The Hanuman Chalisa is a hymn of 43 verses by Goswami Tulsidas, in Awadhi: two opening dohas, forty chaupais (chalis means forty) and a closing doha. It takes about 8 to 10 minutes to read.
Every fact below is checked against the Gita Press text or a named source.
The Text
1. Chalisa means forty. Chalis is the Hindi word for forty, and the Hanuman Chalisa is named for its forty chaupais.
2. It has 43 verses. Two dohas open it, forty chaupais follow, and one doha closes it.
3. It is in Awadhi. Not Sanskrit, and not modern Hindi: Tulsidas wrote it in Awadhi, the language of the Awadh region and of his Ramcharitmanas.
4. It has a plan. Chaupais 1 to 10 describe Hanuman ji’s form and qualities; chaupais 11 to 20 tell his deeds in Shri Ram’s service; the later chaupais turn to his grace.
5. Its rhythm is counted. Each chaupai has four quarters of 16 matras each (a short sound counts one, a long sound two). That steady beat is one reason it is easy to sing and remember.
6. The poet signs his name. The last chaupai begins “Tulaseedas Sada Hari Chera”: Tulsidas is forever a servant of Hari.
| Chaupai 40 | Tulaseedas Sada Hari Chera । Keejai Nath Hriday Mahan Dera ॥ Tulsidas is forever a servant of Hari (Shri Ram). O Lord, make your home in my heart. |
What Its Words Say
7. It asks at the very start. The second doha already prays “Bal Budhi Bidya Dehu Mohin”: give me strength, wisdom and knowledge.
8. It names its own fruit. Chaupais 38 and 39 say what reading it brings; more on our benefits and 100 times pages.
9. It names the eight siddhis and nine nidhis. Chaupai 31 says Hanuman ji can give them, by a boon from Janaki mata (Sita ji).
10. The sun line is a picture, not a measurement. Chaupai 18 says the sun is “jug sahasra jojan” away, and the child Hanuman swallowed it, taking it for a sweet fruit. A popular sum multiplies yug (12,000) by sahasra (1,000) by a yojana of about 8 miles and gets close to the real distance. But the length of a yojana varies widely between old texts, so the sum proves nothing; the line tells of Hanuman ji’s leap as a child.
| Doha 2 | Buddhiheen Tanu Janike, Sumiraun Pavan-Kumar । Bal Budhi Bidya Dehu Mohin, Harahu Kales Bikar ॥ Knowing that I have little wisdom, I remember Hanuman ji, the son of the Wind. O Hanuman ji, give me strength, wisdom and knowledge, and take away my troubles (kales) and the faults of my mind (bikar). |
| Chaupai 31 | Ashta Siddhi Nau Nidhi Ke Data । As Bar Deen Janaki Mata ॥ You can give the eight siddhis and the nine nidhis; mother Janaki (Sita ji) gave you this boon. |
| Chaupai 18 | Jug Sahasra Jojan Par Bhanu । Leelyo Tahi Madhur Phal Janu ॥ The sun is a huge distance away (jug sahasra jojan), yet you swallowed it, thinking it was a sweet fruit. |
Its History
11. No one knows the year. No firm date is recorded, and the story that Tulsidas wrote it in prison has no proof. What is known, and what is only told, is on our history page.
12. Its first full commentary is recent. No commentary on the Chalisa existed before the 1980s; Swami Rambhadracharya’s Mahaviri commentary came in 1983.
The Chalisa Today
13. Many know it by heart. Millions of Hindus recite it every day, many from memory, and most of all on Tuesdays and Saturdays. See why Tuesday.
14. Its recordings are famous. Hari Om Sharan’s recording came out in 1974. The T-Series recording sung by Hariharan, with Gulshan Kumar, came in 1992; in November 2025 it became the first devotional song on YouTube to cross 5 billion views. We are not linked to these labels; our own audio page is here.
15. It gives courage in a crisis. On 30 September 2026, Captain Smit Machchhar of Flydubai kept reciting the Hanuman Chalisa while he was attacked in his cockpit; the plane landed safely, and no one died.
हनुमान चालीसा के रोचक तथ्य
1. नाम: चालीस यानी चालीस चौपाइयाँ; इसीलिए इसे चालीसा कहते हैं।
2. पद: दो दोहे शुरू में, चालीस चौपाइयाँ, और एक दोहा अंत में; कुल 43 पद।
3. भाषा: अवधी, वही भाषा जिसमें रामचरितमानस है; संस्कृत नहीं।
4. छंद: हर चौपाई के चार चरण होते हैं, और हर चरण में 16 मात्राएँ।
5. कवि का नाम: चौपाई ४० में तुलसीदास जी अपना नाम लिखते हैं: “तुलसीदास सदा हरि चेरा”।
6. शुरुआत में ही माँग: दूसरे दोहे में भक्त माँगता है: “बल बुधि बिद्या देहु मोहिं”।
7. अष्ट सिद्धि नौ निधि: चौपाई ३१: “अष्ट सिद्धि नौ निधि के दाता”, यह वर सीता माता ने दिया।
8. सूर्य वाली चौपाई: “जुग सहस्र जोजन पर भानू” बाल हनुमान की छलाँग की कथा है। इससे सूर्य की दूरी निकालने वाला हिसाब योजन की लंबाई पर टिका है, जो पुराने ग्रंथों में अलग-अलग है; इसलिए वह कुछ सिद्ध नहीं करता।
9. तारीख: यह किस साल लिखी गई, इसका पक्का प्रमाण नहीं है, और जेल में लिखे जाने की कथा का भी कोई प्रमाण नहीं है।
10. रिकॉर्डिंग: हरि ओम शरण की रिकॉर्डिंग 1974 में आई; हरिहरन और गुलशन कुमार वाली 1992 में, जो नवंबर 2025 में YouTube पर 5 अरब बार देखा जाने वाला पहला भक्ति गीत बना। पूरा पाठ हमारे हिंदी पेज पर है।
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions people often ask about the Hanuman Chalisa, in English and in Hindi.
Read the history of the Hanuman Chalisa, every line with its meaning, or the whole text in Hindi.