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Hanuman Chalisa

श्रीगुरु चरन सरोज रज निज मनु मुकुरु सुधारि। बरनउँ रघुबर बिमल जसु जो दायकु फल चारि॥ बुद्धिहीन तनु जानिके सुमिरौं पवनकुमार। बल बुधि बिद्या देहु मोहिं हरहु कलेस बिकार॥ जय हनुमान ज्ञान गुन सागर। जय कपीस तिहुँ लोक उजागर॥

In Devanagari, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English — with the meaning of every word, and the one syllable most people pronounce wrongly.

What the Hanuman Chalisa is

Hanuman, celebrated throughout the forty chaupais of Tulsidas’s Chalisa, is the devotee whose strength is measured only by his remembrance of Rama. The poem never separates the servant from the master: every feat—the burning of Lanka, the bringing of the herb that revived Lakshmana—is narrated as an act performed inside Rama’s service. Composed in Awadhi rather than Sanskrit, the Chalisa belongs to the vernacular bhakti stream that made Hanuman the accessible guardian of ordinary households across North India. Its Hanuman is not the abstract Vāyuputra of the Gayatri alone, nor the fierce protector invoked in the Bajrang Baan; he is the living presence who remains wherever Rama’s name is spoken, the one whose grace is described as constantly near the tongue that repeats the Lord’s story. The text itself becomes the meeting-place between the vanara of the epic and the household deity of later centuries.

Tulsidas and the Forty Verses

Tradition held inside the Ramanandi sampradaya and recorded in the Bhaktamal commentaries states that Tulsidas composed the Hanuman Chalisa during a period of confinement at the court of the Mughal emperor or, in another strand, during an imprisonment at Fatehpur Sikri. The poet, already the author of the Ramcharitmanas, turned to Hanuman as the swift messenger who could carry his appeal to Rama. The forty chaupais plus the opening and closing dohas were written in the same Awadhi register as the Manas, so that the language of village and court alike could hold the praise. The poem draws on episodes of the Ramayana: the search for Sita and the burning of Lanka from the Sundara Kanda, and the herb that revived Lakshmana from the war that followed. Yet the Chalisa is not a simple retelling; it compresses those deeds into a continuous address that moves from Hanuman’s childhood through his service to his present power to dwell where Rama’s fame is sung. After Tulsidas, the text spread through oral recitation in Hanuman temples from Ayodhya to Kashi, becoming the single most widely memorised devotional poem addressed to the son of Anjana in the Hindi-speaking world.

The mantra, in six scripts

DevanagariSanskrit & Hindiश्रीगुरु चरन सरोज रज निज मनु मुकुरु सुधारि। बरनउँ रघुबर बिमल जसु जो दायकु फल चारि॥ बुद्धिहीन तनु जानिके सुमिरौं पवनकुमार। बल बुधि बिद्या देहु मोहिं हरहु कलेस बिकार॥ जय हनुमान ज्ञान गुन सागर। जय कपीस तिहुँ लोक उजागर॥

Tamilஶ்ரீகுரு சரந ஸரோஜ ரஜ நிஜ மநு முகுரு ஸுதாரி। பரநஉம் ரகுபர பிமல ஜஸு ஜோ தாயகு பல சாரி॥ புத்திஹீந தநு ஜாநிகே ஸுமிரௌம் பவநகுமார। பல புதி பித்யா தேஹு மோஹிம் ஹரஹு கலேஸ பிகார॥ ஜய ஹநுமாந ஜ்ஞாந குந ஸாகர। ஜய கபீஸ திஹும் லோக உஜாகர॥

Teluguశ్రీగురు చరన సరోజ రజ నిజ మను ముకురు సుధారి। బరనఉఁ రఘుబర బిమల జసు జో దాయకు ఫల చారి॥ బుద్ధిహీన తను జానికే సుమిరౌం పవనకుమార। బల బుధి బిద్యా దేహు మోహిం హరహు కలేస బికార॥ జయ హనుమాన జ్ఞాన గున సాగర। జయ కపీస తిహుఁ లోక ఉజాగర॥

Kannadaಶ್ರೀಗುರು ಚರನ ಸರೋಜ ರಜ ನಿಜ ಮನು ಮುಕುರು ಸುಧಾರಿ। ಬರನಉಁ ರಘುಬರ ಬಿಮಲ ಜಸು ಜೋ ದಾಯಕು ಫಲ ಚಾರಿ॥ ಬುದ್ಧಿಹೀನ ತನು ಜಾನಿಕೇ ಸುಮಿರೌಂ ಪವನಕುಮಾರ। ಬಲ ಬುಧಿ ಬಿದ್ಯಾ ದೇಹು ಮೋಹಿಂ ಹರಹು ಕಲೇಸ ಬಿಕಾರ॥ ಜಯ ಹನುಮಾನ ಜ್ಞಾನ ಗುನ ಸಾಗರ। ಜಯ ಕಪೀಸ ತಿಹುಁ ಲೋಕ ಉಜಾಗರ॥

Malayalamശ്രീഗുരു ചരന സരോജ രജ നിജ മനു മുകുരു സുധാരി। ബരനഉഁ രഘുബര ബിമല ജസു ജോ ദായകു ഫല ചാരി॥ ബുദ്ധിഹീന തനു ജാനികേ സുമിരൌം പവനകുമാര। ബല ബുധി ബിദ്യാ ദേഹു മോഹിം ഹരഹു കലേസ ബികാര॥ ജയ ഹനുമാന ജ്ഞാന ഗുന സാഗര। ജയ കപീസ തിഹുഁ ലോക ഉജാഗര॥

EnglishRoman transliterationśrīguru carana saroja raja nija manu mukuru sudhāri | baranauṃ raghubara bimala jasu jo dāyaku phala cāri || buddhihīna tanu jānike sumirauṃ pavanakumāra | bala budhi bidyā dehu mohiṃ harahu kalesa bikāra || jaya hanumāna jñāna guna sāgara | jaya kapīsa tihũ loka ujāgara ||

“After polishing the mirror of the mind with the dust of the guru’s lotus feet, I narrate the pure fame of Raghubar that bestows the four fruits; knowing this body to be without wisdom I remember the son of the wind—give strength, wisdom and knowledge, remove affliction and distortion; victory to Hanuman, ocean of knowledge and virtue; victory to the lord of monkeys who illumines the three worlds.”

श्रीगुरु: śrīguru — the revered guru
चरन: carana — feet
सरोज: saroja — lotus
रज: raja — dust
निज: nija — one’s own
मनु: manu — mind
मुकुरु: mukuru — mirror
सुधारि: sudhāri — having cleansed
बरनउँ: baranauṃ — I describe
रघुबर: raghubara — the best of Raghus (Rama)
बिमल: bimala — pure
जसु: jasu — fame
जो: jo — which
दायकु: dāyaku — giver
फल: phala — fruits
चारि: cāri — four
बुद्धिहीन: buddhihīna — without wisdom
तनु: tanu — body
जानिके: jānike — having known
सुमिरौं: sumirauṃ — I remember
पवनकुमार: pavanakumāra — son of the wind
बल: bala — strength
बुधि: budhi — wisdom
बिद्या: bidyā — knowledge
देहु: dehu — give
मोहिं: mohiṃ — to me
हरहु: harahu — remove
कलेस: kalesa — afflictions
बिकार: bikāra — distortions
जय: jaya — victory
हनुमान: hanumāna — Hanuman
ज्ञान: jñāna — knowledge
गुन: guna — virtue
सागर: sāgara — ocean
कपीस: kapīsa — lord of monkeys
तिहुँ: tihũ — three
लोक: loka — worlds
उजागर: ujāgara — illuminator

Hanuman Chalisa lyrics in full

All 43 verses, in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English, each with its meaning. Choose a script:

Download the Hanuman Chalisa PDFAll 43 verses with their meanings, in Hindi. Free to print and keep.

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Doha

श्रीगुरु चरन सरोज रज निज मनु मुकुरु सुधारि ।
बरनउँ रघुबर बिमल जसु जो दायकु फल चारि ॥

With the dust of my Guru's lotus feet I cleanse the mirror of my mind, and sing the spotless glory of Raghubar, which grants the four fruits of life.

Doha

बुद्धिहीन तनु जानिके सुमिरौं पवन-कुमार ।
बल बुधि बिद्या देहु मोहिं हरहु कलेस बिकार ॥

Knowing myself to be without understanding, I remember the Son of the Wind: give me strength, wisdom and learning, and take away my troubles and faults.

Chaupai 1

जय हनुमान ज्ञान गुन सागर ।
जय कपीस तिहुँ लोक उजागर ॥

Victory to Hanuman, ocean of wisdom and virtue; victory to the lord of the monkeys, who lights up the three worlds.

Chaupai 2

राम दूत अतुलित बल धामा ।
अंजनि-पुत्र पवनसुत नामा ॥

Messenger of Rama, home of matchless strength, known as Anjani's son and the Son of the Wind.

Chaupai 3

महाबीर बिक्रम बजरंगी ।
कुमति निवार सुमति के संगी ॥

Great hero, mighty, with a body strong as a thunderbolt; you dispel bad thinking and are the companion of good sense.

Chaupai 4

कंचन बरन बिराज सुबेसा ।
कानन कुंडल कुंचित केसा ॥

Golden in colour, finely dressed, with earrings in your ears and curling hair.

Chaupai 5

हाथ बज्र औ ध्वजा बिराजै ।
काँधे मूँज जनेऊ साजै ॥

In your hand shine the thunderbolt and the banner; the sacred thread of munja grass adorns your shoulder.

Chaupai 6

संकर सुवन केसरीनंदन ।
तेज प्रताप महा जग बंदन ॥

Son of Shankara and son of Kesari; your radiance and might are revered by the whole world.

Chaupai 7

बिद्यावान गुनी अति चातुर ।
राम काज करिबे को आतुर ॥

Learned, virtuous and wise, ever eager to do Rama's work.

Chaupai 8

प्रभु चरित्र सुनिबे को रसिया ।
राम लखन सीता मन बसिया ॥

You delight in hearing the Lord's story; Rama, Lakshmana and Sita live in your heart.

Chaupai 9

सूक्ष्म रूप धरि सियहिं दिखावा ।
बिकट रूप धरि लंक जरावा ॥

Taking a tiny form you appeared before Sita; taking a fearsome form you set Lanka on fire.

Chaupai 10

भीम रूप धरि असुर सँहारे ।
रामचंद्र के काज सँवारे ॥

Taking a mighty form you destroyed the demons and accomplished Ramachandra's tasks.

Chaupai 11

लाय सजीवन लखन जियाये ।
श्रीरघुबीर हरषि उर लाये ॥

You brought the Sanjivani herb and revived Lakshmana; Raghubir, overjoyed, embraced you.

Chaupai 12

रघुपति कीन्ही बहुत बड़ाई ।
तुम मम प्रिय भरतहि सम भाई ॥

Raghupati praised you greatly: 'You are as dear to me as my brother Bharata.'

Chaupai 13

सहस बदन तुम्हरो जस गावैं ।
अस कहि श्रीपति कंठ लगावैं ॥

'May the thousand-mouthed serpent sing your glory,' said the Lord of Lakshmi, and embraced you.

Chaupai 14

सनकादिक ब्रह्मादि मुनीसा ।
नारद सारद सहित अहीसा ॥

Sanaka and the sages, Brahma and the great munis, Narada, Sharada and the king of serpents —

Chaupai 15

जम कुबेर दिगपाल जहाँ ते ।
कबि कोबिद कहि सके कहाँ ते ॥

— Yama, Kubera and the guardians of the directions: when even they cannot, how could poets and scholars describe your glory?

Chaupai 16

तुम उपकार सुग्रीवहिं कीन्हा ।
राम मिलाय राज पद दीन्हा ॥

You did Sugriva a great service: you brought him to Rama and gave him back his kingdom.

Chaupai 17

तुम्हरो मंत्र बिभीषन माना ।
लंकेस्वर भए सब जग जाना ॥

Vibhishana heeded your counsel and became lord of Lanka, as the whole world knows.

Chaupai 18

जुग सहस्र जोजन पर भानू ।
लील्यो ताहि मधुर फल जानू ॥

The sun, a yuga and a thousand yojanas away, you swallowed, taking it for a sweet fruit.

Chaupai 19

प्रभु मुद्रिका मेलि मुख माहीं ।
जलधि लाँघि गये अचरज नाहीं ॥

Holding the Lord's ring in your mouth you leapt across the ocean — no wonder in that.

Chaupai 20

दुर्गम काज जगत के जेते ।
सुगम अनुग्रह तुम्हरे तेते ॥

Every hard task in the world becomes easy by your grace.

Chaupai 21

राम दुआरे तुम रखवारे ।
होत न आज्ञा बिनु पैसारे ॥

You guard Rama's door; no one enters without your leave.

Chaupai 22

सब सुख लहै तुम्हारी सरना ।
तुम रच्छक काहू को डर ना ॥

The verse says that whoever takes refuge in Hanuman finds every happiness, and that with him as protector there is nothing to fear.

Chaupai 23

आपन तेज सम्हारो आपै ।
तीनों लोक हाँक तें काँपै ॥

Only you can contain your own power; the three worlds tremble at your roar.

Chaupai 24

भूत पिसाच निकट नहिं आवै ।
महाबीर जब नाम सुनावै ॥

The verse says that ghosts and evil spirits do not come near when the name of the Great Hero is spoken.

Chaupai 25

नासै रोग हरै सब पीरा ।
जपत निरंतर हनुमत बीरा ॥

The verse says that disease is destroyed and all pain removed by constantly repeating the name of brave Hanuman.

Chaupai 26

संकट तें हनुमान छुड़ावै ।
मन क्रम बचन ध्यान जो लावै ॥

The verse says that Hanuman frees from trouble those who meditate on him in thought, deed and word.

Chaupai 27

सब पर राम तपस्वी राजा ।
तिन के काज सकल तुम साजा ॥

Rama, the ascetic king, is above all; you carried out all his tasks.

Chaupai 28

और मनोरथ जो कोई लावै ।
सोइ अमित जीवन फल पावै ॥

The verse says that whoever comes to Hanuman with any other wish receives the boundless fruit of life.

Chaupai 29

चारों जुग परताप तुम्हारा ।
है परसिद्ध जगत उजियारा ॥

Your glory fills all four ages; your fame lights up the world.

Chaupai 30

साधु संत के तुम रखवारे ।
असुर निकंदन राम दुलारे ॥

You protect the holy and the saints, destroy the demons, and are dear to Rama.

Chaupai 31

अष्ट सिद्धि नौ निधि के दाता ।
अस बर दीन जानकी माता ॥

Mother Janaki granted you the boon of being the giver of the eight siddhis and nine treasures.

Chaupai 32

राम रसायन तुम्हरे पासा ।
सदा रहो रघुपति के दासा ॥

The elixir of Rama is with you; may you ever remain Raghupati's servant.

Chaupai 33

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

The verse says that by devotion to Hanuman one reaches Rama and forgets the sorrows of many births.

Chaupai 34

अंत काल रघुबर पुर जाई ।
जहाँ जन्म हरि-भक्त कहाई ॥

It says that at the end such a devotee goes to Raghubar's city, and wherever born is known as a devotee of Hari.

Chaupai 35

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

The verse says that even without holding any other deity in mind, serving Hanuman brings every happiness.

Chaupai 36

संकट कटै मिटै सब पीरा ।
जो सुमिरै हनुमत बलबीरा ॥

The verse says that troubles end and all pain is erased for whoever remembers mighty, brave Hanuman.

Chaupai 37

जै जै जै हनुमान गोसाईं ।
कृपा करहु गुरुदेव की नाईं ॥

Victory, victory, victory to Lord Hanuman; be gracious to me as my Guru is.

Chaupai 38

जो सत बार पाठ कर कोई ।
छूटहि बंदि महा सुख होई ॥

The verse says that whoever recites this a hundred times is freed from bondage and finds great joy.

Chaupai 39

जो यह पढ़ै हनुमान चालीसा ।
होय सिद्धि साखी गौरीसा ॥

The verse says that whoever reads this Hanuman Chalisa attains fulfilment, with Gauri's lord, Shiva, as witness.

Chaupai 40

तुलसीदास सदा हरि चेरा ।
कीजै नाथ हृदय महँ डेरा ॥

Tulsidas, ever Hari's servant, prays: Lord, make your dwelling in my heart.

Closing doha

पवनतनय संकट हरन मंगल मूरति रूप ।
राम लखन सीता सहित हृदय बसहु सुर भूप ॥

Son of the Wind, remover of troubles, embodiment of all that is auspicious: king of the gods, dwell in my heart with Rama, Lakshmana and Sita.

The syllable people get wrong

In pavanakumāra the medial va of pava must remain a lightly touched labial glide; many reciters harden it into a full stop “pabana,” splitting the wind-god’s name into an unrecognisable shape and losing the continuous breath implied by Vayu’s own presence inside the compound.

When the Hanuman Chalisa is chanted

Weekday. Tuesday

Festival. Hanuman Jayanti

Questions

Tulsidas had already chosen Awadhi for the Ramcharitmanas so that the story of Rama could move among speakers who did not command Sanskrit. The Chalisa continues that decision. Its vocabulary—words such as baranauṃ, sumirauṃ, kalesa, bikāra—belongs to the living speech of the Gangetic plain in the sixteenth century. By keeping Hanuman’s praise inside that register, the poem made the son of the wind a figure who could be addressed in the same language used for ordinary affection and distress. Sanskrit stotras to Hanuman existed and continue to be recited, yet they remained largely within temple and scholarly circles. The Chalisa’s Awadhi opened the devotion to households, to women who maintained domestic shrines, and to travellers who carried the verses in memory alone. The linguistic choice is therefore inseparable from the social reach that later made the forty verses the most commonly recited Hanuman text in North India. The poem’s own opening, which speaks of polishing the mind’s mirror, assumes a listener who may have little formal learning yet possesses the capacity for remembrance.

Valmiki’s epic presents Hanuman as the exemplary servant whose deeds advance Rama’s search and war; the emotional centre remains Rama’s exile and Sita’s captivity. The Chalisa shifts the centre. Rama’s pure fame is the object of the opening doha, yet the body of the poem addresses Hanuman directly and at length, cataloguing his virtues, his forms, and his continuing presence. Verses describe him as the ocean of knowledge, the destroyer of demons, the one who brings healing herbs, and—crucially—the one who remains near wherever Rama’s name is uttered. That last claim moves Hanuman out of epic time into the present of the reciter. The Ramayana ends with the return to Ayodhya and the later departure of the principal figures; the Chalisa insists that Hanuman’s service did not end. In this sense the poem belongs to the bhakti re-reading of the epic, in which the devotee’s accessibility becomes as important as the hero’s historical deeds. Hanuman is still the same vanara who leapt the ocean, yet he is now also the companion who can be called upon in the language of the home.

The line is chaupai 31: aṣṭa siddhi nau nidhi ke dātā, asa bara dīnha jānakī mātā. It says that Sita, Mother Janaki, granted Hanuman the boon of being the giver of the eight siddhis and nine nidhis. The eight siddhis are the classical yogic perfections; the nine nidhis are the treasures associated with Kubera. Within the poem’s own theology this is not a catalogue of rewards to be pursued: the power to give them comes to Hanuman as a mother’s blessing and is held inside his service to Rama. The closing doha is a different verse, a prayer that the son of the wind, remover of distress and embodiment of auspiciousness, dwell in the heart together with Rama, Lakshmana and Sita.

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Hanuman Chalisa

What the Hanuman Chalisa is

Tulsidas and the Forty Verses

The mantra, in six scripts

Hanuman Chalisa lyrics in full

The syllable people get wrong

When the Hanuman Chalisa is chanted

Questions

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Related

Hanuman Mantra

Hanuman Gayatri Mantra

Veera Hanuman Mantra

Hanuman Homa

Nirnaya