Goswamy Tulsidas was a poet and saint lived in the time of the Great Moghal emperors. He wrote the Hindustani Ramayana. He wrote several works including the Hindi Ramayana, called Ram Charit Manas. He also wrote a work in praise of Hanuman, the monkey God and acolyte of Sri Rama called 'Hanuman Chalisa'. I give below a brief summary of Tulsidas' life from Wikipedia:
Gosvāmī Tulsīdās ( 1532-1623) Devanagari तुलसीदास) was an Awadhi poet and philosopher , and the author of Ramacharitmanasa ("The Lake of the Deeds of Rama"), an epic devoted to Lord Rama.
He was born in Rajpur, India in the present day Banda District , Uttar Pradesh, during the reign of Humayun Hulsi and Atmaram Shukla Dube
During his life time, Tulsidas wrote 22 different works and although a Sanskrit scholar, he is considered the greatest and most famous of Hindi poets.
He is regarded as an incarnation of Valmiki the author of Ramayana written in Sanskrit.The Ramacharitmanasa ("The Lake of the Deeds of Rama"), an epic devoted to Lord Rama , was the Awadhi version of Ramayana of Valmiki, like many translations of the original Sanskrit Ramayana, is read and worshipped with great reverence in many Hindu homes in northern India. It is an inspiring book that contains sweet couplets in beautiful rhyme called 'chaupai'.Vinaya Patrika is another important book written by Tulsidas
His Hanuman Chalisa is a short ,40 stanza ,set of couplets eulogizing Sri Hanuman, the enlightened acolyte of Ram, to whom many in India pray as a way of attaining their intercession with him, thus attaining the blessings of both. The Hindi Doha particularly of Tulsidas is difficult to translate into plain English let alone English verse. I have taken a few liberties in extending the wording a bit, but,not , I trust, the meaning.
With loving and respectful Pranams to Ram, Sita,Hanuman and Tulsidas, I present the following:
Sri Hanuman Chalisa by Tulsidas
Rendered in English verse by Girdhar Gopal
Cleansing the inner mirror of my mind
Using grace from the dust of my Guru's lotus feet
I extol the glory of Raghuveer for whom I pine
He bestows the four famed fruits of Justice, Economy
Passion and Enlightenment to those who entreat !
I am lowly and full of ignorance
In the face of Hanuman 's infinite grace
Bless me O Hanuman,son of the Wind
Exterminate the dangerous calamities that I face
Hanuman, the ocean of knowledge and virtue
Victory to thee, O Lord of the monkeys
Victory to thee whose fame is well received
Far and wide, over the three worlds, perceived
O son of Anjani and of Pavana of the gusting Breeze
You are the messenger of Rama, his emissary
The master of immense strength that can never cease
Brave warrior of broad and vigorous stride
Your strength is sharp as the diamond's cutting edge
You are the cleanser of evil thoughts that enter inside
And companion to good ones that your good graces provide
O Hanuman of golden hue and royal apparel
Of glttering ear-rings and curly hair
You stand emblazened in majesty without compare
Holding the thunderbot and the flag flying aloft
Wearing the sacred thread of grass
That decorates the shoulders with bands of Munj, so soft.
O son of Kesari and Shiva's incarnate
Venerated and worshipped across the world so wide
For your lustrous valor that is impossible to hide
Erudite ,of good thoughts and worldly wise
You achieve Rama's wishes with great enterprise
You delight in hearing great tales of Rama retold
He ,Lakshman and Sita are settled in your heart ,so bold
You showed yourself to Sita in your tiny form, not to alarm
Then wore your terrible aspect, to set Lanka afire,to do Ravan harm
Taking Bhima's terrible form to kill the demons with ease
Thus completing His commands ,Sri Rama, to please
You brought the herb of Sajivan and saved Lakshman's life
And for that Raghuveer joyfully embraced you with pride
The Lord then praised you to the skies
And called you, brother, in his heart, equal
To where his own brother Bharatha lies
The Hydraheaded serpant, Sesa sings your praises
As do thousands of disciples of Raghu, raise their voices
So says, Sri Rama, while you, he embraces
The great sages Sanaka, and Brahma praise thee
And Narada, Sarada with Ahisa all extol thee
The God of death, Yama sings thy paens
So does Kubera who over all wealth, reigns
The Lords of the directions sing in your praise
So wonderous are your exploits, that they ascribe
Poets and scholars fall short, to describe
Sugriva's cause with Rama, you championed in your wisdom
Who by meeting Rama, attained his royal kingdom
As the world knows, Vibheeshan heeding your advice
Became Lanka's ruler, it was no surprise
As the story goes, the sun several thousand Yojanas afar
Your childhood fancy, saw it as fruit so sweet
And grabbed to eat it, as one would a special treat
With Rama's ring in your mouth, over the ocean you leapt
It is no surprise considering your devotion and the promises you kept
The world's problems that are most knotty ,are solved by you, with ease
Those solutions are simple as you make them,our troubles to cease
You stand guard at Rama's gate ensuring none could ascend
Without your protective and watchful consent.
All happiness and joy are gifted at your feet
With you as guardian why should one feel fear's heat?
Only you can control your immense power
Your fearsome bellow, make the three worlds cower.
Demons and ghosts, dare not come nigh
While Mahaveer 's name is repeated, in full cry
With repeated chants of Hanuman the brave
All diseases are cured and all pain is staved
Hanuman saves us from danger and calamity
When we pay him homage by our every faculty
And pray to him with mind, action and speech
The acsetic Rama is overlord of all
Whose tasks you achieve, both big and small
Your blessings are there for him who seeks your favor
You grant him grace and all life's fruits to savor
The four yugas feel your shining name
All ages of mankind do feel your fame
You provide light to the world for all, in His name.
Savior of saints and protector of hermits
Destroyer of demons and Sri Ram's bosom friend
You,the holder of eight siddhi powers over nature's laws
And the grantor of the nine nidhi boons of wealth material
Both powers granted ,by Janaki the mother celestial
You have the secret potion for the Lord's devotion
Forever will you remain Raghupathi's bondsman
Those prayers and chants to you, Ram finds quite pleasing
And removes, your followers' sorrow ,over many births, repeating
At life's end, the devoted will merge into Raghuvar's being
And when reborn, find fame as Hari Bhakthas, others describing
Foresaking all other Gods for attaining Hanuman's pleasure
Gives the seeker both happiness and joy beyond measure
Danger will be avoided and pain be removed
To whosoever that worships Hanuman, mighty and brave
All victory to you, victory, victory to you ,Hanuman the wise
Bless us in your mercy, godly teacher, for all to prize !
The one who repeats the Chalisa a hundred times over
Is released from human bonds of rebirth
And attains eternal bliss on this earth
And the one who reads this Hanuman Chalisa
Attains knowledge and witnesses the godhead of Gowri and Siva
I ,Tulsi Das for ever Hari's servant most humbling
Pray the Lord, finds his home in my heart, that is yearning
O Son of Pavana, Wind God, remover of dangerous calamities
Of auspicious beauteous form, may Ram,Lakshman and Sita
Reside in my welcoming heart, facing all eventualities
Close
Thanks giridhar. that is exactly what i had in mind too. mass movement in silence, in privacy. if that is in conflict with your conduct, i will understand. every bhakta has his own brand of expression!
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Meera: Thank you for your note. I do pray to Hanuman but it is a private prayer for it is a personal relationship. most Hindu worship is personal. If you wish me to recite the Chalisa at a particular time for peace I shall do so, but please forgive me, I cannot join a mass movement ,except in this private prayer at a particular time.
Rgds and Good luck !
Girdhar
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dear giridhar/ashish (kindly forwards to him too pls)
can you both help me commence a worldwide movement to chant the Bajrang Baan daily at a fixed time in the privacy of our homes, so that the huge energy will move Hanumaanji to destroy the terrorism that is gripping the world today?
I am today convinced that strategy, UN, negotiations nothing is going to work.
Only prayer
Only Baajrang Baan.
Help form a group of 1008 sincere bhaktas pls.
we will then form a group and work in silence.
if this convinces you, thats enough.
pls do not add people who have not had a deep relationship with Hanumanji. it will not be fair to them. this is not about volumes but sincerity.
reply pls...
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Thank You Raj: I am glad you said that the Bhakthi shows.IAs I grow old the credo I had previously has slowly disintegrated and I believe that Bhakthi is the only think that gives real solace.
Best regards, Girdhar
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a beautiful translation, Girdhar; there is a smooth flow and the bhakti still glows in every line;
thank you rendering this in English especially for people like me who cannot read other than English and Tamil
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Bina: You are most welcome to anything for your personal use. Good luck and may Hanuman protect you and yours.
Rgds, Girdhar
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GGji
this is awesome
i strongly believe in the power of hanuman chalisa and have recited it non-stop 108 times in one go in many crises and sailed through them like hot knife through butter.
w/yr permission can I cut n paste it in MS word for my personal use?
bina
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Karan: You are most welcome. I am a recent convert to the Chalisa, though not to Hanuman. and going into the meaning and rendering it into English poetry, was a great help to me too !
Rgds, Girdhar
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i do my chalisas everyday,thanks to you,i know the meaning of every word,so kind of you
rgds//karan diwan
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Bhavana: Thank you. I recite the Chalisa every day and rendering it in English poetry was essentially a labor of love. The Chalisa on the surface is yet so simple, but difficult to understand at another level. It was meant for the masses and also for people who crave for its inner meaning.
Kind regds, Girdhar
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