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

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 37 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 37 Guru and Gosain

जै जै जै
हनुमान गोसांई ।
कृपा करहु
गुरुदेव की नाईई ॥

Jai Jai Jai
Hanuman Gosain.
Kripa karahu
gurudev ki nyahin

Hail, Hail, Hail
Hanuman, lord of senses.
Be as kind
As the master.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 37 Meaning in English

In this chaupai, Hanuman is identified as gosain and is being asked to be as kind as his guru. So Hanuman, who in previous verses is being asked to solve material problems and relieve material pain, has here been sought to grant spiritual wisdom that will liberate us from material bondage. The word gosain, or go-swami, is a Vedic metaphor. Ancient Hindus were aware that our understanding of the world begins with sensory awareness of the world around us.

The five sensory organs (gyan-indriya) carry information to our mind (manas) and provoke emotions (chitta) and finally get our intellect (buddhi) to take decisions that are manifested through the five action organs (karma-indriya). Our intelligence is controlled by our ego (aham) and only a guru’s guidance can help us break free from ego, and discover our soul (atma), our true self, that fears no death, is neither hungry nor insecure, and so can empathize with the other (para-jiva).

The indriyas that continuously engaged with the world of sensory stimulations were metaphorically described as cows (go) grazing (chara) in a pasture. The one who had complete control over them was the go-swami, or gosain, master of the sense-cows. Gosain, thus, is a word for yogi commonly used by Vaishnavas and followers of Krishna. It was a title bestowed on students by their gurus.

If Hanuman is the gosain, who is Hanuman’s teacher? Is it Surya, the sun god? Is it Ram, lord of the solar dynasty? Or is it Sita, the shakti of Ram? Maybe all three. This difference between guru and gosain reflects the difference between Jehovah and Jesus in Christianity, Allah and Prophet Muhammad in Islam, and the Buddha and Bodhisattva in Buddhism.

In religious traditions around the world, there is invariably a medium between the spiritual and the material, between the deity and the devotee, between the transcendental and the phenomenal. That is the role being attributed to Hanuman, the gosain of the guru. The Hanuman Chalisa was composed in times when the Mughals established their authority over the Gangetic plains.

The locals were very familiar with Islamic ideas of God and prophet, that had entered India five centuries prior to Tulsidas, that is, almost a thousand years ago from today. For local Hindus, the guru became the Hindu equivalent of the Islamic prophet, one who shows you the path to God. If Muslims had a paigambar for Allah, then Hindus had a Ram-doot for Ram.

The similarity was convenient but deceptive. Convenient because it helped establish a connection between the two faiths and faciliate dialogue, in the spirit of plurality. And deceptive because Hindu ideas of God and teacher are very different from the Islamic idea of God and messenger.

God in Islam is formless and firmly located outside space and time, while his prophet has form and is located in history and geography. God in Hinduism is simultaneously formless and has form (Shiva, Vishnu), is simultaneously outside space and time (Vishnu) and inside history and geography (Ram and Krishna). The guru can be a real person located outside (Shankara-acharya, Ramanuja-acharya, Madhwa-acharya, Ramananda, Tulsidas), or a deity (Hanuman), or a voice inside our heart and head.

In the Bhagavat Purana, the primal teacher (adi guru) Dattatreya describes nature as his guru. In Tantra, Shiva is Shakti’s guru, Shakti is Shiva’s guru. Thus in Hinduism, guru is gosain and gosain is guru, and guru is God and God is guru. The message and the messenger mingle and merge.

Time, space and people are simultaneously outside and inside, literal and metaphorical, immanent and transcendent, objective and subjective, physical and psychological. This fluid aspect of Hinduism is most confounding to the outsider, as confounding as the Indian headshake

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 37 Analysis in English

jaya jaya jaya hanumana gosal
kripa karahu guradeva ki nai ||37||

Victory, victory, victory to Lord Hanuman
Please shower your mercy as
would a divine master, (37)

Hanuman was once on a mission of obtaining the ashta siddhis or the eight mystical powers. On the way, he suddenly felt hunger pangs. He looked around to find something to satiate his hunger with but what he found was an opposite effect. It made him forget his hunger. What a strange sight it was! An austere woman crying while performing a fire sacrifice.

From her radiance he could guess that she had spent a lifetime in austerities. But why was she crying? It made no sense at all. Who would cry during a yagya? When he approached her he also saw that her ears were bleeding profusely. The mystery was getting complicated. He asked her, “Mother, are you in any pain? Please tell me what is troubling you.”

“I am doing a yagya and evoking my death because I have no purpose left in life,” she replied, sobbing and wiping her tears with her shoulders as her hands were engaged in giving offerings in the yagya. On further encouragement by Hanuman, she narrated her woes. “After a long and tough period of austerities, I was blessed with a pair of divine earrings. Such was their blessing that wearing them gave me the power to obtain anything I wanted, go anywhere I desired, and take any boon from any demigod at any time.”

Hanuman gasped at the powers she had. He anticipated what happened next and said sympathetically, “And now are they stolen?” She nodded her head sadly. “They were snatched from me by dacoits. But I’m not concerned about the fact that they got stolen. What worries me is that they will fall in the wrong hands and be misused and exploited. It could be used to harass innocent people. All because of me.”

Hanuman, who always did his best to help everyone, could not leave without helping her. After learning that the dacoits had headed towards the jungle, Hanuman too took off to find them. He followed the footprints left by the horses, which easily led him to them. But another surprise awaited him there. The dacoits were dead. All but one. He was on the verge of dying too. Answering Hanuman’s queries, he revealed before dying, “We were bitten by Nagaraj so that he could take the earrings away from us.”

Hanuman followed the trail of Nagaraj and reached the ocean. Since the Nagaloka was located inside the ocean, Hanuman dived deep down. On reaching the gates of Nagaloka, he punched the guards and entered. There he met Nagaraj Kartak and asked him to return the precious earrings. Of course, the Nagaraj refused and laughed at Hanuman’s suggestion. Instead he bit him because that’s what he did best. But naturally, Hanuman, being a Rudra avatar did not get affected by these trivial bites.

He gave him a good thrashing and defeated all the nagas and took away the earrings. But to his horror, the minute he picked up the earrings in his hand, all the nagas fell lifeless. Was there a connection between the two? To confirm, he put the earrings back again and to his amazement, the snakes sprang back to life! The earring belonged to an ascetic woman; how could it have a life and death impact on the naga clan underwater? This was truly bewildering for Hanuman.

Nagaraj Kartak explained, “These divine earrings are a source of our power. This is actually unnatural but unfortunately some days back, our nagamani was stolen. When I went to retrieve it, I found some dacoits who possessed this pair of earring. And this pair of earring gave us the same strength as we had from the nagamani. So I abandoned my search for the mani and carried these earrings back to Nagaloka. Now if you take them away, we will die.” Hanuman was in a catch-22 situation.

If he took the earrings back, the innocent nagas would die. If he didn’t, the ascetic woman would give up her life. The naga king folded his hands humbly and said, “We will abide by your decision.” Hanuman did not want to choose one over the other. He had to save everyone without any discrimination. He had to find a third way out.

He asked Nagaraj, “What if I bring back the nagamani for you? Will you return the earrings then?” Nagaraj had no objection to this. In fact he appreciated Hanuman’s thoughtfulness, his sensitivity and his compassion for them. No one had ever shown any sympathy to their lot. They were always looked down upon with hatred and vengeance by the entire world. With tears in his eyes, he thanked Hanuman for his concern for them.

Hanuman now had to think like a detective. “Where did you lose the mani?” he enquired.
“On Shivaratri, we had gone to Lord Shiva’s abode to participate in the celebration. That’s where it was stolen. And since then we have been lifeless.”
“Do you suspect anyone? Is there any clue to find it?”
“Whoever has stolen the mani will naturally hide it. But he will have no option but to take it out on every full moon day or Pumima because the moon is the source of nourishment for it.”

This was sufficient information for Hanuman. He waited for the arrival of Pumima. On that full moon night, he began his hunt for the mani. His keen observation made him realize that all the moonlight was being pulled to one spot on earth. He quickly reached that spot, an obscure village not far from Nagaloka. But the thief was intelligent and knowing it was risky to expose the nagamani for too long, had tucked the mani away much before daylight. When Hanuman reached, he could no longer find the trail of the mani.

Since he was sure the mani was in that village itself, he roamed around looking for clues. He came across a huge crowd where a rich man was donating wealth to the villagers. He overheard a few comments about how this man had become wealthy overnight. Hanuman was now certain he had found the thief. He kept an eye on the man and followed him home. The man appeared very nervous and restless. Something was surely bothering him. He told his servants he was going hunting to find some peace of mind.

Hanuman followed him to the forest. The forest was a breeding ground for tigers and the foolish man had gone all alone. He was soon attacked by a hungry tiger. Had it not been for Hanuman, he would have lost his life. Hanuman had stopped the tiger and carried the man in his arms to a safer part of the forest. The man was so grateful that he agreed to hand over the mani to him. He confided in Hanuman that stealing the mani had been the worst mistake of his life. It had brought him nothing but misery and misfortune.

A relieved Hanuman took the naga mani and returned it to Nagaraj. An elated Nagaraj returned the divine earrings to Hanuman who in turn handed them back to its rightful owner. The ascetic mother was so pleased with Hanuman that she wanted to give him a blessing of his choice.“Please bless me that I reach Siddhiloka at the earliest, without any obstacles. That is my destination.” The woman not only blessed him but also gave him the earrings. Hanuman was quite stunned with the gift and he did not know what to do with it.

“Because you are always ready to help others in distress, and because your heart is full of compassion, you rightly deserve the divine earrings.” She instructed the earrings to accept Hanuman as their master. “Use them in your welfare work. Your merciful nature will win many hearts. You will be hailed as a guru and a hero worldwide for all your good work.”

jaya jaya jaya hanumana gossip kripa karahu gurudeva kl not When things are going smoothly in life, we can easily experience the mercy of God. If we are happy, satisfied, and get what we desired, then we tell others that Lord is very merciful. But if things are not going as per plan, we experience bouts of doubts during sadhana. This is the time we need to have faith.

Lord’s mercy can come in many different ways, and to see mercy in difficult situations, we need eyes like Hanuman’s. Rama sent Hanuman to find Sita (bhakti) only because he could see God’s mercy in favourable and unfavourable conditions. So while in search of bhakti, if you can feel faith and mercy in dark situations, only then you can successfully find her even in a place like Lanka.

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

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 36 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 36 Problem-Solver

संकट कटै
मिटै सब पीरा ।
जो सुमिरै
हनुमत बलबीरा ॥

Sankat kate
mite sab peera.
Jo sumirai
Hanumat Balbeera.

Problems cease
pain goes away.
When one remembers
Hanuman, the mighty hero.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 36 Meaning in English

This chaupai reiterates what Hanuman can do for us: remove problems and take away pain. In the Ramayana, Hanuman solves Ram’s problems. He finds Ram’s missing wife, Sita, by leaping across the sea to the kingdom of Lanka. He saves Ram’s injured brother, Lakshman, by carrying a mountain of herbs across the sky.

He even saves Ram from being sacrificed by Mahiravana to Patala Bhairavi. If he can help God, surely he can help humanity. Perhaps this explains Hanuman’s mass appeal. Across India, at the start of roads that wind up hills and mountains, one frequently finds temples of Hanuman.

People driving past in cars, buses and trucks, throw money at these temples, offerings to the great hero, to give them the strength to overcome the obstacle before them, and to keep out all obstacles from their path. A temple is also located at the end of the journey, on the other side of the mountain, where the travellers can thank Hanuman for protecting them from all potential danger.

At the frontier of most villages, and in most Hindu crematoriums, we find red-orange images of Hanuman, glistening with til oil, bedecked with Arka leaves and flowers, protecting the village from the wild, from diseases and demons, ghouls and ghosts. He embodies the positive side of masculinity (strength) but not the negative side (domination).

When Hanuman was flying over the ocean to Lanka, he defeated many monsters. But he did not stop to rest. Mount Mainaka rose from under the sea and requested Ram’s messenger to sit on his slopes for a bit. Hanuman politely refused, for he had a task to complete. Thus Hanuman embodies selflessness, commitment, and integrity, the one who completes the most arduous task without resting. We yearn to have someone like Hanuman on our side. And to have him on our side, we need to invoke Ram in our hearts.

In folk retellings of the Ramayana, Ravana had locked up Shani, lord of Saturn; Mangal, the god of Mars; and Preta-raja, or Mahakala, or Yama, lord of disease and death, under his throne. Hanuman released them and so Shani, Mangal, and Mahakala are in Hanuman’s debt.

If one prays to Hanuman on Saturday, the day associated with Saturn, then Shani, who delays things, does not assert his malevolent force. If one prays to Hanuman on Tuesday, the day associated with Mars, then Mangal, who causes strife, does not assert his malevolent influence. And if one worships Hanuman at night, when Preta-raja rules, then raja rules, then disease and death, caused by negative energies and black magic, fail to act.

The Nawabs of Lucknow started the Bada Mangal festival, when Hanuman is worshipped with great fanfare every Tuesday in the summer month of Jyestha (May-June). This practice began after an image of Hanuman was found at a construction site. The story goes that the elephant carrying the deity to its new location stopped at one point and refused to budge.

So the temple was built at the spot the elephant stopped. In this festival, local Hindus and Muslims participate, the latter providing water to the long queues of devotees who stand all through Tuesday night to see Bada Hanuman.

This verse reveals the most elemental form of Hanuman and resonates with humanity’s most primitive past, when the things one wanted from divine forces were as basic as protection from dangers and cures from diseases. In the verses that follow, the higher needs of humanity are addressed, revealing Hanuman’s versatility spanning from the most elemental to the most refined.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 36 Analysis in English

sankata katai mitai saba pira
jo sumirai hanumata balabira ||36||

All difficulties are wiped away and all pain vanish,
By remembering the mighty Hanuman. (36)

During one of his travels, Hanuman saw a very weird scene. A group of people were lighting a funeral pyre, but surprisingly, they were not burning a human body but rather a wooden statue! And though it was a lifeless wooden statue, an old lady nearby was bawling her heart out. She lamented continuously about her dead son. Next to her stood a small boy trying to console his wailing grandmother by assuring her that his father was not dead. He was astonished why she was conducting the last rites of someone who was alive.

Hanuman was bewildered to see this awkward scene. Inquisitiveness made him approach the old lady to question her. He wanted to understand the entire situation to make sense of it. Why was she burning a wooden statue of her son while her son was still alive according to her grandson?
The old lady shared her complicated story with Hanuman. She said that though her son was alive, he was as good as dead. Whoever was called by King Baladhari never came back.

Hanuman could sense something sinister in her words. There seemed to be some connection between the disappearance of her son (and many others) and the evil king. He wanted to know more about the king and his whereabouts. Hanuman Chalisa Hanuman promised her that he would get to the root of the whole problem and retrieve her son.

When she saw a ray of hope knocking at her door, the old lady revealed everything she knew about the atrocious king. Hanuman set about on a mission to find her lost son, Gajashakti, and to find out everything about the activities of the mysterious king.

While Hanuman was almost at the kingdom of King Baladhari, he came across two very weak and emaciated men who were about to jump off a cliff to commit suicide. Immediately Hanuman intervened and prevented them from doing so.

They got furious with Hanuman for stopping them from ending their lives. Hanuman explained compassionately that suicide was not a solution to any problem. He encouraged them to face their problems with courage and not give up without trying their best. When Hanuman assured them all help, they confided in him.

At one time, they were the most powerful wrestlers in the entire village. But one day, King Baladhari invited them for a wrestling competition. Eager to exhibit their strength and talent, they accepted the invitation. But to their horror, King Baladhari sucked away all their energies and strengths. All that was left of them was simply a bag of bones while all their strengths had been transferred into the king.

Hanuman was surprised hearing this tale. How did he get this kind of incomprehensible power? The two former wrestlers said that all this was the grace of Lord Brahma on him. Lord Brahma had been pleased with his tapasya and offered him a boon by which he could extract the entire physical strength of anyone standing in front of him. And that’s how he got his name Baladhari, due to this boon. But there was a flipside to this. As soon as that person died, his strength would leave from Baladhari’s body.

Thus in order to retain their strength in his body, he would not allow those people to die. He would imprison them and keep them well-fed so that they live. The two unfortunate men had somehow managed to escape from that cave. They were hoping that by ending their life, the king’s strength would decrease and there would be a greater probability of him being defeated.

Hanuman then confirmed that Gajashakti was also in the king’s captivity. They narrated that Gajashakti too was a powerful wrestler with the strength of an elephant and was always in the forefront to protect the village from any kind of calamity. Obviously, he came into the king’s radar and was thus invited by the king to a wrestling match where all his strength was siphoned off.

They sadly explained that now Gajashakti was reduced to a mere shadow of himself, in a sad emaciated state in the prison. The king additionally gave Gajashakti a warning that if he tried to escape, he would kill his family members and slaughter everyone in his village.

Equipped with all this information, Hanuman headed for a meeting with King Baladhari. Considering him to be an ordinary vanara soldier, the king heaped insults on Hanuman. Then he sent his soldiers to kill him. In a matter of a few seconds, Hanuman destroyed all the soldiers. Baladhari then took Hanuman seriously and stepped forward to fight.

Hanuman defeated Baladhari easily. Baladhari tried to suck away Hanuman’s energy by holding his hand. What he didn’t realize was the vast difference between their two bodies! His body was limited in its capacity but Hanuman being Rudransh, an expansion of Lord Shiva, was unlimited in his capacity. When Hanuman’s energy began entering Baladhari, he, very soon, reached the upper limit of his capacity to handle Hanuman Chalisa more energy.

He wanted to let go of Hanuman’s hand but Hanuman wasn’t ready to. Thus Hanuman’s energy flowed into his body with a tremendous rush and when Baladhari’s body crossed the tipping point, it blasted into millions of pieces which scattered all over the place. Liberating all the weak wrestlers, Hanuman inspired them I to not give up on themselves.

He taught them the importance of exercise to regain their lost physical strength. He created akhadas or wrestling arenas where they could practice intense exercises and recover their strength. Once Gajashakti found his strength, Hanuman took him back to his mother. The old mother became really happy and blessed Hanuman profusely.

At that point, Narada made his appearance and requested Hanuman that he should see to it that never again can another I Baladhari exploit people’s strengths. Thus for the future, Hanuman created a beautiful reddish deity of himself known as Balanidhi.

And he said, “This form will always reside in all akhadas and wrestling arenas. Anyone who worships this form of mine and performs physical activities and exercises will be I able to acquire great strength. Physical activity will keep one I strong and lack of it will make one weak.

From now on no one will be able to steal the strength of another, like Baladhari did.” Narada was very happy and satisfied to know that there would be no more exploitation and pain, sankata katai mitai saba pira / jo sumirai hanumata bailable Tulsidas recommended installation of Hanuman deity in every akhada to gain Hanuman’s blessings for strength for wrestling.

In Ashoka Vatika, when Hanuman assured Mother Sita that Lord Rama would free her from the bondage of the evil Ravana, Sita was so pleased that she plucked a betel leaf from a tree, put it on Hanuman’s forehead and blessed him with immortality. All those who seek success in life and wish to be free from fear, pray to Hanuman and appease him with a betel leaf garland.

Hanuman Jayanti is a significant occasion for the mass recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa Meaning.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 35 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 35 One is Many

और देवता
चित्त न धरई ।
हनुमत सेई
सर्ब सुख करई ॥

Aur devta
chitta na dharehi.
Hanumat se hi
sarba sukh karahi.

All other deities
Do not connect.
Hanuman alone
Gives full delight.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 35 Meaning in English

This chaupai raises the question: is Hinduism polytheistic or monotheistic? For in this verse Hanuman is seen as the source of all happiness, so why bother with other deities. The other deities are not derided; they are just seen as not needed. This question of monotheism and polytheism did not matter until the rise of European Orientalist studies in the 19th century.

After having established their authority in the subcontinent, the Muslim rulers did not bother so much with this question, which is why Muslim communities and Hindu communities lived in relative harmony. But all this harmony was disrupted when European rulers kept wondering: what is true religion? In their view, polytheism was definely primitive, pagan, false, hence myth. Monotheism was true, especially one that saw Jesus as the son of God, not one that saw Muhammad as the last and final Prophet of God.

With the rise of postmodern studies in the late twentieth century, the politics underlying the word ‘myth’ was revealed and its association with falsehood and fiction discarded. Today, both polytheism and monotheism, like ideology and theology, are classified as different kinds of mythology, conceptual cultural truths, and distinguished from measurable and verifiable scientific truths. Of course, fundamentalists, and even many historians, academics and scientists, still cling to the old, outdated colonial meanings, and the binary of truth and falsehood.

Greek mythology is polytheistic while Abrahamic mythology is monotheistic. When the Roman Empire became Christian, polytheism was rejected as false religion. Hindu mythology has always been simultaneously polytheistic and monotheistic: the same God (spelt with capitalization) manifests as multiple gods (spelt without capitalization). In other words, the whole manifests as parts, and every part is an expression of the whole. The whole is limitless, and the part limited; the limitless whole is accessed through the limited part. This approach is unique to Hinduism, and remains unfathomable to most non-Hindus.

A word commonly used for Hinduism is kathenotheism, where one god is worshipped at a time, without disrespecting other gods, and that god is seen as representative of the limitless formless divine, or God. Hence the concept of ishta-devata, the One Being invoked, through whom the devotee accesses the cosmic soul (param-atma). Each deity is like a portal to the same divine entity, and each deity, despite its finite form, is the perfect embodiment of infinity.

In Hindu temples, Hanuman can be seen as an independent deity, or as a deity who is part of Ram’s entourage, just as Ganesha or Murugan can be seen as independent deities, or a deity who is part of Shiva’s family. A deity exists in an ecosystem of many deities and at the same time contains all deities within them.

Hanuman is one. But simultaneously, he is many. Through him, one accesses the hermit Shiva, the householder Vishnu, and the Goddess who embodies nature. He is a Vedic scholar as well as a potent Tantrik warrior.He is the embodiment of Bhakti. He is linked to literature and poetry, with song and music, with physical prowess as well as marital arts. He brings with him Durga (power), Saraswati (knowledge) and Lakshmi (prosperity).

For those uncomfortable with the idea of worshipping a celibate man, there are temples in India where Hanuman has a wife (in Hyderabad, for example), and also one where he wears a nose-ring to appear like the Goddess (in Ratanpur district, Chhattisgarh). So, says this verse, the most efficient way to worship infinity is through this one single deity.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 35 Analysis in English

aura devata chitta na dharail
hanumata sei sarba sukha kara ||35||

Even if one does not meditate on any other god,
Only serving Hanuman makes one blissful. (35)

After the war ended with Rama’s victory, Rama asked Hanuman to inform Sita about it. Hearing the supremely good news, Sita blessed Hanuman for bringing the message to her. She declared that auspicious day as ‘Mangalvar’ (Tuesday) when Hanuman would be worshipped. However, Hanuman never accepts worship for himself but dedicates it to Lord Rama. Lord Rama, being the supreme Lord, blesses devotees of Hanuman, granting all their desires and therefore worshipping Hanuman surpasses worshipping of any other demigod.

Shukracharya, guru of the demons, instigated a demon king named Viprachit to organize a tamasic yagya. A tamasic yagya is a negative fire sacrifice that creates a high amount of inauspiciousness with exactly opposite results as compared to regular fire sacrifices. He instructed him to harass the sages who were expert in performing yagyas and force them to do a tamasic yagya using abominable ingredients such as flesh and blood.

Shukhracharya knew the science of yagyas and was well aware of the fact that the offerings of any yagya had to be personally accepted by demigods. When tamasic yagyas were commenced under the dictate of Viprachit, all the demigods began to get sick one after another.

The sun god himself was so sick that the speed of the sun cycle reduced drastically, resulting in widespread climatic changes all over the world. The rising and setting of the sun became irregular too. Since the sun cycle was disturbed, every living being on the earth naturally got disturbed and began to get sick. Different varieties of infections and diseases spread across the globe.

When this came to Hanuman’s notice, he immediately reached out to Suryadeva, his teacher and guide. But he did not respond to his calls. That was strange because his teacher had never ignored him before. Hanuman personally went all the way to meet Surya and find out the cause of all the abnormal events. As soon as he saw his teacher in that miserable sickly condition, he got his answer. Surya urged Hanuman to somehow stop the tamasic yagya instigated by Shukracharya and thereby save the universe from such an unprecedented calamity.

Since nothing was ever hidden from Surya’s vision, he shared with Hanuman the location of the tamasic yagya being conducted under the protection of the demon king Viprachit. Surya even showed him the place where the demon king had imprisoned all the sages involved in that yagya. Following the direction, Hanuman reached the prison where the sages were held captive.

He learnt from them that they were conducting the yagya under compulsion and not choice. The demon king had imprisoned all their relatives and had threatened to kill them one by one if they didn’t obey him in performance of the tamasic yagya. Not only the sages but even their relatives were imprisoned in a prison created by powerful spells that could not be penetrated by ordinary means. Hanuman first decided to tackle the root of the fear of the sages.

The next morning when the demon king and Shukracharya were busy with the tamasic yagya, Hanuman went to the mountaintop where the relatives of the sages were imprisoned. He sat facing the prison and began to chant the holy names of Lord Rama.

As soon as the holy names of the Supreme Lord began to reverberate, the spell simply collapsed and the prison disintegrated, releasing all the prisoners. Shukracharya came to know by his mystical powers that the spell had been broken and he sent the rakshasa army to handle the situation. Hanuman, who was waiting to receive the upcoming army, slaughtered each and every rakshasa using his powerful mace.

He then instructed the sages to stop performing the tamasic yagya. Shukracharya and the demon king were furious at his impudence. When the demon king attacked him, Hanuman assumed a form so big that Viprachit retreated fearfully. Hanuman was about to kill Viprachit when Shukracharya stepped in to protect his disciple.

Leaving Viprachit with a warning, Hanuman freed all the sages and requested them to begin conducting regular yagyas to restore the balance that had tilted towards gross negativity. Shukracharya helplessly watched the tamasic yagya being dissolved by Hanuman and the whole arena being demolished right in front of his eyes

Only when he returned with the sages, Hanuman realized the extent of the impact of the tamasic yagya across the world. Even after the tamasic yagya had stopped, the demigods had not cured. Most of them were still reeling under its effect. Under Hanuman’s direction, all the demigods were taken to Dhanvantari for cure. Dhanvantari examined them and concluded that only a particular quality of pearl exclusively found in Mansarovar could cure them.

In addition to the pearl, he also required a twig from the navaratna tree, which was a combination of nine different trees growing as one. A yagya should then be conducted using the twigs with the special pearls tied on them. The ashes obtained from that yagya, when mixed with waters from the Ganges, was the magical cure for the illnesses of the gods. Immediately, Hanuman left for Mansarovar to obtain the necessary ingredients for the magic potion to cure the sick demigods.

However, Shukracharya had not stopped fighting the war. By his yogic powers, he had created duplicate pearls that looked exactly like the original but without the same curative potency as the original. But Hanuman outsmarted him and found the real pearls with the help of the divine swans of Mansarovar. Bringing back the pearls along with the sticks of the navaratna tree, Hanuman ensured completion of the yagya as per the instructions of Dhanvantari. And to the delight of all demigods, all of them bounced back to health again.

After this experience, Hanuman realized that health was of paramount importance. He asked Dhanvantari for a permanent cure for all health problems. Dhanvantari told him about the treasure of health, or swastha nidhi, which can bestow permanent good health. However, the catch was that this treasure was not in existence and could only be created by Lord Brahma. So Hanuman, together with the demigods, reached Brahmaloka. Brahma told them the formula for swastha nidhi.

It required 16 different types of rudraksha formed from the tears of Lord Shiva. Hanuman was aware that rudrakshas ranged from one-mukhi to sixteen-mukhi with each one having the power of curing different diseases. Brahma told Hanuman to perform a mahayagya with 16 rudrakshas, as from that yagya would appear the swastha nidhi. Hanuman was excited at the thought of performing the mahayagya and left to collect the 16 ingredients from holy dhams.

As usual, Shukracharya came to know what the demigods were up to. He instructed Viprachit to foil their plan. Viprachit met the king of owls and told them to destroy all the rudrakshas. Because of the owls, Hanuman was unable to find a single rudraksha. He sought Garuda to ask who was behind this mischief. Garuda informed Hanuman that owls were the culprit but no one could take anything from the King of owl without his permission. That’s a boon that they had.

So Hanuman reached the land of owls. The king refused to part with the rudrakshas. On asking why, the king revealed that the entire owl family was saddened by the public perception that they were inauspicious. They wanted a better status in society.

Feeling sympathy for the owls Hanuman took the king to Mother Laxmi. On Hanuman’s request, Laxmi blessed the owls that they would no longer be considered inauspicious. In fact, she accepted them as her vehicle so they would be associated with wealth and hence be considered auspicious.

Feeling on top of the world, the owls returned the rudrakshas gratefully to Hanuman. Hanuman gave them to Brahma, who, along with the demigods, began the yagya. But to their surprise, Agni dev refused to light up. The reason was that Viprachit was still on the throne of heaven and controlling the power of the demigods. In a fit of anger, Hanuman rushed to Indraloka and gave him one tight kick. Viprachit directly landed in Patal-loka and lost all his powers.

With the departure of Viprachit, the demigods regained their powers. The yagya was performed and swastha nidhi personified assured the demigods of continued good health. Hanuman asked for the same assurance for Mrityu loka and swastha nidhi agreed to be present in Mrityu loka as well as Swarga loka. She also thanked Hanuman for invoking her presence and gave him a blessing that whoever prayed to Hanuman will have her special mercy. All the demigods thanked Hanuman profusely, aura devata chitta na dharail hanumata sei sarba sukha karat.

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

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 34 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 34 Heavens

अंत काल
रघुबर पुर जाई ।
जहाँ जन्म
हरिभक्त कहाई ॥

Ant-kaal
Raghubar pur jayee
Jahan janma
Hari-bhakt kahayee

Eventually,
one goes to Ram’s heaven.
Where for eternity,
one is known as Ram’s devotee

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 34 Meaning in English

If the previous chaupai spoke of rebirth, this chaupai refers to immortal life in Ram’s heaven. In the previous verse, singing the praises of Hanuman enables us to cope with this life’s suffering born of actions in previous lifetimes. In this verse, the same activity grants us immortality and peace in the hereafter.

Thus, these two verses deal with Hindu eschatology: death, rebirth and liberation. With this verse, we are now in the fourth quarter of the Hanuman Chalisa. Just as the verses in the first quarter deal with birth (of the deity) the verses in the final quarter deal with death (of the devotee).

In Hindu funeral rites, the dead body is cremated and the bones cast in a river. Thus fire and water claim the dead. Fire embodies the promise of immortality, while water embodies the promise of rebirth. Immortality and rebirth are the two options after death. The Vedic Samhitas, over 3,000 years old, speak of an entity (prana, atma, jiva) outliving death.

But the idea of rebirth fully develops only in the Upanishads, 2,500 years ago. The idea of Swarga, a temporary paradise of pleasures for those who have earned good merits in their life, and Vaikuntha, for those who want to break free from the cycle of rebirths, first appears in the Mahabharata roughly 2,000 years ago.

In the Puranas, one can be reborn in Swarga, where the fruits of good deeds are enjoyed or in Naraka, where one must suffer the consequences of bad deeds. The former is ruled by Indra, the king of devas and die latter is ruled by Yama, the king of pler and preta. But stay in either location is temporary. as we learn in che Mahabharata. We can tumble down from Swarga when WC USC up our karmic equity. or rise up from Naraka when we cause our karmic debts

In the C, aruda Purana this is further elaborated with detailed descriptions of multiple hells to punish people who have committed different misdeeds. Chitragupta. assistant to Yama, maintains the book of accounts. determining if we are to go to heaven or hell, and if heaven, then which heaven and for how long, and if hell, then which hell and for how long. We keep going up and down over lifetimes depending on karmic baggage.

Freedom is breaking free from the karmic cycle, a balance sheet with no debts to repay. Then we go to the heaven of our choice and are there forever, experiencing neither death nor sorrow, gazing upon the deity of our choice. In the Vishnu Purana and Shiva Purana, there are heavens for Vishnu (Vaikuntha) and Shiva (Kailasa).

Later, we find references to the heaven of Krishna (Go-loka), and the heaven of Ram (Saket, or Raghuvir pur). Still later, there are heavens for other gods which rise in popularity, like those of Ganesha (the sugarcane forest, ikshu-van) or that of Hanuman (the banana grove, kadai-van).

These structures gave form to abstract ideas like moksha to the common man. He realized that after death, there was the possibility of living in a world without any suffering, gazing upon the face of Ram, embodiment of atma, with the help of Hanuman. It was a world where there was no hunger or fear, no dearth of food, and no threat to our existence. It is the kingdom governed by Ram, with Sita and Lakshman by his side, and Hanuman at his feet.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 34 Analysis in English

anta kala raghubara pura jai l
jaha janma hari bhakta kaha ||34||

At death, your devotee goes to Rama’s abode
Or takes birth as a devotee of Hari. (34)

Jambumali, a demon who lived in the golden city of Lanka, a city of sense gratification, was a demon who loved liquor over anything else. So much so that he did not just drink it but was constantly floating in a lake of liquor. He never wanted to come out of the intoxicated state. He did not want to wait for the liquor to be served to him. So Ravana had gifted him a lake of liquor that had become his home.

However, with the arrival of Hanuman in Lanka and the destruction of Ashoka Vatika, Ravana had to ring the alarm bell and get Jambumali out of his stupor. Jambu was one of his best attacks. And he needed him now to stop the monkey’s rampage. Jambumali was very agitated when the soldiers literally pulled him out of the lake. But when Ravana mentioned that a good fight was waiting for him, he cheered up. He loved fights. “Who is my opponent, is it Indra or Agni?” he asked in excitement.

“Neither. It’s a monkey!” informed Ravana with disgust.
Jambumali smashed the glass of liquor in his hand on the floor in anger.
“Is this a joke?” he demanded, ready to return to his stupor. “I don’t fight with petty monkeys.”
Ravana then told him what this monkey was capable of. He had destroyed the entire Ashoka Vatika and many of their soldiers. He was not an ordinary monkey. Reluctantly, Jambumali prepared for the fight, which he thought would be over in a few minutes. How much time would he need to finish a monkey anyway?

When he reached Ashoka Vatika, he found the gigantic monkey sitting on a dome, feasting on fruits. Hanuman saw Jambumali and threw him a challenge. “Who wants to meet death today?” Jambumali was so furious he yelled a few curse words at Hanuman and shot arrows at him.

Hanuman caught the arrows and sent them back to him. None of their missiles or weapons had any impact on him. When he had played enough, he stepped down, uprooted a tree and hurled it at the army. That was followed by a volley of rocks and stones.

It only took this much for Jambumali to stop physical combat and turn to magical tactics. He expanded his size to an extent that he towered over Hanuman. But Hanuman grew four times in size and Jambumali found himself staring at Hanuman’s knees. This wasn’t working either so Jambu came back to his normal size.

Hanuman did not want to kill him without giving him a fair chance. He said, “Listen, Jambu. If you like, I can teach you a small mantra that can save your life. It will undo all your sins that you have accumulated over many lifetimes. And if you insist on dying, chant this mantra to take you to a higher destination. The result of devotion is always God’s own abode, anta kala raghubara pura jai “What nonsense,” Jambu yelled in hysteria, “a monkey will teach me a mantra?”

Seeing his reluctance, Hanuman picked him up and balancing him on one finger, he spun him around, all the while chanting Ra-ma, Ra-ma and he flung him away causing instant death. He had wanted Jambu to chant so that he could attain the status of a bhakta but Jambu was unwilling.

Hanuman shrugged, anyway he would continue to spread the mantra that elevated the soul. jaha janma hari bhakta kahai When Rama left the world to return to his divine abode, he instructed Hanuman to stay behind and preach Rama katha to one and all so that everyone got the opportunity for bhakti in this lifetime itself.

People often chant the Hanuman Chalisa Lyrics in English to seek strength, courage, and protection.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 33 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 33 Karma and Rebirth

तुम्हरे भजन
राम को पावै ।
जनम जनम के दुख
बिसरावै ॥

Tumhare bhajan
Ram ko pavai.
Janam-janam ke dukh
bisraavai.

Singing your praises
leads to Ram.
Sorrows accumulated over lifetimes
are hence forgotten.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 33 Meaning in English

In this verse, we learn that the benefit of adoring Hanuman is not to just get fruits in this life, but also to forget the sorrows of multiple lives, by finding Ram. The idea of living multiple lives distinguishes the India faiths from Abrahamic faiths. In Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, we live multiple lives, whereas in Judaism, Christianity and Islam it is believed that we live only one life.

In one-life cultures, we have one life to lead a perfect life; in multiple-life cultures, every life is an outcome of the ones that came before. In one-life cultures, the quest is to align oneself to the rules of God revealed through His messenger; in multiple-life cultures, the quest is to either stop the cycle of rebirths, or overpower the suffering that comes as a carry-over from each life. In one-life cultures, God is outside, watching us, loving us, judging us, as we live our one and only life; in multiple-life cultures, God is within, awaiting discovery patiently over multiple lives.

Karma means action. Karma also means the reaction to that action. Reactions to past actions create the circumstances that we encounter in our present life. Thus, when we face an opportunity, it is because of something we did in our past. And if we face a threat, it is also because of something we did in our past. How we react to an opportunity or a threat determines our present and our future.

This is karma. This is very different from the popular understanding of karma as some kind of cosmic justice: as you sow, so you reap. And certainly not fatalism: your life is determined by past deeds. All the things that are not in our control are born of past actions.

What is in our control is our current action. If the circumstances in our life are full of sorrow and misfortune, it indicates the terrible burden of past actions. Can we change the circumstances? No. What, then, can we do? This verse suggests we sing the song of Hanuman and find Ram.

The Ramayana reveals how bad things happen to the best of people for no fault of theirs, for reasons beyond their control. Ram is exiled to the forest, because of circumstances, because his father made a promise to his stepmother and because his stepmother was ambitious and because he, as a prince, was obliged to uphold a royal promise.

It was not because he was a bad person or because anyone in his household hated him or wanted to hurt him. Likewise, Sita was doing a good deed: she was feeding a hungry man. But the results were bad: the hungry man turned out to be a demon who abducted her.

Neither Ram nor Sita are ever angry. or upset with the people around them, nor do they blame them for their misfortune. They suffer, without judging others, and find the inner strength to cope with the suffering. That inner strength comes from atma. Aham makes us blame.

In Hindu mythology, even God is not outside the realm of karma. In the Naradeya Purana, one hears the story of how once Narada asked Vishnu to give him Hari’s face. Hari is a proper noun, the name of Vishnu, as well as a common noun, referring to a monkey. Narada wanted Vishnu’s face to impress a princess but Vishnu gave him a monkey’s face.

When the princess saw Narada’s new face she burst out laughing. When Narada discovered Vishnu’s prank he cursed Vishnu that when he would descend on earth as Ram his success would depend on a monkey. So it came to pass that Ram needed Hanuman’s help to find Sita and overpower Ravana. Curse is a mythological tool to explain karma. Even Vishnu, who is God, cannot escape the reaction to his actions.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 33 Analysis in English

tumhare bhajana rama ko pavai
janama janama ke dukha bisaravai ||33||

By singing your praises, one obtains Rama,
And sorrows of many-many past
lives are forgotten. (33)

The freedom that Hanuman enjoyed in Ayodhya was probably unlike that experienced by anyone else. He had won the heart of not just Lord Rama, but also of every citizen of Ayodhya. If anyone was loved the most after Rama, it was definitely Hanuman.

His innocence and purity was the reason for such openness in accepting him as a part of every family in Ayodhya, especially the royal household. No one ever stopped him from entering the royal household. That’s why when he followed Sita everywhere one day, no one questioned him, nor did Sita mind it.

He was like an innocent son, oversized but a little child at heart. A day before, Hanuman had seen the way Rama expressed his love for Sita; and of course he had been a part of the whole war Rama had waged to get her back. He understood that Rama loved her too much but he what he could not fathom was why.

There must be some secret Sita held, due to which Rama loved her so madly. If only he could wrangle out Sita’s secret then he too could be loved by Rama as much. That was his single point agenda for the day. He decided he would keep Mother Sita under constant vigilance for a whole day and surely then, he would stumble upon the secret.

Sita noticed Hanuman’s strange behaviour the whole day. She realized that he was up to something. But she didn’t want to confront or embarrass him. Everything he did was somehow always about trying to please Rama. How he did things was not always conventional or even the most acceptable, but she just tolerated his obvious snooping around, observing her constantly.

Finally evening came and she sat in front of a huge mirror and began decorating herself. Hanuman stood at a distance with his finger on his lips, thoughtfully observing her getting ornamented. Though he didn’t find much meaning in all those ornaments she wore, he kept his keen observation centred on her. Finally, he observed her do something he didn’t quite comprehend. Sita took a pinch of red vermillion and placed it on her forehead slightly rubbing it into the parting of her hair. That seemed strange to Hanuman.

He immediately stepped forward and inquired from Sita what she had just done. Sita wondered how to explain a monkey the deep meaning behind the ritual of wearing a red vermillion paste on the parting of hair for a married woman. That too, to Hanuman, who being a brahmachari, or a lifelong celibate, had no experience of the nuances of a married life. She wanted to make it simple for him in a language that he best understood. So she said that this little red dot on her head pleased Lord Rama a lot and also ensured a long life span for Him.

That was it! Hanuman had found what he was looking for. He could now end his long day of research and observation. He had stumbled upon Sita’s secret. Her secret of how she managed to please Lord Rama had finally leaked out. He ran out of the bedroom with great joy.

Sita couldn’t understand what had come over him so suddenly that he ran away right in the middle of a discussion. Anyway, it was futile trying to understand his ways. While she continued decorating herself, Hanuman ran through the streets of Ayodhya in a frenzy.

He ran and ran until he came across a shop that he was looking for. Running into that shop, he asked the shopkeeper for some red vermillion that Sita applied on her forehead. The shopkeeper handed over a little box containing red vermillion. Hanuman was surprised at the tiny quantity the shopkeeper offered him.

He asked for more and the shopkeeper gave him four small boxes containing red vermillion. He told Hanuman that it would last Sita for at least six months even if she applied thrice a day. Hanuman didn’t want to argue with him. He simply asked him where he stocked the red vermillion powder. The clueless shopkeeper pointed to a storeroom that was at the back of his shop.

Hanuman walked into that storeroom and after a few minutes walked out with a huge sack over his shoulder. Walking right into the middle of the street, Hanuman emptied the contents of that sack on the ground and spread the red vermillion powder.

By then, many onlookers had gathered to watch the humorous actions of Hanuman. Throwing away the empty sack, Hanuman began to roll on the ground, all over the red vermillion powder. Soon every inch of Hanuman’s body was covered with the red powder. The red monkey stood up.

Peals of laughter vibrated from every corner of the street. No one had ever seen a red monkey. Hanuman then began to walk with a proud gait towards the royal courtroom. When he entered the courtroom, a serious discussion was going on. As soon as he stepped in, giggles could be heard from different corners.

Soon Rama noticed that everyone was laughing hysterically. He turned towards the door of the courtroom and found a red monkey standing there with folded hands. The whole scene was so hilarious that Rama couldn’t control his laughter. Soon Rama was laughing his heart out too. Seeing their king in so much mirth, the entire courtroom drowned in laugher.

Rama’s expansive laughter gave much satisfaction to Hanuman’s heart. He had always wanted to please the Lord. Rama not just seemed pleased but supremely pleased with him. After everyone had laughed to their hearts’ content, Rama asked Hanuman what had he done to himself. Why was he red all over? With an innocent childlike smile, Hanuman explained how he had discovered Sita’s secret of pleasing him.

He told Rama how Sita had revealed that putting a little red dot on her head pleased him and also increased his life span. “If a little red dot on her head can please you so much and increase your life span considerably, then I thought how much you would be pleased if I completely covered myself from top to bottom in red vermillion. Not just that, how much would your lifespan increase if I applied so much red powder all over myself!”

Lord Rama’s heart simply melted at Hanuman’s innocence and intense desire to please him. He blessed Hanuman with a benediction that anyone who worshipped Hanuman with red vermillion will never have difficulties and suffering in their lives. tumhare bhajana rama ko pavai ijanama janama ke dukha bisarāvai. If one worships Hanuman, one finds Rama and also finds the end of innumerable miseries. Hanuman always responds to the call of his devotees and grants them their cherished prayers, irrespective of time and place.

Shri Hanuman Chalisa is composed of 40 verses that extol the virtues of Lord Hanuman.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 32 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 32 Serving God

राम रसायन
तुम्हरे पासा ।
सदा रह्रो
रघुपित के दासा

Ram rasayan
tumhare pasa.
Sada raho
Raghupati ke dasa.

Ram’s chemistry
Is known to you.
May you forever be
Servant of the lord of the Raghu clan (Ram).

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 32 Meaning in English

If there is one thing that Hanuman wants, it is to serve Ram. One day, Hanuman asked Sita why she marked her forehead with a red dot. She told him that it was a sign of her love for Ram. Hanuman concluded that the colour red indicates the chemistry (rasayan) between devotee and deity. Hanuman wondered how much red colour he would need to indicate his love for Ram, since he was a mere monkey, and a servant, far lower in stature to Sita, the consort of Ram.

He finally decided to colour his entire body with red powder, which is why Hanuman images are coloured red in temples dedicated to him, it is believed. Deities associated with the Goddess, such as Ganesha (her son) and Hanuman (her guard), are typically coloured red, a colour usually associated with the Goddess.

Hanuman used to serve Ram diligently, so much so that no one else had the pleasure of taking care of Ram’s needs. Exasperated, one day Ram’s brothers and Sita and other members of the Raghu clan decided to make a list of all of Ram’s needs and divide the chores amongst them.

Hanuman was left with nothing to do. Hanuman did not mind, after all, he realized that everyone needs the pleasure of taking care of Ram. But he was keen to do something for Ram. He noticed that the list did not have one task: snapping fingers when one yawns.

The people of Ayodhya believed that if you did not snap your fingers while yawning, disease-causing spirits entered the body. Surely, the act of snapping fingers while Ram yawned could be outsourced to him, thought Hanuman.

Better a monkey do this menial task than Ram himself, or anyone else in the family, for that matter. So Hanuman kept following Ram everywhere, to everyone’s annoyance, carefully waiting for the moment Ram would yawn so that he could click his fingers. But at night, he could not enter Ram’s private chambers.

He waited at the door, wondering how he would know when Ram yawned inside. Rather than wait for Ram to yawn, Hanuman thought of snapping his fingers continuously – that way, whenever Ram happened to yawn at night, he wouldn’t miss it. Unfortunately, his plan had a disastrous impact-every time he snapped his fingers Ram would start yawning inside, so that his devotee’s chores did not go waste. All night, Hanuman kept snapping his fingers, and Ram, instead of sleeping, kept yawning. When the reason for this was discovered, everyone laughed. They realized they could take Hanuman away from Ram, but not Ram away from Hanuman.

Stories such as these, popular in the oral tradition, seek to convey the deep bond of the relationship between Hanuman and Ram. The idea of selflessly serving Ram who seeks the welfare of the world is often used by politicial leaders who want their followers to be like Hanuman, and serve their constituency. But such a parallel is dangerous. For it assumes that leaders are Ram and followers are Hanuman, by default.

Both leaders and followers work hard to project that they are indeed hermits, seeking no personal gain from their political powers. So they shun family, property, luxury and pleasure, and are seen in public wearing white or saffron clothing. They understand that the masses equate the superficial with the psychological. We can see matter, not mind. We can see saffron costumes, not the yogic mind.

We assume that those dressed in simple clothes, who shun wine, and sex, and non-vegetarian food, must be hermits. But these are assumptions, matters of faith. Just as we can see clothes and not the mind, we can see wealth not power. A leader or follower may not care for wealth, but they often seek power. This hunger for power manifests in the desire to control people, dominate people, direct people and in territorial behaviour. This is seen in political parties as they fight for votes, and the power to control people through law enforcement.

This is seen in spiritual organizations where the only decision-maker is the guru. This is seen in institutions that split after the charismatic ‘hermit’ founder-leader dies. This is seen in the constant yearning for social status and respect and media attention that many ‘gurus’ crave for, even as they give elaborate, hair-splitting arguments about how desire is different from ambition, and how their business and political activities are actually manifestations of dharma.

Power is Durga, who rides a lion. Durga is as seductive as Lakshmi but far more insidious. Even those who seek Saraswati, scholars, experts and artists, and who insist they don’t care for Lakshmi, eventually use their knowledge and skill and art to dominate, argue, direct, control and assert authority. These are all signs that the aham is thriving and the atma is eclipsed.

When the atma shines, we don’t crave wealth, power or knowledge, as we are wealthy, powerful and knowledgeable, like Ram and Hanuman, we are happy in the palace as well as in the forest. When the atma shines, the other matters more than the self. And it is the other who decides who is a leader. Ram does not want to be the leader. Hanuman, however, wants to follow Ram. To realize this is to realize Ram’s chemistry (rasayan).

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 32 Meaning in English

rama rasayana tumhare pasal
sada raho raghupati ke dasa ||32||

You have the treasure of the holy name of Rama,
And may you remain in service of Rama eternally. (32)

The King of Kashi was very confused after meeting Narada Muni. Why would he give him such a strange instruction? Usually saints teach you to be very respectful to one and all, but this saint was teaching exactly the opposite. “I guess that is why they say that one can never decipher the minds of pure devotees!” With this argument he pacified his reeling mind. He didn’t have the audacity to argue in front of the saint. He decided to act immediately, lest his mind presented more arguments that challenged the saint’s instruction.

The journey from Kashi to Ayodhya was long but the king sweetened the journey with remembrance of Lord Rama’s adventures. The more he recalled the great adventures of Lord Rama in Lanka, the more excited he became about the meeting. The arduous journey passed in a jiffy, absorbed in divine remembrance. Soon he was inside the royal palace of Ayodhya, right in the exalted presence of Lord Rama.

As soon as he saw his worshippable Supreme Lord, he immediately fell flat on the ground, offering his respectful obeisance. He was so absorbed in looking at his divine master that everything else and everyone else in the vicinity ceased to exist. Without even realizing it, he was following Narada’s instructions to the last letter. He stood with his hands folded in supplication looking at the divine form of Lord Rama. Tears flowed from his eyes and his lips quivered in great joy.

Suddenly he was shaken out of his meditation by a shrill voice. Someone was furious. He broke his line of vision to see a sage furiously walking towards the Lord from a distance, shouting while pointing fingers at the king of Kashi. What had he done to attract this kind of wrath from the sage? He had walked in only a few minutes back. Then he realized what the anger was about.

It was about his following Narada’s instructions. Of course, no one knew that he was only following Narada’s instructions. Everyone including the angry sage Vishwamitra had concluded that he was simply arrogant and disrespectful. Though he had offered respects to Lord Rama, he had completely ignored and been disrespectful to all the exalted sages present in that assembly. Though many others would have been also offended, they all chose to remain quiet.

But Vishwamitra wasn’t the one to stay quiet when a gross error was committed in his presence. He demanded justice from Lord Rama for the impudence of the king of Kashi. Rama was in a fix. Though he understood the mood of the king, he had to also appease his guru. He extracted three arrows from his quiver and held it out for all to see.

He then declared that with these three arrows, he would behead the king of Kashi by sunset that day. Those words immediately pacified Vishwamitra who stopped speaking and smirked with satisfaction at the devastated king. While Vishwamitra returned to his asana peacefully, the king of Kashi fled like a madman.

A minute back, he was staring at Lord Rama with so much love and now all he wanted was to run as far away as possible from Him before sunset. Though in panic, he wondered why Rama had given him time till sunset when He could have finished him off immediately.

And why did He choose three arrows when every single arrow of His never failed the mark? Of course now wasn’t the time to think about confusing actions of great personalities. He had to first go and seek help from the same person whose very instructions had got him in this trouble to begin with.

Instead of empathizing with him, Narada Muni laughed aloud. In fact, he told him that this was exactly what he had expected. The king of Kashi wondered why Narada was being so sadistic in spite of being aware of his sorry plight. Narada said that the only person who could help him in this situation was Anjana, Hanuman’s mother.

If he convinced her that his life was in danger, without mentioning who was trying to kill him, she would ask her son to help. That seemed like a good suggestion. The desperate king immediately ran to Anjana and fell at her feet, begging her to save his life. The compassionate mother immediately called her supremely powerful son Hanuman and instructed him to save the king’s life from whoever was attempting to kill him. Hanuman promised his mother all help and spoke to the king.

Hanuman wanted to know the details of the whole story that led him to the death threat. When the king of Kashi explained everything and concluded that the person who had vowed to kill him by sunset was none other than Lord Rama, Hanuman was in a fix. On one hand, he had vowed to his mother to save the king and on the other hand was his loyalty to Lord Rama.

For the first time in his life, he was in a situation where he had to stand up against Rama. He repented committing to his mother before understanding the complete problem. If only his mother had known that it was Rama that Hanuman had to stand against, she wouldn’t have even recommended this mission. Anyway, it was too late now. Hanuman had to find a solution somehow.

The only solution that he had was the holy name of Lord Rama and that, he was convinced, was the solution to all problems of life, rama rasayana tumhare pasa Touching the king of Kashi on his shoulder, Hanuman suggested that he stand neck-deep in the waters of the Sarayu river and incessantly chant the name of Lord Rama.

As directed by Hanuman, the king of Kashi desperately began to chant the name of Lord Rama while Hanuman sat on the riverbank doing the same. With the ticking of time, the desperation of the king grew and so did the loudness of his chanting. By sunset, he was crying out the name of Lord Rama intensely.

Exactly at sunset, a loud thunderous sound was heard followed by a whooshing sound that increased by the second. The first arrow of Lord Rama had been released. Rama had directed the arrow to sever the head of the king of Kashi wherever he may be at that moment. The arrow flawlessly made its way towards the Sarayu river. The king of Kashi increasingly became aware of his approaching death. His intensity of chanting Rama’s name also increased.

Just when the arrow was about to hit the neck of the king, it stopped. Less than an inch away from the neck! The king opened his eyes and swallowed a lump of bile that had gathered in his throat. He realized that the arrow had been held by the powerful hand of Hanuman, just an inch before it penetrated into his throat. Hanuman took the arrow away and broke it into two and threw it into the river. As the two pieces of the arrow floated away with the current of the river, the king of Kashi took a deep breath.

Before long, a second thunderous sound was heard with the release of the second arrow by Lord Rama. Immediately, the king of Kashi began chanting Rama’s name intensely. This time he was well aware of Hanuman’s presence right next to him. Though his mind was more peaceful with that awareness, his heart refused to stop beating intensely.

Which heart wouldn’t beat so furiously when well aware that Rama’s arrow was speeding towards his throat? As soon as the second arrow reached its marked destination, Hanuman’s ever alert hands managed to catch it just in the nick of time yet again, saving the king’s life. The broken arrow was soon floating away.

In a few minutes, the third arrow also met the same fate. The king was thrilled that all three arrows were gone and he was still very much alive. He began to dance inside the water in great joy, thanking Hanuman profusely. Just as the private celebration of the king was on, a huge crowd gathered on the banks of the river. Soon Lord Rama himself was standing there with his hands on his hips, severely angry at Hanuman for thwarting his attempts thrice.

Rama demanded to know from Hanuman how he dared to stop the arrows of his master. Had his loyalty changed? With great humility, Hanuman explained to the Lord and to everyone assembled there that it was his duty to save Lord Rama’s devotee and especially one who chanted his name. Since the king of Kashi was so intensely chanting the names of Rama, he was duty bound to save his life from any sort of danger. Even if that danger came from Lord Rama himself. Rama couldn’t refute the argument. Now he was in a fix! How could he fulfil his vow to Vishwamitra without disagreeing with Hanuman?

Narada Muni was watching the scene with great interest. This was exactly what he wanted the world to understand. The holy name of Rama was even more powerful than Rama himself and that Hanuman would always protect those chanting the holy names of Lord Rama. Now since that was established, he silently signalled the king to run and offer obeisance to Sage Vishwamitra. The king promptly fell at the feet of the great sage and begged forgiveness for his disrespectfulness.

The sage forgave him instantly and instructed Rama to let the king live, thus solving the dilemma of the Lord for good. The king was immensely grateful to Hanuman for giving him the right direction and saving his life so dramatically. Finally Rama smiled at Hanuman.

This servant of his was so special that he somehow knew how to win over his master’s heart by hook or by crook, rama rasayana tumhare pasa /sada raho raghupati ke dasa Hanuman leaps across the ocean, constantly remembering his master Lord Rama.

He remembers that he is the Lord’s arrow. The arrow travels swiftly in air not because of its own power but because of the bow and the power of the arms that holds the bow. Similarly, Hanuman believed that it was not his capability that took him across the ocean but the power of the arms that shot him. He was simply the arrow that reached the target because of the skills of the shooter. He gave all credit of success to his master Rama’s shelter, sada raho raghupati ke dasa.

Devotees around the world recite the Hanuman Chalisa in English with deep reverence.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 31 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 31 Goddess and Tantra

अष्टसिद्धि
नौ निधि के दाता ।
अस बर दीन
जानकी माता ॥

Ashta-sidhi
nav-nidhi ke data.
As bar deen
Janki mata.

Eight powers
Nine treasures you bestow.
As per the wishes of
Janaka’s daughter (Sita)

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 31 Meaning in English

This verse explicitly elevates Sita to the level of Goddess and establishes her connection to Hanuman, revealing the influence of the Shakta school of Hinduism. Initially, Hanuman was linked to Vedic gods, then to Vishnu, then to Shiva, and finally to the Goddess. Here, Sita is presented not just as the wife of Ram, but also as the daughter of Janaka, himself a hermit-king.

She is being addressed as mother, which is a title of respect as well as a term for the female divine. Sita blesses Hanuman that he can grant the seeker both siddhis and nidhis. Siddhis refer to powers that enable one to manipulate one’s body and one’s ecosystem and nidhis refer to secret treasures. Embodied, ‘Siddhi’ and ‘Nidhi’ can be seen as Tantrik forms of Saraswati and Lakshmi.

Hinduism has two branches-Vedanta, which is spiritual and mystical, focussing on the mind and soul, and Tantra, which is material and occult, focussing on the body and the world. The object of worship in Vedanta is the male form of the divineRam-while the object of worship in Tantra is the female form of the divine, so Sita.

Around 500 years ago, many Shakta Ramayanas were written that linked Sita to the Goddess. Here she is described as the wild Kali who voluntarily becomes the demure Gauri, embodiment of forest and field, enabling Ram’s greatness.

While Ram could kill the ten-headed Ravana, Sita secretly killed a thousand-headed brother of Ravana, a secret that Ram revealed to Lakshman. In these Tantrik tales, the Goddess enables God; without Shakti, Shiva is a mere corpse (shava), and Ram would not be able to establish Ram-rajya. It is she who gives Hanuman the power to defeat demons and rescue her.

The various siddhis are the ability to reduce one’s size (anima), expand one’s size (mahima), make oneself heavy (garima), make oneself weightless (laghima), acquire anything from any space (prapti), satisfy any desire (prakamya), duplicate oneself (ishtva), and dominate all (vastva).

Hanuman’s many adventures reveal that he has access to this knowledge which is why he can change his size and shape, and fly. In one story, he asks the rakshasas to move his leg and they are unable to, for such is his strength.

The secret treasures have many names such as Mahapadma, Padma, Sankha, Makara, Kacchapa, Mukunda, Kunda, Nila and Kharva. Though Hanuman has access to so much power and wealth, he wants nothing because he is a yogi who has everything but wants nothing. This is why all the gods adore him. This is what makes him the chosen deity of many followers of Tantra.

Both Kali and Hanuman are part of the pantheon adored by the Nath-jogis, or Nath-yogis, who see Shiva as the Adi-guru, or teacher of teachers. These ascetics believe in celibacy and own no property, but are believed to have immense power (the siddhis) and access to many treasures (the nidhis). Their first teacher, Matsyendra-nath, was a fish who overheard a conversation between Shiva and Shakti and so became a human and a jogi. His student, Gorakh-nath, was created from cowdung ash.

In Nath folklore, if a yogi acquires power by resisting sex, then the yogini acquires power by seducing the yogi. This makes them antagonists. The yoginis live in an enchanted banana grove that turns all men into women. Only a yogi can resist the spell of these women and enter this enchanted grove. Matsyendra-nath was ensnared by the queen of these yoginis and had to be rescued by Gorakh-nath who entered this kingdom of women by disguising himself as one.

When the women of this kingdom wanted children, they begged the Goddess to help. She sent Hanuman. Hanuman, however, being a brahmachari wondered how he could satisfy the wishes of these women and keep the word of the Goddess. Seeking a solution, he began to sing a song in praise of Ram. So powerful was the song, its words and its tune, and the voice of Hanuman, that all the women who heard this song became pregnant.

Historically, this branch of Hinduism originated about a thousand years ago, around the time when Hinduism became increasingly monastic and many monks chose to be wandering warriors, offering their services to local warlords and kings, but refusing to marry and settle down. They saw themselves as embodying the principle of the immortal Hanuman, who promised to help the world even after Ram returned to Vaikuntha.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 31 Analysis in English

ashta siddhi nau nidhi ke data
asa bara dinha janaki mata ||31||

You bestow eight mystical powers
and nine divine treasures
As given to you by Mother Sita. (31)

As a small baby, Hanuman received 14 boons from Brahma, Indra, and other demigods. And he received 21 boons during his service and association with Rama and Sita. With these boons, he became the most blessed and prosperous being, which elevated him to the status of God in his vanara body form.

Sita had also blessed him with 8 siddhis and 9 nidhis. Siddhis refer to supernatural and mystical powers attained through yoga and meditation. There are many siddhis described in Vedic literature out of which eight are most famous and termed as ashta siddhi.
These are the 8 siddhis that Hanuman had:

1. Anima – The ability to shrink his body to the size of a molecule.
2. Mahima – Ability to expand the body to any size.
3. Garima – The ability to make the body extremely heavy.
4. Laghima – Ability to lighten the body.
5. Prapti – Ability to go to any place without interruption.
6. Prakāmya – The ability to fulfill any desire.
7. Isitva – Ability to have absolute authority over anything and everything.
8. Vasitva – The ability to manipulate every living being.

Nidhis refer to divine treasures belonging to Kuvera, the god of wealth.
Each nidhi is personified as a goddess.

The nine nidhis Hanuman had are:
Mahapadma: Great lotus flower
Padma: Lotus! a Himalayan lake with treasures
Shankha: Conch shell
Makara: Crocodile
Kachchhapa: Tortoise or turtle shell
Mukunda: Cinnabar
Kunda: Jasmine
Nila: Sapphire
Kharva: Dwarf

“Help, help!” Hanuman heard a faint voice of someone calling for help. From the sound of it, it could only be a small child. Hanuman was so sensitive he could not ignore any pleas for help. He instantly zeroed in on the source of the sound and landed over there. He found a little girl, Mamta, crying out from a deep ditch in a forest on a mountain. Extending his hand to her, he pulled her out easily. Expecting the little girl to be in shock and take some time to recover, he was surprised to see her run around collecting twigs and sticks.

“What are you doing?” he asked with surprise. “Won’t you rest a while?” Oh no! My stepmother had sent me to gather sticks to cook for them. If I reach later and their food gets delayed, she and my stepsisters will beat me a lot. I have to go. Thank you for saving me.” And little Mamta sped away like a frightened squirrel to complete her chores.

Hanuman was intrigued. There was fear and sincerity in the child. He followed her to see what the cause of her anxiety was. What he saw next shook him. The stepmother and stepsisters beat her harshly for coming late. And the little girl was so tiny that she could not even protect herself. Instead she continuously begged for forgiveness. And reassuring them that she would complete all the work including cooking for them. More than feeling sympathy for Mamta, Hanuman admired her patience and tolerance. Wanting to help her, Hanuman planned to teach the wicked family a lesson or two.

He went to meet them, disguised as a herbal doctor for beauty treatment. The stepsisters wanted to become the most beautiful girls so they could marry a prince. Hanuman gave them a herbal face pack to apply on her face. But the treatment was attached to a condition. He warned them, “After applying these herbs on your face, do not think ill of anyone. If you do, your face will turn black. For a pure heart, this will enhance beauty. But an impure heart will become uglier with this.”

In their over enthusiasm to become beautiful, they disregarded his warning. Not only the stepsisters but the stepmother too applied the Ayurvedic pack to turn fair and lovely. But alas, their hearts were impure. They harboured only negative and vile thoughts for the innocent Mamta.

No sooner had they applied the pack with much eagerness, that their faces turned as black as a moonless night. This time they started cursing Hanuman along with Mamta for turning them into blackened monsters. Hearing their evil words, Mamta began to cry helplessly. She had no other shelter and no one to turn to.

Hanuman pacified Mamta and gave advice to the wicked family. He said, “It is not Mamta’s fault that you have turned black. It is you yourself who have brought this upon yourself. By mistreating her and always thinking the worst for her. Beauty of the heart is more important than external beauty. A heart full of love and compassion is the most beautiful. When you develop this beauty, your face will automatically glow.” Turning to Mamta, he assured her that he would always protect her as a brother.

Giving her a leaf (apta patta) he sealed his relationship with her. The apta patta was symbolic of happy relationships, health, and wealth. With his blessings, Mamta happily tied the knot with a prince. The Goddess of Laghima siddhi, who represented love and happiness, was extremely pleased with Hanuman.

She promised him that she would always be with him because Hanuman had gone out of his way to fight with fate and bring love and joy in the little girl’s life, ashta siddhi nau nidhi ke data Kashyap nidhi, the rarest of nidhis, was a symbol of wealth and prosperity.

It was possessed only by Indra, given to him by Goddess Laxmi. When Indra heard that Hanuman was out on a search for Kashyap nidhi, he became upset. No way did he want Hanuman to have it and become greater than him. He decided to implant obstacles on his path to waylay him.

Kashyap nidhi was in Kashyap loka, an ocean full of tortoises. The king tortoise was Kashyap. When Hanuman reached there, the guards arrested him and presented him before King Kashyap. The king told Hanuman that to obtain the Kashyap nidhi, he would have to go through very tough tasks and maybe he should drop the idea.

But Hanuman replied that he was there on order of his guru Suryadeva and he could not even think of giving up. This pleased the king very much. He said, “Tell me, what are the three qualities required to protect wealth?” Hanuman replied, “To protect wealth one needs to be powerful. One also should know how to make good use of the wealth else he will lose it soon. And religious consciousness is very important to know who is worthy of sharing the wealth with.”

King Kashyap agreed with Hanuman and said, “I will take your test on these three parameters. If you pass all three, I will give you Kashyap nidhi.” The first test was about power. Hanuman had to fight a gigantic tortoise to prove his strength. The tortoise was so formidable that he could break a mountain on his back. Even Indra had refused to fight with him.

But Hanuman engaged himself in a terrible battle with the super huge tortoise, fighting with great passion and fairness. Midway, the tortoise stopped the fight and told King Kashyap, “I accept defeat because Hanuman has fought with great love and compassion. He is worthy of the Kashyap nidhi.”

The next test involved knowing whether Hanuman was a good judge of how to use wealth. He was given some wealth to spend on earth and the king would watch how he spent it. On earth, Hanuman met a lady who was in a bad shape.

But Hanuman refused to help her. He explained that there were many people around her eyeing to snatch her wealth away. She was too weak to keep it safely and use it for herself. A little ahead, Hanuman saw a man beating his children for wanting to eat food. However, he ignored him too because, as he explained later, one does not value what comes easily, without any effort.

Then he saw a businessman who was on the verge of bankruptcy. He was eating in a hotel but when a few poor children came to him for food, he happily gave his plate to them. Hanuman reflected that this was a good candidate to give wealth to because he could help more people by being a fair employer and he would also not hesitate in giving to charity. So Hanuman gave a little of his wealth to the businessman who in turn helped many others.

Now Indra decided that it was high time he stepped into the picture. He created a scene where he, disguised as a moneylender, severely harassed a few people for not returning a loan. Hanuman decided to give some wealth to those people to repay their loans but they instead spent it on their pleasures.

Immediately King Kashyap appeared and informed Hanuman that he had failed the test. But Hanuman justified that had he not given them money, the moneylender would have killed them. In this case, he gave life more importance than wealth. Satisfied with his answer, King Kashyap passed him and took him for the next test on consciousness.

He told Hanuman to enter a kingdom from the northern gate. It was a kingdom created by King Kashyap especially for this test. The law there was that who ever entered the kingdom from the northern gate after the king died, would be crowned as the new king.

And since Hanuman was told to enter from there, he was offered garlands and announced as their king. Hanuman was aghast at this senseless method of finding a new king. He was not attracted to the throne or the wealth of the kingdom, rather he was interested in making sensible rules for the future.

So he travelled around the kingdom to find someone who was fit to be king. After a long and arduous search, just as he was about to give up, he happened to see a farmer tilling his land without the help of bulls. Hanuman talked to the farmer and leamt that since he did not want to trouble his bulls, he was ploughing himself. Hanuman became happy to learn that the farmer was concerned about the welfare of animals. Then Hanuman asked for water.

The farmer took him home and offered food as well along with the water. Hanuman looked at the simple fare on the plate and asked if he ate this simple food daily. The farmer replied that he believed in simple living and high thinking. Rather than the satisfaction of delicious food, he preferred the satisfaction of helping people.

Hanuman further asked him about his family to which the farmer replied that the entire kingdom was his family and he provided them with food by farming. Hanuman was delighted that he had found the right person to be crowned as the king. But he also wanted to judge how powerful he was because a king should have physical strength.

Just then a few people came with sticks to attack the farmer. They had to settle an old score with him. The farmer, fearlessly, fought single-handedly. He picked up a stout stick and wielded with such agility that all the thugs scrambled for their lives. Finding an opportunity, Indra also came in disguise to fight with the farmer. The poor farmer was no match for him.

Observing the expertise of the new entrant, Hanuman looked closely and realized he was Indra, trying to foil his plans. He immediately transferred some of his power to the farmer and soon the farmer overcame the last challenge as well. Hanuman announced to the royal order that the farmer was suitable in every way to be the king of the land.

Had it been anyone else, he would have fallen for the attraction of the throne and power. But not Hanuman. He had no attachment for all of this. Moreover, he made sure that the right person sat on the throne. Thus, King Kashap was happy to see Hanuman emerge victorious in all his tests and handed over the Kashyap nidhi to him. Kashyap nidhi herself was more than happy to be with Hanuman, fully convinced that Hanuman would use the divine wealth only for the welfare and wellbeing of all living beings, ashta siddhi nau nidhi ke data

After the war, Rama sent Hanuman to inform Mother Sita of Rama’s victory over Ravana. Hearing the fantastic news, blessings flowed out of Sita’s heart for Hanuman. “May all worthy virtues abide in your heart. May the Lord of Kaushal be ever gracious to you. Because this day is so auspicious, it will be known as Mangalvar and you will be worshipped on this day. May you be blessed with the ashta siddhis and the nava nidhis. ” asa bara dinha janakl mata.

The Hanuman Chalisa Pdf is a revered devotional hymn dedicated to Lord Hanuman.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 30 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 30 In China

साधु संत
के तुम रखवारे।
असुर निकंदन
राम दुलारे ॥

Sadhu sant
ke tum rakhware
Asur nikandan
Ram dulhare

Sages and saints
are protected by you.
You who destroy demons
are much loved by Ram.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 30 Meaning in English

Over 1,500 years ago, many pilgrims from China came to India seeking original Buddhist manuscripts. During their travels here they came upon stories of Hanuman which they carried back with them. These stories mingled with ancient Taoist stories of an incredible white monkey who had miraculous strength and powers. And so, in Chinese literature we find a Chinese version of Hanuman, one who travels with a Chinese monk, Hsuan Tsang, in his perilous journey through the west (India). His name is Sun Wukong.

And he does precisely what this verse states: protects sages and destroys demons. Coincidentally, the famous Chinese novel describing this monkey-king’s feats was written in China around the same time the Hanuman Chalisa was written in India. Born from a rock that was touched by the wind, Sun Wukong is incredibly strong and fast and had powers to change his form, just like Hanuman. Unlike Hanuman, he makes himself king of all the monkeys by displaying his incredible powers and strength.

In Sun Wukong’s hand he has a special magical staff, much like Hanuman’s mace, but while the monkey-king’s staff is an important aspect of his personality and plays a key role in his adventures, Hanuman’s mace has only symbolic value in Hindu iconography. It is entirely possible that originally Hanuman was shown holding the trunk or branch of a tree as a weapon which eventually metamorphosed into the mace (malla, or gada, in Sanskrit) used by bodybuilders and wrestlers.

Like Hanuman, the monkey-king did not know his strength; his unruly wild side needed to be contained. So in the Ramayana Hanuman was cursed to forget his powers until the time was right, while in the Chinese novel, after the Jade Emperor of Heaven was unable to stop him from consuming the Peaches of Immortality, the heavenly Adi Buddha intervened, to humble him.

The Buddha asked the arrogant monkey to find the edge of the world. Sun Wukong found it and boasted that he had made a mark on one of the five pillars that stand at the edge of the world. ‘Is this the mark?’ asked the Buddha, showing him one of his fingers. On seeing it, Sun Wukong realized that what he thought was the whole world was just the palm of the Buddha’s hand.

The humbled monkey was given the task of helping Hsuan Tsang retrieve sacred Buddhist texts from the west in exchange for freedom. But to control this mischievous rake, the Bodhisattva Guanyin got Hsuan Tsang to trick the monkey-king into wearing a headband.

The monk could constrict the headband, and the resulting headache would rein in the monkey-king whenever he got too unruly. This taming of the monkey theme is not found in the Ramayana. Hanuman voluntarily submits to Ram, and venerates his divinity. Ram neither seeks Hanuman’s submission nor does he display his own divinity.

After many adventures, one of which involved defeating a demon who had abducted a princess and reuniting her with her beloved, the pilgrim returned to China, his mission successful, thanks to the help of the monkey-king. The monkey-king Sun Wukong was rewarded with Buddhahood and revered by all as the ‘Victorious Fighting Buddha,’ an important character in Chinese Buddhism.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 30 Analysis in English

sadhu santa ke tuma rakhavare
asura nikandana rama dulare ||30||

You protect the ascetics and saintly people
You destroy demons and are dear to Rama. (30)

From the time Hanuman was a small baby, he had a special affinity and fascination for saints and rishis. He loved their compassionate faces and their busy activities. That’s why he always hung around them and in all his innocence, even troubled them by pulling their beards and jumping on their laps in the middle of yagyas. Even when the sadhus complained to mother Anjana about his disruptive behaviour, she never stopped Hanuman from going there because she wanted him to have as much saintly association as possible. Later on, when he realized his powers, he never lost any opportunity to protect them.

When it came to demons, Hanuman was as good as their death call. In fact after Hanuman freed Yamaraj from the bondage of Ravana in Lanka, he gave him a boon. He said to Hanuman, “During the battle, whenever you look at any demon, I will straightaway take away his life.” Sage Angirasa belonged to a group of sages called Saptarishis, the most exalted rishis in the world.

So when he experienced his body burning like fire, he had no idea why. He had never experienced anything this before. His eyes were blazing. His head was boiling like hot water. His limbs were trembling with intense heat. His full body was burning like hot charcoal. Normally, ordinary illnesses and sufferings had no effect on him. His powerful mind could safeguard his body from any physical attack. But this was a totally different experience.

Unable to solve the mystery, he approached Mother Lakshmi for advice. Here’s what she said, “Sage Angirasa, the reason your body is burning is because of the sin you have committed. And that is why you are suffering.” “The sage was aghast to hear this from the goddess. He was a Brahmarishi. Committing a sin was impossible, he thought. What sin have 1 committed?” he asked her. “Your sin is,” the goddess said, revealing the mystery to him, “that you have done injustice to Shukracharya and been partial to your own son Brihaspati.”

Angirasa had recently appointed his son Brihaspati as the guru of the demigods. Although Shukra was coveting that post for himself, Sage Angirasa thought otherwise. When Brihaspati was declared the guru, Shukracharya vowed to take revenge. He appointed himself as the guru of the demons. The demons and the demigods were always engaged in battle and Shukra was determined to extract revenge by helping the demons win over the gods.

“Because you favoured your son, it went against you,” explained Goddess Lakshmi. Sage Angirasa was devastated. He asked the goddess for a solution to stop the burning. The goddess said, “Take shelter of Hanuman. Hear from him stories of ashta siddhis. Hearing it will gradually reduce your sin and soon you will become free of it.”

Sage Angirasa rushed to meet Hanuman and asked him to narrate the katha to him. Hanuman was only too glad to oblige. But he was on another mission so he asked the sage to travel with him and hear it at the same time. He also asked the sage to hear the tale with a peaceful and attentive mind. With this instruction, Hanuman started the narration while on the move.

Shukracharya, was in fact, more qualified than Brihaspati to be the guru of the devatas. However, he had the mind-set of demons. His attitude was more demonic than godly. He was proud and also full of anger. When denied the post he so badly wanted, he did not accept it easily. He was carried away by his desire to take revenge. The feeling of revenge was so powerful that he became the demon’s guru just to harass the demigods. And just like he was burning with the desire for revenge, he wanted Angirasa to bum in the fire of sin.

So it was alarming for him when Sage Angirasa began to hear the katha from Hanuman to atone for his sin. He did his best to stop him from hearing it. Every day, he created new demons and sent them to hamper the process, to prevent the sage from hearing the tale so he could suffer the reactions of his sin eternally.

The latest demon he created from his yagya kunda was the menacing Bhadrasura. He ordered him to kill the sage. Bhadrasura knew that the sage was immortal and killing him was next to impossible. Easier than killing would be to swallow him into his stomach where the fire of his digestion would slowly but surely bum him down. The huge fire in his stomach could not fail.

One day soon he succeeded in swallowing the sage, when the sage had retired for the day and was all alone. And as the demon had rightly anticipated, the sage started feeling his life force ebbing in the presence of the huge fire in his belly. Keeping calm, he prayed to Hanuman to rescue him; he had no other shelter other than Hanuman’s and he offered his heartfelt prayers to him.

Hanuman heard the prayers but he didn’t know from where it was coming. He searched for him but before he could do anything, Shukracharya sent a yakshini to bewilder him. The yakshini created an illusory garden from where Hanuman plucked some fruits. As soon as he plucked them, the garden changed. From a flourishing green vegetation, it became dry and yellow. The yakshini then told him to fetch water from a desert for the garden to flourish again.

The innocent Hanuman used his mystical powers to dig out water from a desert also. As he was going back, he met an old woman who was thirsty and asked him for water. Now Hanuman realized that something was fishy and he poured water from his pot but again he used his mystic energies so that the water kept flowing and did not get over.

Then he poured that water over the entire forest and the forest became a lively green hub again. But before he could leave, the yakshini told him join the fruits that he had plucked back to the branches he had plucked them from. Hanuman already knew by this time that the yakshini was preventing him from finding the sage.

So he told her to pick up the fruits and give them to him. As soon as she picked one, he made the fruit so heavy that it was unbearable. She found herself caving in with the huge weight. Realizing he was stronger than her, she asked for forgiveness and told him where he could find Sage Angirasa. “He has been swallowed by the demon Bhadrasura,” she said, leaking out this life saving information. Hanuman immediately located Bhadrasura and killed him with his mace. He then pulled out the sage from his stomach.

Angirasa was in a bad shape and Hanuman nurtured him back to health. Once the sage was strong enough, they resumed the katha so as to nullify the effects of the sin. At the end of the katha, the sage offered sanctified food to five brahmanas.

This was the last stage of the purification and Shukracharya knew he had to stop this from happening. Using his illusory power, he converted the sattvic food into tamsic food. When the brahmanas saw they had been served with animal flesh and stale foods, they lost their temper at the sage’s audacity. They cursed him to be afflicted by leprosy.

Once again, sage Angirasa turned towards Hanuman to rescue him from this calamity. Hanuman felt sorry for the sage because it was not his doing. Rather, Hanuman’s fury for Shukracharya grew manifold because of his endless atrocities.

Hanuman informed the brahamanas the truth behind the food turning tamsic. The brahmanas then repented cursing the exalted sage and told him to worship Suryadeva for undoing the curse. In this way, thanks to Hanuman’s interventions and timely actions, Sage Angirasa became robust and healthy once again.

All the saints and sages wisely turn to Hanuman when in difficulty because he is the only one who can rescue them. sadhu santa ke tuma rakhavare /asura nikandana One day Hanuman had a guest and it was none other than his music teacher and the great devotee Narada. When the two met, they had so many beautiful things to discuss. Hours passed as if they were just seconds. On this occasion, Narada had a very peculiar question to ask Hanuman.

Of the millions of great devotees of the Supreme Lord in the universe, he was really inquisitive to know who the greatest devotee was. To Hanuman that question was irrelevant as he always felt that there was no need to compare the greatness of devotees. Everyone was special in his or her own way. Plus each one had their unique relationship with God that would be so different from all others’.

Thus there was no common ground also to compare. But when Narada insisted that he really wanted to know the answer to his burning question, Hanuman said something that totally surprised Narada. Hanuman told him that instead of speculating and arguing about who the topmost devotee of the Lord was, it would be best to verify directly by going through Lord Rama’s diary. Hanuman explained that the diary contained the names of all the greatest devotees of the Lord from all over the universe.

Narada’s excitement knew no bounds when he heard about this fascinating diary. Though he knew the Lord so well, he didn’t know this facet of the Lord that he actually maintained a database of his great devotees in a diary. He ran at great speed in order to reach Lord Rama at the earliest. Though tired after running such a distance, Narada, without catching his breath, asked the Lord if he had a diary with the database of his greatest devotees.

Rama pointed in a particular direction without even looking. He seemed too preoccupied in something more important. Following the direction of Lord Rama’s hand, Narada saw a huge diary that was placed on an ornately carved table. He rushed towards it with great eagerness to immerse himself in that holy list of the greatest devotees in the universe.

With a small prayer on his lips, Narada opened the diary with the hope that he find his name there somehow. He got the greatest surprise of his life when he saw his name on the top of the list. He was thrilled. He carefully went through the whole list, immersing himself in the names of all the great devotees of the Lord, many of whom he had personal connect with. But though he scrutinized every page in that diary, he was surprised to find Hanuman’s name missing. How was that even possible? With mixed feelings he ran back to Hanuman.

He first thanked him for sharing with him the information of the existence of a diary with the names of the greatest devotees of the Lord. If it hadn’t been for Hanuman, he wouldn’t have ever known that he was listed as the topmost devotee in that list of devotees across the universe. Though he was happy that the Lord had recognized his devotion, he was at the same time sad that Hanuman’s name hadn’t featured in the entire list though he was such a wonderful devotee.

Narada expressed the same to Hanuman. As soon as he said this, Hanuman asked him a question that literally slipped the ground beneath Narada’s feet. With a sweet smile Hanuman asked him whether he had seen Lord Rama’s small diary. Now what was that? Was there another diary?

Without waiting for any more clarity, Narada ran back to Lord Rama’s palace. Barging in he asked Rama if he had another small diary. This time there was a distinct change in Lord Rama’s mood. He dropped everything he was doing and looked at Narada with great love.

His eyes seemed to moisten at the very remembrance of that small diary. Gracefully he removed that small diary from a pocket close to his heart and handed it over to Narada. Rama seemed to be lost in some special memories as he kept staring at the precious diary that was in Narada’s trembling hands now.

Narada opened it, as if he was opening a great treasure. If Rama kept this diary so close to his heart always, it simply meant that the contents of this diary were really special. As soon as he opened the diary, he got the biggest shock of his life to see the name of Hanuman as the first name in that list of names. The one whose name wasn’t even there in the big diary was the first name in the small diary.

Suddenly a thought hit him and he began to frantically study all the other names in the small diary only to discover, to his dismay, that his name didn’t feature in the small diary at all. What did all this mean? Some names are in the big diary and some names are in the small diary. Names that were in the big one were not in the small one and the names in the small one were not there in the big diary. With a disturbed mind, Narada inquired about the secret behind the two diaries.

Lord Rama explained to the great devotee Narada that the big diary contained the names of all those devotees who constantly remembered him and the small diary contained the names of all those devotees whom the Lord constantly remembered. Tears flowed incessantly from Narada’s eyes as he ran from Lord Rama’s abode to that of Hanuman’s and fell at his feet. Hanuman gently picked him and embraced him.

What was the need to know the name of the greatest devotee? Narada learnt from his student Hanuman that the need was to act in such an exemplary way that the Lord strives to remember you. Now Narada very well understood how dear Hanuman was to Lord Rama (rama dulare) and how much he had to work on himself to get into that small diary of Lord Rama’s. Hanuman is addressed as Shankar suvan, Kesari nandan, and also Pavan tanay. But after Hanuman returned from Lanka, he got one more identity – Rama called him his son.

Rama said, “Every son on the earth owes his parents a debt but you are the only son whose father owes you a debt. We attained you without any difficulties of raising you up. But you have gone through a lot of difficulties for us. You have reversed the norm of parent-child relationship. A father carries his son but you are a son who carried his father. You are my precious son.” That’s how much Hanuman meant to Rama. rama dulare.

Reciting the Hanuman Chalisa Lyrics is a practice that unites Hanuman devotees in their devotion to the Lord.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 29 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 29 Four Eras

चारों जुग
परताप तुम्हारा ।
है परसिद्ध
जगत उजियारा ।

Chaaron jug
partap tumhara
Hai persidh
jagat ujiyara.

Across four eras
Spans your glory.
Your fame
radiates through the world.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 29 Meaning in English

As mentioned earlier, Hindus believe that the world goes through cycles of birth and death, just as all living creatures go through cycles of birth of death. The ‘world’ here refers more to human culture, an organization or a system, rather than nature.

The lifespan of a world is called kalpa. It has four quarters (yuga, or jug, referred to in this verse): childhood, youth, maturity and old age known as Krita, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali, respectively. Ram lives in the Treta, hence he is called Treta ke Thakur. Krishna lives in the Dvapara, hence the name Dvapara ke Thakur. Hanuman lives across the four ages, hence he is also called Chiranjivi, the immortal one.

As Ram dies and returns to Vaikuntha at the end of the Treta yuga and Hanuman outlives him, greater emphasis is placed on the worship of Hanuman. People believe he still wanders the earth, and seek him out. There are legends that describe him living in the Himalayan region in a valley where there is a banana (kadali) grove (vana).

During ritual readings of the Ramayana, a seat is placed specially for Hanuman, so that when he comes he has a place to sit and enjoy what he enjoys most-the story of his beloved Ram. Stories, and even photos, of his sightings are not uncommon. Some say he is the legendary Yeti or Big Foot of the mountains. For the believer, this is true; for the sceptic, it is simply the power of faith.

Since he is immortal, Hanuman plays an important role in both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. In the Ramayana, he serves one avatar of Vishnu (Ram), and in the Mahabharata he helps another avatar of Vishnu (Krishna) enlighten the Pandava princes. He teaches the arrogant Bhima humility by taking the form of an old monkey and asking the mighty prince to lift his tail. A similar encounter takes place between Hanuman and Arjuna.

When Arjuna wonders why Ram did not build a bridge of arrows across the sea to Lanka, Hanuman, again in the form of an old monkey, replies saying such a bridge would not have been able to bear the weight of the monkey army. Arjuna tries to disprove this by building a bridge across a river using his own arrows, but the bridge breaks as soon as Hanuman steps on it.

Then Krishna advises Arjuna to chant Ram’s name while shooting his arrows. This time the bridge does not break. Arjuna realizes that it is not just the material strength of arrows, or stones, that creates the bridge; it is also the grace of Ram’s name.

A humbled Arjuna asks Harniman to sit atop his chariot during the war against the Kauravas. Arjuna declares his flag to be kapi-dhvaja, as it displays the image of a monkey, a symbol of the restless mind which can transform into Hanurnan when it has faith in Ram.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 29 Analysis in English

charo juga para tapa tumhara
hai parasiddha jagata ujiyyara ll29||

Your glory spreads in all four yugas,
Your fame radiates across the universe. (29)

There are seven chiranjivis, granted the boon to live forever: Ashwathhama, Vyas, Kripacharya, Markandeya, Bali, Vibhishan, and Hanuman. Their divine attainments have made them immortal unlike others who are destined to die. Hanuman is one of the greatest personalities in all the four yugas and anyone taking his refuge, is freed from all troubles. Immortality has two forms of body and of name. Hanuman has immortality of body as well as of name, active to carry out the job allotted by his Lord.

At one point in his life, Jambavan began to experience a weird type of dream that kept repeating every single night. The dream was about a group of four people shooting arrows at him and eventually stabbing him to death. At this point in his life, Jambavan was really old. He had been alive for more than a yuga now. He was bom at the beginning of Satya yuga and it was already a long way into the Treta yuga now.

Being the son of Brahma and having lived through such a long life span, Jambavan was the most experienced person on the earth. In fact, he had been a witness to so many events, like the incarnations of the Supreme Lord as Vamana avatar, Parashuram avatar and now was about to be a part of Rama avatar. While awaiting the beginning of Rama lila, he was already a part of Hanuman lila. Living in Kishkinda, Jambavan considered Kesari and Anjana to be like his own children, and Hanuman to be like his grandchild.

When Jambavan began getting the weird disturbing dreams, he lost himself in thoughts. Hanuman guessed that something serious was troubling Jambavan. Jambavan had been seriously praying to his father Brahma, seeking direction and clarity from the creator of the world. His father’s gentle voice revealed to him that it was time to wind up his life on earthly realms in this body and move on to another destination where yet another adventure awaited him. Brahma explained that his end would come while desperately trying to save an innocent girl who was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. Now that Jambavan knew all the details, he felt less anxious. It was a noble way to die!

Believing his father’s words, Jambavan mentally prepared himself for the inevitable. Leaving behind a message for Anjana, Kesari, and Hanuman, he quietly departed in the middle of the night. When Hanuman received the message of Jambavan’s departure, he was terribly shaken up. He refused to accept that Jambavan was going to die soon. He decided to defy even death itself to bring Jambavan back to Kishkinda. Taking permission from his parents, Hanuman departed to look out for Jambavan.

Meanwhile, Jambavan had ventured far into the forest where Kaal purush appeared to him in the form of a sage. Kaal purush is the time factor that decides everyone’s destiny. He is only visible in the beginning and at the end of one’s life. When he appears he either gives life or takes life. Disguised as a sage, Kaal purush invited Jambavan to his ashram where he claimed that a young girl needed his help. Jambavan immediately understood that it was a call of destiny, directing him towards his death. He followed him silently, deeper into the forest. After an intense search, Hanuman reached the place where Jambavan had met the sage.

When Hanuman studied the footprints, he was in for a shock. The footprints of Jambavan went in one direction and right next to him he saw another print embedded on the ground! Print of a snake slithering right next to him. Hanuman clearly knew what that meant. Print of a serpent slithering parallelly implied imminent death. This scary thought impelled Hanuman to speed up and catch up with Jambavan. Though Kaal purush tried his best to prevent Hanuman from meeting Jambavan, he wasn’t successful in his attempts.

Hanuman began to explain to Jambavan that it was important for him to stay back in this world as Rama was about to make his way to Kishkinda and he had a very important role in Rama lila. Especially with the experience that he had, surely his assistance would be crucial for the new incarnation of the Lord. On Hanuman’s insistence, Jambavan actually contemplated returning but Kaal purush, disguised as a sage requested him to at least visit his ashram. Jambavan agreed and together the three of them reached the ashram.

Kaal purush suggested that Jambavan take a bath in the lake close by so that he felt fresh. In spite of Hanuman warning him, Jambavan left to go to the lakeside. As soon as he reached there, he heard a girl crying out for help. He ran towards the direction of the voice and saw three men, armed with weapons, chasing a traumatized young girl. The girl was dressed like an ascetic. When she saw Jambavan, she ran towards him and begged him to save her.

She informed him that she had deeply desired to only have Lord Vishnu as her husband, but these men were forcing her to marry a mortal. Jambavan assured her of his protection and turned around to face the armed men. When he tried to reason with the men, they were hardly interested in a discussion. Instead, they began shooting arrows at him and injured him severely. Jambavan was startled to realize that this was the exact scene he had seen in his dreams repeatedly. He immediately called Hanuman for help. Jambavan mentally prepared himself for the inevitable and focused his mind on the Supreme Lord.

When Hanuman reached the scene, he thrashed the men and drove them away; and fell on his knees holding the bleeding Jambavan. Precisely at that time, Yamaraj arrived on his buffalo to take away the soul of Jambavan to his next destination. Recognizing the expansion of Lord Shiva, Yamaraj offered his respects to Hanuman. When Hanuman refused to let go of Jambavan, Yamaraj was disturbed. How could anyone change the will of destiny? Not wanting to upset Hanuman and yet wanting to follow his call of duty, Yamaraj put a condition.

He briefed Hanuman that he had to cross the eight gross layers and three subtle layers of the material world in order to reach Yamaloka. Within that time frame, if Hanuman could manage to convince Lord Brahma to let Jambavan live, then he would abide by that. If he failed, then Hanuman would have to just give up and accept the will of providence. Hanuman agreed to that condition and immediately prepared to leave for Brahmaloka. He requested the girl whose life Jambavan had saved, to take care of his body while he completed his mission.

The girl, feeling guilty, promised to not move an inch from there till Jambavan was revived. She felt so responsible for all that had happened that she wanted to do something at least to set things right for him. Hanuman travelled at the speed of wind and reached Brahmaloka, begging Lord Brahma to allow Jambavan to live. Lord Brahma flatly denied since he had no rights to change the laws of nature. Hanuman pleaded with every god for help but none could. After all his efforts, with no one responding, Hanuman got furious.

His Rudra form took over and he began to dance in great anger. The tandava dance that is done by Lord Shiva during the time of annihilation could be seen at that time. Everyone including the gods trembled in fear. Lord Vishnu personally intervened, pacified Hanuman and explained to Lord Brahma that sometimes the laws of nature have to be tweaked to accommodate some important exceptions that are beneficial for the betterment of society and that ensure greater good. With that grant by Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma ordered Yamaraj to return Jambavan.

Yamaraj released Jambavan’s soul and he got his life back. Hanuman embraced Jambavan in great joy. Lord Vishnu explained to Jambavan how Hanuman was so eager for his revival that they had to change the laws of the world to fulfil his desire. Of course, Lord Vishnu had a special relationship with Jambavan from the previous yuga.

Lord Vishnu blessed that Jambavan would be alive for all four yugas and would participate in the pastimes of the Lord in each of the yugas. He would wind up his time on earth after helping Kalki annihilate the universe. Jambavan expressed his gratitude in being allowed to serve in the Supreme Lord’s eternal pastimes. Lord Vishnu also blessed the young girl desirous of marrying him, that she would get fulfilment of that desire in Dwapar yuga; when she would be born as Jambavati, the daughter of Jambavan.

She was very happy to know that she would be reborn as the daughter of Jambavan who had protected her like a father. Once all the gods vanished, Jambavan expressed his gratitude to Hanuman for saving his life and allowing him few more yugas of service to the Lord. Jambavan glorified Hanuman’s greatness to influence the world across yugas. The happy duo returned to Kishkinda and waited in great anticipation for Rama lila to begin, charo juga para tapa tumhara / hai parasiddha jagata ujiyyara.

The Hanuman Chalisa resonates with people seeking spiritual solace and strength.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 28 in English with Meaning & Analysis

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 28 Chariot of Desire

और मनोरथ
जो कोई लावै ।
सोई अमित
जीवन फल पावै

Aur manorath
jo koi lavai.
Sohi amit
jeevan phal pavai.

Any wish
one comes with
Endless
fulfillment be receives

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 28 Meaning in English

In this verse, wishes are described as ‘mano-rath’, the chariots of the mind, that propel our actions, and hence our life. While Buddha said desire is suffering, and established monasteries, Hinduism advocated dharma, doing one’s social role. The former disrupted social structure, the latter maintained social structure.

Buddhist shrines (chaityas) were centres of silence and discipline, and introspective art. By contrast, Hindu temples (mandir) were centres of song and dance and food and celebratory art; the walls had images of beautiful women adorning themselves as men went about doing their duties. When Buddhism waned, many Buddhist ideas expressed themselves in Hindu form: Hindu monasticism became a dominant force, challenging Hindu worldliness. The hermit sought liberation (moksha) from the world, while the householder spoke of social obligations (dharma) that sustained the world.

Shiva, the hermit god was patron of the mathas (monasteries) where ash-smeared ascetics focussed on burning their desires just as Shiva had set aflame Kama, the god of desire. Vishnu, the householder god, was enshrined in grand temples that had separate sections such for food (bhoga-mandapa) and theatrical performances (natya-mandapa). How does one balance between moksha and dharma? This was done through the Goddess.

Every human being was seen as existing within an ecosystem of others. The relationships between humans were governed by desire and action. From desire came all the mental modifications: ycarning, attachment, greed, pride, jealousy, frustration, rage; the source of all problems. Action, however, sustained the social fabric.

The Goddess demanded focus on action and detachment from desire. In other words, plant the seed, do not desire the fruit. When put in a social context, this means working to satisfy other people’s hunger and taking away other people’s fear; striving hard to outgrow, rather than indulge, one’s own hunger and fear.

And so the Goddess turns Shiva the hermit into Shankara the householder and gets him to descend from his mountaintop abode of Kailasa to the city of Kashi in the plains. Likewise, the Goddess becomes Lakshmi and Saraswati, and asks Vishnu to serve as her guardian.

Brahma and his sons, be it the devas or asuras, nagas or yakshas, embody the other or those who are so focussed on their own hunger and fear that they are uninterested in the hunger and fear of the others. Hanuman, a student of the Goddess, on the other hand, focuses on satisfying the desires of others and seeking nothing for himself.

Hindu rituals are designed around this principle. Whether it was a Vedic yagna, or a later day puja at a temple, the yajaman makes offerings to a god and hopes to get something in return. Thus his desire is regulated: he does not just ask, or grab, he is made to first give something to the deity.

He can give a gift (flowers, food, incense), or even words of praise (bhajan), or simply the gift of attention (darshan, dhayan). Then we pray the deity reciprocates. We have control over what we offer, how we offer it, when and where and to whom we offer it, but no control on what we receive, or don’t receive. What we get is a function of whether the deity is pleased or not, and whether the deity is willing or not, or if the deity feels obliged or not. We have to accept what we get with grace and be at peace with what we don’t get. So it is with the deity, so it is in life.

The chariot of desire is not the only force that governs the world. There is also karma, the cycle of actions and reactions. We may or may not get what we desire, but we certainly get what we deserve, based on the reactions of the past, and the actions of the present. Hanuman ensures we get what we should, and he ensures we have the strength to cope with what we don’t get. That strength to enjoy what we get and be at peace with what we don’t get is the eternal (amit, or amrit) fruit (phal) promised in this verse.

Hanuman Chalisa Chaupai 28 Analysis in English

aura manoratha jo koi lavail
sohi amita jlvana phala pavain ||28||

And when approached with heartfelt desires
You fulfill them with unlimited nectar like fruits. (28)

When a devotee asked Hanuman, “Should we have desires or should we be desire-less?” Hanuman gave a pleasant answer. He said, “I don’t like anyone asking anything from my Lord Rama. So I wish that no one should ask anything from Lord Rama.” So the devotee asked again, “Does that mean we should not have any desires?”

Hanuman replied, “No, no! Please have desires. Because I take the responsibility to fulfil every desire. It is my vow to fulfil a devotee’s desire so that my master Rama need not be hassled about it.” Hanuman was himself detachment personified. A renunciant in all aspects. But he helped others like Sugriva and Vibhishan in fulfilling their wishes, aura manoratha jo hot lavai/sohi amita jivanaphalapavai Hanuman’s search for Sita had reached its culmination.

Sitting under the Ashoka tree was Mother Sita herself. Draped scarcely in a single cloth, she looked emaciated. Probably due to months of fasting. Her eyes revealed a trail of continuous tears. She appeared an epitome of divinity.

He shuddered when he glanced upon those guarding her. They were one-eyed, vicious looking demonesses. Their very appearance was enough to plunge the sturdiest of hearts into a state of horror and depression. And they were no less than 700 of them. Hanuman understood Ravana’s trick. By surrounding Sita with such monsters who abused her constantly, he was playing a psychological game of weakening her determination.

Although Sita had resisted a nervous breakdown till now, she could not hold off anymore. After Ravana’s last visit, which Hanuman had been a witness to, Sita decided it was not worth living. If Rama had not come till now, He may not be coming at all. She had been chanting Rama’s holy name since many months now but there was no sign of Rama rescuing her from the evil Ravana.

Hanuman wondered how best to approach Sita so that she did not doubt his words and intentions. The presence of security demonesses also hampered him in contacting Mother Sita. But what he saw next took his breath away. Her long hair was tied to a branch and looped around her neck. It did not need a genius to figure out what she was about to do.

Before Sita could take another step, Hanuman began what he knew best. Narrating Rama katha in a dialect from Ayodhya. That was the only language which would not create panic in Sita. Beginning from birth, he described Lord Rama’s efforts in searching for Sita and how he was sent there with a message from her dear Rama.

His words had the desired effect on her and she relaxed. She unlooped her hair and sat under the tree, looking up to find the speaker. Hanuman took a miniature form and landed in front of her. Now she was completely at ease with a complete stranger knowing that he was an intimate associate of Rama.

They chatted with each other for a long time, exchanging all the facts that had brought them together. Sita was further overwhelmed and tears gushed from her eyes when Hanuman produced the ring given to him by Rama for Sita. Hanuman too was so moved that he immediately offered to take her out of Lanka on his back.

Sita said to him, “Son, you have managed to fly across the ocean to reach me which is by no means an easy task. So surely you are powerful and intelligent. But I have a doubt. I am confused. What is your real size?” Hanuman was quick to realize that because he had appeared in a very small form in front of her, Sita could not imagine how he could take her back. It was a valid question from her. At the same time, he was thrilled being addressed as ‘son’. It made him very joyful.

He said, “I am very small, mother. But by Lord Rama’s grace, I can become very big when the need arises. God’s power is so great that I can also grow big by taking his shelter. But my real size is small, mother,” with all the innocence of a child.

Sita was touched by Hanuman’s profound answer. He had appeared like a rainbow in the skies of her gloomy mind, adding colour to all her forlorn desires of escaping Lanka and uniting with Rama. As long as Hanuman was there, he would see to it that her wellbeing was taken care of. aura manoratha jo koi lavai It was the last day of Rama’s exile.

It was the day Bharat expected Rama to reach Ayodhya. If Rama failed to keep his word, it would not just be the last day of his exile but the last day of Bharat’s life as well. He could not wait a minute longer than the fourteen years. And Rama very well knew the consequence of any delay. Just a few more minutes were left for the day to end and there was no sight of Rama. Bharat was prepared to die. It was inevitable. There was no stopping him now.

His brother Shatrughana, his ministers, citizens of Ayodhya were all present around him. A heavy cloud of darkness hung in the air and no one knew how to convince Bharat to change his decision. He had made up his mind to jump into the pyre of fire at the end of the day.

Unknown to all, help was nearby. Hanuman. He sat on a tree above, wondering what the right step would be to stop Bharat. He had been sent by Rama to inform Bharat of his arrival. But before he could do that, Bharat was already planning to jump in to the pyre.

Hanuman recollected that just a few weeks back he was in the middle of a similar situation. He was on a tree and Mother Sita had been contemplating suicide. This time it was Bharat. Whenever he found himself staring at a dead-end, Hanuman resorted to only one solution. It had always worked. It had worked when all the monkeys were dejected on the shore of the ocean.

It had worked in Lanka for Sita. And he would use the same strategy again today. Rama katha. When he narrated Rama katha to the monkeys, Sampatti had come to their rescue. When he narrated Rama katha to Sita, she had been inspired to live. It would not let him down today either.

He began his narration in his sweetest voice, a voice that could melt even stones. He began from the beginning of Rama lila to the point where Rama reached Bhardwaj muni’s ashram that was on the way to Ayodhya. When Bharat heard the message that Rama was on the way, he quickly dropped the idea of ending his life. He was eager to unite with his venerable brother again.

Once again Hanuman had saved the day by fulfilling Bharat’s wish with his message. From Rama. He had fulfilled Sita’s wish by giving her hope of Rama’s arrival to rescue her. Whenever any wish needed to be fulfilled, Hanuman was always there on the horizon, not only to fulfil the wish but to fulfil it as quickly as possible, sohi amita jivana phala pavai