Hanuman devotees recite the Hanuman Chalisa Pdf to seek blessings for health and well-being.
Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 21 in English with Meaning & Analysis
Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 21 Doorkeeper
राम दुआरे
तुम रखवारे ।
होत न आज्ञा
बिनु पैसारे ॥
Ram dwaare
tum rakhvare.
Hoat na agya
bin paisare.
Ram’s door
has you as guardian.
Without your permission
no one can cross it.
Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 21 Meaning in English
Doorkeepers of the gods are very important in Hindu mythology. The door marks the liminal in-between space between outside and inside, wild and domestic, nature and culture. Like security guards and secretaries, the doorkeeper maintains the integrity of the inner world.
They decide who gets access to the deity within the temple, and who does not. In Puri, Odisha, at the Jagannath temple, for example, Hanuman stands outside, they say, preventing even the sound of the sea from entering the temple and disturbing the deity inside.
The doorkeepers’ presence draws attention to the hierarchy of communities (jati) that characterize Indian society. For centuries, a resident of India was identified by the larger community his family belonged to. Usually, members of a community followed one profession.
Each jati isolated itself, like most tribal communities around the world, by not permitting marriage with outsiders, thus protecting its knowledge system, which was its source of income. About 500 years ago, Europeans who visited India used the word ‘caste’ for jati, as it reminded them of the clan system in Europe where blood purity mattered greatly.
There are over 2,000 jatis in India today. For centuries, people have been trying to classify these into a fourfold hierarchy (chaturvarna), with Brahmin priests at the top, powerful landowners after them, followed by rich traders and the rest below. But what makes the jati system unique is not the economic and political hierarchy, but the concept of purity: some communities are seen as intrinsically pure (priests, for example), while others as intrinsically impure (janitors, butchers, undertakers, for example).
The ‘impure’ were denied access to temples, kitchens, and even the community well. Thus, in a grand temple, only the pure could access the inner shrine where the deity was enshrined, while the impure ones had to stay outside, outside the door, at times even outside on the street.
Those who were not allowed to enter the temple, naturally, turned to Hanuman whose image was located outside the temple, at the entrance, or even on the street. He was far more accessible than the royal Ram, who sat deep within the complex, accessible only to the elite.
Hindu history reveals a long tension between the hierarchy of purity imposed by priests and the doctrine of atma revealed by the poet-saints. The latter doctrine led to the ritual of the gods going out on processions regularly, stepping out of the temple on palanquins and chariots, to meet those communities who were not allowed inside the temple. It also led to many doorkeepers being made to look very much like the deity enshrined within the temple. This was to assure those being excluded that while humans may exclude humans, God excludes no one.
The doorkeepers of Vaikuntha are called Jaya and Vijaya. The doorkeepers of the sacred groves of the Goddess are called Maya and Laya. Nandi the bull is Shiva’s doorkeeper and vehicle (vahana). Hanuman is Ram’s doorkeeper, messenger, secretary, and strongman.
Once Ravana paid a visit to Shiva but was stopped by Nandi at the door as Shiva was with Shakti, and the couple wanted privacy. Ravana did not like being stopped, and without heeding Nandi, tried to get past him. When Nandi blocked Ravana, Ravana called Nandi a monkey. Nandi did not appreciate Ravana’s rudeness, for he was only carrying out his duty.
He cursed the arrogant Ravana that monkeys would be the cause of his downfall. To make this happen, it is believed, a portion of Shiva’s divinity manifested on earth as Hanuman. Nandi, the doorkeeper of Shiva, was avenged through Hanuman, Ram’s doorkeeper, who defeated Lankini, Ravana’s doorkeeper.
With Hanuman guarding the gates of Ram’s palace in Ayodhya, even the god of death, Yama, feared entering the city when it was time for Ram to leave his mortal body and return to Vaikuntha. Finally, Ram moved Hanuman from the gates so that Yama could do his duty.
Ram dropped his ring in a crack in the palace floor and requested Hanuman to fetch it. Hanuman entered the crack in the palace floor in the form of a bee, only to discover it was a tunnel leading to the land of serpents (Naga-loka) where he found a mountain made of Ram’s rings.
He wondered what was the secret. To this Vasuki, king of the nagas, said, ‘The world goes through cycles of birth and death just like all living creatures. Just as every life has a youth, so does the world have a Treta Yuga when Ram rules the world. In this yuga, each time, a ring falls from Bhu-loka to Naga-loka, a monkey follows it, and Ram up there dies. As many rings as there are Hanumans and Rams. Nothing lasts forever. But what goes, always comes back.’
In north India, temples of many mountain goddesses who are manifestations of the tiger-riding Sheravali are guarded by Bhairo-devata and Langur-devata, the former looks like a child-warrior who drinks bhang (a narcotic), the latter looks like a monkey who drinks milk. Both these deities embody domesticated masculinities, the principles of brahmacharya (celibacy, continence) and yoga (inward orientation). Nowadays, many identify the Langur-devata with Hanuman.
Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 21 Analysis in English
rama duare tuma rakhavare
hota na agnya binu paisare ll 21ll
You stand guarding Rama’s gate,
No one can enter without your consent. (21)
When the bridge construction was almost complete and the monkeys were set to march to Lanka, Vibhishan felt restless and uncomfortable. He wasn’t satisfied with the information from Lanka that his spies had brought him. His intuition said something else. That something sinister was cooking on the other side of the ocean.
Taking the form of a pigeon, Vibhishan flew across the ocean and landed on the dome of the Lankan royal courtroom. Before he could hear a single word, what he saw was enough to increase his heartbeat. Two robust rakshasas stood before Ravana with a smirk on their faces. From the size of the two, Vibhishan realized the size of trouble.
Soon leaders of the monkey army along with Rama and Lakshmana were gathered around Vibhishan. He shared with them the problem ahead. It wasn’t a single but a double- edged problem. The name of the problem was Ahiravana- Mahiravana. These were two cruel magician friends of Ravana who derived great pleasure in tricking innocent people into their sinister web and offering them as human sacrifice.
Vibhishan had reliable information that they had been contracted for killing Rama and Lakshmana. Vibhishan warned the monkey leaders that dealing with these two meant dealing with a lot of treachery. The two brothers could change their form at will and pull off any trick, possible or impossible, in the blink of an eye. The primary goal now was to ensure that Rama and Lakshmana remain in a highly protected environment.
In order to safeguard them, the entire monkey army assembled together to form circular layers. They were fully armed and fully alert. Around the concentric wall of monkeys, Hanuman made another robust wall with his tail. Only a small entry gate remained through which a single person could walk in or out. Hanuman personally stood guarding that.
When Vibhishan studied the entire protective structure, he was delighted with their efforts. Vibhishan requested Rama to invoke the Sudarshan chakra to guard the sky ways which was the only loophole left in the whole structure.
Placing Sugriva and Angad inside to guard Rama and Lakshmana personally, Vibhishan chose to station himself outside the wall to be in continuous interaction with Hanuman. To be doubly sure that there was no loophole in their security system, Vibhishan walked around the wall in circles and Hanuman stayed put at the gate, rama duare tuma rakhavare hota na agnya binu paisare.
Hanuman guarded the gate of Lord Rama and no one could enter without his consent.As soon as Vibhishan turned around the comer out of sight, an elderly royal king approached Hanuman. Introducing himself as Dasharatha, the father of Rama and Lakshmana, he begged to be allowed in to spend some time with his sons whom he hadn’t seen for more than a decade now. Immediately Vibhishan’s warning struck in Hanuman’s mind. Mahiravana and Ahiravana were masters of illusion.
Not wanting to take a risk and yet at the same time not wanting to be disrespectful to Dasharatha, he requested the king to wait a little till Vibhishan arrived. But Dasharatha left in a hurry saying that he would return soon. When the confused Hanuman explained the incident to Vibhishan, he warned Hanuman that even if his father Kesari comes, he should not let him in without Vibhishan’s approval.
The instruction was clear now. From then on Hanuman had no hesitation denying entry to Bharata, Rama’s brother, then to Kaushalya, Rama’s mother, and even Janak Maharaj, Sita’s father. Vibhishan was extremely pleased with Hanuman’s alertness. The system was working very well and so far there was nothing to worry as long as they maintained this vigil.
With a pat on Hanuman’s back, Vibhishan continued his stroll around the wall. In a matter of a few minutes he was suddenly back. Hanuman was surprised but concluded that there must have been some emergency he perceived due to which he had returned hastily. Speaking with a sense of urgency, Vibhishan asked Hanuman to step aside and allow him to enter the gate to inspect the situation inside. Hanuman complied and Vibhishan entered swiftly. Sealing the gate once again Hanuman stood on high alert.
In a few minutes, Vibhishan came to the gate once again. How was this possible? When he had already entered, how could he come back again outside? Hanuman initially thought that this was the imposter Ahiravana or Mahiravana. But when Vibhishan gave him some solid proof, Hanuman panicked understanding that he had sent the imposter inside.
Dismantling the tail, Hanuman and Vibhishan entered only to find that every single monkey inside was lying unconscious and both Rama and Lakshmana were missing. The question was where were they now? The answer stood right in front of them in the form of a pit. Not wanting to waste any time, Hanuman leaped into the pit, promising to bring back the divine brothers.
The pit was actually a portal that led him all the way to the netherworld or the Patalaloka. When Hanuman fell into the beautiful city of Patala, he transformed himself into a regular monkey. Suddenly an old lady saw him and began to scream. When a few onlookers gathered, she pointed out to the monkey and said that the king had a curse that the day monkeys and humans enter his city, it will mark the end of it. She warned everyone to leave the city soon. Hanuman jumped away from the crowd, happy to hear good news on arrival.
While he was in another comer of the city, he heard another lady conversing with someone that there was going to be a huge festival inside the palace today where the king would be performing a human sacrifice for the pleasure of Goddess Mahamaya. He leamt from that conversation that the brothers Ahiravana and Mahiravana had brought two handsome humans for that purpose. Armed with this information, Hanuman assumed a very tiny form and found entry into the palace in spite of heavy security and inspection.
Once inside, Hanuman began his search. He came across a heavily guarded door, which he deduced to be the sacrificial arena. When he tried to sneak through the door in his really tiny form, he was stopped by a very powerful looking personality. His face resembled a vanara’s and his body resembled a crocodile’s. He pounced on Hanuman and a tremendous fight ensued, with Hanuman finally tying up that half-vanara half-crocodile with ropes and hurling him onto the ground.
Thus humbled, the guard introduced himself as Makharadhwaja, the son of Hanuman. This unexpected introduction bewildered Hanuman who had never been married. How could he have a son that he didn’t know of? When questioned, Makharadhwaja explained that when Hanuman had burnt Lanka and then dipped his tail into the ocean to quench the fire, a drop of sweat had fallen into the ocean, which had been swallowed by a female crocodile. From that crocodile, Makharadhwaja was born. Hanuman was happy to meet his son and Makharadhwaja promised to help his father in finding Rama and eliminating all the Ravanas.
Makharadhwaja suggested Hanuman to meet Chitrasena who was a Nagakanya held captive by Ahiravana and Mahiravana. She held many secrets of the demonic brothers and could definitely help Hanuman find a solution. From what Vibhishan had told him, Hanuman knew that killing the brothers wouldn’t be easy and straightforward, as they would have magical ways to remain immortal. Thus it was imperative that Hanuman met Chitrasena and gain her confidence so that she would reveal the inner secrets of the demons.
Taking the form of a small bumblebee, Hanuman entered the room of Chitrasena and hovered over her. When he had managed to capture her attention, Hanuman revealed his original form to her and began a conversation. Initially she wasn’t ready to believe him because he could be one of the evil brothers who had taken a vanara form just to test her loyalty. But when she saw the genuineness and the love he had for Lord Rama, she was convinced that this could not be them, as there was not even a shade of evil in his persona.
She agreed to help Hanuman on one condition. Her condition was that Rama would have to marry her in return for the favour she was going to do to help them save their lives. Seeing no way out, Hanuman agreed to her condition but not before posing a condition of his own. As a condition to her condition. His condition was that Rama would marry her only if her bed could handle the weight of Rama. Not seeing any harm in it, she agreed to his condition. She was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu and the moment she had seen Rama, she had completely surrendered her heart to him.
Chitrasena then revealed few of the well-guarded secrets of the evil brothers. She explained that Mahiravana had once saved the lives of a group of honeybees who became so grateful that they always resided in the palace, assisting the demons. Whenever one of the brothers got killed in a battle, the bees would fly out and sprinkle celestial nectar, that could revive the dead, into his mouth.
Thus, as long as these bees were alive, the brothers would live. She further disclosed that the lives of the two brothers existed only partly in their bodies; the rest of their lives were stored elsewhere. The life of Ahiravana was stored in a large diamond and the life of Mahiravana was stored in five lamps that were constantly lit in five adjacent caves in a nearby mountain. Along with actually killing the brothers, the two life sources had to be destroyed simultaneously, only then would the demons die.
Having learnt their secrets, Hanuman took the form of a bumblebee once again and ventured out to find the hideout of the bees. What followed was a tremendous battle with the bees. He slaughtered all the bees in that hive one by one until there was just one bee left who helplessly took shelter of Hanuman promising to assist him in every possible way. Hanuman smiled. He had just the right idea for using this bee’s services. He instructed the bee to proceed to Chitrasena’s room and make her bed hollow and weak internally.
While the bee left to do its service, Hanuman made his way into the temple of the goddess Mahamaya also known as Kamakshi devi. There he spent some time with the goddess, explaining to her the entire situation and asking her permission to do something drastic in her presence. The goddess blessed Hanuman to save the lives of Rama and Lakshmana. He next proceeded to the prison where Rama and Lakshmana were held captive and explained to them the whole plan.
By the time Hanuman finished explaining, guards had arrived to take them to the sacrificial arena. Hanuman immediately proceeded to the five caves where a herculean task awaited him. Meanwhile, Mahiravana and Ahiravana asked Rama and Lakshmana to bend themselves and place their necks on the pedestal. Feigning ignorance, Rama asked for a demonstration.
The brothers bent down to show what is the right way to place the neck in the pedestal for an easy chop. That very moment both Rama and Lakshmana broke open their shackles and picked up the swords that were placed close by and lopped their heads off. Immediately, Lakshmana jumped up with a hammer to the place where the diamond was kept. Rama began his onslaught to massacre all the remaining demons in that arena.
Hanuman had reached the cave and began to blow off the lamps one by one in the five caves. To his consternation, by the time he blew off one lamp, the previous lamp would light up again. It was obvious to him that all five needed to be blown off simultaneously. Since the caves were in five different directions, he took up a five-headed form known as Panchamukhi Hanuman.
Facing north was the Varaha or boar face, facing south was Narsimha or lion face, facing west was the Garuda or eagle face, facing east was Hanuman’s original face, and facing up was the Hayagriva or horse face. With one blow, he extinguished all the five lamps at one go. Exactly at the same time, Lakshmana smashed the diamond. Thus permanently eliminating the two demonic brothers.
Returning to Rama and Lakshmana, Hanuman touched their feet and they happily embraced him. Of course there was still a small problem left to deal with. Hanuman explained the promise to Chitrasena in order to get her to divulge her secrets. Without asking Rama, he had agreed for the marriage proposal from her. Rama smiled and went to her room. Chitrasena was so happy that she was going to be finally united with her worshippable Lord and master. But as soon as Rama sat on the bed, it broke.
Chitrasena immediately realized that this must be a trick of Hanuman’s. But even before she could express her anger on him, Lord Rama, with a sweet smile on his face, explained to her that in this life he had taken eka-patni vrata and thus he could marry no one other than Sita.
But he assured her that in his next incarnation as Krishna, he would surely marry her and she would be one of his chief queens named Satyabhama. Satisfied with that assurance, Chitrasena decided to wait for the right time to come back and stepped aside.
Rama then coroneted Makharadhwaja as the king of Patalaloka. Once everything was in order, Makharadhwaja handed over the responsibilities of the kingdom to the ministers and decided to travel with his father for assisting him in his mission. Hanuman lifted Rama and Makharadhwaja lifted Lakshmana on their shoulders and zoomed out of the Patalaloka to return to the eagerly awaiting monkey army. Cheers broke out when the monkeys saw Hanuman safely back with Rama and Lakshmana. With Hanuman present at Rama’s door, who can dare to defy and enter forcefully?