श्री हनुमान चालीसा
If there's one prayer that cuts across every region, language, and tradition in India, it's this one. Tulsidas wrote these forty verses in Awadhi, not Sanskrit, not for scholars, but for everyone. They tell the story of Hanuman: the one who leapt across the ocean, carried a mountain, and never once asked for anything in return. People chant the Chalisa when they're afraid, when they need courage, when nothing else works. Millions do it daily, especially on Tuesdays and Saturdays. There's a reason it's survived five centuries. These verses just work.
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Chant all 44 verses →The opening verses are below.
શ્રી ગુરુ ચરણ સરોજ રજ નિજમન મુકુર સુધારિ વરણૌ રઘુવર વિમલ યશ જો દાયક ફલચારિ
બુદ્ધિહીન તનુ જાનિકે સુમિરૌ પવનકુમાર બલ બુદ્ધિ વિદ્યા દેહુ મોહિ હરહુ કલેશ વિકાર
જય હનુમાન જ્ઞાનગુણસાગર
જય કપીશ તિહુ લોક ઉજાગર
રામદૂત અતુલિત બલધામા
અંજનિપુત્ર પવનસુત નામા
મહાવીર વિક્રમ બજરંગી
કુમતિ નિવાર સુમતિ કે સંગી
બુદ્ધિહીન તનુ જાનિકે સુમિરૌ પવનકુમાર બલ બુદ્ધિ વિદ્યા દેહુ મોહિ હરહુ કલેશ વિકાર
Chanting the Chalisa in the Gujarati tradition
Gujarat's Hanuman devotion runs through both old folk shrines and the modern Swaminarayan tradition. Sarangpur in Botad district is the most famous: there Hanuman is Kashtabhanjan Dev, the Crusher of Sorrows, installed by Gopalanand Swami in the early nineteenth century, and the temple is the only one in the Swaminarayan world where Hanuman is the primary deity. A fifty-four foot statue was unveiled there in 2023. Camp Hanuman in Ahmedabad is the busier urban centre, drawing daily Chalisa chanting and queues that stretch around the block on Saturdays. The Saturday observances at both temples mix the Chalisa with Swaminarayan mantras and Gujarati bhajans, in a rhythm slightly faster than the Hindi original. For Gujarati devotees the Chalisa is rarely chanted alone; it sits inside a wider devotional routine.