The 40-verse ode to Hanuman especially resonates with devotees, as so vividly conveyed in the hearts of countless who have found solace in the soul-stirring strains of the divine lyrics. To properly understand the Chalisa, one must learn of its author — the famed Hindu poet, Tulsidas — and how he came to write it.
Born roughly 500 years ago in the Gangetic plains, Tulsidas Ji was no stranger to hardship. While he is said to have miraculously uttered the words “Rama, Rama!” at the time of his birth, as if declaring to the world the auspiciousness of his ultimate life’s purpose, his parents abandoned him anyway when his horoscope revealed he would be a harbinger of misfortune. This event spurred him to begin living as a wandering beggar and fend for his life.
Impressed by Tulsidas’ cleverness and natural talent for language, Naraharidas, a devotee of the Ramananda tradition, took the young boy under his wing, initiating him as his disciple, and narrating to him his first ever hearing of the Ramayana, and later went on to receive an education in the sacred city of Varanasi,
Despite such erudition, several accounts say that after Tulsidas got married, he became so fond of his wife Ratnavali, that he was unhinged in his passion for her.
On one occasion, a violent storm prevented Tulsidas from crossing the river to meet his wife while she was away. Unable to wait until the next day, Tulsidas jumped into the river in the middle of the night, grabbing a floating log to help him navigate the turbulent waters. He barely reached the other side and ran to his mother-in-law's house in an uncontrollable frenzy of desire.
When Ratnavali saw Tulsidas in his maddened condition, she became horrified and embarrassed by his actions. She scolded him, exclaiming that if he had even half the devotion for Rama that he had for her body, he would be a fully realized saint by now.
Stricken by her chastisement, Tulsidas left the home in a reflective state and began returning to the river.
Upon reaching the bank from which he came he was horrified to discover that the log he had relied on to cross the waters was actually a corpse, highlighting the stark fashion of how truly blinded by lust he was.
As the first light of dawn appeared in the sky, a new kind of light emerged from within Tulsidas, revealing, more clearly than ever before, the real spiritual purpose of his life - to re-dedicate his life to Rama. Tulsidas began living as an ascetic, travelling from one place to the next, yearning to see his beloved deity, just as he once yearned for his wife.
It happened once that a spirit told Tulsidas that Hanuman, disguised as a leper, regularly attended the public narrations of the Ramayana in Varanasi. If Tulsidas could somehow gain his favour, then perhaps the famed vanara would be willing to help find Rama.
Losing no time in heeding the ghost’s advice, Tulsidas went to the purported spot of the narrations. He immediately took notice of an old leper listening attentively near the back of the audience.
As the narration came to a close, Tulsidas quietly followed the leper into the woods, after which he made himself known and fell at his feet, begging for the chance to see Rama.
First feigning ignorance, the leper was eventually won over by Tulsidas’ persistence and subsequently revealed his true form as Hanuman. Pleased by Tulsidas’ devotion, Hanuman told him to go to Chitrakuta, where he could see Rama with his own eyes.
Following Hanuman’s instructions, Tulsidas moved to Chitrakuta, where he had two visions of Rama — one of him and his brother Lakshman on horseback, and another in which Rama appeared to him as a young boy.
Enraptured by these visions, Tulsidas became inspired to compose his story of the Ramayana, and even more so when Shiva came to him in a dream, ordering him to write it.
Taking on the challenge enthusiastically and vigour, his version, known as the Ramacharitmanas (“Lake of the Deeds of Rama”) in the language Awadhi, was an enormous success. As the years rolled by and its popularity grew, so did the reputation of his spiritual potency, with many claiming he could even bring the dead back to life through the mere sound of his poetry.
Upon hearing such tales, Mughal Emperor Akbar ordered the elderly and ailing Tulsidas to appear at his court in Agra. He demanded that the old saint show him some of the miracles he had heard about. The saint said he was no sorcerer, but a simple poet and devotee of Rama, who was the true worker of miracles. Falsely perceiving Tulsidas’ humility as an outright act of defiance, the emperor had him thrown in jail.
The culmination of Tulsidas’ spiritual evolution manifested in the jail; most amazingly, he turned inward and composed the Hanuman Chalisa.
Akbar himself witnessed this truth, for after Tulsidas completed 40 days of praise to Hanuman from the prison, an army of monkeys descended on the city, wreaking havoc in the palace, the bazaar, and people’s homes. This forced the emperor to apologize profusely to the saint and set him free.
Though an army of monkeys may not rescue those who recite the devotional poem today, the Chalisa can still experience the unique power of the Divine, free of the struggles of this world.
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