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.
ஶ்ரீ குரு சரண ஸரோஜ ரஜ நிஜமந முகுர ஸுதாரி வரணௌ ரகுவர விமல யஶ ஜோ தாயக பலசாரி
புத்திஹீந தநு ஜாநிகே ஸுமிரௌ பவநகுமார பல புத்தி வித்யா தேஹு மோஹி ஹரஹு கலேஶ விகார
ஜய ஹநுமாந ஜ்ஞாநகுணஸாகர
ஜய கபீஶ திஹு லோக உஜாகர
ராமதூத அதுலித பலதாமா
அஂஜநிபுத்ர பவநஸுத நாமா
மஹாவீர விக்ரம பஜரஂகீ
குமதி நிவார ஸுமதி கே ஸஂகீ
புத்திஹீந தநு ஜாநிகே ஸுமிரௌ பவநகுமார பல புத்தி வித்யா தேஹு மோஹி ஹரஹு கலேஶ விகார
Chanting the Chalisa in the Tamil tradition
In Tamil Nadu the Chalisa rides on top of a much older Anjaneyar devotion that long predates Tulsidas. Nanganallur in Chennai sees its peak every Tuesday and Saturday, when devotees fill the courtyard to chant the Chalisa in front of the thirty two foot single granite Hanuman. Namakkal Anjaneyar in Salem district, with its eighteen foot open-air deity, is one of the oldest Hanuman temples anywhere in India and has its own distinct ritual cycle. Ashtamsa Varadha at Coimbatore is the newer of the major centres but draws steady crowds for Saturday Chalisa parayanam. The Tamil script renders the original Awadhi sounds with vowel doubling and softer consonants, which is why the chant lands closer to a sung paasuram than a Hindi recitation. For many Tamil-speaking devotees, M.S. Subbulakshmi's recording is the most familiar form of the Chalisa, listened to as often as it is recited. It sits comfortably alongside the older Anjaneyar tradition of Nanganallur and Namakkal.