Chalisa

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.