Devotees around the world recite the Hanuman Chalisa Lyrics with deep reverence.
Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 2 in English with Meaning & Analysis
Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 2 Son of Wind
राम दूत
अतुलित बल धामा ।
अंजनिपुत्र
पवनसुत नामा ॥
Ram doot
atulit bala dhama.
Anjani-putra
Pavan-sut nama.
Agent of Ram
Bearer of great strength.
Son of Anjani (mother)
Also known as son of the wind god (father).
Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 2 Meaning in English
This chaupai focuses on the origin and role of Hanuman. He is described as the son of the god of wind (Pavan) and a monkey woman called Anjana or Anjani, and has immense strength and uses his strength to serve as Ram’s agent.
In the Vedas, divinity was often personified as natural phenomena: Indra, the god of thunder and lightning; Agni, the fire; Soma, the juices within trees; Surya, the sun; Vayu, the wind. Pavan is a colloquial name for Vayu who is also known as Maruta, the god of storms.
Pavan is also associated with prana (breath in the lungs) and vata (gases in the bowels), and so integral to life. The wind god who connects the earth with the sky is a companion and messenger of Indra, a role replicated by his son Hanuman, who is also known as Vayu-putra and Maruti.
If Hanuman gets his awesome strength from his father, his monkeyness comes from his mother, Anjana, a vanara woman. As the son of Anjana, Hanuman is often called Anjaneya, especially in South India. Not much is known about Hanuman’s mother. In some stories, she was a nymph, an apsara, cursed to live on earth, after she upset a rishi.
In other stories, she is the daughter of Gautama, the sage who discovers his wife, Ahalya, in the arms of Indra. She is cursed either by Gautama for not telling the truth about her mother or by Ahalya for not lying to her father. The curse involves her turning into a monkey. She marries Kesari, a vanara, who lives in Kishkinda.
The idea of a god making a human pregnant is often found in Greek mythology, where it is used to explain the existence of extraordinary heroes. Thus Hercules has a celestial father (Zeus) and a mortal father (Amphitryon) just as Hanuman has a celestial father (Vayu) and a mortal father (Kesari).
Did this story of Hanuman have a Greek influence? At the time the Ramayana was being composed, Indian storytellers may have been exposed to Greek tales that had followed Alexander the Great to the East. We can only speculate as there is little by way of proof.
It is significant that Hanuman’s father and mother are clearly identified. It means he is born of the womb (yonija). He is never referred to as self-created (swayambhu), indicating that his status is lower. In Hindu mythology, there are two kinds of gods: the greater ones who are self-created and are hence beyond space and time, immortal and infinite, and the lesser ones who are born to parents and are hence located within space and time, are mortal and finite.
In the Puranas, all old Vedic gods-Indra, Agni, Vayu, Surya-are given secondary status by being described as children of Kashyapa and Aditi. Primary status is given to Shiva and Vishnu who are described as self-created. Vishnu voluntarily takes a mortal form as Ram, thus striding both categories. Hanuman, however, does not fit so neatly into the second category: yes, he takes birth on earth, but he is also described as immortal (Chiranjivi). There are no stories of his death.
In the Mahabharata, Vayu places his seed in the womb of Kunti, as a result Kunti becomes the mother of Vayu’s son, Bhima. While Vayu had chosen Anjani, Kunti had chosen Vayu. Kunti had invoked Vayu with a mantra, and asked him to give her a child, but Anjani had not. This made Bhima a child of desire, whereas Hanuman was a child of destiny.
As sons of the wind god, both Hanuman and Bhima are brothers. Like Hanuman, Bhima is very strong. But unlike Hanuman, Bhima is not divine. Bhima may be his elder brother’s loyal agent, but that is not the same as serving Ram.
For in serving his elder brother, Bhima does his duty as a younger brother, and is serving his family; in serving Ram, Hanuman is fulfilling no obligation but acting of his own volition and love. Bhima is as strong as Hanuman, but he lacks Hanuman’s humility. While Hanuman is content being a messenger (doot) for Ram, as he is born of a monkey, Bhima feels entitled because he is born of a princess.
In Hindu mythology, destiny determined our body, our family, hence our social role. Our desire makes us either want to change a social role or cling to a social role. Destiny makes Ram the eldest son of a royal family, hence he acts as king. He does not desire to be king.
Destiny makes Hanuman a monkey, he chooses to serve Ram, not for wealth and power, but for wisdom-the realization of the divine potential. Hence, he serves but does not seek. Bhima not only fulfils his social role, he also uses it to dominate the world around him, and benefit from his birth-determined strength and status. Hanuman teaches him to change his ways as we learn from the following story.
In his royal arrogance, Bhima always walked straight and expected all things to move aside and make way for him, even mountains and trees. Those who blocked his path were simply hurled aside or crushed underfoot. In his path, one day, he found an old monkey sleeping. ‘I am too old to get out of your way’, the monkey murmured. ‘Just kick my tail aside and make your way.’ But when Bhima tried to kick the old monkey’s tail, he realized it was really heavy, so heavy that it could not be pushed or pulled, even when he used all his strength.
Bhima realized this was no ordinary monkey. When Hanuman revealed himself, he showed Bhima his awesome form (virat-swarup), making Bhima realize the insignificance of his physical strength and social position. A king uses his power to serve people and create an ecosystem where people can outgrow hunger and fear.
When a king uses his power to dominate those around him, it reveals the king has not outgrown his hunger and fear; he is not yet Ram. Likewise, a king’s agent uses his power to serve his master. When a king’s agent uses his power to dominate those around him, it reveals he has not outgrown his hunger and fear; he is not yet Hanuman.
Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 2 Analysis in English
rama duta atulita bala dhamai
anjani putra pavanasuta nama ||2||
Rama’s envoy, a reservoir of unsurpassable power,
Renowned as Anjana’s son and ‘son of the wind’. (2)
Early in his childhood, Hanuman’s mother Anjana had told ‘ him a secret that remained etched in his mind. The moment he met his master, he would have a bone-melting experience. And as predicted, the moment Hanuman came in front of Lord Rama for the first time, the very first glance of his eternal master convinced him that this was his eternal shelter. Every bone in his body had begun to melt.
But what really hit him the hardest was the first question that Lord Rama asked him. Because Hanuman was disguised as a beggar sanyasi, Rama asked him why a beggar was wearing a diamond necklace around his neck. Hanuman was stunned with that question because he had worn that invisible necklace all his life, and it had not been visible to anyone till date.
Brahma had gifted it to him in his childhood with a stipulation that it would never be visible to anyone but one. And the one who saw that jewel would be Hanuman’s master. So when Rama asked him about that jewel, it was another confirmation that Rama was his eternal master and he was Rama’s eternal servant.
However, at that time, Hanuman was Sugriva’s servant. And although there was no defect in the speech of Hanuman, he made one mistake in answering Rama. It was a subtle mistake that made Rama step back from developing a relationship immediately with Hanuman.
When Rama asked him to reveal his real identity, Hanuman replied that he was Sugriva’s servant. He was right from a practical point of view but from an eternal point of view, the right answer was that he was the servant of Lord Rama. As soon as Hanuman said that he was Sugriva’s servant, Rama felt hurt and stepped back allowing Lakshmana to continue the conversation.
As soon as Hanuman saw Rama stepping back, he knew he had made a grave mistake in the very first meeting. What was done was done but henceforth Rama would scrutinize thoroughly every action of his. But he hoped that he would win the confidence and favour of Rama once again. Which he did with his sensitivity in understanding subtle nuances in relationships.
When Rama met Sugriva for the first time, Sugriva welcomed him and offered him a seat on the branch of a tree. Sugriva then sat on the same branch with Rama, which sent out a subtle message that he considered himself an equal to Rama. Behaving thoughtlessly, Sugriva did not even offer a seat to Lakshmana who remained standing.
Hanuman immediately perceived the awkwardness of the situation, brought a branch of a better tree (sandalwood) and offered it to Lakshmana. While he himself sat on the ground below Lakshmana. With one action, Hanuman accomplished many things. He showed respect to Lakshmana and undid the insult meted out to him by Sugriva. This sensitive approach of Hanuman’s impressed Rama and he smiled softly.
Thus Hanuman kept gaining the confidence and favour of Rama by displays of sensitivity and such respectful acts. Within four months of the rainy season that Rama spent in Kishkinda, Hanuman managed to win over Rama completely and became a trusted ally. So much so that of the millions of monkeys that were sent out to scout for Sita, Rama chose to give his ring to Hanuman, confident that Hanuman would be the one to find Sita.
Till Hanuman met Sita, he identified himself as Rama doot or messenger of Rama. But after he met her and saw her unalloyed devotion to Rama, Hanuman caught on with her mood and began to call himself Rama das or servant of Rama. Being Rama doot is to forget one’s temporary identities ‘ of this world and focus on one’s eternal identity as the messenger and servant of Rama. Being a messenger is to take the message of Rama to others who are in need to hear that message. Being a servant is to live a life in alignment with that message.
Being a messenger is to do prachar (preach the message). Being a servant is to do aachar (live by the message). It took Hanuman four months to convert from being Sugriva das (Sugriva’s servant) to Rama doot (Rama’s messenger) and another two months to convert from being Rama doot to Rama das (Rama’s servant), rama duta atulita bala dhamd Kesari and Anjana began their journey towards the Himalayas with little Hanuman.
They had been invited to have darshan of Badri Narayana by the disciples of the powerful sage Rishi Vishwambhar. When Rishi Vishwambhar called, no one refused. He wasn’t an ordinary sage. He was a powerful maharishi who had taken a lifelong vow of not speaking a single word other than uttering the names of Lord Narayan. He had followed that vow in the most severe way for the last 50 years.
After an arduous journey, the vanara family made it all the way to the peaks of Badrinath. Soon they were standing in the presence of the great sage Vishwambhar who took them for the darshan of Lord Badri Narayana. As soon as baby Hanuman saw the holy deity, he spontaneously and enthusiastically cried out ‘Rama’, raising his little hands. Kesari immediately corrected his son that it was the deity of Badri Narayana. Just then he heard a hoarse voice that said, “Satyavachan! This is Rama.”
No one was able to believe this! The impossible had happened. A 50-year-long-standing-vow had been broken. Sage Vishwambhar had uttered something other than the name of Lord Narayana after such a long time. The disciples gathered around their guru wanting to know the profound reason behind the unexpected aberration. He explained that he had taken the vow because of his worry for protecting the saintly community from harassment at the hands of the demons.
At the commencement of this vow, Lord Brahma had prophesized that when the name of Rama is spoken from the mouth of an innocent child, it would herald destruction of the demons. Lord Brahma had further predicted that Lord Rama and Lord Shiva (in the form of Hanuman) would descend for destruction of the negative forces. Sage Vishwambhar declared that this child was none other than Lord Shiva and an abode of strength.
In his heart would always reside Lord Rama and together they would destroy the demonic forces. Being himself an abode of strength (bala dhama) and determination, Hanuman additionally encompasses the strength of Lord Rama who is in his heart. Thus his strength is incomparable or atulita.
Thus Hanuman is known as rama diita atulita bala dhama There was an extremely beautiful apsara in the heavens, whose name was Punjikasthala. Though born in the heavens and destined for celestial enjoyments, she was not the least bit interested in materialistic pleasures. She was ever absorbed in deeper seeking of the soul and kept herself engaged in austerities, rituals, and worship.
One day to please her guru, Brihaspati, she designed a beautiful garland made of rudraksha beads. When she presented it to her master, feeling great joy, he instantly blessed her with motherhood. Only later did he realize his folly. Apsaras in the heavenly realms couldn’t have children. But the word of a great sage like Brihaspati could not go wasted either.
When he pondered over why he had offered such an unusual blessing to an apsara from the heavens, he concluded this had to be the divine will. Through his mouth had come out prophetic words indicating that Punjikasthala would be the mother of a child empowered by divine will; a child who would be a great instrument of protection and joy for the world.
From that point onwards, Punjikasthala started getting weird dreams. In almost every dream, she envisioned herself as a monkey holding in her arms a beautiful baby monkey that was always smiling. She could never fathom the meaning of these dreams until one fateful day when Durvasa muni walked into heaven. He wanted to perform a particularly difficult fire sacrifice and asked Indra for his able assistance.
Indra assigned Punjikasthala as the main assistant to Durvasa muni. She was his obvious choice because of all the apsaras in the heavens, she was the only one who was interested in rituals and austerities. While the rest of her friends frolicked and enjoyed themselves in heavenly bliss, Punjikasthala immersed herself in higher consciousness.
Punjikasthala was thrilled at this opportunity and began to serve Durvasa muni in all earnestness. Durvasa was extremely happy with her services and her ever-enthusiastic presence. However, sometimes in over enthusiasm, she would be more energetic than necessary and that irritated him. One day when she was carrying a pot of water towards the sacrificial arena, she spilled the water all over the place in excitement. That was enough for Durvasa muni to fly into a rage. He had tolerated enough of her antics. He instantly cursed her that since she was jumping around like a monkey, she deserved to become a monkey.
As soon as he pronounced the curse, he came to his senses. What was he doing? Why did he curse her so harshly for a mistake so small? Durvasa was confused about his own bitter action. When Punjikasthala fell at his feet besieging forgiveness for her mistake, Durvasa muni immediately forgave her but his curse was simply an indication of some important future chapter in the course of her life. Though he was unable to lift the curse, he modified it. Even as a monkey in future, she would have the ability to change her form at will. He added that her womb would give birth to a very powerful personality who would bring her great fame and reverence from all over the world.
Years passed and Punjikasthala almost completely forgot about this incident. One day, she happened to be on a joy ride in her plane when she saw a beam of light emanating from earth and shooting up the sky forcing her plane to come to a halt. Out of curiosity, she descended to the source of the beam and found it emanating from a pile of mud. Surprisingly, the pile of mud was in the shape of a monkey. She jumped off her plane and began to dig the pile of mud to ascertain the source of that powerful light.
Suddenly, from within that mud emerged a powerful looking sage, shrugging off the mud from his body. He glowed like fire in anger. She had inadvertently disturbed him from his samadhi. She tried to explain how she saw a beam of light that aroused her curiosity and made her dig the mud block. But the sage was in no mood to hear explanations and cursed her that her monkey-like inquisitiveness would make her a monkey. This time Punjikasthala did not get offended or scared of being cursed. She knew that there was a great future waiting for her that was revealing itself in the form of unwanted and unwarranted curses and blessings.
Eventually, true to the curses, she was born as Anjana, to a monkey king named Kunj ar. She later married Kesari who was a very powerful monkey chieftain. Though there were ample predictions about the birth of a superhero, there weren’t any signs of pregnancy for years. Then both Anjana and Kesari decided to perform tapasya to beget a worthy child.
The time when Anjana was performing severe austerities seated on a mountain top in Kishkinda, coincided with completion of the Putrakamesti yajna of Dasharatha maharaj in Ayodhya. A powerful personality ascended from the sacrificial fire and offered a pot of celestial nectar to the king.
The king was to divide the nectar amongst his three wives for them to conceive powerful sons. As soon as Dasharatha offered the nectar to Kaushalya, a huge eagle swooped down, grabbed a portion of that nectar and flew away before anyone could react. The bird flew all the way to Kishkinda and dropped that nectar mid-air. The wind god, sensing the divine arrangement, intervened and began to blow the nectar potion towards a particular pre-conceived direction.
The nectar eventually landed exactly in the extended palms of Anjana who was meditating intensely on the mountaintop. When she mystically received the nectar drops, she knew this was the grace she had been waiting for. With a prayer of gratitude, Anjana consumed the nectar and instantly became pregnant with the much-awaited superhero. Because he was the son of Anjana (Anjana putra) and the contributed grace of the wind god (Pavana putra) therefore he became known as artjani putra pavanasuta nama