The Hanuman Chalisa Lyrics in English is often accompanied by bhajans and kirtans in temples.
Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 15 in English with Meaning & Analysis
Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 15 Admirers in Every Direction
जम कुबेर
दिगपाल जहाँ ते ।
कबि कोबिद्
कहि सके कहाँ ते ॥
Jam Kubera
Digpaal jahan te.
Kavi kovid
kahi sake kahan te
Yama, Kubera
other guardians of the directions
Poets as well as scholars
cannot praise you enough
Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 15 Meaning in English
While the Hanuman Chalisa enables immersion into the idea of Hanuman, it also expands our understanding of the Hindu worldview. In this verse we are being introduced to the idea of Digpaal, or Digga-pala, the guardians of the sky who are located in eight spots: the four cardinal and the four ordinal directions. Here Hanuman’s popularity is being reaffirmed. Even the guardians of space are singing praises of Hanuman, as are the poets (kavi) and scholars (kovid).
As the Puranas came to be composed, the Hindu universe came to have a unique architecture. The world was seen as a lotus flower, with continents spreading out like petals from a central mountain called Meru. The continent on which India is located is called Jambudvipa, stretching from the Himalayas to the oceans, and watered by seven rivers; it is the land of the blackbuck.
Spreading over it like a canopy is the sky, pegged at eight different locations: north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest. At each peg is located a guardian (Digga-pala) and a pair of elephants (Digga-gaja).
The north is marked by the Pole Star, and is the land of permanence. This makes the south the land of impermanence, ruled by Yama, the lord of death. In the south rules Ravana, the king of rakshasas, who drove his elder brother Kubera, king of yakshas, to the north.
If Ravana lives in Lanka, Kubera lives in Alanka, or Alaka. If Ravana grabs the fortune of others, Kubera, as the lord of treasures, gives fortunes to others. Metaphorically, the two directions counter each other. Yama fills life with fear while Kubera fills it with hope. Life is a combination of fear and hope. Both these deities complement each other, and both praise Hanuman.
Other Digga-palas include Indra on the east and Varuna on the west, who also complement each other: Indra embodies fresh water of rain while Varuna embodies saltwater of the sea. The ordinal directions are marked by the sun complemented by moon, and wind complemented by fire. These gods of space praise Hanuman. He is being adored in all directions.
Many Hanuman temples declare themselves to be Dakshinamukhi, with Hanuman facing the south, the direction of death and decay. In this, Hanuman mimics Dakshina-murti, the southfacing form of Shiva found in South Indian temples. This form of Shiva is called the teacher of teachers as he gives discourse on the Vedas, Tantras, Nigamas and Agamas for the benefit of sages.
But Dakshina-mukhi Hanuman is more ferocious than intellectual; he protects devotees from rakshasas, demons who reside in the south. This is not the literal south, but the metaphorical south. One can say it refers to the negative impulses in our body, located in the lower part of the brain. One can say it refers to our base instincts or the base instincts of others, such as jealousy and rage that wreak havoc in relationships.
Hanuman has a special relationship with poets and scholars. Poets respond to the world with their heart, scholars with their head. Both adore this warrior monkey-god. Why? Because Hanuman is one of them: a poet and a scholar, and there are many stories testifying to that.
His love for knowledge is evident when he begs the sun god, Surya, to be his teacher, and reveal to him the secret of the Vedas. He does not mind suffering the glare of the sun while he is studying. His love for storytelling is revealed when he narrates the story of Ram (Ram-katha) first to Sita in Lanka and later to Bharat in Ayodhya.
In these narrations, he describes Ram using the most beautiful words and phrases. Hanuman’s love for music is revealed when Narada, the musician-sage, watches him melt ice on the Himalayas with the sheer power of his singing the praise of Ram (Ram-bhajan).
Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 15 Analysis in English
jama kubera dikpala jaha te
kabi kobida kahi sakai kaha te ||15||
Yama, Kubera, and the guardians of the quadrants,
Poets and scholars – none can truly express
your infinite glories. (15)
Even before Hanuman had a chance to regain his balance or even his breath, he got a tight kick on his back and began to topple over. His warrior instincts took over instantly and he leaped. There was no rest in a warrior’s life. He hadn’t even recovered from his long arduous travel to Lanka and here was a new challenge.
One moment he was fallen on the ground and in the next he was standing on his feet. Steadying his arms ahead of him, ready for a duel with his unseen enemy. He could only see a thick mist in front of him. Whoever or whatever had kicked him was hiding behind that mist.
Suddenly a very scary looking personality came into view. Hanuman relaxed. “O’ Mrityudev! O’ god of death! I can’t believe it’s you! Why would you be on Ravana’s island? And why would you kick me?” The ice-cold stare disappeared suddenly and was replaced by a look of recognition.
“O’ son of Vayu! O’ Pavana Putra! What have I done? Please forgive me for inadvertently kicking a gentle soul like you. I know very well that I myself had given you a boon that you wouldn’t ever be touched by death. But what can I do! I am now a helpless prisoner. I no longer have the freedom to do what I want. Ravana has
chained me on this mountain with the shackle of Rudra mantras and has instructed me to kill anyone who dares to step on this mountain. No matter how much I try, I am unable to break free from this bondage.” One touch by Hanuman and the shackles of Rudra , mantras fell off and Yama was free once again.
Hanuman was extremely impressed by Ravana’s foresight and strategy. Profusely thanking Hanuman, Yama blessed him. He was so grateful to his saviour that he blessed him with fearlessness.In fact he told Hanuman that anyone who remembers him would never have to be afraid of death.
Yama will personally protect whoever follows Hanuman. jama kubera dikpala jaha te This happened on the eve of the most obnoxious episode of Ravana ransacking the palace of his stepbrother Kubera. It wasn’t just enough for Ravana to forcibly take over Kubera’s kingdom Lanka, he also couldn’t tolerate Kubera being settled in his newly acquired place in the vicinity of Kailash mountains, offered by none other than Lord Shiva himself.
Because Kubera was carrying out such an important role on behalf of the gods, being their treasurer, Lord Shiva felt that he deserved a decent residence. Especially after Ravana kicked him out unceremoniously from his own kingdom Lanka that had also been offered to him by the gods.
Seeing his brother resettled unsettled Ravana; again he made a surprise attack on Kubera. He forcibly took away everything valuable from Kubera’s kingdom and his followers carried away the rest. Of all the things he acquired, the most prized possession was the Pushpak Vimana. He had an eye on it right from the time their father, the powerful Sage Vishrawas, had given it to Kubera.
So far watching the world from afar and from high up in the air had only been a dream. Now it was about to come true. Ravana stepped into the Pushpak Vimana with his uncle Maricha and an aide, Prahasta, to make an aerial tour of the Kailash Mountain, to turn his dream into a reality. Whilst they were in the middle of their first joy ride, the plane began to slow down over the Kailash Mountain. Both Ravana and Maricha had no idea how to handle a fully automated plane.
As the uncle-nephew team was trying to make sense of it all, a unique creature with a robust torso and pillar-like arms emerged from behind the peaks of Kailash. One hand wielding a spear and the other placed on the hip, the creature’s posture was certainly aggressive.
His daunting personality seemed menacing and his booming voice sounded authoritative, just as loud as the rumbling clouds atop the mountains. “This is a restricted area. Ordinary mortals, rakshasas, gandharvas and even devas are not permitted here without the sanction of Shiva, the lord of this area.”
Ravana was very agitated with the obstruction, much like a child prevented from entering the kitchen to steal sweets. But something about the creature’s demeanour tickled his funny bone. Although right in the middle of a warlike situation, Ravana began giggling impetuously, much to the surprise of all.
He tried to muffle his giggles with his hand, but this impudence did not go unnoticed by the daunting warrior from Kailash. “You mock me because my face resembles a monkey’s? Your pride will soon be vanquished in the most humiliating way, you haughty fool!” scowled Nandishwar, the loyal bull mount of Lord Shiva.
“Very soon a monkey will destroy your Lanka. He will bum your city and deface your people. You will be able to do nothing but watch everything you are proud of bum. He will bring hordes of monkeys and annihilate your entire race. When you are on your death bed, you will remember this costly snigger. Then you will cry, and the monkeys will laugh. I could kill you this instant, but then it will not be a shameful enough death.
I want you to die feeling helpless, watching everything you value demolished right before your eyes.” jama kubera dikpala jaha te Just as Hanuman was about to move forward towards the city of Lanka, he heard something. He had just saved Yama and was now moving towards his mission of finding Sita. There, he heard it again! It was a very feeble voice.
But Hanuman’s keen ears didn’t miss it. As he stepped in that direction, the voice became louder, clearer. It was coming from a cave on the mountain. He ran towards the cave not knowing what to expect. But there was a sense of desperation in that voice. It almost seemed to be begging. The scene that greeted him as soon as he stepped into the cave shocked him.
Hanging from the ceiling of the cave was someone who had been mercilessly hung upside down with his face closely staring at the wall. His hands and legs were tied in such a way that he couldn’t even turn or make a move in any direction. “Please help me!” was all he could say in that dire condition.
Yet another prisoner of Ravana’s! Taking off the chains that were hooked to the ceiling, Hanuman carefully brought that suffering personality down. Once down, Hanuman turned him around and got the first glance at his face. He was utterly shocked to see that it was Shanidev. The one whose infamous stare reduced people to nothingness was here himself reduced to nothingness.
Now it all made sense. Being an astrological scholar, Ravana knew the power of Shani’s stare. He knew that Shani glanced favourably at an individual for two and half years and unfavourably for the next two and half years.
Timing his visit to Shani’s abode during the time when astrologically Shani had been favouring Ravana, he had imprisoned him to ensure that he didn’t stare at him at all in the future. So that there was no question of unfavourable glances. Ravana wanted to ensure that Shani didn’t glance unfavourably at not just him but at anyone in Lanka and even at anything in Lanka.
Thus blocking him in a cave on the edge of Lanka, he had tied him up in such a way that he could only stare at the wall of the cave and nothing else. Shani expressed his gratitude to Hanuman for rescuing him after months of torture.
Shani blessed him that anyone who remembers Hanuman would never be affected by miseries caused by Shani’s glance. Devatas like Shani and even Indra, important personalities in the universal administration, are eternally grateful to Hanuman. jama kubera dikpala jahd te At one point Ravana decided to attack the heavens directly along with his son Meghanada.
News of the attack of the invincible father-son duo spread far and wide forcing the demigods to scurry for safety. Indra tried his best for protection from Lord Vishnu, but strangely, this time the lord had other priorities, which left Indra broken-hearted.
The war had begun at a frenetic pace. Indra took on Ravana headlong as Jayanta, Indra’s son, attacked Meghanada. During this point in the war, it seemed as if Indra would be the victor, especially when he strategically engaged his army to surround Ravana and capture him alive. But right then Meghanada resorted to the art of samadhi, Lord Shiva’s gift to him.
Soon Jayanta swooned against his chariot and was carried off the battlefield by his men, to be safely hidden in the ocean bed. Assuming his son dead, Indra went ballistic with rage and launched a full-throttle attack on Ravana with his explosive thunderbolt. Ravana fell unconscious, unable to withstand the power of the bolt.
Everything seemed perfectly aligned for Indra’s victory. And then, everything froze! A cold eeriness enveloped the atmosphere. Indra could move only his eyes. What had just happened? Why did his body freeze? The army looked at him for orders as he helplessly looked back at them. Indra hoped that they would understand and forgive him, while they hoped he would speak and save them. Without his directions, his army was mercilessly chopped to death right in front of him, as helpless tears rolled down his cheeks.
Soon a pair of muscular hands seized his shoulders in a crocodile grip and his body was back in motion. But he was now tied up with ropes. Meghanada’s magic had worked yet again. Hanging his head in defeat, Indra was hauled into the Pushpak Vimana and disgracefully tied to the flag post. With their leader captured alive, the demigods who saw no more sense in continuing the fight, dropped their weapons. They, too, were rounded up and pushed into the magical air chariot. At last all the universal directors were under Ravana’s control!
Meghanada got a new name, Indrajit, after that but Indra got a gift of a magical prison cell in which he was locked in. It wasn’t like a regular prison but a prison that was blocked with magical spells from all sides. It was impossible for anyone to enter or exit. When Hanuman made his entry into Lanka, Narada appeared in front of him and gave him the whereabouts of Indra and requested him to release the king of heavens.
Hanuman swiftly killed the watchmen who were guarding the prison and disabled the spells that were blocking the cell. Setting Indra free from the prison, Hanuman destroyed the prison cell itself. Indra was so indebted to Hanuman that he blessed him profusely and departed immediately, not wanting to be caught once again. jama kubera dikpala jaha te Lord Rama had a big heart and ruled with great magnanimity.
One day he was invited to be the guest of a Gandharva king along with Sita and his brothers. The king worshipped Lord Rama with great reverence and they sat down for lunch. The royal kitchen was a beehive of activity, preparing food fit for God himself. But before they could begin to eat, they were interrupted by some brahmanas.
They had reached the Gandharva king’s palace looking for Lord Rama. On hearing about their arrival, Rama left the feast untouched and went to welcome them himself. He brought them in and gave them a reverential welcome. He then invited the brahmanas to first have lunch. The brahmanas were not sure what they should do.
They had come to ask their king for charity and lunch was not on their agenda. Some of them were keen to speak to Lord Rama before partaking in the lunch offering. Others wanted to go along with whatever Lord Rama said, knowing well that they would not be disappointed either way. Sensing their reluctance and confusion, Rama said, “O’ brahmanas, I know what is on your mind.
I will surely give you a kingdom that you have come seeking. In fact, you could have just sent your disciples for it. Why did all of you take so much trouble? I declare that the kingdom of Brahmapur now yours. Please eat first.”
Rama asked Lakshmana to call the royal sculptor to get a stone and inscribe Rama’s order and his seal on it as a legally valid notification. It was the kingdom’s law for travellers and kings governed by Rama, to carry with them a letter bearing Rama’s stamp. Rama wanted his stamp engraved on a big shila and given to the brahmanas as proof of his charity to them.
The happy brahmanas now had no problem in eating. They even requested Rama to finish his meal, which had been served but left unattended. They were not in any anxiety or hurry now to complete the formalities. Rama had assured them of his intentions. But Rama could not eat. He said, “I will honour the food only when the entire process is completed to your satisfaction.
It is necessary to complete an act of charity because wealth, intentions, and life are all uncertain and highly unpredictable. You never know when Yama, the god of death, may come. Therefore, always finish the task at hand. Scriptures say that one should leave a hundred tasks at hand to eat one’s food, a thousand tasks to bathe, a lakh of tasks to chant the holy names. One crore
obstacles are said to be seen in the course of Gita recitation, ten crore obstacles in the course of bathing in Ganges and hundred crore obstacles while donating charity. Hence, charitable acts should be accomplished as soon as possible. One’s consciousness changes significantly before and after eating food. This is my humble opinion. So please allow me to complete the process of donating the kingdom unto you after which I will sit for lunch.”
Soon, a 9-feet long stone arrived from the river Gandaki. The royal sculptors then carved the message on it which read, “I, the scion of Suryavansha and the Lord of the Seven islands, Maharaj Dasharatha’s son, Shri Ramachandra happily give the kingdom of Brahmapur to the brahmanas in charity. Till the sun shines, will my name exist, till my name exists will the winds continue to blow and till then will this charity remain valid. I request the kings succeeding me to protect this boon.” Next Lord Rama asked Hanuman to engrave his royal seal to validate the message.
Hanuman eagerly engraved Lord Ram’s insignia on the stone. Brahmapur was renamed Ramnathpur. Shri Rama donated wealth equal to the weight of the shila to the brahmanas and asked Hanuman to assist the brahmanas in carrying the shila to Ramnathpur. Having completed the task at hand, Rama and the brahmanas accepted their food. The brahmanas and Hanuman then went back to Ramnathpur on the Pushpaka airplane.
Many generations of brahmanas lived peacefully in their kingdom, singing glories of Lord Rama. No one disturbed them for many centuries. But once the brahmanas went into a crisis, facing great danger from kings who wanted to take over their kingdom. In panic, the brahmanas submerged Lord Rama’s shila under a lake, in an attempt to prevent it from being destroyed.
Little did they know that this act would endanger them further, it so happened that the next time they were attacked, the king asked them to show proof of their ownership. But they had submerged the proof under a lake. The angry king gave them one month’s notice to produce the proof before him or they would be killed. The hapless brahmanas broke down the dams surrounding the lake hoping that the water from the lake would drain out to reveal the shila. However, nothing like that happened.
The water level remained as it was. Refusing to budge. One month passed and there was no sign of the shila. The brahmanas now had no option but to get ready for their last moments in life. They consoled their grieving family members, distributed charity, bathed in the lake to purify themselves and stood facing the north to embrace their death, praying, “O’ Rama, the charity we asked from you has become the very cause of our death. The wealth that you gave our ancestors is now exhausted. The wicked king will kill us and snatch away our kingdom -”
“Aaaaaaaarrghhh!” The brahmanas’ prayers were interrupted by a roaring sound which seemed to be coming from a nearby Hanuman temple. Hanuman, in his deity form, had come alive. The brahmanas were astounded to see his gargantuan form in front of them.
He had long hands, yellowish hair and was now old. Hanuman said, “O’ brahmanas, there is no need of giving up your life. Just chant the name of Lord Rama.” And he dived into the lake, retrieving the shila effortlessly in one stroke.
The elated brahmanas dragged the huge shila to the baffled king. Hanuman then caught hold of the shocked king, dragged him to the lake and crucified him as a punishment for harassing the brahmanas. He even killed the king’s soldiers when they tried to intervene by merely lashing out at his tail.
He then named the lake as Hritaparshmana Lake and directed the brahmanas to bury the shila in a cave and continue to remember Lord Rama. With this, Hanuman merged back into his deity form having saved Sri Rama’s promise to his devotees, kabi kobida kahi sakai kaha te