The Hanuman Chalisa (Hindi: हनुमान चालीसा; ; Forty chaupais on Hanuman) is a Hinduism devotional hymn ( stotra) in praise of Hanuman, and regularly recited by Hindus.[Rambhadradas 1984, pp. 1–8. ][Karan Singh, in Nityanand Misra 2015, p. xvi.][Peebles 1986, p. 99] It was written by Tulsidas in the Awadhi language
Hanuman is a Hindu deity and a devotee of the Hindu god, Rama. He is one of the central characters of the Ramayana. According to the Shaivism tradition, he is also an incarnation of Shiva. The Hanuman Chalisa praises the power and other qualities of Hanuman including his strength, courage, wisdom, celibacy (brahmcharya), and devotion to Rama.[Peebles 1986, p. 100]
Etymology
The title
Hanuman Chalisa references 40 (
chalisa) verses praising the deity
Hanuman.
Authorship
The
Hanuman Chalisa was authored by
Tulsidas, a poet-saint who lived in the 16th century CE.
Tulsidas, a
Hinduism saint-poet, reformer, and philosopher, was known for his devotion to
Rama.
A composer of several popular works, he is best known for being the author of the epic
Ramcharitmanas, a retelling of the
Ramayana in the vernacular
Awadhi language. Tulsidas was acclaimed in his lifetime to be a reincarnation of
Valmiki, the composer of the original Ramayana in
Sanskrit.
[Lutgendorf 2007, p. 293.] Tulsidas lived in the city of
Varanasi until his death.
[Prasad 2008, p. 857, quoting Mata Prasad Gupta: Although he paid occasional visits to several places of pilgrimage associated with Rama, his permanent residence was in Kashi.] The Tulsi Ghat in Varnasi is named after him.
[de Bruyn 2010, p. 471] He founded the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple dedicated to Hanuman in Varanasi, believed to stand at the place where he had the sight of Hanuman.
[Callewaert 2000, p. 90] Tulsidas started the
Ramlila plays, a folk-theatre adaption of the Ramayana.
[Handoo 1964, p. 128: ... this book ... is also a drama, because Goswami Tulasidasa started his Ram Lila on the basis of this book, which even now is performed in the same manner everywhere.] He has been acclaimed as one of the greatest poets in
Hindi literature, Indian, and
World literature.
[Prasad 2008, p. xii: He is not only the supreme poet, but the unofficial poet-laureate of India.][Prasad 2008, p. xix: Of Tulsidas's place among the major Indian poets there can be no question: he is as sublime as Valmiki and as elegant as Kalidasa in his handling of the theme.][Jones 2007, p. 456][Sahni 2000, pp. 78–80] The impact of Tulsidas and his works on the art, culture and society in India is widespread and is seen to date in vernacular language, Ramlila plays, Hindustani classical music, popular music, and television series.
[Lutgendorf 1991, p. 11: ... – scores of lines from the Rāmcaritmānas have entered folk speech as proverbs – ...][Mitra 2002, p. 216][Subramanian 2008, p. inside cover]
Deity
Hanuman, the
Hindu deity to whom the prayer is addressed to, was an ardent devotee of
Rama (the seventh
avatar of
Vishnu) and a central character in the
Ramayana. A general among the
, Hanuman was a warrior of Rama in the war against the
rakshasa king
Ravana. Hanuman's exploits are much celebrated in a variety of religious and cultural traditions,
[Orlando O. Espín, James B. Nickoloff An introductory dictionary of theology and religious studies. 2007, page 537] particularly in Hinduism, to the extent that he is often the object of worship according to some
Bhakti movement,
[Rosen, Steven. Essential Hinduism. 2006, page 67-8] and is the prime deity in many temples known as Hanuman mandirs.
Structure
The work consists of forty-three verses – two introductory dohas, forty chaupais, and one doha in the end.
The first introductory doha begins with the words
'shrī guru,' referring to Shiva, who is considered the guru of Hanuman.
[Rambhadradas 1984, pp. 11–14 ] The auspicious form, knowledge, virtues, powers and bravery of Hanuman are described in the first ten Chaupais.
[Rambhadradas 1984, pp. 46–47 , 48–49 ][Rao 2009, pp. 393–397][Mehta 2007, p. xv] Chaupais eleven to twenty describe the acts of Hanuman in his service to Rama, with the eleventh to fifteenth Chaupais describing the role of Hanuman in reviving Lakshmana.
In the twenty-first Chaupai, Tulsidas describes the need of Hanuman's
kripa ().
[Rambhadradas 1984, pp. 56–57 ] At the end, Tulsidas greets Hanuman with subtle devotion
[Rambhadradas 1984, pp. 78–79 ] and requests him to reside in his heart and in the heart of devotees.
[Rambhadradas 1984, pp. 81–82 ] The concluding doha again requests Hanuman to reside in the heart, along with Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita.
[Rambhadradas 1984, pp. 83–84 ]
Theological significance
The text expounds on Hanuman as not only a devotee of Rama but significant as a deity in his own right. Furthermore, the text describes Hanuman's strength, speed, knowledge, and devotion. Devotion (
bhakti) is emphasized throughout. It is described in the text that one who recites the Chalisa will be granted protection, spiritual merit, and even liberation.
Ritual
The
Hanuman Chalisa is recited by millions of Hindus every day,
and many practising Hindus know its text by heart.
[Nityanand Misra 2015, pp. xvii–xxi.] Traditionally, Tuesday and Saturdays are devoted to Hanuman and the Chalisa is recited then.
Commentaries
Before the 1980s, no commentary had been composed on the
Hanuman Chalisa, which Rambhadracharya attributes to the work not being included in printed editions of collected works of Tulsidas.
Indubhushan Ramayani authored the first brief commentary on
Hanuman Chalisa.
Rambhadracharya's
Mahaviri commentary in Hindi, authored in 1983,
was called the best commentary on
Hanuman Chalisa by Rama Chandra Prasad.
In popular culture
Classical and folk music
The
Hanuman Chalisa is one of the best selling Hindu religious books and has been sung by many popular bhajan, classical and folk singers.
The rendition of
Hanuman Chalisa by Hari Om Sharan, originally released in 1974 by the
Saregama and re-released in 1995 by Super Cassettes Industries,
is one of the most popular, and is regularly played at temples and homes across Northern India.
This rendition is based on traditional melodies in the Mishra Khamaj, a
raga belonging to the
Khamaj That,
[Nityanand Misra 2015, pp. 199–212.] with the base note taken at the second black key (
kali do) of the
harmonium.
A recording based on the same traditional melodies was released in 1992 by Super Cassettes Industries, with Hariharan as the singer and
Gulshan Kumar as the artiste.
Other notable renditions include those by bhajan singers Anup Jalota and Ravindra Jain, Hindustani vocalists Pandit Jasraj and Rajan and Sajan Mishra, and the Carnatic vocalist M.S. Subbulakshmi.
Among western singers Krishna Das has performed the Hanuman Chalisa in both slow and fast formats.
Popular movies
In the Hindi movie
1920 (directed by
Vikram Bhatt),
Hanuman Chalisa is frequently used in different scenes. One of the scenes show the protagonist Arjun Singh Rathod (played by
Rajneesh Duggal), reciting the
Hanuman Chalisa in full. It is used in an important sequence in
Bajrangi Bhaijaan, when the protagonist fights back against child traffickers and rescues a little girl from them.
An animation movie named Shri Hanuman Chalisa directed by Charuvi Agrawal and designed by Charuvi Design Labs is a film on Hanuman.
Popular music
Popular singers who have sung the
Hanuman Chalisa include Carnatic singer M. S. Subbulakshmi, as well as
Lata Mangeshkar,
Mahendra Kapoor, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Shankar Mahadevan,
Anuradha Paudwal,
Kailash Kher,
Sukhwinder Singh,
Sonu Nigam, Hariharan, and
Udit Narayan.
The Hanuman Chalisa was sung by Amitabh Bachchan in chorus with twenty other singers.
A rendition of Hanuman Chalisa sung by Hariharan became the first devotional song and first on YouTube to cross 4.6 billion views in May 2025.
See also
-
Shri Ramachandra Kripalu
-
Thumak Chalat Rama Chandra
Bibliography
