The Power of Hanuman Chalisa!

Hanuman Chalisa literally translates to forty verses on Hanuman, who is a popular monkey incarnate god in India. In this article I will be covering why this devotional ode is regarded so highly amongst the key religious texts in Hinduism. I will be covering its origin with details about who created it and under what circumstances and also what is so special about it that millions recite these verses on a daily basis to ask for divine blessings of Hanuman.

Who Created Hanuman Chalisa?

This sacred ode was composed sometime during the 16th century by Goswami Tulsidas. He was a renowned saint famous for his devotion to Hindu deities Ram and Hanuman. He is known for his composition Ramcharitamanas which is a consolidated text portraying exploits of Ram and includes stories from several manuscripts including Ramayan.

Many people consider Tulsidas to be an incarnation of Valmiki who is the original author of Ramayan. In Bhavishya Purana there is an incident where Shiva tells Parvati that after composing Ramayan, Valmiki had received a boon from Hanuman that he will be reborn in Kaliyug and spread the glory of Ram.

Why Did Tulsidas Compose Hanuman Chalisa?

There is a very interesting anecdotal story behind the creation of Hanuman Chalisa. It is said that Tulsidas lived during the reign of Mugal emperor Akbar. He spent most of his time reciting devotional scripts in praise of Ram and Hanuman. He started gaining a lot popularity and even people from far off regions started travelling to attend his sermons. This fueled jealousy in one of his neighbors who happened to be a minister in Akbar’s court.

With the intention of putting an end to popularity of Tulsidas the neighbor went and complained to Akbar that Tulsidas is singing praises of a monkey and brainwashing the public to worship the monkey. Akbar found it really strange that someone in his kingdom was worshiping a monkey so he ordered for Tulsidas to be brought to his court.

Once Tulsidas reached the court Akbar asked him if it was true that he had been worshiping a monkey. Tulsidas confirmed that it was true he had been singing hymns in praise of Hanuman who was the divine supporter of his Lord Ram. On hearing this Akbar got upset and said he will not tolerate a monkey being worshiped in his kingdom and Tulsidas had two choices either to stop worshiping Hanuman or be put in jail.

Tulsidas said that under no condition can he stop reciting devotional verses for Ram and Hanuman. Akbar retorted that now you would be put in my secure jail at Fatehpur Sikri and lets see if this monkey can save you. Tulsidas had immense faith in the powers of Hanuman and started creating verses in his praise during his time in the jail. He kept adding new verses based on the stories he had heard about the valor of Hanuman and within a few weeks he had the entire Hanuman Chalisa with forty verses ready. When he recited it Hanuman appeared in front of him and said I am really pleased with this composition of yours and I will free you from this bondage.

The next morning the whole palace was swarmed by thousands of monkey who started harassing the workers and guards. They started stealing the food and breaking the household items. They were too quick to be caught by the guards who were helpless against them. Akbar was informed of the situation and once he arrived at the courtroom he was shocked to see complete chaos with all his courtiers being chased around by monkeys. His guards informed him that it was impossible for them to capture or control this huge band of monkeys. Akbar realized that it was no ordinary coincidence and immediately asked for Tulsidas to be freed from jail and brought in front of him. As soon as Tulsidas arrived at the court the monkeys disappeared as swiftly as they had arrived. Akbar apologized to Tulsidas and said he was not aware of the divine power of Hanuman. He declared that from that day nobody will interrupt Tulsidas during his religious sermons of Ram and Hanuman and anyone in his kingdom was free to join him.

What are the Benefits of Reciting Hanuman Chalisa?

There are two main benefits associated with Hanuman Chalisa which has been found to be effective by many followers of Hanuman over the centuries and that’s why it is still recited daily by millions in India.

i. Overcoming all Obstacles and Problems- Hanuman is referred to as Sankat Mochan which translates to remover of troubles. His followers firmly believe that regularly chanting Hanuman Chalisa resolves any physical, mental or financial challenges that are being faced by the devotees

ii. Remover of Fears- If you are scared or worried due to a ghost or some negative energies or are afraid due to some unknown reason Hanuman Chalisa is supposed to calm you. It is firmly believed that Hanuman Chalisa has the power to ward off all ghosts and negative energies/ spirits. There are two reasons attributed to this, first is that ghosts need some weakness in character or negative thoughts to strengthen themselves but Hanuman is an eternal bachelor and considered a pure soul free from any negative traits. This repels all negative energies from him. Another reason attributed is that he is the incarnation of Lord Shiva who is the controller of all ghosts and spirits.

What is my Personal Experience with Hanuman Chalisa?

I would like to end by sharing a personal experience of mine which reaffirmed my faith in the efficacy of Hanuman Chalisa. No, it not some extravagant supernatural story but a something which had a profound effect on my day to day life and made me a true believer of Hanuman and after this incident I have been chanting Hanuman Chalisa everyday.

About 6 years ago I started with a new job in a new location. I was surrounded by unfamiliar surroundings, work culture and people. Initially I was not too concerned as I was used to such assignments and had managed them smoothly. This time however everything seemed to go wrong from the first day itself. I found my colleagues very cold who did not respond to my repeated efforts of friendship. My boss turned out to be extremely toxic who was known to lose his temper without any specific reason. This made each passing day an ordeal in itself and I started thinking to myself that it will be impossible to complete a year long assignment in such conditions without going mad. I started having thoughts of giving all this up and go back home and look for a fresh start. That would have been a big setback as I had invested a lot for this opportunity. I suddenly remembered that my wife used to recite Hanuman Chalisa whenever she was worried or scared. I was a bit apprehensive as I was not exactly facing a ghost here but humans or at least that is what they appeared to be. I decided to give it a try as I had nothing to lose and started chanting Hanuman Chalisa every morning before leaving.

I found strange coincidences happening everyday. My boss would suddenly get pulled into some other engagements or meetings during our planned one to one sessions. This would ensure that I could work through the day calmly without getting impacted by his toxicity. A colleague started helping me understand the work culture and things started getting smoother. The assignment ended much better than what I had possibly imagined and I even ended up getting a promotion at end of the period.

I know this is not something very incredible or supernatural but for me this was nothing short of a miracle and I have had an unwavering faith in abilities of Hanuman ever since then.