The Hanuman Chalisa (literally Forty chaupais on Hanuman) is a Hindu devotional hymn (stotra) addressed to Hanuman. It is traditionally believed to have been authored by 16th-century poet Tulsidas in the Awadhi language, and is his best known text apart from the Ramcharitmanas. The word "chālīsā" is derived from "chālīs", which means the number forty in Hindi, as the Hanuman Chalisa has 40 verses (excluding the couplets at the beginning and at the end). Hanuman Chalisa is a devotional hymn dedicated to Lord Hanuman. The authorship of the Hanuman Chalisa is attributed to Tulsidas, a poet-saint who lived in the 16th century CE. He says in the last stanza of the Chalisa that whoever chants it with full devotion to Hanuman, will have Hanuman's grace. Amongst the Hindus Worldwide, it is a very popular belief that chanting the Hanuman Chalisa invokes Hanuman's divine intervention in grave problems, including those concerning evil spirits.
Tulsidas (1497/1532–1623) was a Hindu poet-saint, reformer and philosopher renowned for his devotion for the god Ram. A composer of several popular works, he is best known for being the author of the epic Ramcharitmanas, a retelling of the Ramayan in the vernacular Awadhi language. Tulsidas was acclaimed in his lifetime to be a reincarnation of Valmiki, the composer of the original Ramayan in Sanskrit. Tulsidas lived in the city of Varanasi until his death. The Tulsi Ghat in Varnasi is named after him. He founded the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple dedicated to Hanuman in Varanasi, believed to stand at the place where he had the sight of Hanuman. Tulsidas started the Ramlila plays, a folk-theatre adaption of the Ramayan. He has been acclaimed as one of the greatest poets in Hindi, Indian, and World literature. The impact of Tulsidas and his works on the art, culture and society in India is widespread and is seen to date in vernacular language, Ramlila plays, Hindustani classical music, popular music, and television series.
Hanuman is a vanara (a monkey-like humanoid), a devotee of Ram, and one of the central characters in the Indian epic poem, the Ramayan. Folk tales acclaim the powers of Hanuman. The qualities of Hanuman – his strength, courage, wisdom, celibacy, devotion to Rama and the many names by which he was known – are detailed in the Hanuman Chalisa. Recitation or chanting of the Hanuman Chalisa is a common religious practice. The Hanuman Chalisa is the most popular hymn in praise of Hanuman, and is recited by millions of Hindus every day.
The Hanuman Chalisa is recited by millions of Hindus every day, and most practising Hindus in India know its text by heart. The work is known to popular among people from diverse educational, social, linguistic, musical, and geographical groups.
Classical and folk music
The Hanuman Chalisa is one of the best selling Hindu religious books and has been sung by many popular bhajan, classical and folk singers. The rendition of Hanuman Chalisa by Hari Om Sharan, originally released in 1974 by the Gramophone Company of India and re-released in 1995 by Super Cassettes Industries, is one of the most popular, and is regularly played at temples and homes across Northern India. This rendition is based on traditional melodies in the Mishra Khamaj, a raga belonging to the Khamaj That, with the base note taken at the second black key (kali do) of the harmonium. A recording based on the same traditional melodies was released in 1992 by Super Cassettes Industries, with Hariharan as the singer and Gulshan Kumar as the artiste. Other notable renditions include those by bhajan singers Anup Jalota and Ravindra Jain, Hindustani vocalists Pandit Jasraj and Rajan and Sajan Mishra, and the Carnatic vocalist M.S. Subbulakshmi. The renditions by Unni Krishnan, Nithyasree Mahadevan, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swamiji and Morari Bapu are also popular.
Popular music
Popular playback singers who have sung the Hanuman Chalisa include Lata Mangeshkar, Mahendra Kapoor, S.P.Balasubramaniam, Shankar Mahadevan and Udit Narayan. Some movies have a part/or the entirety of the Hanuman Chalisa. The Hanuman Chalisa has been sung by Amitabh Bachchan in chorus with twenty other singers. This recording was released as a part of the "Shri Hanuman Chalisa" album in 2011 and received an unprecedented response by the releasing music label during November 2011.
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