others (which is a mark of fear), but to outgrow his hunger and fear. This is why everyone adores him-Brahma, and his sons, the sages, even the goddess of knowledge and the serpent of wisdom.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 14 Analysis in English

sanakadika brahmadi munlsa
narada sarada sahita ahlsa ll14 ll

Sanak and the great sages, Lord Brahma,
and the holy saints,
Along with Narada, Sarasvati,
and the King of Serpents. (14)

Right since childhood, Hanuman was helplessly attracted to saints. They appeared to him as loving and gentle as his father. But though he loved being around them, as a child he had no idea how he could benefit from their company. Little Hanuman could never understand why they were angry with him when he was simply imitating them in meditation.

Nor could he understand why they got annoyed when he sat on their laps during yagya. They looked so fatherly that their lap was the best place to cuddle. Though his intention was to associate with them lovingly, he did not realize he ended up harassing them.

While most people stay away from sages fearing their wrath, Hanuman ventured close to them without any fear whatsoever. He had so much power rippling through his muscles, but no knowledge of how best to channelize it. Unfortunately for the sages, he found them as the best associates.

Without being welcomed, he invited himself to their hermitages and harassed them beyond limits. When he saw the sages meditating, he would run up to them and pull their beards. When he saw them bathing in the river, he would swim inside the water and pull their legs.

Sometimes he would make huge holes in their clothes while they bathed. At other times, he would hang their clothes on the topmost branches of trees, making it impossible for them to retrieve them. When the sages came out of the river, freshly bathed, he would fill up his mouth with water and spray it on them, making it necessary for them to go back and bathe again.

As soon as they came out after another bath, Hanuman would spit on them yet again. He would catch hold of one sage and harass him for hours and hours together, repeating this act in a loop. He would love to enter a hermitage in the middle of a serious discussion by the sages. Then climb a tree under which the sages sat and jump on the branches.

Invariably, the branches would crack under his weight and come crashing onto the ground, right on top of the sages, causing them to reel in shock. Though the sages hated him for his mischief, they also couldn’t help feeling great love for the little monkey child. He somehow tugged at their hearts in a way they just could not comprehend.

There was one particular sage that he harassed the most, beyond his tolerance capacity. His name was Trinabandhu. One early morning when the sage was leaving his house to answer nature’s call, he got the biggest shock of his life. As soon as he opened his door, a tiger roared at him. Someone had tied a tiger at his doorstep.

He just couldn’t step out of his house through the front door now. But his tummy was churning and he had to go out to answer nature’s call, which was getting more intense by the minute. He opened the back door to rush out. He got a much bigger shock, as outside the back door was tied a wild elephant with massive tusks.

He couldn’t fathom who had done this. Who had the strength and the guts to manhandle these wild beasts and tie them to his door posts? Just as he was struggling with the turmoil in his body and mind, he looked through the window of his house and spotted a little monkey boy rolling on the ground, laughing away at his predicament. What was an intense suffering for him was a hilarious joke for Hanuman!

This prank was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The sage couldn’t handle it anymore and he hurled a curse at Hanuman. Though it was a curse, it was actually aimed at saving Hanuman from any further damage and curses. He cursed that the monkey child would forget all his powers till someone reminded him of them.

Even when the sage was cursing Hanuman, he could feel immense love for him. There was no anger but just compassion and a fatherly feeling of protecting him from messing around with more powerful sages who could potentially get really angry and curse him to condemnation, sanakadika brahmadi murilsa.

This was the day Hanuman decided to step away from the outer world and focus on his inner world. He wanted some private time for himself. While he was seated on the edge of a cliff, meditating deeply on Lord Rama, he felt a nudge on his shoulders. Just when he was getting deeper into his meditation, someone was disturbing him.

He opened his eyes and turned around to find out who it was. He was surprised to see Vali, the prince of Kishkinda, standing with a wicked grin on his face. He signalled Hanuman for a fight. But Hanuman was in the mood of praying and not fighting. Realizing that he was disinterested, Vali began to heap insults on Hanuman.

Hanuman ignored his insults and humbly requested him to chant the holy names of Rama. Instead of heeding Hanuman’s advice, Vali fired a volley of abuses for Rama. That really drove Hanuman mad; he immediately got up and accepted Vali’s challenge. They mutually decided to fight a duel the next morning that would be witnessed by the whole kingdom.

The next morning as Hanuman was making his way to the wrestling arena, Lord Brahma appeared and made a request. He appealed to Hanuman to use only one-tenth of his energy in the fight against Vali. If he used anymore of his strength, Vali would surely die. Acceding to Brahmaji’s request, Hanuman made his way into the wrestling arena. Vali, with great pride in his heart, used the mystic jewel necklace that he had in his possession to suck half the energy of Hanuman.

But to his horror, he was unable to handle even half of Hanuman’s energy. His veins burst open and he began to bleed all over. He felt that he was going to blow up. At that crucial moment, Lord Brahma appeared and instructed Vali to immediately release the energy he had sucked in and run away from the wrestling arena. Realizing his condition was critical, Vali released the energy and staggered away from the presence of Hanuman.

A little distance away, Vali collapsed and fainted. When he regained consciousness, he found Lord Brahma seated in front of him. Vali asked him why he was unable to absorb the power of Hanuman. Lord Brahma explained that although Hanuman was operating at one-tenth his regular power under his instructions, it was still too much for him because Hanuman was an incarnation of Lord Shiva.

As an incarnation, his powers were unlimitedly greater than that of Vali who was ultimately an ordinary living entity with ordinary powers. Glorifying the greatness of Hanuman, Lord Brahma explained to Vali how Hanuman had been blessed profusely by every god in existence, including him.

sanakadika brahmadi music Hanuman’s favourite childhood pastime was to play with tigers. He always chose the most dangerous ones to play with because he found the regular tigers very boring. Pouncing on the tigers effortlessly, Hanuman took great pleasure in doing that.

The tigers would usually tire out after being pounced upon and pounded with Hanuman’s extraordinary energy. They had no option but to surrender and give Hanuman a free ride to any destination of his choice.

When Hanuman was on one such joy ride, a strange looking hunter approached him, dressed in tiger skin and adorned with a necklace of tiger claws. Little Hanuman smiled at the hunter. The hunter asked him if he wasn’t afraid of hunters who could potentially be monkey catchers. Hanuman declared boldly that he was afraid of no one.

Impressed with his fearless attitude, the hunter offered to teach Hanuman many novel skills. Hanuman’s interest was aroused and he took the hunter to meet his parents. When Kesari and Anjana saw the rustic hunter, they were horrified at the idea of leaving their adorable child with the hunter for long durations. Moreover, what could a wild nomad teach their child? But to add to their misery, Hanuman was very keen on having him as his guru.

When Kesari called him uncultured, the hunter challenged him to a duel. As soon as the fight began, Kesari was flat on the ground. No matter how much he tried, the hunter floored him in seconds. Anjana had seen Kesari engage in numerous fights with powerful demons, but he had never been defeated so effortlessly.

She closed her eyes and meditated on the Lord within her heart and when she opened her eyes, she found the same Lord Shiva standing in front of her in the dress of a hunter. Immediately plucking some flowers, she walked up to the hunter and offered the flowers at his feet and offered her respects to him. Imitating his mother, Hanuman also gathered some flowers and offered them at the lotus feet of Lord Shiva, his new teacher. Kesari, having understood his folly, followed suit and begged forgiveness for his transgression.

As soon as Lord Shiva was officially accepted to tutor Hanuman, he touched the child’s tongue with his ring and magically, the child began to recite eloquent prayers in praise of the Lord. Shiva then whispered the secret pranava mantra into the child’s right ear and thus Hanuman became a fully enlightened being. Lord Shiva then told Hanuman that very soon Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of learning, would bestow unlimited intelligence upon him, and would facilitate proficiency in music when the right time came.

In due course of time, Hanuman’s intelligence and learning capabilities grew to an unbelievable proportion. He desired to learn anything and everything possible. When the right age came, Goddess Saraswati inspired Narada Muni to visit Kishkinda. As soon as Hanuman heard Narada sing and play his veena, he was inspired to learn singing and playing musical instruments. The eagerness of Hanuman incited Narada to teach him immediately all his musical skills and everything he knew about music. Soon Hanuman was an expert singer, composer, percussionist, flutist, and player of all possible musical instruments.

After a while, Narada decided to test his student. He requested Hanuman to sing his favourite song in the best possible way. Hanuman sat down obediently and immediately began to sing in the most beautiful manner. His voice itself was so melodious that Narada could hardly believe that it was just recently that he had become his student.

The astounding impact of Hanuman’s singing was not only visible on Narada, but on all aspects of creation. In fact, all moving entities froze in joy and all non-moving entities began to move and flow. Narada too was stunned and frozen like a statue, completely immersed in the singing of his disciple.

The stones began to melt and flow. Hanuman was completely oblivious to the impact of his singing on the world around him. He continued singing with great intensity and absorption. Meanwhile, Narada was so absorbed that he lost all connection with the material world and his veena slipped off his hand and fell into a puddle.

It was a puddle of melted rock created by Hanuman’s intense singing and the veena fell right into it. In a short while, when Hanuman stopped singing and came out of his concentration, the melted stones began to harden once again and the stunned Narada recovered his movement. As soon as Narada returned to external consciousness, he noticed that his veena had fallen down. He bent to pick it up only to realize that it was stuck in the re-hardened rock.

Grasping the fact that the rock had first melted due to Hanuman’s singing and then hardened once he stopped singing, Narada requested Hanuman to sing once again, only to release his veena. When Narada made that request, Hanuman sported a naughty smile on his face. He flatly refused to sing again. Narada was flabbergasted at Hanuman’s blatant refusal. How could he refuse to sing? This was the only veena Narada had. It was his only possession. He loved it dearly.

He began to beg Hanuman to sing. Contrary to expectation, Hanuman began to walk away from Narada and then ran away from the scene. Narada had no option but to chase Hanuman who was running all over the city of Kishkinda. It was a comical sight what with Hanuman running and Narada chasing. Finally Hanuman got back to the exact spot where they had begun. Narada caught up with him panting heavily. Hanuman then sang, abiding by his guru’s request. Sure enough, the rock melted and the veena was released.

Once he got his veena back, Narada had only one question in his mind. Why did Hanuman make him run so much if he was finally going to sing and release the veena? Hanuman answered with a sweet smile that he wanted the dust of the lotus feet of his guru Narada Muni to fall all over the land of Kishkinda.

He could find no other way to do it other than making him run all over. Narada was spellbound by that answer. What an unconventional way of showing his devotion and dedication to his guru! Narada was highly impressed with Hanuman’s humility and creative thinking. narada sarada sahita ahisa.

Some devotees keep a copy of the Hanuman Chalisa in English in their homes for daily prayer.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 13 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 13 Vishnu’s Avatar

सहस बदन
तम्हरो जस गावैं ।
अस कहि
श्रीपति कंठ लगावैं ॥

Sahas badan
tumharo jasa gaave.
Asa-kahi
Shripati kanth lagaave.

May thousands
sing your praises.
So saying
Shri’s husband (Ram) bugs you.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 13 Meaning in English

With this verse begins the praise of Hanuman. Until now, we have focussed on the origin, the form and the feats of Hanuman. Now, we list all those who admire Hanuman’s glory. Ram tells Hanuman that thousands of beings will praise him. Here, Ram is identified as Shri-pati, lord of the goddess of fortune, meaning Vishnu.

In which case, the thousands who praise Hanuman could refer to Adi-Ananta-Sesha, the cosmic serpent with thousands of hoods on whose coils reclines Vishnu, on the ocean of milk. The linking of Ram to Vishnu means that Ramayana is being acknowledged as a subset of the Vishnu Purana, which in turn is a narrative expression of the Vedas.In the Vedas, Vishnu is a minor deity, a younger brother of Indra, his companion, but he has nothing to do with preserving the world.

He becomes a major deity-the preserver and protector of the earth-later in Puranic literature. In the Vedas, the king is identified with the conquering Indra and the moral Varuna, but in the Puranas, the king is identified with Vishnu, especially in the form of Ram, and Varuna is the god of the sea, father of Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune. Lakshmi chooses Vishnu as her guardian and consort. She manifests next to him as the embodiment of tangible assets (Bhu) and intangible value (Shri).

Sita of the Ramayana, is Lakshmi of the Puranas, who is Shri of the Vedas. The word ‘Shri’ is found in the Rig Veda, the oldest collection of Hindu hymns (mantra), over 4,000 years old, where it refers to affluence and abundance. In the Shri-Sukta, the goddess of fortune is invoked for grain, gold, cows, horses, children, wealth and health. The word ‘Shri’ also happens to be the first word in the Hanuman Chalisa, found in the very first doha, even before the word ‘guru’.

Some people believe that the guru being referred to in the doha is Sita herself, who is seen as Hanuman’s guru in some Shakta traditions. Thus, while Vaishnavas see Hanuman as Vishnu’s servant, and Shaivas see him as a form of Shiva, the Shaktas or Goddess worshippers saw Hanuman as a student of the Goddess, and Ram as the consort and guardian of the Goddess.

The Vishnu Purana informs us that Lakshmi was churned from the ocean of milk, a metaphor for domesticating and cultivating the forest. The division between the forests (aranya) and in the settlement (grama) is first found in the Sama Veda. In the Shiva Purana, the forest is Kali, mother of humanity, and the village is Gauri, daughter of humanity. Brahma is the creator, who turns forest into field, turns nature (prakriti) into culture (sanskriti) where human rules apply.

However, the world created by Brahma is full of conflict and sorrow. His children, the devas and the asuras constantly fight each other. And so Brahma is not worshipped. Instead, prayers are offered to Shiva, the hermit, who rejects wealth and power, and withdraws from society, and returns to the jungle for peace. Shiva, the opponent of Brahma, is therefore described as the destroyer. Brahma’s world brings prosperity but no peace. Shiva’s world brings peace but no prosperity.

Vishnu, the preserver, stands in between Brahma and Shiva. He gets Brahma’s quarrelling children to collaborate and churn Lakshmi out of the ocean of milk. Thus, like Brahma, he engages with society and generates and enjoys wealth, but unlike Brahma or his children, he does not sec himself as the controller of Lakshmi. Instead, like Shiva, he has inner peace not to crave control over the wealth he generates.

He is freely and fairly distributing it with detachment. This makes him Lakshmi’s ideal husband. He protects her, enjoys her, but does not seek to control her. That is why Vishnu is called Lakshmi-vallabha, the beloved of Lakshmi, and Shri-pati, lord of wealth.Vishnu descends on earth and takes various mortal forms, such as Ram, to show humans how to live life, generate, enjoy and distribute wealth without getting addicted to it.

He speaks of dharma, the human ability by which the self (sva-jiva) can make room for the other (para-jiva), thereby creating a society where there is both prosperity and peace. This combination of abundance and happiness constitutes the idea of Shri. Because he makes this happen, Vishnu (hence Ram) is identified as Shri-pati.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 13 Analysis in English

sahasa badana tumharo jasa gavai
asa kahi shripati kantha lagavai ll13ll

The thousand-hooded snake will
always sing your fame
And Rama embraced you again and
again after saying this. (13)

With the death of Samsadan, the immediate danger was taken care of. But unknown to Kesari and Anjana, danger now loomed over their son, Hanuman. Samsadan had a son, Vrikshasura. When he heard about his father’s death, he vowed to take revenge. He waited patiently for the right time and when Hanuman was born, he decided that killing the enemy’s child would be appropriate revenge for the death of his father.

Vrikshasura, as the name suggests, had a boon of taking the form a tree. In the form of a tree, he would be free to kill Hanuman and still be above all suspicion. Additionally, he had the special skill of catching the enemy by his shadow. Using both his boons, he would surely succeed in taking his revenge.

One day Hanuman expanded himself to cover the entire sky. That was a good opportunity for Vrikshasura to catch his shadow. The shadow was huge enough to be within the stationary tree’s grasp. He quickly latched on to it and started pulling it towards him. As he dragged the shadow, Hanuman felt a force pulling him against his wish.

He quickly called out to his father Kesari, who began to pull him back. Hanuman was being pulled from both directions and it was getting difficult for him to bear the pain on both sides of his body. He finally did something to escape this attack. He reduced his size manifold. As soon as he did that, the shadow also shrunk and Vrikshasura had to let go of it. He could not hold on to a shadow that was out of his reach.

Relieved to be his normal self again, Hanuman decided to teach Vrikshasura a lesson. He surveyed the area from where he was getting pulled and recognized the demon tree. But the problem was that the moment he approached the tree, the demon would catch his shadow and devour him. If only he could stop the demon from eating him somehow. Hanuman decided to defeat the demon with his speed. He picked up a big stone and ran towards the demon, giving the demon no chance to react.

Before the demon could even realize what was going on, how Hanuman came so close to him, Hanuman had thrust the stone in his mouth with lightning speed. The stone in his mouth would not allow the demon to devour anything else. But Hanuman had miscalculated the demon’s size. The stone was not enough to stop the tree from devouring Hanuman. The tree, regaining his senses, caught hold of Hanuman’s shadow and in went Hanuman right into his mouth.

Meanwhile, Hanuman’s tail had tied itself around the tree, providing a pause in the demon’s plan of eating him. As the tree tried harder, the tail uprooted the tree further. The more he pulled Hanuman, more he himself got uprooted. Finally, the entire tree toppled over and fell on the ground, releasing Hanuman from his grip. And that was the end of Vrikshasura. His father had died at the hands of Kesari and the son had died by the tail of Kesari’s son.

It is believed that the demon was killed not by Hanuman, but by Hanuman’s tail. So does that make the tail a different entity? Hanuman had observed very early in life that unlike other monkeys, his tail did not obey him. Other monkeys always had their tails under their control. Whereas Hanuman’s tail did exactly what it wanted to do. All his friends made fun of him because he could not even control his own tail. That was the height of uselessness for a monkey, they mocked.

He enquired from his father why his tail was so disobedient. His father gave him valuable advice. He said that a monkey should always respect his tail. Make friends with it. From that day, Hanuman began to worship his tail and also referred to it as his Sakha.

And he was happily surprised and relieved when the tail soon began to respond to his thoughts. Why did Hanuman’s tail behave as it did? Why did it have a mind of its own? That’s because his tail was actually Parvati herself. Not wanting to be left alone, she had come along with her husband Lord Shiva on earth when incarnated as Hanuman.

After killing many dangerous demons, the entire world, including the thousand-hooded Anantashesha sings Hanuman’s glories, sahasa badana tumharo jasa gavai Ravana was jittery. He was afraid that Hanuman’s mighty power would sound his death knell.

Many demons had already lost their lives in trying to kill Hanuman. Every move Ravana made had failed. Now it was Chakrasura’s turn to enter Kesari’s kingdom and attack Hanuman. However, Hanuman’s fearful parents had put Hanuman under house arrest, refusing to let him go out to play.

Their beloved child had already survived many attacks and they did not want to take any more risks. So Hanuman remained confined to his house. Chakrasura, the whirlwind demon, entered the vanara kingdom, creating havoc and destruction. As luck would have it, Kesari was out for an urgent meeting and little Hanuman was alone for some time. Hanuman quietly escaped from the house, inquisitive to see what the demon was up to. As soon as Chakrasura saw Hanuman, he quickly captured him in a whirlwind motion. The more Hanuman tried to escape, the more stuck he got, going deeper and deeper into the storm.

Hanuman’s brain then started to work overtime. He noticed that the whirlwind did not enter any pit when the demon went over it. He also observed that the direction in which the demon moved was clockwise. He instantly had an idea. He began rotating anti-clockwise, which helped him get unstuck and he moved lower and lower till he could jump into a pit. He leapt into a pit as soon as the demon went over it. Finally, Hanuman, the intelligent baby, was free from the demon’s captivity.

Having lost Hanuman, the demon wandered all over, in search of him. Unfortunately for him, he encountered Hanuman’s friend. This friend had a damru (drum) given to him by Hanuman. Hanuman had received this toy from Vriksharaj, the vanara father of Sugriva and Vali. It was a magical one especially made to save Hanuman from any disaster. Hanuman had instructed his friend to play the damru whenever he was in trouble. Sensing trouble from Chakrasura, the vanara child began to play the damru.

The strange sound of the damru was unbearable for Chakrasura. The shrill sound pierced his ears and sabotaged his brain functioning. So much so that he couldn’t even think straight. He yelled at the monkey to stop playing but all in vain. The sound continued and Chakrasura was on the verge of fainting.

Meanwhile, Hanuman also joined his friend and with his added power, the volume of the sound doubled and then tripled. It was so horrific that the entire jungle was reeling under anxiety. Hanuman flew closer to Chakrasura’s ears and played it right outside his ears. Chakrasura could not handle the torture anymore. He simply collapsed in pain. Writhing on the ground, he died slowly and painfully.

Hanuman is so powerful for various reasons. He is an incarnation of Shiva. He is the son of Kesari and Anjana and of the wind god. He has been blessed many times over by all demigods. Rama and Sita have blessed him. He is so powerful that his name is also enough to save one from all possible calamities and to frighten away negative elements. Everyone including the thousand-hooded Anantashesha sings his glories, sahasa badana tumharo jasa gavai.

There are three times that Rama expressed his gratitude to Hanuman by embracing him. First was when Hanuman returned from Lanka after finding Sita’s whereabouts. Rama, who had been so dejected in Sita’s absence, suddenly came alive when Hanuman declared Found Sita I! Hanuman had then fallen at Rama’s feet and Rama had tried to lift him up to embrace him which Hanuman resisted. Rama tried again and again but Hanuman would not budge.

Finally Rama said, “I want you to leave my feet and come closer to my heart. Why are you differentiating between my feet and heart by resisting? Only ordinary people differentiate between good and bad, not a gyani like you.” And the quick-witted Hanuman shot back, “My Lord, if there is no difference between your feet and heart, then let me stay at your feet.”

The second time Rama embraced Hanuman with tears of gratitude flowing from his eyes, was after Lakshmana was revived by Hanuman’s efforts. He said to Hanuman, “Our relationship is forever. You have accepted that I am Brahma and the world knows that you are a Brahmachari, so Brahma and Brahmachari’s relation is forever.” The word Brahmachari means that the one who is endlessly remembering Brahma, who is moving towards Brahma only.

And third time was after the war with Ravana. Pleased with Hanuman’s heroics in the war, Rama wanted to grant him a boon. Hanuman was so thrilled with Rama’s loving embrace that he said he never wanted to leave this body that had been purified by Rama’s touch. And Rama then gave him the boon of being immortal so he could spread the glories of the holy name, asa kahi shrTpati kantha lagavai

The Hanuman Chalisa Pdf is recited to seek Lord Hanuman’s blessings for overcoming obstacles.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 12 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 12 A Brother Like Bharat

रघुपति कीन्ही
बहुत बड़ाई ।
तुम मम प्रिय
भरतहि सम भाई ॥

Raghupati kinhi
bahut badai.
Tum mam priye
Bharat-hi-sam bhai.

Ram sings
praises of you.
‘You are as dear to me
as my brother Bharat.’

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 12 Meaning in English

Ram is so thankful for Hanuman’s many interventions that enable him to succeed in his mission and so touched that Hanuman asks for nothing in return, except the pleasure of serving him, that he cannot stop himself from praising Hanuman and declaring that he is as dear to him as his brother, Bharat.

This comparison is significant. Bharat is the son of Kaikeyi, the second wife of Ram’s father Dashrath whose machinations led to Ram being forced into exile in the forest for fourteen years. Bharat refused the crown. He did not appreciate his mother’s ambitions and deceit.

He begged Ram to return to the palace, but Ram refused as he had given his word to his father that he would stay in the forest for fourteen years. So Bharat returned to Ayodhya, placed Ram’s footwear on the throne, and ruled the kingdom as Ram’s regent until his return.

By comparing Hanuman to Bharat Ram elevates the status of Hanuman from servant to family. This indicates a significant elevation of Hanuman’s status and his inclusion in Ram’s heart. One cannot help but wonder if this narrative elevation of Hanuman is not political, an attempt by wise men of society to bridge the inequality, without threatening the old system: a calculated counter-force of wisdom that keeps the default social force of hierarchy in check.

In Eknath’s Marathi Ramayana, when a childless Dashrath conducts a yagna for a son, he receives a magic potion from the heavens that he gives to his three wives who bear him four sons. A hawk grabs some of the potion and carries it to the jungle and puts it in Anjani’s mouth. The son she gives birth to may be a vanara, but he is very much a brother of Ram, Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughan.

In a folk variant of the Ramayana, when Hanuman is flying with the mountain southwards towards Lanka he passes Ayodhya. Fearing he is a rakshasa who intends to drop the mountain over the city, Bharat strikes Hanuman with an arrow causing Hanuman to descend. A duel is averted when Bharat identifies himself as Ram’s regent and Hanuman reveals that he is Ram’s servant. Hanuman then proceeds to tell Bharat the tragedy that has befallen Ram and how Ram is fighting Ravana to rescue his wife, Sita.

The narration takes a long time. Hanuman suddenly realizes that the sun will soon rise and he is far away from Lanka. He fears he will not reach on time. So Bharat tells Hanuman to sit on his arrow, mountain in hand. He then fires the arrow, thinking of Ram, and the arrow takes Hanuman to Lanka in a fraction of a second, just in time to save Lakshman’s life. Thus Bharat and Hanuman collaborate to save Lakshman and make Ram happy. Hanuman is thus included in the royal family of Ayodhya.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 12 Analysis in English

Raghupati kinhi bahut barai
tuma mama priya bharatahi sama bhai ||12||

The descendent of Raghu dynasty praised you,
‘You are as dear to Me as My brother, Bharat’. (12)

Ayodhya was decorated with great pomp during Hema’s swayamvara ceremony, the daughter of Kusha, and granddaughter of Rama. Rama’s joy knew no bounds seeing his granddaughter about to get married. But calamity struck in the form of a prince named Chitragandha, the son of King Ugrabahu, the king of Avanti. Chitragandha kidnapped the bride right in front of a full assembly by releasing a Mohanastra that mesmerized everyone into a temporary swoon.

Even before anyone had the chance to gather their wits together, Chitragandha had disappeared. On coming back to their senses, the most powerful warriors of Lord Rama’s army were in hot pursuit of Chitragandha. With great zeal, the young prince routed the entire Ayodhyan army. Using the Vayavastra, he created a tornado effect and soon hundreds of soldiers were flying in air and thrown across the battlefield. Seeing the army in disarray, Lava stepped in to be at the helm of affairs.

Just about the same time, King Ugrabahu too made his entry. The fight went to another level with that. By the power of his mighty arrows, Ugrabahu rendered Lava weaponless and very soon Lava was left unconscious on the battleground. With Lava unconscious, the entire Ayodhyan army broke into panic mode, unsure of their next move.

Kusha stepped in and took control of the situation. Within a short time, both rogue father and son were held captive. Next, Kusha turned his attention to his unconscious brother. The matter was escalated to Lord Rama who in a surprise move freed his friend Ugrabahu from captivity and embraced him warmly. To reward Kusha for his bravery, Rama offered him a celestial bracelet that was gifted to him by Agastya Muni. Kusha was very pleased to receive that gift from his father.

As soon as he wore that bracelet, his effulgence increased manifold. Immediately Kusha wanted to know more about the source of the bracelet. Agastya Muni who happened to be there too, explained that he received that bracelet from Varuna, the ocean god, in return for a favour he had offered. Long time ago, a horde of demons had taken shelter on the ocean bed.

No matter how much Indra tried to locate them, they remained untraceable in the vast expanse of the ocean. But when Agastya Muni drank up the entire ocean water, they were exposed and eventually slaughtered by the gods. Agastya returned the waters of the ocean through another channel and thus the ocean was restored. As a token of gratitude, the ocean god offered the sage this priceless bracelet as a gift. Agastya gifted it to Rama and Rama in turn gifted it to Kusha as a mark of appreciation for his valour.

But the question regarding the revival of Lava remained. Agastya Muni immediately suggested that Hanuman be sent to procure the mrta-sanjivani herb from the ashram of Mudgal Rishi. When Hanuman expressed his surprise at the availability of the herb in such close proximity, Agastya explained that when Garuda was carrying the celestial nectar, a few drops had fallen which resulted in the growth of the magical herb there too. Soon Hanuman returned with the mrta-sanjivani herbs, which he had learned by now to recognize very well.

As soon as the herbs arrived, Lava woke up from his unconscious state. Rama was so thankful to Hanuman for helping revive Lava that he offered him another bracelet as a token of appreciation. Glorifying Hanuman as if he had numerous mouths, Rama embraced him.

He declared to the world that the one and only solution he always had for any crisis was Hanuman. Lord of the Raghu dynasty derived great pleasure in glorifying Hanuman. raghupati klnhibahut barau Just before the war in Lanka, Rama had a grave discussion with the monkey army.

This was immediately after accepting Vibhishan into their folds. He revealed to them that if anyone came with the thought of surrendering his life in service to Rama, Rama would immediately accept him without any consideration of qualification or disqualification.

Even if Ravana came, he would give him shelter, overlooking all his misdeeds. The monkeys were really impressed with Rama’s mood of compassion and acceptance. They realized in hindsight, that anyone who had taken Rama’s shelter had gained a kingdom. Sugriva took shelter, he gained Kishkinda. Bharata took shelter, he gained Ayodhya. Vibhishan took shelter, he gained Lanka even before the war began.

But alas, now that Rama had offered the sovereignty of Lanka to Vibhishan, what would he do if Ravana took shelter of him at this point? Rama’s instant reply was that he would make him the king of Ayodhya. Then what about Bharata, the monkeys inquired. Rama said that he would make Bharata the king of Vaikuntha. Then what about Rama himself, the monkeys questioned.

Rama said, “I will move around the three kingdoms, Ayodhya, Lanka, and Vaikuntha and serve all of them.” At that point, Rama’s attention turned towards Hanuman. Hanuman had been one of the most surrendered souls and yet he had been deprived of a position or kingdom. Feeling really sorry about that, Rama asked Hanuman, “O’ Hanuman, everyone who took shelter of me has received a kingdom from me, but I haven’t been able to give you a suitable gift.

All those who have achieved the fortune, have achieved it due to your grace and yet you yourself haven’t received anything. I really wish to bless you and earnestly fulfil your desires.” Hanuman smiled broadly. What was the secret behind that smile?

He confided to Rama that while others whom he favoured had gained kingship over only one kingdom, he had gained kingship over two kingdoms. Rama was pleasantly surprised to hear that and so were all the monkeys. How did Hanuman manage to gain kingship over not one but two kingdoms without anyone being aware of it?

When asked by Rama which two kingdoms did he have sovereignty over, Hanuman bent low and touched his head at Lord Rama’s two lotus feet and declared that he was fortunate enough to have received kingship over these two kingdoms. Hanuman considered Lord Rama’s lotus feet to be supreme treasures and everything else including material kingdoms to be insignificant and worthless pursuits.

For him, these two treasures were worth more than one worthless kingdom. Rama was so elated with Hanuman’s loving reply that he embraced him with great love and appreciated his dedication and service attitude, raghupati kinhi bahut barai One time, Rama was so pleased with Hanuman’s service that he spontaneously declared that he loved Hanuman twice as much as Lakshmana.

Immediately after saying that, he became thoughtful and asked Hanuman how he felt about that comment. Was Hanuman happy hearing that? Hanuman replied with a smile that his comment simply meant that Lakshmana was dearer to him than anyone else in the world.

Rama was surprised. How could that be? He had explicitly declared that Hanuman was twice as much dearer to him than Lakshmana. That being the case, how could it mean that it was Lakshmana who was dearer to him than anyone else?

Hanuman clarified that in common parlance, great love is expressed by saying that “I love you more than my life.” But Rama did not say that but instead told Hanuman that he loved him more than Lakshmana. Logically this meant that for Rama Lakshmana was his life. Because Rama considered Lakshmana to be his very life, he compared Hanuman to him. In this way Hanuman concluded that Rama loved Lakshmana more than him because Lakshmana was a more integral part of him like life itself.

Rama was very impressed with Hanuman’s keen sense of logic and his deep observation of psychology. Now that Hanuman had shared his thoughts on his comment, he turned to Lakshmana to find out what his thoughts were.

Rama was sure that the possessive Lakshmana would have felt bad that Rama loved Hanuman twice as much as him. Lakshmana surprised Rama by saying that he totally agreed with Rama. Hanuman was indeed twice better than him. When Rama asked for an explanation, Lakshmana gave two logical reasons to substantiate his conclusion.

The first explanation Lakshmana gave to substantiate how Hanuman was much better than him was with regards to Mother Sita. He explained that he knew Sita for 25 years but in spite of knowing her for so long he had not managed to gain her trust.

In fact, she doubted his intentions even after such a long relationship. But Hanuman hardly knew her for a few minutes yet he managed to gain her complete trust and faith. What Lakshmana could not do in 25 years, Hanuman had managed to do in just a few minutes and thus was far better than Lakshmana.

The second explanation Lakshmana gave to validate his point was much deeper from the perspective of his eternal role in his service to the Lord. The eternal role of Lakshmana in his spiritual capacity was as Anantashesha, the divine snake bed of Lord Vishnu. As Anantashesha, his service was carrying Lord Vishnu on his back. But Hanuman not only carried Rama on his back but also carried Lakshmana along. Thus Hanuman was twice better than Lakshmana even from the point of view of the amount of service he renders.

Rama was even more impressed with Lakshmana’s explanation. These two great personalities, instead of feeling insecure, had the humility and maturity to focus on the good qualities of the other and not on their own greatness. This is what really attracted Rama to both Hanuman and Lakshmana. Though Hanuman wasn’t born in Suryavanshi family, he had become such an integral part of Lord Rama’s family that he was literally inseparable. Rama considered him as one of his brothers.

Though Rama compared Lakshmana to Hanuman, he also said that he was like Bharata for him. It’s interesting to understand why Rama mentions Bharata and not Lakshmana. Simply because although Lakshmana was physically near Rama all the time, Bharata was on Rama’s mind all the time. Since Bharata was serving from a distance, he occupied Rama’s mind even more than Lakshmana.

Both the brothers loved Rama dearly and Rama loved both of them dearly. But even then Bharata was the one who had to go through so much insult, misunderstanding, pain, separation, and thus drew out the deepest possible love from Rama’s heart. So when Rama declared Hanuman as his brother, he declared him to be his brother equivalent to Bharata.

He was as dear a brother to him as Bharata. tuma mama priya bharatahi sama bhai One fine day, Rama and the three brothers were walking along with their fifth brother Hanuman in the gardens of Ayodhya. After a long walk, Rama felt tired and decided to rest in the garden itself under the shade of a huge tree.

As soon as Rama expressed his desire, everyone looked towards Hanuman expecting him to make necessary arrangements for Rama’s comforts. But Hanuman turned around and kept looking at the sky. With Hanuman so unresponsive, Lakshmana himself spread a sheet for Rama on the grass and sat near his head, gently placing it on his lap. Then Bharata looked at Hanuman expecting him to take some action at least now. But Hanuman seemed indifferent to what was going on.

He was busy watching the birds and smiling to himself. Bharata immediately sat at the feet of Rama, placing his lotus feet on his thighs, to massage them gently. Then Shatrughana turned towards Hanuman expecting him to render some service. But Hanuman was still too busy, playing as he was with the squirrels now. Shatrughana sat down and began to massage Rama’s arms.

As soon as the three brothers got busy in different services to Rama, Hanuman immediately ran only to return in a short while with a peacock fan. With great enthusiasm, he used it to fan all the four brothers. The cool refreshing breeze brought great comfort to all four.

That is when the brothers understood Hanuman’s mood and intention. His mood was that why should he render service to Rama alone when he could grab the opportunity to render service to all four brothers whom he revered. No wonder Rama considered him as dear as his loving brothers! tuma mama priya bharatahi sama bhai.

Many people believe that regular recitation of Hanuman Chalisa Lyrics brings inner peace.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 11 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 11 Saving Lakshman

लाय सजीवन
लखन जियाये ।
श्रीरघुवीर
हरषि उर लाये ॥

Laye Sanjivan
Lakhan jiyaye.
Shri Raghuvir
harashi ur laye.

By fetching the Sanjivani herb
you saved Lakshman.
Scion of the Raghu clan
hugged you in delight.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 11 Meaning in English

In the Ramayana, the rakshasa-king Ravana abducts Sita and takes her away to the south across the sea to the island kingdom of Lanka. To save Sita, her husband Ram and Ram’s brother Lakshman take the help of the vanaras to build a bridge to Lanka and declare war against Ravana.

In the war that follows, Ravana’s son Meghnad, also known as Indrajit, strikes Lakshman with a deadly arrow containing the venom of serpents. Lakshman loses consciousness and risks losing his life as the poison begins to spread through his limbs. Only a herb called Sanjivani can save Ram’s brother, if applied to the wound before sunrise the next day. But the herb grows on a mountain far away in the north. Who can fetch it from so far, so soon? Ram wonders as the sun begins to set.

The vanaras shout, Hanuman, of course! Did he not leap across the ocean and reach Lanka as if jumping from one branch of a tree to another? Surely he can fly north and bring back the herb in one night. Ram looks at Hanuman with anxious eyes, his heart filled with deep despair at the thought of his dying brother. In response, Hanuman turns north and jumps.

As Hanuman rises to the sky, Ravana catches sight of him, and figuring out his mission, summons the magician Kalanemi and orders him to create obstacles so that Hanuman does not find the herb, and even if he does, he does not return before sunrise. Kalanemi uses his magic to reach the Dronagiri mountain where the Sanjivani grows before Hanuman and waits there disguised as a hermit.

On Hanuman’s arrival, he welcomes him with words of praise and offers him food. Hanuman finds it inappropriate to say no to an offer of hospitality so he accepts the invitation, but insists on taking a bath before the meal. So Kalanemi directs him to a pool full of crocodiles. Hanuman not only takes a bath, he also kills the crocodiles when they attack him. The crocodiles turn out to be apsaras, celestial damsels cursed by Indra to live on earth as reptiles until liberated by a monkey. They thank Hanuman and reveal Kalanemi’s true identity. A furious Hanuman attacks and strikes Kalanemi dead.

Much time has been lost, it is now the middle of the night and Hanuman has no time to find the herb on the mountain. It’s too dark. So he picks up the entire mountain and flies back south to Lanka. Just as he is nearing Lanka he observes that the sun, goaded by Ravana, is being made to rise before his time. So with his free hand he grabs the sun, traps him in his armpit and makes his way to Ram, mountain in hand. The herb is found, Lakshman is saved and the sun god released to rise, much to Ram’s relief and delight. This very popular event from the Ramayana is described in this chaupai.

Hanuman with Kalanemi underfoot and Sanjivani in his hand is the form in which he is worshipped in most temples. Kalanemi represents the obstacles in our life. Sanjivani is the solution to our problems. The image captures the idea behind the worship of Hanuman-he removes obstacles and solves problems, which is why he is adored by all. Hanuman embodies the pragmatic aspect of Hinduism, quite different from the philosophical side.

There are many other stories of Hanuman carrying mountains, not linked to Sanjivani. The vanaras, we are told, carried many mountains from the Himalayas to build the bridge to Lanka. When the construction of the bridge was complete, all the vanaras were told to drop the mountains they were carrying wherever they were.

All the mountains we see in the southern part of India, it is said, have their origin in the Himalayas and were brought south by the vanaras. The mountain being carried by Hanuman was called Govardhan. He felt bad that he would not see Ram. So Hanuman promised Govardhan that in a future birth, Ram would surely see him. So Ram took birth as Krishna in the Dvapara Yuga, and grew up on the slopes of Govardhan and even lifted him up with his little finger.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 11 Analysis in English

laya sanjivani lakhana jiyae
shri raghubira harashi ura lae ||11||

You brought the life-saving herb
Sanjivani and revived Lakshmana
And Raghuvira joyfully embraced
you close to his heart. (11)

No one knew where the arrows were coming from. No one knew who was shooting them. That was the state when Indrajit entered the battlefield. He was not just powerful, he was skilled; and not just skilled, he was cunningly deceptive. Fighting with Indrajit wasn’t as easy as fighting with all the other demons of Ravana’s army. With the ease with which he shot arrows, the monkeys knew they stood no chance. In fact it wasn’t just the ease, it was also the speed with which he operated.

Most of the times the monkeys didn’t even realize where the arrows were coming from until they were too close to them. This was because Indrajit operated in an invisible mode. He had the mystical ability to keep himself hidden for substantial periods of time. From the moment Indrajit entered the fight arena, the morale of the monkey army was low but it reached an all time low when one of Indrajit’s arrows found its mark on Lakshmana’s chest.

This wasn’t an ordinary arrow. It was an arrow bestowed on him by none other than Lord Brahma. The celestial arrow rendered Lakshmana unconscious. Seeing one of the brothers fall, a huge uproar went through the monkey army bringing them on the verge of panic.With the fall of Lakshmana, the orderliness in the monkey army was lost and they all began to scatter in different directions.

Some to save their lives, some losing hope, some towards Lakshmana in great anxiety and many in search of Rama or some other hero they could gain support from. Taking advantage of the panic mode, Indrajit struck intensely and slaughtered the confused monkeys by the thousands.

Meanwhile, Jambavan reached the scene. He had been informed about the fall of Lakshmana. As soon as he spotted the fallen hero, his first question was, “Is Hanuman alive?” Jambavan knew that there was only one person who mattered the most in times of crisis and that was Hanuman. Jambavan had such confidence in Hanuman’s abilities that as long as Hanuman was alive then surely, he felt, hope was alive. When Hanuman was brought into the scene, he was in tears seeing Lakshmana helplessly unconscious.

But the aura of confidence around Jambavan gave him an assurance that there was a way out of this mess. Jambavan took Hanuman aside and shared with him an action plan. He gave him the names of four herbs that were only available in the Himalayan Mountains. Jambavan explained the names of each herb and its medicinal properties. The first was mrta-sanjivani, which could restore a dead man to life. The second was sailya-karani, which could extract embedded weapons and quickly heal wounds.

The third was suvama-karani, which restored the body colour to its original texture. And finally, samdhani, which could unite fractured bones and severed limbs. Absorbing Jambavan’s instructions, Hanuman made his leap towards the Northern realms. Getting the herbs wasn’t the issue, getting it in time was. Hanuman knew that such impossible time-bound activities were more complex than impossible activities.

He had to get the herbs before sunrise the next day, else the sun wouldn’t rise for Lakshmana ever. As Hanuman took off with great speed by the aerial route towards the Himalayan mountains, he saw something on the way that caught his attention. In the middle of a forest situated on a hill, was a charming hermitage, outside of which were a couple of sages performing a fire sacrifice with great intensity. Something compelled Hanuman to descend and meet the sages.

Of course, one of the reasons for his descent was personal and another professional. On the personal front, the reason was his thirst. He hadn’t had a chance to drink water for days together during the battle. He desperately needed some water now and there was a glistening river flowing next to the hermitage. The second reason was that he had to reconfirm his route. Jambavan had given him the name Dronachal, the specific area in the Himalayan ranges where the herbs were to be obtained. Surely these sages would know if he was flying in the right direction.

Even before Hanuman could say a word, one of the sages began to speak. He declared himself to be a seer of past, present, and future. He could see that Hanuman had come to seek the sanjivani set of herbs from the Himalayas to revive Lakshmana. He asked Hanuman not to worry and predicted that surely Rama would win the war against Ravana. In fact he asked Hanuman to have a quick bath in the river and return so that he could bless him with divine vision that would help him identify the herbs amidst the plethora of herbs that grew there.

To Hanuman, something felt not right. Whilst on one hand this sage seemed to be glorifying Rama, on the other hand he was profusely indulging in self-praise. With this doubt, Hanuman began to walk towards the river to quench his thirst. While he was bent low cupping water in his right palm with the intention of drinking it, a crocodile attacked him. Not wanting to waste time, Hanuman continued drinking water with his right hand and dispassionately fighting the crocodile with his left hand.

In a few minutes he was done with both. The crocodile was dead and his thirst was quenched. In place of the crocodile now stood a beautiful apsara who thanked him for liberating her from a curse and warned him about the fake sage he had just met. He was in fact a demon named Kalanemi who had beep sent by Ravana to delay him from getting the life-saving herbs on time.

Armed with this new knowledge, Hanuman walked towards the hermitage. There was a look of surprise on the sage. How did he manage to outlive the crocodile? Anyway, he had another idea in store still. He called Hanuman closer to offer him the mantra that would impart divine vision to find the herbs readily.

Hanuman came close by and instead of hearing him, punched him straight on his face. The punch was so intense that the demon disguised as a sage died instantly. Before falling, he automatically let go of his disguise and came back to his original demonic form to breathe his last. That being accomplished, Hanuman leaped towards his destination.

When he arrived on the Dronachal Mountains, a bigger, more complex challenge awaited him. There were millions of herbs on the mountain. In fact, the entire mountain was filled with herbs. And to make matters worse, there was very little difference between them, if at all. How on earth was he to decipher which were the four herbs that Jambavan wanted him to procure? He racked his brains for a while trying first logically and then intuitively to come to the right conclusions.

That’s when he realized that this process wasn’t going to work and the risk he was taking of carrying back the wrong herbs was immense. It was then that he arrived at a very dynamic and unusual conclusion. Surely the herbs were on this mountain itself. What if he carried the entire mountain, then there was no risk of not getting the right herbs!

He did something that was literally impossible for ordinary people to even fathom. He picked up the entire Dronachal Mountain effortlessly. Holding it on his right palm, he took a leap heading towards the southern regions. What a scene it was! A huge mountain flying in the air, held at its base by Hanuman, who himself had taken a huge form to be able to support the huge mountain.

Hanuman was determined to get back on time and save the life of Lakshmana. As per his calculations, he had sufficient time to make it back much before the scheduled time span. Just as he was getting proud of his timing, something hit him very hard on the chest. He found himself being dragged downwards at a great pace. He had lost control over his flight and some mystical force was now dragging him down.

He landed with a thud on the ground and the mountain slid away from his grip, parking itself on an open ground close by. Hanuman caught his balance and shook his head to stabilize himself after the fall. He looked around and realized that he was at the outskirts of a bustling city. Though this place was not too far from the city, it had a typical rural atmosphere that vibrated peace.

Suddenly he saw someone walk towards him. He was shocked to see that the person he was gazing at had an uncanny resemblance to Lord Rama. Carrying a formidable bow in his hand, the mysterious person walked up to him with a serious look on his face. He asked him who he was and why he was passing over Ayodhya carrying such a huge mountain. The mention of the word Ayodhya brought clarity to Hanuman. Instantly he knew that this person was none other than Bharata, Lord Rama’s brother.

Hanuman immediately bowed down with great respect and introduced himself to be the servant of Lord Rama. Bharata was extremely pleased to meet an associate of his brother’s, whom he hadn’t met for 13 long years now. Bharata began asking Hanuman innumerable questions about his brothers and their whereabouts. Hanuman explained to him that he didn’t have enough time to answer his questions now as Lakshmana’s life was in danger and he had to immediately return with the mountain before it was too late.

Bharata understood Hanuman’s predicament over the lack of time. Even then there was something that Bharata wanted Hanuman to do before he left. And that was to convey the news of Lakshmana’s fall to Sumitra, the mother of Lakshmana. The soft-hearted Bharata could never muster enough courage to convey bad news to anyone. He felt that he had already hurt everyone enough in Ayodhya, simply by taking birth as the son of Keikeyi. So he literally dragged Hanuman to Ayodhya to Sumitra’s palace.

When Hanuman conveyed the news to Sumitra, her reaction stunned him. Instead of crying at the loss and the possible death of her son, she had a totally different approach towards it. She told Hanuman that no matter what happens to her son, service to Lord Rama must never stop under any circumstances. If one son was dead, Sumitra told Hanuman, he could take her second son Shatrughana along with him to serve Lord Rama in place of Lakshmana. Hanuman was amazed at her reaction.

What a family it was! Lakshmana and his mother both lived in a mood of sacrifice. Both were ready to sacrifice anything for service to Lord Rama. He had never seen such dedication in his life. Promising Sumitra that her son would be safe and that the service to Lord Rama would continue unobstructed, Hanuman walked out of Ayodhya. Picking up the Dronachal Mountain, he shot up the sky, moving southwards with renewed enthusiasm and determination.

When the silhouette of Hanuman carrying the massive mountain on the palm of his hands appeared in the sky, the entire monkey army broke out into applause and happy cries. Their hero had come back. His superheroic actions continued to amaze them. He had gone to bring some herbs and here he was returning with a mountain. As soon as Hanuman neared the battlefield, the fragrances of the various herbs wafted heavily in the air. As soon as the fragrance hit the nostrils of Lakshmana, he gained consciousness.

Lay a sanjivani lakhana jiyae Not just Lakshmana, but all the monkeys who were slain on the battlefield woke up as if from a deep slumber. What was a cause of celebration in the monkey army became the cause of frustration in the rakshasa army.

This was because Ravana had disposed off the bodies of dead demons into the ocean just so that the enemies would never get to estimate his losses and would always be clueless as to how much of his army was still alive in the safety of the palace. What seemed to be a master strategy till now seemed foolish on seeing the revival of all the dead monkeys.

Rama, seeing his brother back to life, was overjoyed. With great love he embraced his brother. Hanuman knew what place Lakshmana had in Rama’s life. When one’s hand fetches a glass of water, one does not thank the hand.

Neither does the hand expect any gratitude, because it is not a separate identity. Lakshmana was that hand of Rama, an integral part of Rama, non-different from him. Rama was so happy to regain his association. How could he reciprocate sufficiently for everything Hanuman had done and was doing for him? Shrl raghublra harashi ura lae.

Hanuman Chalisa is a timeless prayer that inspires unwavering faith in Lord Hanuman.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 10 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 10 Demon-Killer

भीम रूप धरि
असुर सँहारे ।
रामचंद्र के
काज सँवारे ॥

Bhima roop dhari
asur sanghare.
Ramachandra ke
kaj sanvare.

You took fearsome forms
to kill demons.
Ramchandra’s
tasks were thus accomplished.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 10 Meaning in English

A typical image of Hanuman enshrined in temples, shows him crushing a demon underfoot. Sometimes two demons-mostly a man, but sometimes a woman. These could be one of many demons that Hanuman overpowers in the Valmiki Ramayana and in the many regional and folk Ramayanas.
On his way to Lanka, Hanuman encounters three female demons-Simhika, Surasa and Lankini-who protect Lanka from intruders.

Simhika has the power to capture her prey by its shadow; so she grabs hold of Hanuman’s shadow and forces him into her mouth. Hanuman does not resist, he reduces himself in size so that rather than bite him, she is forced to swallow him. Inside her stomach, he expands in size and escapes by ripping out of her entrails, causing her to die.

Surasa blocks Hanuman’s path in the middle of the sea and tells him that he cannot pass until he enters her mouth; that is a boon she has been given by the gods. Hanuman has no choice but to enter her mouth. He increases his size forcing Surasa to widen her jaws. Then in a moment, he reduces himself to the size of a bee, and zips in and out of Surasa’s mouth. Surasa has no choice but to let Hanuman pass for he has outwitted her with his agility.

While he first contracts and then expands to escape Simhika, Hanuman expands and later contracts to escape Surasa, the mother of serpents. While he uses brute force to kill Simhika, he uses cunning to escape Surasa. In Lanka, Hanuman simply shoves the guardian-goddess of Lanka, Lankini, to the ground, making her realize he is no ordinary monkey, but the monkey destined to defeat Ravana. The defeat of Simhika, Surasa and Lankini marks the beginning of the end of Ravana’s rule.

The female demon depicted under Hanuman’s foot is sometimes interpreted as Lankini, Surasa or Simhika. Some identify her as Panvati, or a malevolent astrological force that causes misfortune. Others see her as Surpanakha (Ravana’s sister), embodying the lustful woman who is the opposite of the celibate sage embodied by Hanuman.

Some see this fierce relationship of Hanuman with female demons as a rejection of Tantra where female deities preside and the focus is the acquisition of occult powers. In folklore, the celibate male ascetics (jogi) are often in conflict with sexually alluring female sorceresses (joginis). This is seen as reflecting the conflict between the austere, refined Vedanta tradition where the focus was wisdom and liberation, and the crude Tantra tradition where the focus was power and control.

Not everyone appreciates the idea of violence against women, even if the woman is a demon. In most images, the demon under Hanuman’s foot is male and identified as Kalanemi sent by Ravana to prevent Hanuman from finding the Sanjivani herb, or Mahiravana who Hanuman outwits to save Ram from Pa-tala. The demon embodies obstacles that come in the way of success. Crushing him marks the crushing of obstacles. That is why Hanuman is called the remover of obstacles (sankat-mochan).

The mighty Hanuman is imagined sometimes with ten heads (dasa-mukhi) or with five heads (pancha-mukhi). In the latter form, the extra heads are those of other animals: a horse, lion, eagle and wild boar. These indicate Hanuman’s association with wisdom (horse), valour (lion), vision (eagle) and tenacity (boar). It also visibly reveals Hanuman to be more than a monkey. This form of Hanuman is called Maha-bali, and is seen as standing independent of Ram.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 10 Analysis in English

bhima rupa dhari asura sahare
ramachandra ke kaja savare ll10||

In a dreadful form you vanquished demons,
And collaborated in Ramachandra’s work. (10)

Bhima was for once highly confused. He had no idea who he had encountered! This was the first time in his life he felt utterly powerless. And it wasn’t the easiest feeling to live with. It all began that wonderful morning when Bhima had the best experience of his life. Interestingly, the best experience and the most embarrassing experience of his life happened on the same day. Almost as if nature was trying to balance the good and the bad.

That morning, as he was taking a stroll by the river, he saw the most beautiful sight ever. As if the rainbow was hanging upside down having transformed itself into a smile. His wife Draupadi was the most beautiful person he had ever seen in his life. But that morning she appeared almost like a goddess from some higher realm, smiling brilliantly. She was glowing like never before. When he reached closer, he realized that the radiance was sponsored by a golden lotus flower she held in her hand.

It was not just golden but a 1000-petalled lotus flower. Bhima had never seen anything like this before and from the look of excitement and joy on Draupadi’s face, he could understand that neither had she. When Bhima sat down next to her admiring that flower, Draupadi made a request. A request that caused a flutter of joy in Bhima’s heart. She asked him to get more such flowers for her. Bhima leapt up in excitement. This was the first time in so many years of their marriage that Draupadi had made any request whatsoever.

He was eager to fulfill her desire. Reasoning that the 1000-petalled lotus had floated down the river, Bhima began following the trail of the river backwards. He had never been this excited in his life. He really wanted to make Draupadi happy. He was even daydreaming of how happy she would be when he returned with the many golden lotuses. There was a bounce in his gait. Soon he began to blow his conch shell, expressing his happiness to the world.

Of course, the world did not exactly appreciate the blase display of his happiness. The terrible sound of the conch rattled through the forest, startling the birds and animals in the vicinity. Oblivious to the effect he was causing on the living beings, Bhima kept marching ahead along the river. Suddenly the earth below his feet quaked. He almost lost his balance and fell. He stopped smiling when he realized that the source of the quake wasn’t natural but rather created. He had heard a thump distinctly.

It felt as if someone had stomped the ground and artificially created the tremors. The warrior instincts of Bhima took over considering it to be a provocation to challenge his strength. His pursuit for the mystical golden flower suddenly became secondary and his inquisitiveness to find the source of the tremor became primary. He walked stealthily towards the direction from which the tremor had originated. Before he reached, another more powerful thud was heard and a more intense tremor was experienced. Now this was a serious matter. Bhima began walking cautiously towards the source of the quakes.

Just when he was almost there, he saw something on the ground that was unbelievable. Sprawled on the middle of his path was something that looked like a thick rope. When he saw carefully, it was actually a thick tail. His eyes followed the tail and found that it belonged to a really huge elderly monkey resting under a tree. Bhima had never seen a monkey so huge. Approaching the monkey respectfully, he requested him to move his tail so that he wouldn’t have to step over it. The monkey lazily replied that he was too exhausted to even open his eyes, then what to speak of putting such a huge effort in shifting his tail.

He casually told Bhima to take care of the tail shifting business himself. Bhima was really irritated with the attitude of the old monkey. But because he had other pressing matters to take care of, he didn’t want to get into any discussion here. Plus who would want to quarrel with such a weak elderly person? Setting aside his anger, Bhima gently touched the tail of the frail monkey in order to set it aside. Somehow the tail was heavier than he expected. First he had just used two fingers to pick it up, but now he used his entire hand to lift up the tail.

Interestingly the tail refused to budge. He now used both his hands. No matter how much energy he put in, the tail would not budge. It almost felt as if it was stuck to the ground. Bhima was flabbergasted. What was the point in having the strength of 10,000 elephants when he couldn’t lift the tail of an ordinary monkey and that too an elderly one? He summoned all his strength and, taking a deep breath, once again tried to lift the tail. As he was pulling with all his might, he suddenly lost his grip and fell.

Right in front of his eyes, the tail rose in the air slightly and thumped onto the ground. The power with which the tail hit the ground created tremors that spread in all directions shattering the earth’s tectonic plates. Bhima was bewildered at the power exhibited by an ordinary looking monkey. He realized that this couldn’t possibly be an ordinary monkey.

This had to be some divine being in disguise. With folded hands, he approached the elderly being. In great supplication, he begged forgiveness for being arrogant and for displaying his puny strength. He requested the powerful personality to reveal who he really was and bless him.

The elderly monkey smiled and in the next moment in place of that old monkey stood Hanuman, the powerful servant and messenger of Lord Rama and the hero of the Rama Ravana war in Lanka. Bhima was absolutely thrilled to see his worshipable master and source of his inspiration right in front of his eyes.

Falling at the feet of Hanuman, he surrendered himself completely. Pleased with his sincerity, Hanuman picked up and embraced Bhima. It was a happy reunion of two brothers who were both sons of Vayu, the wind god. Both of them spent many hours together happily recounting the adventures of their lives and sharing notes.

Hanuman was dejected with the sorry state of the Pandavas and promised to help Bhima in the upcoming war. He tutored Bhima in the art of mace fighting and wrestling. He also promised him that during the war, he would be present on Aijuna’s flag and would add to the intensity of Bhima’s war cries by adding his own voice.

Thus even before the enemy approached Bhima, his heart would be shattered hearing the terrible war cries. Thus half the fight could be won by simply scaring the enemy, bhima rupa dhari asura sahare When one approaches God, the question is not what can He do for you but what can you do for Him.

Hanuman personifies this attitude. There is absolutely no story of Hanuman’s life where he gains anything or does things for his own pleasure or benefit. His life was a life of sacrifice. His life was a life of service. The primary and single-pointed focus of Hanuman’s life was to enthusiastically serve Rama and his devotees, to the best of his capacity. Every mission of Rama’s, was carried out so wonderfully by Hanuman. ramachandra ke kdja savare.

The first service of Hanuman was to unite Sugriva with Rama. Knowing very well that both Sugriva and Rama needed each other, Hanuman spoke to both parties individually and convinced them to collaborate to achieve their goals and solve each other’s problems. In fact, understanding that Sugriva’s monkey mind is unpredictable and may change any time, he sealed their friendship by making them take vows of friendship and dedication in a fire sacrifice.

Eventually when the right time came, he inspired Sugriva to mobilize the entire monkey army. Regularly following up with him and pushing him into timely action, Hanuman made sure that the massive vanara army arrived at the right time.

Not only did he inspire Sugriva to send millions of vanaras around the globe, but he himself went on the search expedition in the southern direction. He did not just believe in delegating work, he believed in getting involved personally in every mission of Lord Rama’s.

He was not just an expert in organizing, but also in working at ground level. During the entire search operation, he kept everyone motivated and focused. Everyone has a tendency to forget why we do what we do. People tend to focus on the activity and forget the intention behind any action. Hanuman kept the whole army focused on the fact that this was Rama’s mission and as long as they remembered that, Rama’s grace would flow through them.

Of the millions of monkeys who left to find Sita, Hanuman was the one who actually found her. He left no stone unturned in doing so. He jumped across an ocean, fought with demons, searched the length and breadth of an entire country alone, risked his life by entering an enemy zone single-handedly, and resisted sensory temptation in the golden city.

But all this was worth it when he finally saw Sita. By finding Sita and giving her Rama’s message, he successfully completed a job that was most dear to Rama and of course a crucial need in the given situation. By giving Sita Rama’s message, he gave her hope and by giving Rama Sita’s message, he gave him hope. Thus, he united Sita and Rama through hope.

A good servant is one who not only does the task given to him, but accomplishes several others along the way. Hanuman was only given the task of finding Sita and conveying Rama’s message to her. But along with that, he accomplished much more. He conducted a complete survey of Lanka, assessing its strengths and weaknesses, studied Ravana’s army, understood the entire layout of Lanka, and finally gave Ravana a warning he would remember forever.

Moreover, he even identified a potential friend in Lanka in the form of Vibhishan. Hanuman, in fact, recommended him to Rama when he arrived asking for shelter. This connection became the most crucial link that turned the tide during the war. Hanuman also played a key role in building the 80-mile wide and 800-mile long bridge of stones in just five days.

He carried huge boulders, rocks, and even mountains from far and wide to ensure that the engineers were never short in supply of stones to build the bridge. During the war, Hanuman saved the lives of everyone, including Rama and Lakshmana, several times when unconquerable mystic weapons were used.

Hanuman was Rama’s most powerful instrument during the entire war, probably destroying more enemies than all monkeys put together. He not only helped Rama win the war with his physical strength but also helped strategize with his intellectual strength. Several times during the war, Hanuman jeopardized the yagyas of Ravana that could potentially make him immortal.

Finally, the most important way Hanuman served Rama was by reuniting him with Sita at the end of the war. Not only that, he reunited Bharata and Rama after the war as well. When Rama returned to Ayodhya, he sent all the monkeys back to their kingdom in Kishkinda while he kept Hanuman with him. Hanuman meant everything to Rama.

He was a messenger, a minister, a friend, a servant, an advisor, a war commander, and even served as a vehicle for Rama when needed. Whatever Hanuman did, he did with complete faith, risking his life. He never gave any excuse and fulfilled his commitments, no matter what the price. Food and sleep were of no consequence to him till his mission was completed. For him, the mission of Lord Rama was always first and foremost.

He was the best of brahmanas. When needed, he became the best of kshatriyas to wield weapons in a war. He was the best of vaisyas because a vaisya gives loans and puts people under his debt; he put Rama Himself under his debt. And sudra dharma being seva, who could follow it better than Hanuman? He completed every mission of Lord Rama, in whichever vama that was needed of him, as an exemplary brahmana, kshatriya, vaisya as well as sudra. ramachandra ke kaja savare.

Devotees sing the Hanuman Chalisa with Meaning with devotion in temples and during religious gatherings.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 9 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 9 Adapting to Context

सूक्ष्म रूप धरि
सियहिं दिखावा ।
बिकट रूप धरि
लंक जरावा ॥

Sukshma roop dhari
Siyahi dikhava.
Vikat roop dhari
Lank jarava.

You took a small vulnerable form
before Sita.
You took a giant fearsome form
to burn Lanka.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 9 Meaning in English

In the first quarter of the Hanuman Chalisa, a lot of emphasis is placed on the origin, form and attributes, the role as well as the preferences, of Hanuman. We refer to his mother, his earthly and celestial fathers, we refer to his appearance and his symbols, his qualities and capabilities, his love for Ram’s stones, and his desire to serve Ram.

With this verse we are describing his many feats: his ability to contract and expand himself physically as the situation demands. To the frightened Sita, he appeared as a small non-threatening monkey. To the arrogant Rayana, he appeared as a giant fearsome creature. Hanuman is thus no ordinary creature he is a shape-shifter who knows what shape other people respond to.

In Hinduism, God is constantly playing games (leda) nudging the devotee-child to realize his divine potential. Thus God can expand or contract, encompass infinity (virat-rupa), and change shape and size for the benefit of all living creatures. Vishnu, for example, manifests as a fish, a boar, a priest, a king, or a cowherd. This ability to adapt for the benefit of the other is a hallmark of divinity, one that Hanuman also possesses.

The transformations of Hanuman described in this verse, of contracting and expanding in size, come from a chapter known as Sundar-kand in the Ramayana. The chapter is named beautiful (sundar) as it evokes hope: the possibility of Sita and Ram reuniting, thanks to the intervention of Hanuman.

It is also thus named because it is the only place where he experiences the tenderness of Ram’s love for Sita and Sita’s love for Ram. Hanuman conveys Ram’s words and describes Rain’s sorrow to Sita, and Sita conveys her feelings to Ram through Hanuman, even sharing intimate secrets, such as how Ram used to rest his head on her lap when he was exhausted in the forest.

Hanuman’s puny form makes Sita wonder how he could possibly have leapt across the sea. So Hanuman reveals his giant form and reassures her. Later, Hanuman lets himself be caught by Ravana’s soldiers so that he gains an audience with the rakshasaking. Hanuman is astute enough to realize that sensible words will not work with one such as Ravana who is consumed by his own self-importance, and is so frightened that he constantly feels the need to dominate those around him.

Unable to break free from his animal nature, Ravana only understands the language of force. So when Ravana refuses to treat Hanuman as a messenger and give him due respect by offering a seat to him, Hanuman creates his own seat, extending and coiling his tail; only Hanuman’s seat is at higher level than Ravana’s throne, forcing Ravana to look up rather than down, a humiliation that Ravana cannot bear. Furious, unnerved, the king of Lanka orders his soldiers to set Hanuman’s tail on fire.

Hanuman responds by twirling his tail in every direction, setting fire to Ravana’s beautiful palace and the city of Lanka around it, before leaping off the island-kingdom. In India, there are broadly two types of monkeys – the redfaced monkey with golden fur and the black-faced monkey with silver fur. In folklore, it is believed that the soot of Lanka burning turned the red-faced monkey into the black-faced monkey.

In art, Hanuman images can be classified into two types depending on the location of the tail: if it is lowered, it indicates the gentle (saumya) form with which Hanuman approached Sita and Ram; if Hanuman’s tail is raised, it indicates the fierce (rudra) form with which Hanuman stood up to Ravana. This reaffirms Hanuman’s relationship with Shiva who is known for both his gentle (Shankara) and fierce (Bhairava) forms.

Hanuman is also depicted, especially in the south, with his arm extended as if he is going to slap someone. This is called ‘tamacha’ Hanuman: the form he took to humiliate Ravana. By contrast, when his image is placed next to Ram, his arms are in a position of veneration: this form is called Ram-dasa, the servant of Ram.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 9 Analysis in English

sukshma rupa dhari siyahi dikhava
bikata rupa dhari lanka jarava ll9ll

In a tiny form you appeared before Sita,
In a terrifying form you burnt Lanka. (9)

In his journey to Lanka, Hanuman assumed a diminutive form as many as seven times. And it was in this tiny form that he made contact with Sita. After a long and arduous search through the island of Lanka, Hanuman finally reached Ashok Vatika gardens. That was the only place he had not yet scanned. Considering this to be Ravana’s favourite garden, Hanuman thought this could be an ideal place to hold Sita captive.

Ravana may have probably wanted to invoke the romantic side in Sita by hosting her in a scenic and extremely beautiful garden with beautiful flowering trees and sweetly chirping birds. Since Hanuman had kept his eyes and ears wide open, he knew quite a few secrets of Lanka by now. With great hope, Hanuman hopped into the garden.

Taking a very tiny form, he scaled the wall of the garden and leaped onto a tree inside. From tree to tree he traversed across the garden. Since there was a dense array of trees, there was no way anyone could spot him in his tiny little form. He had assumed that tiny monkey form for two prominent reasons. One, of course, was to remain discreet and invisible to the demonesses, 700 of whom were guarding Ashok Vatika. The second was more personal. This was the first time Hanuman would come in front of Mother Sita.

Rama had become his spiritual father and naturally Sita was his eternal mother. When Hanuman met her for the first time, he wanted her to address him as ‘son’. His logic was that if he appeared small in size, it would awaken Sita’s motherly affection towards him. As he scouted around the garden, he reached the central section, which was also the most beautiful part of the garden. Right in the middle was a huge Simshupa tree. Under that huge tree was a raised platform on which sat, morosely, an extremely beautiful lady in simple attire.

Looking at her aroused great feelings of reverence and respect in Hanuman’s heart. Without any tangible proof, Hanuman instantly knew that this was Sita indeed. He was so excited to have finally found Sita that he wanted to jump right in front of her and talk to her about Rama. But he contained his excitement when he saw the hordes of rakshasis strolling around keeping a close watch on her.

He decided to wait for an appropriate moment when he could get a private audience with her. A few hours later, in the wee hours of the night, Ravana walked into the garden with great pomp along with his entourage of women carrying electric gifts.

In the middle of the night, though in the midst of so many beautiful women, Ravana had remembered Sita and come to pay her a visit. For the last ten months he had been trying unsuccessfully to convince her to forget Rama and marry him instead. But Sita hadn’t paid heed to his courting and attempts to coax her into submission. This was yet another failed attempt.

Sita insulted him once again and Ravana could no longer bear it. He almost assaulted her physically, restrained only by his wife Mandodari. He stormed out in a huff, giving her a warning to submit within two months or be ready to face death.

As soon as Ravana left, the rakshasis ganged around Sita and abused her verbally for her foolishness in not submitting to Ravana. Hanuman wanted to jump down and punch those hooligans on their faces. But he restrained himself considering that he wouldn’t be able to talk to Sita if he did that.

In addition it could also happen that Sita may even consider him to be Ravana or one of his allies disguised as a messenger of Rama. While Hanuman in his tiny form was seething in anger seated on the branch of a tree above Sita, something very interesting happened. A demoness called Trijata walked towards the others and began to share her nightmare with them.

She had a vision of a monkey coming into Lanka and destroying it. She saw the whole city go up in flames and the wild monkey destroying everything including the king’s palace. The only person the monkey seemed to be interested in was Sita. She further said that if the rakshasis ill-behaved with Sita, then surely Sita wouldn’t protect them from any upcoming danger. This scared the rakshasis who then left Sita alone and began drinking liquor in sheer frustration. Eventually all of them fell asleep.

This was the chance that Hanuman was waiting for. Just as he was about to jump down in front of Sita, he saw something shocking. Sita had tied her hair into a noose and was about to hang herself from the branch of the very tree on which he was stationed.

He panicked and almost fell down. He realized that Sita was in too delicate a frame of mind to accept a stranger monkey as a messenger of Rama’s. She wouldn’t even want to hear him out before giving up on her life. Thus he chose to do something else. Something he had great faith in. He decided to narrate Rama Katha, the story of Lord Rama.

As soon as the first words of Rama Katha escaped from his mouth, Sita’s heart skipped a beat. She immediately connected to his melodious divine voice. Someone was here who loved Rama as dearly as she did. She withdrew the noose and relaxed. When Hanuman saw the effect his narration had on Sita, he continued enthusiastically.

Keeping himself hidden behind a leaf, he narrated the entire story of Rama to the attentive Sita. Several times during the narration, Sita tried to find the narrator but couldn’t as he was carefully concealed behind a leaf. Finally when Hanuman felt it was the right time, he jumped down in front of Sita.

When Sita saw such a cute little monkey, her motherly affection surfaced. As Hanuman had desired, she called him son. That address made Hanuman smile blissfully, sukshma rupa dhari siyahi dikhava He told Sita that he would take her back to Rama. Sita almost giggled at his proposal. How could a tiny monkey claim to take her back? She didn’t want to be insensitive by showing that she doubted his capacity, but she still needed clarity. So she asked him whether all monkeys were similar in size in Rama’s army.

The intelligent Hanuman immediately smelled the doubt in her voice. The next instant, he expanded in size. He kept expanding till he was much taller and much bigger than the tree under which she sat. Now Sita was thoroughly confused. First he appeared so small and now he was so huge. She asked Hanuman what his original size was.

Was he small, was he big, or was he medium-sized? Hanuman gave a brilliant answer that showed his humility. He replied that he was originally small and insignificant but in the service of Lord Rama, he could take up any size and any responsibility.

By the grace of Lord Rama, there was nothing that he couldn’t achieve and there was no obstacle that he couldn’t cross. Sita was so happy to hear that answer. This was the essence of devotion. After a long and deep conversation with Mother Sita, Hanuman decided to do something, which he considered equally important. Create new history in Lanka! Do something that was historical and impactful!

He began to wreak havoc in Ashok Vatika. Every single thing that was standing at night was broken and dismantled by morning. When the demonesses woke up after a long slumber, they saw the once beautiful garden of Lanka was nothing but a disaster. Soon thousands of soldiers were rushing towards the garden to figure out what had happened.

When the demonesses saw a monkey emerge from the midst of that wreckage, they immediately panicked. Trijata’s dream was coming true after all. They ran helter-skelter while the foolish soldiers ran towards the monkey for a head-on collision. Soon thousands of dead soldiers lay scattered here and there. All day Ravana kept sending his soldiers and all day Hanuman kept destroying every single demon that came by. Soon some of Ravana’s most powerful men were dead including his own son Akshay Kumar.

Having no choice left, Ravana sent Indrajit with the instruction to capture the arrogant monkey alive. Indrajit soon managed to bind Hanuman with the Brahma pasha. Though Hanuman had a boon that no weapon would work on him and Brahma had himself given him immunity from the Brahma pasha, Hanuman wilfully got bound. This had to do with the execution of the second part of his mission.

He wanted his visit to serve as a warning to Ravana. Something that Ravana would remember forever. When he was dragged into the courtroom, Hanuman gave Ravana fine advice, which of course, did not even enter into the ears of the proud demon. Ravana wanted to kill the mischievous monkey, but Vibhishan convinced him that a messenger should not be killed. Then Ravana chose to set his tail on fire.

Miles of cloth soaked in gallons of oil was brought, to be tied and spread on his tail. Mystically, Hanuman’s tail kept growing. Soon all the cloth and all the oil in Lanka was over. As soon as his tail was lit with fire, Hanuman simply freed himself from the ropes that bound him and jumped out of the courtroom. Once outside the building, he expanded himself and jumped around burning all the houses and structures in Lanka. Soon the whole city was a blazing inferno, bikata rupa dhari lanka jarava.

In the midst of chaos in Lanka with the fire raging intensely, Hanuman was disappointed to see that it suddenly began to rain all over Lanka. More specifically, it was pouring over the sections of Lanka that were burning. Hanuman was very upset with the rain god, Indra, for having done that. He had taken so much effort to bum the city and here was the rain god undoing everything.

When he summoned the rain god and complained, instead of offering a justification, Indra simply smiled. He told Hanuman to look carefully; he wasn’t showering water, rather he was showering inflammable oils so that the city would bum harder. Ravana had tortured the gods enough and this was Indra’s first chance to retaliate.

After all the adventure, when Hanuman returned to Lord Rama and shared the details of his actions in Lanka, Rama had a very fundamental doubt. He asked Hanuman why did he bum the city when he was only sent as a messenger to deliver a message to Sita. Hanuman explained that it wasn’t his idea but rather Rama’s own idea which he simply executed.

Rama was confused, how it could be his idea when he wasn’t even present in Lanka at that time. Hanuman explained to the Lord that though he wasn’t physically present, as paramatma he was very much present in the heart of Ravana.

It was he who had implanted the idea in Ravana’s mind to bum the tail of Hanuman rather than injure it in any other way. It was Rama who had predicted this would happen as a dream in the mind of Trijata. As soon as Hanuman had heard the dream he was quite sure that this was Rama’s desire.

But he wanted to be doubly sure that it was indeed Rama that wanted Lanka to be burnt. The only way he could ensure that it wasn’t the trick of his mind but actually the will of the Lord was by allowing himself to be bound and being helpless to take any decision on his own.

Thus he agreed to be bound by Indrajit’s Brahma pasha. Hearing Hanuman’s logical explanation, there was nothing that Rama could do except applaud him silently. Hanuman was not just an expert in deeds but an expert in his words too.

Each verse of the Hanuman Chalisa Meaning narrates an aspect of Hanuman’s divine qualities.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 8 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 8 Other People’s Stories

प्रभभु चरित्र
सुनिबे को रसिया ।
राम लखन
सीता मन बसिया ॥

Prabhu charitra
sunibe ko rasiya.
Ram Lakhan
Sita man basiya.

Ram’s stories
you enjoy listening.
Ram, Lakshman
Sita as well, always reside in your heart.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 8 Meaning in English

For Hindus, one of the ways to expand our mind, and discover the divine within, is by listening (shravana) to stories of the divine. Puranic stories are containers (patra) of Vedic wisdom (atma-gyan). Stories are of different types: memoirs (itihasa), chronicles (purana), epics (maha-kavya), narratives (akhyana), glories (mahatmya), biographies (charitra), songs (gita), prose-poetry (champu). Hanuman nourishes himself intellectually and emotionally by listening to stories of Ram, as we learn from this verse.

Traditionally, in gatherings where Ram’s story is read out, one seat is always left vacant. Hanuman is described as rasika, one who enjoys the aesthetic juices (rasa) of Ram’s tale. As per Hindu aesthetics, a good story is like good food. It needs to have multiple flavours that stir the senses and arouse emotions, for only then can it incept thoughts that can help expand the mind.

In folk tradition, Hanuman grows up listening to stories of Ram narrated by his mother. How is that possible? How can Hanuman hear stories of events that he himself participated in? In the Hindu worldview, the world goes through cycles of re-birth and re-death, just like any other living creature. In each of its lifetimes (kalpa), the world has four phases, like all living creatures: childhood, youth, maturity and old age.

These are the four yugas, identified as Krita, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali. The Ramayana takes place in Treta Yuga. Since the world has gone through infinite lifetimes, and in each kalpa there has been a Ramayana, everyone in every age knows the story of Ram. Anjana narrates to Hanuman stories of Ram from an earlier kalpa.

Hanuman is so excited to hear the story of Ram that he desires to meet Ram. And so he goes to the city of Ayodhya where he learns that Ram, the prince, is craving for a pet. Hanuman lets himself be captured by the soldiers who gift him to the prince. That way Hanuman becomes Ram’s pet and also spends his childhood as Ram’s companion. Thus, in local oral traditions,Hanuman is with Ram throughout his life, not just after Sita’s abduction as narrated in various Sanskrit and regional texts.

In the Valmiki Ramayana, when Ram and Sugriv meet for the first time, they exchange stories. Ram tells him his tragedy, how Ravana abducted his wife. Sugriv tells him his tragedy, how Vali usurped his kingdom. Hanuman realizes that Ram’s story has a solution for Sugriv’s problem, and Sugriv’s story has a solution for Ram’s problem. If Ram helps Sugriv get his kingdom, Sugriv will help Ram find his wife. Listening to each other’s stories reveals mutual benefit. Had stories not been shared, neither would the problem be understood nor would a solution have been found.

To see the other is to hear their stories. Brahma, the creator of all living organisms, and his children, such as Indra, are not worshipped because they do not care for other people’s stories; they are consumed by their own. In exasperation, Shiva beheads Brahma, which is why Shiva is called Kapalika. Shiva has learned the importance of storytelling from Shakti. Together they establish their relationship by telling each other stories, stories that are overheard by birds and fish and shared with the rest of the world.

Vishnu hears the stories of Brahma’s children, and nudges them to hear the stories of those around them. But reciprocity is not easy. By listening to Sugriv’s story, Ram not only understands his problem, he also understands Sugriv’s personality. He realizes that Sugriv sees him as an ally but has doubts. So Ram shoots a single arrow through seven trees, earning Sugriv’s admiration and trust.

Ram also realizes that after getting his kingdom, Sugriv will forget his end of the bargain, not because he is a cheat, but simply because he is so consumed by what he wants from others, that he is unable to see what others want from him. Still, he gives Sugriv the benefit of the doubt and helps him overpower Vali.

When Sugriv hears Ram’s story, he sees a prince in distress and a potential ally in his fight against Vali. He sees what value Ram brings to him; he does not see Ram for what Ram is. By contrast, just by hearing Ram’s story, Hanuman realizes that Ram is no ordinary human: his story has no villains, or victims, or heroes, just hungry and frightened humans seeking meaning. Hanuman recognizes Ram as the embodiment of divine potential, of atma, of dharma, all that is referred to in the Vedas, all that was taught to him by Surya.

Hanuman does Ram’s darshan each time he hears Ram’s story. He wants to participate in it, even as a minor character, for he relishes the idea of being part of Ram’s story. One day, he narrated the story of Ramayana to his mother: how the monkeys and he built the bridge to Lanka, fought the rakshasas, killed Ravana and reunited Sita with Ram.

Anjana was not impressed, for she felt her son was not living up to his potential. ‘You could have just swung your tail and defeated the demons and rescued Sita without this whole charade of building a bridge and fighting a war. Why didn’t you?’ she asked. Hanuman replied, ‘Because Ram did not ask me to.’ Hanuman knew the Ramayana was Ram’s story, not his. He did not want to control or appropriate or overshadow Ram’s story. It was about Ram, not him.

It is significant that the very first narrator of the Ramayana is Hanuman himself: he describes Ram to Sugriv, he tells the story of Ram’s adventures to Sita when he meets her in Lanka and does the same when he meets Bharat in Ayodhya. Later, he writes the first biography of Ram known as Hanuman Nataka, but destroys it so that Valmiki gets the credit of writing the first epic on Ram.

In stories, Hanuman observes Ram’s relationship with Lakshman and Sita, and realizes how Ram’s brother and Ram’s wife complete him, and how he completes them. When Hanuman places all three of them in his heart, he is essentially placing in his heart the idea of relationship: that the self is incomplete without the other; that the self exists in an ecosystem of others.

That is why in Hindu temples, no deity is placed alone: the deity always has a spouse, or a child, or a companion, or an attendant. Even Hanuman, who has no relatives, is not placed alone; we know that in his heart is present his master, who in turn is accompanied by his brother and his wife.

This value placed on relationship between the self and the other is key to Hindu stories. Most mythologies, ideologies and philosophies around the world can be broadly classified into two categories: individualistic and collectivist. Individualistic mythologies value the one over the group. Collectivist mythologies value the group over the one. Greek and Taoist.

ways, for example, are individualistic; Abrahamic and Confucian ways are collectivist. One can even classify Shaivite mythologies as individualistic and Vaishnavite mythologies as collectivist. However, that is not quite accurate. Hindu mythologies are best understood in terms of relationship: Shiva’s relationship with Shakti and Vishnu’s relationship with Lakshmi.

Instead of the binary of the individual and the group, Hinduism focuses on the relationship between two individuals (the dyad). Shiva tends to withdraw from the other; Vishnu engages with the other. When we relish the stories of the gods as Hanuman does, we see the gods truly, and recognize their presence or absence in us, just like Hanuman.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 8 Analysis in English

prabhu charitra sunibe ko rasiya
rama lakhana sita mana basiya ll8ll

You crave to hear about the Lord,
Rama, Lakshmana, Mother Sita dwell in you. (8)

Before the vanara army left in search for Sita, Rama met each one of them. This news that Rama wanted to meet them came as a complete surprise to the vanaras who were used to a king who hardly looked at them and treated them as commodity. As the army lined up to meet Rama one by one, there was an air of excitement. The vanaras kept peeping ahead to see the heart-warming exchanges between Rama and their own kith and kin from their ranks.

His patting them, encouraging them, and thanking them was so heart touching. They had never seen any leader do anything as kind as this. Their desire to go till the end of the earth to serve Rama’s goal intensified. For each monkey who stood facing Rama, it was a life melting experience. The most sublime feeling in their life. Rama respectfully looked into their eyes and expressed his gratitude for taking so much risk and putting in so much effort to find his beloved Sita. For the few moments they spent with Rama, they felt they could surrender their entire life in serving him.

But while Rama interacted with them, his eyes searched for someone else. At the end of the long winding queue stood Hanuman. Rama’s face visibly relaxed as soon as he saw Hanuman. Rama continued meeting all the monkeys while patiently waiting for Hanuman’s turn. Finally, when Hanuman was in front of Rama, Rama decided to test him. He first asked him where he had disappeared to all this while. Hanuman rather than replying to that question, immediately fell at the feet of Rama and held them tightly.

Holding his shoulders, Rama tried to pick him up, but Hanuman held on tightly to his feet. Rama was surprised at this odd behaviour. Hanuman then said, “My dear Lord, let me remain in this position forever. As long as my hands are at your feet, your hands will be on my shoulders. As long as I take shelter of you, you will continue to empower me. The moment I leave your feet, you will leave my shoulders. Your touch and blessings are the source of my strength and abilities. All my life I have been waiting to serve my eternal master and finally, I have the opportunity.”

Rama was in a light mood and he said, “You are talking about blessings. But you have come so late, right at the end, I have no blessings left to offer you. Since all my blessings are exhausted, what can I offer you now?” Hanuman replied in an instant, taking the liberty of being a tad cheeky, “You may have given away the big things you have, my Lord, but you definitely still possess a small but powerful blessing.

To some, you may have given knowledge of the scriptures as blessing, to others you may have given wisdom or guidance or power or fame or even wealth, but I am not looking at such big things as blessings. I am only interested in the smallest thing in your possession. Please give me that as a blessing and I will be truly happy.”

Rama was utterly confused at the puzzling request. He wanted to test Hanuman but the tables had turned and it was Hanuman testing him now. He asked him, “What is it that I haven’t given away yet as a blessing? What is the smallest thing I have?” Hanuman was thrilled to have confused the Lord. The look of confusion on the Lord’s face was priceless.

Hanuman continued speaking with a smile on his face, “My dear Lord, when you had met Lord Parashuram, you had told him that the smallest thing in your possession was your name Rama. I want that. Please give me your name as a gift and blessing. Though it’s small, but that little word contains the strength of the entire universe in it.”

Rama was deeply touched. Hanuman’s devotion and his wisdom were very special. He had managed to create a deep impact in the heart of the Lord. With tears in his eyes, Lord Rama embraced Hanuman. The deal was done. From that moment onwards, Hanuman owned Rama’s name. With great relish, he would chant the holy name of Lord Rama and would listen to it chanted by anyone else with equal relish.

He never lost a chance to chant and hear Rama naam and Rama katha with great relish, prabhu charitra sunibe ko rasiya From Hanuman, we learn to establish the presence of God in our hearts. Our hearts are filled with darkness, because we have not given permission to light to enter. Light can also enter through windows. The Lord can enter through our ears if we engage in hearing about Him

Hanuman was always interested in listening to the Ramayana, and in this way, the Divine is always established in his own heart. Hanuman’s great qualities were his Wisdom, Strength, and Devotion, which resided firmly in his heart as Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita. Much later, when Rama became the king of Ayodhya, something really interesting happened.

Seeing the Lord settled and living happily in the company of Mother Sita, Lord Shiva and Parvati decided to pay a visit to Ayodhya. Once the welcome formalities were completed, Mother Sita invited the visiting couple for lunch.

While everyone had assembled for lunch, Lord Shiva noticed that Hanuman was missing. He asked Rama his whereabouts. With a smile Rama told him to check in the gardens. Surely Hanuman would be there. Lord Shiva’s eagerness to see Hanuman far exceeded his desire to eat the meal.

He and Parvati stepped out into the garden to find Hanuman. There they heard a very unique sound that sounded like someone snoring. As they walked towards the source of the sound, they were amazed to see that it was Hanuman, sleeping peacefully under a mango tree, oblivious to the world, and snoring away.

But what amazed them most was the sound of the snore. For from the snore emanated the holy name of Rama. Rama’s name was so much ingrained in Hanuman’s psyche and consciousness that even his snore was emanating Rama naam.

While Shiva’s gaze was fixed on Hanuman, Parvati pointed out towards the tree under which Hanuman was resting. Something magical was happening there. Every leaf on that tree was swaying in sync with the vibrations of the holy name of Rama. Lord Shiva saw this as the most divine sankirtan of the holy names of His worshipable Lord Rama.

In great happiness, he himself began to dance, chanting the names of Rama. Seeing her husband enter an ecstatic trance, Parvati also joined in the singing and dancing. With the divine couple dancing enthusiastically and chanting the names of Rama, the gandharvas, kinnaras, and apsaras from the heavenly realms also joined in, filling the atmosphere with divine music and singing.

Back at the palace, Sita was anxious her guests hadn’t returned from the garden. She sent Lakshmana to get them back for lunch. Lakshmana quickly walked into the garden to see the enthusiastic surprise that was in store for him. The mood in the garden was so festive and surcharged with devotion that Lakshmana couldn’t resist participating in the dancing and singing of the holy names.

When Lakshmana did not return, Sita sent Bharata and then Shatrughana but neither of them returned with the guests. They had all joined in the kirtan festival! Exasperated, Sita herself went to look for them, along with Rama. When she walked into the garden, she was totally fascinated to see the dancing and singing festival going on in full swing. In the midst of all this hullabaloo, Hanuman was blissfully sleeping under the mango tree and Rama’s names was vibrating from his sweet snoring.

Sita and Rama were overwhelmed by his devotion. Walking up to Hanuman, Rama gently sat beside him and touched his head with great love. As soon as Rama touched him, Hanuman woke up. Lord Shiva, who was so inspired with Hanuman’s devotion, glorified him endlessly. Hanuman became red with embarrassment, being glorified in front of his master. Sensing his discomfort, Sita invited everyone for lunch.

As soon as everyone was seated, Sita began to serve lunch. She noticed that, as usual, Hanuman was not sitting but had busied himself with some service. Today, she forced him to sit along with the guests. Initially, Hanuman was embarrassed to be sitting along with Rama for lunch. He always preferred to eat the remnants of Rama’s food. But once he began eating, he got so enthusiastic that he gobbled down crazy quantities of food. Nothing seemed to satisfy him. No matter how much Sita served, he kept eating more and more.

He kept looking for more and more food. Everyone was surprised at Hanuman’s appetite. Then Sita realized how she could quench Hanuman’s insatiable hunger. She placed a tulasi leaf with the name of Rama written on it. As soon as Hanuman ate the leaf, his hunger vanished miraculously. Lord Shiva and Parvati were so amazed and pleased with Hanuman’s devotion.

They blessed him with a boon that his devotion for Rama would be glorified across centuries, that the devotees of Lord Rama would know him as Sankat Mochan or the destroyer of troubles and that his love for Rama’s holy names and Rama’s pastimes would grow unlimitedly, prabhu charitra surtibe ko rasiya

After Sita and Rama’s coronation ceremony, they called upon all those great personalities who had sacrificed so much for their sake. Each one was given valuable gifts as significant tokens of appreciation for their timely help. Though they felt that nothing could be considered worthy enough a gift to those who had assisted them in the time of their greatest need. When it came to Hanuman, both Sita and Rama were at a loss for words as well as ideas for what would be a suitable gift. They owed their lives to him. When his name was called, Hanuman walked ahead looking very indifferent.

Sita and Rama began to describe in great details about how Hanuman had entered into both their lives as a saviour. They glorified his intelligence, sensitivity, expertise, determination, strength, and compassion. The citizens of Ayodhya were astounded at the way their king and queen were glorifying a vanara.

They hadn’t heard any past king glorify their subjects in such an elaborate way. After speaking at length, Sita wanted to offer him some gift. She stood up and did something uncharacteristic of a queen. She removed a beautiful diamond necklace from her own neck and held it out for Hanuman. There was pin drop silence in the court. That act meant a lot!

Hanuman took the necklace from her hand. He turned it around and looked at it from all directions. There was something missing. He turned it around yet again to be doubly sure. Again it was missing. Now he held the big diamond that was hanging in the centre and plucked it off. There was a big gasp in the courtroom. Hanuman had just destroyed the queen’s gift.

He was now turning around the diamond and suddenly took it to his mouth and placed it between his teeth. With great strength he bit into it and it cracked into two. He observed the two halves and then discarded them carelessly. Then he began to break apart every stone in that necklace, observe carefully, and throw it away with disappointment. Finally he threw the complete necklace onto the floor. It was of no use to him.

This monkey-like behaviour had outraged the entire courtroom. Voices were rising. People began to question Hanuman’s disrespectful act vociferously. How could he be so arrogant to dismantle a royal gift and that too in front of the royal couple in a full courtroom? In explanation to all the questions being raised, Hanuman simply said that he was only looking for Rama and Sita in the gems.

Since he could not find them inside or outside in any of the stones, he threw away the necklace. Giggles could be heard from different quarters. The monkey was trying to find Rama and Sita inside the diamonds. While many were giggling, some began to pass sarcastic comments to chide Hanuman. One of them said, “If Hanuman was looking for Rama Sita everywhere, he should first be looking to see if they exist in his own heart. There was no point in looking for them everywhere else, if they didn’t exist in his own heart.”

The next moment, screams were heard all over the courtroom. Blood had spilled everywhere. Hanuman stood in the middle of the court with his chest tom, exposing his heart. Inside there was an effulgent and beautiful image of Sita and Rama. They were eternally enshrined within Hanuman’s heart forever. Not only did they reside in his heart but he too resided in their hearts,rama lakhana sita mana basiya One day Rama and Sita had a friendly argument as to which of them got greater devotion from Hanuman.

They asked him outright but smart Hanuman managed to get out of the sticky situation by saying that he was devoted to both of them equally. Sita promptly asked him to get a glass of water since she was dying of thirst. Rama immediately countered by feigning to faint due to heat and begged Hanuman to fan him. They both waited expectantly to find out which request would be attended to first. But Hanuman expanded both his arms and fetched water with one hand and fanned Rama with the other. This pacified both his divine masters.

Tulsidas, a renowned poet-saint, authored the Shree Hanuman Chalisa in the 16th century.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 7 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 7 Clever and Concerned

विद्यावान गुनी
अति चातुर ।
राम काज
करिबे को आतुर ॥

Vidyavaan guni
an chatur.
Ram kaj
karibe ko aatur.

Educated, virtuous
and clever.
Ram’s tasks
you always do eagerly.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 7 Meaning in English

In the very first chaupai of the Chalisa, Hanuman is described as the ocean (sagar) of Knowledge (gyan) and virtue (gun). This verse also reinforces Hanuman as being knowledgeable and virtuous, and adds that he is also clever (chatur).

This tendency to complement one quality with another is a typical Indian idiom. Just as one spice does not create a dish, and just as a good curry is a clever combination of various spices, even a good person is a combination of various qualities.

In nature, we often say that the strong dominate the weak. But nature does not discriminare against the weak. They are given smartness to compensate for their physical weakness. Strength and smartness are tools to find food and security, to survive and thrive. Hanuman is strong and smart and thus has the best of animal qualities. His knowledge and virtue are what make him human and divine.

This verse reminds us that the educated man is nor smart and the smart man is not educated. And a smart educated man is dangerous unless he has virtue. What is virtue? The ability to look beyond our own hungers and fears and be concerned of other people’s hungers and fears. The way hanuman behaves when he first meets Ram and Sita indicates how his knowledge, his cleverness and his virtue work together.

When he sees Ram and Lakshman wandering in the forest, looking for something, he realizes there is value in introducing them to Sugriv, the monkey-king. He approaches Ram, taking the form of a brahmin, and speaks in chaste Sanskrit, the language of the gods, which is an indicator that he has knowledge of the Vedas. Thus he evokes trust in the wary Ram, who is agonizing over the abduction of Sita.

Later, when it is time to meet Sita in Lanka, he wonders if he should speak in Sanskrit again while introducing himself. But he has seen Ravana speak in Sanskrit, and fears Sita will assume he is an imposter: Ravana’s agent, or Ravana himself, posing as Ram’s messenger. So he speaks to her in the organic language spoken by common folk. This is Prakrit (informal, organic language) as against Sanskrit (formal, designed language).

In neither situation is Hanuman trying to show off or intimidate the other with his knowledge. He is driven by concern for the other. He is not anxious of the other; he can sense the anxiety of the other. He is smart enough to anticipate how people react in stress: how they get startled at the sight of a stranger, and think the worst. The ability to adapt to the situation, and win the trust and confidence of both Ram and Sita through speech, reveals his sensitivity to people and to context, his communication skill, and most importantly, his empathy.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 7 Analysis in English

vidyavana gun! ati chaturai 
rama kaja karibe ko atura ||7||

Supremely learned, virtuous and intelligent,
Ever eager to serve Rama. (7)

One of the most prominent aspects of Hanuman is his illustrious and supreme wisdom. In Ramcharitmanas, Tulsidas described him as made of pure intelligence and the foremost amongst men of wisdom. In Sri Rama Raksha Stotra, he is described as the wisest of the wise. In another version, Hanuman is said to be so intelligent that he was able to leam the entire Vedas in a mere fortnight. The sun god, however, was reluctant at the thought of his favourite pupil leaving.

So he repeatedly made Hanuman forget what he had leamt so that the lessons were dragged on and on for many months. Hanuman pleased him so much by his simplicity and devotion that he let him go and bestowed him a boon that henceforth those who invoked Hanuman’s name would never forget their lessons! vidyavana gum ati chatura Yamaraj hurried towards Rama’s camp to give him a piece of news that had really shaken him up.

Ravana’s evil brain had cooked up a way to defeat Rama’s army in a sure shot way. He had organized recitation of the Chandi Stotra, completing which would give him iron-clad immunity from any defeat. The news sent a jitter down the monkey army. The mere mention of Chandi Stotra gave them visions of impending doom.

However, Rama huddled into a meeting with Vibhishana and other advisors to chart out their course of action. After lot of discussions, Rama called Hanuman and gave his final verdict, “I give you full freedom to go to Lanka and do whatever is needed to stop this ritual from being completed. Use any tactic you like, just stop it somehow.”

Hanuman got really excited with this seva; it was more like a fun project. He had open instructions to do what he liked. His brain was already in overdrive, thinking of creative ways to foil Ravana’s plans. He laughed to himself just thinking about what all he could do. Soon he was in Ravana’s palace disguised as a fly. He quickly figured out where the ceremony was happening and evaluated the scene. He couldn’t believe what he saw. Brihaspati, the guru of demigods, was the chief priest leading the recitation.

Why would he help Ravana? But then he saw the security guards pointing their lances at him. ft was only under duress that Brihaspati was helping Ravana. Hanuman was ready for action. He quickly went near Brihaspati and began deleting important words and lines so that Brihaspati would skip important lines.

But to his horror, Brihaspati was hardly referring to the texts because he was reciting from memory. Hanuman came up with another plan. He morphed into a huge atrocious looking monster and appeared in front of him. As soon as Brihaspati’s vision fell on him, he shrieked. He dropped everything and ran for his life. Hanuman quickly changed into the shape of a fly before the guards could see his monstrous form. With Brihaspati shrieking like a mad man, there was no way the ritual could continue.

But Ravana was not one to give up. He decided to start another fire sacrifice to appease Goddess Chandi. He gathered his best brahmanas and started the ceremony within no time. Although they were falling short of brahmanas, they had to manage. Soon a young brahmana came asking to be of assistance. The older brahmanas were only too happy to get more assistance. The young brahmana was enthusiastic and energetic. He helped them sincerely and without any mistakes.

The delighted brahmanas blessed him with a boon to which the brahmana replied, the best boon is to get more seva. The brahmanas were now totally floored by his dedication and insisted on granting him a wish. He sitatingly, the young man asked them to replace two alphabets in the hymns.

Instead of ‘ha’ they should pronounce ‘ka’ He assured them that this small change will greatly benefit their master Ravana, The young man was hoping that they were not learned enough to know what this change meant. Only an exalted Vedic scholar would realize the significance. Luckily, the brahmanas readily agreed, seeing nothing wrong with the substitution.

Jaya tvam devi chamunde
Jaya bhutartha kaarini
Instead of saying haarini they said kaarini!

Little did they know the catastrophic effects of the change! The goddess, instead of being pleased, was absolutely enraged. With her fiery eyes, she burnt everything in the vicinity. How dare they evoke her anger! She would show them how angry she could get. The sacrifice was a total failure producing the opposite of expected results.

The brahmanas fled from there to save their lives while the young man smiled as he came back to his original form. Hanuman. He was glad he knew the significance of the Sanskrit verses and could make the exact change in letters by tricking the learned brahmanas. vidyavana guru ati chatura Mission accomplished, he flew back to his own camp.

Hanuman used his bookish knowledge in the most practical manner according to time, place, and circumstance. He was extremely clever and flexible in the application of knowledge while keeping the essence and goal in mind. The result was that he always managed to achieve what he set out to achieve and that too in the most unique ways.

When there is eagerness, there is opportunity. When one is very eager to do something, nature arranges more of that opportunity. Rama kaj means working for the pleasure of Rama. This is called seva or the spirit of service. Hanuman was always eager to serve Rama, rama kaj a karibe ko atura When Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya with Mother Sita and Lakshmana, the entire Vanara army accompanied them and witnessed the spectacle of the coronation of Sita and Rama as queen and king of Ayodhya.

A few days passed and the monkeys had begun to settle down in the Ayodhyan culture. They really liked being in Ayodhya and of course, they were blissful in the divine company of Lord Rama. Rama called all of them for a meeting in which he instructed them to return to their homes in Kishkinda and continue performing Rama kaj. They were shocked at his instruction. First of all, they did not want to return home. For them, Ayodhya was home now.

Secondly, they were confused as to how they could perform Rama kaj in Kishkinda. Technically speaking, they could engage in Rama kaj or serving Rama if they continued to live in Ayodhya. But if they went back to Kishkinda they would only be able to perform kaam kaj or mundane work.

When they asked Rama, he explained to them that prior to them meeting him, whatever they were doing in Kishkinda was kaam kaj or mundane work. But after they connected with Rama, they belonged to him and their mind, body, and words belonged to Rama now. Thus their kingdom, houses, and even families were Rama’s property. So whatever they did there, technically, was their service to Rama only.

Rama explained that before they saw their family and property as belonging to them, but now they can see that their family and property actually belonged to Rama and thus they ought to take care of them with that consciousness. By taking care of their families and taking care of the affairs of the kingdom of Kishkinda with a higher and purer consciousness, they would be doing Rama kaj or service to Lord Rama. With this understanding, all the vanaras agreed to return to their kingdoms.

Each vanara returned to Kishkinda after bidding farewell to Rama, except Angad and Hanuman. Angad fell at the feet of Rama begging him to allow him to stay back in Ayodhya. Since he had no family, unmarried that he was, he was ready to do any menial service in Ayodhya. Rama embraced him and insisted that Angad return to Kishkinda. With Rama firm about his decision, Angad reluctantly returned to Kishkinda. Rama denied Angad’s plea of staying back in Ayodhya for two reasons.

When Angad asked for any menial service, it showed his attitude towards service, that he categorized service as low and high. The moment you categorize service, it shows that you don’t deserve service. The second reason was that when Angad expressed that he didn’t have family in Kishkinda, it meant that he feared Sugriva. So his motivation to stay back was not love for Rama but fear of Sugriva. Rama knew Sugriva very well and realized that Angad’s fear was baseless and would be allayed once he reached home.

The only person Rama did not ask to return was Hanuman. He didn’t ask Hanuman to leave and Hanuman didn’t need permission to stay. There was an unspoken agreement and pact between the two. It was an agreement of the heart. Hanuman had no existence without Rama and Rama could not bear to live without seeing Hanuman constantly. Hanuman’s greatest satisfaction was to constantly serve Rama in every possible way rama kaja karibe ko atura.

Hanuman Jayanti is a significant occasion for the mass recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa Lyrics in English.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 6 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 6 Rudra’s Eleventh Form

संकर सुवन
केसरीनंदन ।
तेज प्रताप
महा जग बंद्न ॥

Sankar suvan
Kesari nandan.
Tej prataap
maha jag bandan.

Shankara’s (Shiva’s) manifestation
Kesari’s son
Your glory
is venerated by the whole world

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 6 Meaning in English

This verse connects Hanuman to Shankara, which is another name for Shiva. For many devotees today, Hanuman is a form of Shiva. He is described variously as the son of Shiva, as the manifestation of Shiva, as an avatar of Shiva, as the eleventh Rudra form.

This connection between Hanuman and Shiva began roughly 1,500 years ago, a time that also saw Puranic Hinduism split between two schools of thought: the Vaishnavites who saw the world-affirming Vishnu as the supreme divine being and the Shaivites who saw the world-renouncing Shiva as the supreme divine being.

When the Ramayana became popular, Vishnu-worshippers saw Ram as the mortal form (avatar) of Vishnu who kills Ravana, a devotee (bhakta) of Shiva. This turned the Ramayana into a tale of rivalry between Vishnu and Shiva. To counter this, Shiva worshippers said that Hanuman was the form of Shiva. They pointed to Hanuman’s status as brahmachari (celibate, continent and content, with no wants or needs) and his colour being as white as camphor (karpura-go-ranga) indicative of his being Shiva.

In some stories explaining the origins of Hanuman, it is said that when Shiva saw Vishnu in the form of Mohini, or Parvati, he began to sweat profusely. Vayu collected this sweat and poured it in the ear of Anjana, a vanara woman, who gave birth to Hanuman. Anjana’s husband, Kesari, raised Hanuman as his own son and so Hanuman is also known as the son of Kesari. So besides a mortal father (Kesari) and a Vedic father (Vayu), Hanuman also has a Puranic father (Shiva). Besides a mortal mother (Anjani), Hanuman also has a celestial mother (Shakti).

According to Shaivites, Shiva himself descended as Hanuman to destroy Ravana, an errant Shiva-bhakta. According to them, Ravana had offered his ten heads to Shiva and obtained boons that made him very powerful. But as Rudra, Shiva has eleven forms.

Ravana’s offering of ten heads satisfied the ten forms of Rudra. The eleventh unhappy Rudra took birth as Hanuman to kill Ravana. Hence Hanuman is also Raudreya. In Maharashtra, the seventeenth-century saint Ramdas established eleven Maruti temples, reminding all of Hanuman’s association with the eleven forms of Rudra.

To establish their superiority, Vishnu-worshippers argued that Hanuman, hence Shiva, obeyed instructions given by Vishnu. To counter this, Shiva-worshipers said that without Hanuman’s help, Ram would never have found Sita. In many retellings of the Ramayana, it is Hanuman who enables the killing of Ravana.

For example, in one Telugu retelling, despite knowing that Ravana’s life resided in his navel, Ram shot only at the head of Ravana as he was too proud a warrior to shoot below the neck. So Hanuman sucked air into his lungs and caused the wind to shift direction making Ram’s arrow turn and strike Ravana’s navel.

Hanuman’s association with Shiva, and with celibacy, was reinforced by Hanuman’s association with the various ascetic schools of Hinduism, including the Nath-yogis who followed the path of Matsyendra-nath from around 1,000 years ago, to the Vedantic mathas who followed Madhwa-acharya from around 700 years ago, and Sant Ramdas who inspired many Maratha warriors 400 years ago.

The latter sages, especially during the Bhakti period, introduced the idea of connecting celibacy with service; you give up your worldly pleasures and work for the worldly aspirations of society. Just as the hermit Shiva became the householder Shankara for the benefit of Humanity, these sages spoke of how the ascetic Hanuman became Ram’s servant for the benefit of society.

At one time, women were not allowed to worship Hanuman. By his mere radiance, it is said in many stories, he can make them pregnant. In the stories of Nath-yogis, one learns of queens who become pregnant by simply listening to the song of Hanuman, or fish becoming pregnant by consuming the sweat of Hanuman, for his radiance permeates into his voice and his sweat.

As the centuries passed the overtly masculine nature of Hanuman was toned down. Just as Shiva was domesticated by Shakti, Hanuman’s gentle side is evoked by Sita. Since there can be no Shiva without Shakti, many say that Shakti took the form of Hanuman’s tail and always accompanied him. Hence, today women also worship Hanuman to solve their problems.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 6 Analysis in English

shankara swayam kesan nandanai
teja pratapa maha jaga bandanaii ||6||

As Lord Shiva’s son and Kesari’s joy,
Your effulgent power shines
throughout the universe. (6)

Enough was enough! Ravana had crossed all limits of decency and the most powerful gods in creation were unable to handle the atrocities of Ravana. Imagine the king of the heavens cutting vegetables in Ravana’s kitchen! Even death personified feared him!

After long discussions they decided to visit Lord Shiva in Kailash. Not that they expected him to sympathize knowing well that Ravana was one of Lord Shiva’s greatest devotee. But they were in for a great surprise when they found Lord Shiva equally furious with him.

How was it possible that the Lord was furious with his own devotee? Lord Shiva gave them some shocking facts. He explained that Ravana had undertaken severe austerities to please him. In spite of such intense tapasya when Shiva did not make an appearance, Ravana began to chop off his heads and offer them into the sacrificial fire to appease the Lord. He had offered nine heads and he was now offering the tenth one into the fire. Unable to bear the gruesome sight of a headless Ravana, Lord Shiva appeared in front of him ready to fulfill his desires.

Ravana asked him for two boons at that point. But the boons were like two bombs that Ravana threw at Lord Shiva. He asked for the atma linga, which was a special form of Shivalinga and he asked for Lord Shiva’s wife Parvati. Lord Shiva was flabbergasted.

He had dared to ask for his wife! But having given his word, he had to send Parvati with him. Of course, Lord Vishnu intervened and tricked Ravana, thus getting Parvati back from him. But the impact of the trauma was deep and it had deeply displeased the eleventh Rudra.

Ravana had managed to appease ten of the eleven Rudra forms of Lord Shiva but the eleventh Rudra was incensed. Shiva promised the demigods that the eleventh Rudra would appear in the form of vanara named Hanuman and prove to be the instrument of destruction of Ravana.

While the gods returned happy with this news, Lord Shiva called upon Vayu, the wind god, and handed over his energy to him. Shiva instructed Vayu to place his effulgent energy into the womb of Anjana, a vanara woman, at an appropriate time.

Vayu placed the powerful seed on a special metal leaf that could handle the potent energy. He then handed it over to the Saptarishis for safe keeping till the right time arrived.Meanwhile, Anjana was meditating in a cave way up in the mountains.

While she was absorbed in meditation, someone else was meditating on her beauty. A demon named Shambasadhana had been smitten by lust and been eyeing her for the last few days. When he approached her, Anjana panicked and ran away to escape from his clutches.

She somehow reached a village of powerful sages. When she told them her predicament of being followed by a demon, the sages replied that the only person who could protect her was the vanara chieftain Kesari. And what a coincidence! As soon as they mentioned his name, Kesari arrived. Soon a terrible battle ensued between Shambasadhana and Kesari.

Both were so powerful and skilled that none was able to get an upper edge. Then Shambasadhana began to change forms. Taking on the shape of a giant elephant, he attacked Kesari. Kesari in turn, reduced his size dramatically and continued the onslaught. He perched himself on the head of the giant elephant and began pounding his head with his fists. Shambasadhana was bleeding profusely but there was no sign of him tiring or slowing down.

As Kesari began to worry, Anjana prayed for divine help which came as a vision – the only way the demon could ‘ be killed was by using his own blood. He was immune to everything except that. She dipped an arrow into the demon’s blood that was spilt all over. Holding the arrow in one hand, she grabbed a bow with the other, darted towards Kesari and threw both in his direction.

Kesari lunged forward and caught both in mid-air, understanding her intention. He turned around, knocked the arrow onto the bow and shot it, all in one motion. As Kesari landed on the ground, the arrow shot ahead, penetrated the demon’s body, killing him at once.

The sages who watched this brave act, complimented Kesari and Anjana and blessed them profusely. They declared that providence had willed them to come together. In fact, they predicted, that the child bom through this marriage would be an incarnation of Lord Shiva himself and the cause of destruction of demonic forces. Thus, with blessings from the great sages, Kesari and Anjana happily entered a marriage alliance. Despite so many predictions and blessings heaped upon them, the vanara couple could not beget a child.

They decided to visit Matanga Rishi and seek his blessings. It was a long and arduous journey through forests and mountains, which they undertook barefoot. Anjana additionally vowed to cover this entire journey without a single break. Kesari tried to dissuade her but gave in seeing her determination and decided to do his best to help her. As they began walking, thorns and pebbles greeted their path and soon their feet were sore with blisters, gashes, and cuts. Nonetheless, their determination was so strong that they continued walking.

Meanwhile, Ravana’s spies gave him a full report of the prediction of the sages and the worrisome child that was to be born and predicted to be the cause of future trouble for him. He decided to nip the problem even before it bud by sending Mayavi demon to prevent the vanara couple from completing their journey.

Taking the form of a dangerous looking buffalo, Mayavi came and obstructed their path. Anjana was least concerned about the balloonic demon. She kept walking, much to the shock of Kesari, straight into the powerful demon ahead. He rushed ahead and managed to push the demon out of her way just in time. With this first-hand experience with Kesari, Mayavi realized there was no chance of winning against this mighty vanara and fled to save his life.

Finally the exhausted couple managed to reach the ashram of Matanga Rishi. Anjana’s legs were totally bruised and bleeding. As soon as she sat down to examine them, a sweet little child came running and tended to her wounds very gently.

The child was so beautiful that Anjana was spell-bound. Even Matanga Rishi was awestruck. He had never seen such a beautiful boy anywhere in the vicinity of the ashram. Only when he observed minutely, did he realize that the child was none other than Lord Shiva himself who had come to serve his future mother. After serving Anjana for a while, the child disappeared.

Hurrying back to Kailash, Lord Shiva shared with Parvati his ecstatic experience of serving his mother. Back in the ashram, Matanga Rishi offered Anjana his blessings and also gave her the Shiva mantra. When she began to chant the Shiva mantra, Vayu got his signal that it was time to deposit the energy of Lord Shiva.

Taking the Shiva energy from the Saptarishis, Vayu reached Anjana and placed the potency in her womb. From that moment onwards Anjana became as effulgent as the sun. Kesari understood that a divine child had entered her womb.

When Ravana heard this news, he panicked and immediately got in touch with his friend Vali to warn him of the danger that was coming from Anjana’s womb. Initially Vali did not consider the unborn child of Anjana’s to be a threat. But when Ravana reminded him about the mighty exploits of Kesari, Vali feared that Kesari’s to-be-bom child might excel him in warfare and strength.

To keep Kesari under subjugation was almost impossible. And if his son was bom stronger, then definitely there was a great chance of Vali losing his throne. Coaxed and instigated by Ravana, Vali agreed to find a way out. In order to assist Vali, Ravana handed over a mystical arrow; an arrow that could be aimed at the grossest or the subtlest of targets and would never miss its mark.

Vali then invited Anjana and Kesari to his palace under the pretext of celebration ceremony of his coronation as the king of Kishkinda. They couldn’t refuse the invite and joined the celebrations. Vali was a perfect host and with his gracious hospitality he made them feel comfortable in the palace guest house. In the middle of the night when the whole of Kishkinda was sleeping, Vali released the mystical arrow aiming it at the embryo of the sleeping Anjana.

The arrow whizzed past the palace corridors, entered the sleeping Anjana’s room and penetrated her womb to destroy the child within. In great agony and pain, Anjana screamed out for help. Kesari reached out to his wife and realized that a mystical weapon had attacked his wife and was destroying the foetus. Nothing was visible externally but he knew the existence of such mystical weapons that worked on the power of mantras and did not miss their aim.

Feeling immense pain and helplessness, Anjana began to chant the Shiva mantra. As soon as she began chanting, Lord Shiva instantly made an appearance and neutralised the effect of the arrow. He then went on to revive the child and blessed it to be immune from all sorts of attacks from external forces. Relieved that their child was saved and shaken up by the whole ordeal, Kesari and Anjana fled from the palace in the middle of the night to reach the safety of their own territory.

Eventually, the child that was bom was an incarnation of Shiva himself, Shankara suvana; or in some places it is mentioned as Shankara svayam. The child was also the son of Kesari and thus is called Kesari nandana. Of course, he is also the son of the wind god and thus is known as Pavana suta also. But more than that, he is the darling child of Lord Rama and is known as Rama dulare. How can one person be the child of so many people? Hanuman is connected to all these personalities at various levels

A person exists at three levels, the spiritual, the life breath, and the physical body. At the deepest level of the spirit, Hanuman was an expansion of Lord Shiva. His physical body was bom in Anjana’s womb through Kesari, thus he is physically the son of Kesari. But since the energy of Shiva was transported through the medium of the wind, the life air that flows in his body is a contribution of the Pavana and thus he is Pavana suta. shankara swayam kesarl nandana

After Lord Rama vanquished Ravana and installed Vibhishan as the king of Lanka, He requested Hanuman to share this good news with Mother Sita who was held captive in Ashok Vatika. Hanuman reached Ashok Vatika immediately to deliver the good news.

Sita was thrilled to see him yet again after a month. In great details, Hanuman shared the war happenings with Mother Sita and culminated his narration by revealing the news of the death of Ravana, the victory of Rama, and the establishment of Vibhishana as the king of Lanka.

Sita was overjoyed. Eleven torturous months had ended with this news. She was so happy with Hanuman that she wanted to reward him suitably. But alas, she had nothing in her possession at that time. The only thing she could give him then were her heartfelt blessings. There was nothing in the three worlds that could match the news that Hanuman had just given her.

With gratitude and joy, Sita blessed Hanuman that the day on which he had given her the news would become a day more special than other days of the week. He would be glorified and worshipped on this day forever, all over the universe. She further blessed Hanuman that all virtues would reside in his heart and Lord Rama would always shower his mercy on him.

Hanuman became renowned in all the three worlds by the blessings of Mother Sita and the grace of Lord Rama. By utilizing his talent, strength, skills, and by exhibiting exemplary attitude in the right consciousness, Hanuman forever established a kingdom in the hearts of Sita and Rama and ruled there forever.

Seated on this high throne as a king of their hearts, he rules the hearts of devotees of the Lord spread over the three worlds. His lustre and brilliance is immediately recognized and praised by all who come into contact with him. By the blessings of Mother Sita, the whole world worships the brilliance and power of Hanuman. teja pratapa maha jaga bandan.

The recitation of Shri Hanuman Chalisa is believed to ward off evil and negativity.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 5 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 5 Warrior, Servant, and Sage

हाथ बज्र
औ ध्वजा बिराजै ।
काँधे मूँज
जनेऊ साजै ||

Hath bajra
aur dhvaja biraje.
Kaandhe moonj
janehu sajai.

You bold a thunderbolt club
and a flag in your hands.
And have the sacred thread
on your shoulder.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 5 Meaning in English

In the previous verse, the focus was on what Hanuman was born with-his complexion, his hair, even his earrings. This verse focuses on what he holds in his hands and bears on his body: a mace, a flag and a sacred thread (janehu) made of sabai grass (munja) on his shoulder. These are instruments (yantra) that embellish the icon (svarupa) of Hanuman and help refine our understanding of him.

The common word used for mace is gada, but the word used here is vajra, or the thunderbolt, which is Indra’s weapon. In the Vedas, Indra is the greatest of gods, one who battles demons like Vritra, and releases the waters held by clouds. He is the patron of kings. Yet, in the Puranas, his role is reduced.

He is the lord of Paradise (Swarga), leader of devas, who lives in celestial regions and enjoys worldly pleasures, but lacks wisdom. He needs the help of Vishnu to fight the demons (asuras) who lay siege to Paradise and declare war relentlessly. This shift in status indicates a shift from the older more materialistic Vedic way to the later Vedic (Upanishadic) way where greater value was placed on the mind (on meaning) than on riches and power.

In the Puranas, every deity has a flag (dhvaja) of his own-Vishnu has a flag with the image of a hawk known as garudadhvaja, and Shiva has a flag with the image of a bull known as vrishabha-dhvaja-but Hanuman’s dhvaja belongs to Ram, in keeping with his role as Ram’s messenger and commander of his armies. Hanuman holds both Indra’s weapon and Ram’s flag, which endorses his status as mightier than the old Vedic celestial god-king, but serving the latter Puranic earthbound god-king.

Hanuman’s janchu makes him a twice born (dvija). Hindus believe that we have two births: first there is physical birth and then there is the psychological birth. Physically, we are born out of the mother’s womb into human culture. Our navel reminds us of our origin in the mother’s womb. In Hindu culture, pierced carlobes are indicators of human culture, similar to the practice of tattooing, or tooth-filing, in other cultures.

Our psychological birth takes place when we accept a guru who reveals to us the secrets of the Vedas. The mark of psychological birth is the sacred thread made of munja grass that hangs over the left shoulder. This thread has three strings representative of the Hindu trinity: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shakti. It also reminds us that while animals have only one body (physical), humans have three (physical, psychological and social).

Hanuman accessed Vedic wisdom through Surya, the sun god, who also revealed Vedic secrets to Yagnavalkya, the sage whose words are captured in many Upanishads. Vedic secrets include knowledge of karma and dharma, of aham (our identity based on hunger and fear) and atma (our identity independent of hunger and fear).

Hanuman being given the janehu, despite being a servant of Ram and a wild forest creature, is not highlighted in the Valmiki Ramayana but becomes prominent in later texts, especially regional Ramayanas written in vernacular languages in the last five centuries, when caste excesses had peaked. People were asking: what makes a real Brahmin, effort or birth? Hanuman becomes Brahmin by effort and education, while Ravana is the son of a Brahmin named Vaishrava, who married a rakshasa woman, Kaikesi.

The Vedas turn Hanuman from beast to human, giving him the wisdom and compassion to unconditionally help a man find his lost wife. By contrast, Ravana although human, and despite his Vedic knowledge, behaves like a brute, grabbing another man’s wife for his own pleasure.

That Hanuman holds a weapon in his hand establishes him as a warrior (Kshatriya). That he holds Ram’s flag establishes him as a servant (dasa, Shudra). That he has the sacred thread across his chest establishes him as a Brahmin, one who has accessed the Vedas. Thus the highest and the lowest stations of Vedic society (varna) are accommodated in Hanuman, a creature of the forest.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 5 Analysis in English

hatha bajra au dhvaja biraja
kadhe munja janeu sajain ||5||

Your hands hold a divine mace and
a victory banner,
A sacred thread of munja grass
adorns your shoulder. (5)

Mother Anjana had to return to her celestial abode a few years after she gave birth to Hanuman as the stipulated duration of her curse was completed. Hanuman desperately wanted his mother back. Aware that his mother has gone to the heavens, Hanuman proceeded to Swargaloka to try to get his mother back.

Meanwhile, Kesari was also despondent on seeing his wife missing from his palace. When he realized that their son Hanuman had ventured out to get his mother back, Kesari decided to try something from his side too. He approached a powerful sage named Matanga Rishi to help him. After many requests, Matanga Rishi began a yagya that would transport Kesari into the heavens through yogic means.

Meanwhile, Hanuman had reached the heavens where he met Urvashi. She explained to him that it was impossible to take his mother back, who by then had acquired her original form as Punjakasthali. But Hanuman would hear nothing of that so Urvashi suggested that the only person who could help him was Durvasa Muni who had cursed her to begin with. Hanuman immediately set out to meet Durvasa Muni who was held captive in Yakshaloka

The king of Yakshaloka was a great friend of Ravana’s and Kubera’s bitter enemy. He was always eyeing Kubera’s position, aspiring to be the treasurer of the demigods. With the help of Yaksharaj, Ravana had planned kidnapping Durvasa Muni knowing well that Hanuman would be coming there for him. The plan was to eliminate Hanuman when he reached Yakshaloka.

But exactly the opposite happened. Instead of Yaksharaj capturing Hanuman, Hanuman captured him. The release of Durvasa Muni from the clutches of the Yakshas brought great fame to Hanuman in the heavenly realms. Not only were the demigods grateful but even the powerful Saptarishis expressed their gratitude. Durvasa Muni was so grateful to Hanuman that he agreed to allow Punjakasthali to return with him in vanara form as Anjana.

Indra himself decided to accompany Hanuman and his mother on their return journey to Kishkinda on the earthly realms. While the three of them were on their way, they were attacked by a demon named Vidyutsura who was sent by Ravana. He was one of the most powerful demons at Ravana’s disposal. Indra advised Hanuman to proceed ahead with his mother while he would take care of that demon. But Hanuman was in no mood of turning his back on a good fight.

Moreover, it was his moral duty to stand by Indra during a crisis. Vidyutsura attacked Indra faster than anticipated and as a result Indra’s weapon slipped off his hand. The extremely alert Hanuman jumped to grab the vajra weapon. Vidyutsura turned around to face Hanuman who had by now steadied himself for a fight while his entire rakshasa army attacked Indra.

While Indra busied himself destroying the Rakshasa army, Hanuman jumped high to land himself on Vidyutsura’s shoulders. With a single swift move of his right hand, Hanuman slit Vidyutsura’s throat with the razor-sharp thunderbolt weapon. In a short while, all that was left of the demons was a pile of bodies. Hanuman held out the vajra to return it to Indra.

When Indra extended his hand to take it back, a loud celestial announcement boomed declaring that the vajra now belonged to Hanuman who had saved Swargaloka from the demons and Indra should let him keep it. Indra gladly gifted the thunderbolt weapon to Hanuman along with a victory flag and blessed him to be ever victorious in every battle in life.

Indra also declared that from that day Hanuman would be known as Vajradhari (the carrier of vajra weapon) and Dhvajadhari (the heralder of the victory flag). hatha bajra au dhvaja birajai The literal translation is that Hanuman carries the vajra and a dhvaja in his hands. Vajra means thunderbolt, a weapon of Lord Indra, and dhvaja means flag.

Vajra and dhvaja also refer to lines on the palm of Hanuman’s hands rather than just physical objects which he carried. Lines of vajra and dhvaja on his palms signify immense power and fame respectively. Hanuman’s palms predicted great power and fame in his life. hatha bajra au dhvaja birajai

During their exile, the Pandavas travelled through many forests and met many sages. These were times of great sadness, having lost all their wealth and being greatly insulted. During such despondent times, the Pandava brothers sought wisdom from sages to help them deal with their pain. The sages narrated various histories about kings in the past who had dealt with challenges in life with dignity.

One such time, Arjuna conversed with the great sage Markendeya who was blessed with longevity. Markendeya Rishi narrated the story of Lord Rama and how he took the help of an army of monkeys to build a bridge across the ocean to rescue his wife from the demon king Ravana.

While the story of Rama’s struggle and determination helped Arjuna, a doubt plagued him. Though he didn’t ask Markendeya Rishi, he kept mulling over it. Later, when he was standing next to a lake, pondering about his doubt as to why Rama being such a powerful archer needed to use an army of monkeys to build a bridge which could have easily been made using arrows, an old monkey came and stood next to him.

As if continuing the trail of Aijuna’s thoughts, the monkey said that it would have been impossible for a bridge of arrows to withstand the weight of an army of monkeys. Arjuna begged to differ and argued that an expert archer could achieve any goal with his arrows. In fact, he boasted, that even a small time archer like himself could achieve that feat easily.

The old monkey dared Arjuna to build a bridge of arrows across the lake that could handle his own frail weight. Within a minute, Arjuna created a bridge of arrows. He challenged that if this bridge collapsed with the monkey’s weight, he would end his life.

The monkey didn’t even bother to step on it, but only dropped his tail on it and the bridge collapsed.The old monkey urged Arjuna to try again with greater focus. Arjuna made a sturdier bridge and this time it stood the weight of the monkey.

But when the monkey reached the middle, it collapsed. Disappointed, Arjuna was ready to end his life. Just then, an old brahmana appeared and stopped him from jumping into a pyre. He told the two of them that any conflict between two people needed a neutral witness. The brahmana agreed to become the witness if they tried once more.

Yet again, Arjuna created a bridge with greater concentration. The monkey walked on it but nothing happened. He jumped on it and still nothing happened. The old monkey gave up his disguise and took on his original form of Hanuman. Expanding himself to a massive size, he began to jump on the bridge, still nothing happened. Both of them were shocked.

How could the bridge take so much weight? Then it dawned on them that the old brahmana was none other than their worshipable Lord. Arjuna saw him as Krishna and Hanuman saw him as Rama. Both fell at the Lord’s feet promising never to be proud of their powers.

The Lord then blessed both his devotees and expressed his desire that they both unite for the upcoming war against the Kauravas. The Lord instructed Hanuman to sit on the flag of Arjuna’s chariot. The presence of Hanuman on Arjuna’s flag would herald auspiciousness and serve as a declaration of their imminent victory. Since Hanuman was the one who held the victory flag of Lord Rama in the war against Ravana, his presence on the flag of Arjuna would indicate certain victory.

Hanuman sits on the flag of the chariot of every devotee of the Lord, signalling their victory against illusory forces. Thus Hanuman is dhvaja viraje, one who sits on the victory flag or the one who upholds the victory flag. The practice of keeping Hanuman on war chariot was set by Lord Sri Rama during the war in Treta yuga, when Indra sent a chariot to Sri Rama.

Sri Rama circumambulated the chariot to honour it, and then got Hanuman seated along the banner post as his own personal assistant as well as an alternative war chariot (as an emergency provision), hatha bajra au dhvaja birajai Most people stop learning beyond school.

But Hanuman considered himself an eternal student. As many opportunities as he got to learn from great teachers, he grabbed them eagerly. Every teacher that walked into his life taught him different skills. And he leamt each skill to perfection and thus became multi-talented.

First he was placed under the tutelage of Angavahan Rishi. After a short while of learning there, his father Kesari felt that he would do better if he was given greater exposure and after consultation with the wind god, chose to send Hanuman to learn from Surya dev, the sun god.

While he was under Surya’s tutelage, Lord Rama was under the tutelage of Sage Vashishta. One day something interesting happened. Hanuman was learning archery on the sun planet and Rama was learning archery on earth in the ashram of Vashishta. Hanuman shot an arrow towards the earth and Rama shot an arrow skywards. Both arrows collided in mid-air and created a tumultuous sound that reverberated all over the universe. This was their first connection through the medium of learning.

Hanuman then shifted to the tutelage of Narada Muni to gain music skills. Narada Muni taught him singing and playing musical instruments. Hanuman became so proficient at everything he leamt that even his teachers were highly impressed with him. To test his learning, once Narada Muniasked him to sing a particular song. Hanuman sang it so melodiously that it melted Narada Muni’s heart.

Mesmerized by Hanuman, Narada Muni closed his eyes and did not even realize when his veena (stringed instrument) fell off his hands onto the ground. Amazingly, Hanuman’s singing did not just have this effect on sentient beings but also on inanimate objects like stones and rocks. Hard stones melted in the ecstasy of the song. Narada Muni’s veena also happened to fall on one of those melted stones.

When Hanuman stopped singing, everything assumed its original shape and the melted stones regained their rigidity. Unfortunately, the veena got stuck in the now rigid stone. Narada Muni requested Hanuman to sing again to get his veena released. Hanuman refused to comply and ran all over the place. The helpless Narada Muni ran behind, trying to catch the naughty boy.

After running around considerably, Hanuman returned to the original spot and sang. Soon the veena was released and in Narada Muni’s hands again. When he asked Hanuman why he’d troubled him, Hanuman gave a very interesting answer. He disclosed that he wanted the dust of the feet of his guru to fall all over the place and sanctify it. This was Hanuman’s style of making that happen.

Janeu, a sacred thread worn by brahmanas, represents knowledge of Vedic scriptures. Wearing the sacred thread is an indicator of being a student. Hanuman remained an eternal student, always absorbed in hearing and learning from many teachers. Thus a sacred thread always dons his shoulders, declaring his eternal role as a student who is always eager to leam. kadhe munja janeu sajai The janeu on Hanuman’s shoulder also implies that Hanuman was well-versed in scriptures, because the sacred thread ceremony initiates a person into formal study of Vedic literature.

Once Rama himself had explained the secrets of Brahma Vidya to Hanuman. Sri Rama Rahasya Upanishad states that great sages and seers like Sanak, Sanandan, Sanatan, and Sanat Kumar had learnt the hidden secrets of Rama Tattva from Hanuman. Other sages like Prahlad were his disciples. Janeu saaje describes the thread as Hanuman’s ornament that was his wealth of knowledge, kadhe munja janeu sajai.