Hanuman Chalisa: Explanation of verses 3 & 4

April 27, 2013 by rajesh108 1 Comment

Click here for explanations of verses 1 & 2

Insight into Verse 3

Jai Hanuman gyan gun sagar
Jai Kapis tihun lok ujagar
Victory to Thee, O Hanuman, Ocean of wisdom and virtue, victory to the Lord of
monkeys who is well known in all the three worlds.
This is a seemingly simple devotional verse in praise of Hanuman, but the
arrangement and choice of words are crafted by the poet to give deeper
dimensions of meanings and suggestions.
Victory to Thee, O Hanuman, Ocean of wisdom and virtue
Hanuman is a personality with immense knowledge (gyan). This was
apparent to all who met him. When Hanuman met Rama and Lakshmana for
the first time on the outskirts of Kishkinda, Rama commented to Lakshman
that Hanuman is a true man of knowledge. Just by the way he spoke and
conducted himself, it could be seen that he is a knower of the Vedas. In this
world its easy to convince impressionable people that you have great
knowledge. But when a divine being like Rama is the one who acknowledges
someones wisdom, it is a sign of true knowledge.

However knowledge alone is not sufficient to earn our admiration and

reverence. Therefore in the very next word we hear an even more important
reason why Hanuman is so revered, this being his qualities/values (guna).
In the world, there are and have been many clever people with great
knowledge in one or another field. This does not necessarily make a person
great, especially if they are lacking essential qualities, like compassion,
humility, bravery etc. Without such qualities, knowledge alone is dry and is
likely to be a source of ego rather than a constructive force in the world. So
Tulsidass praise of Hanumans knowledge(gyan) goes hand in hand with his
qualities (guna).
Victory to the King of Monkeys who is well known in all the three
worlds
Kapis is translated as King of Monkeys. One may wonder at this. Hanuman
wasnt after all a king. Sugriva and Bali were kings, but not Hanuman. But
true leadership is measured by influence over peoples hearts and minds. In
this measure, it was Hanuman who was king. Just as in the explanation of
verse 1 it was explained that Hanuman is referred to as Raghuvar (kin of
Rama), even though he is not a blood relative of Lord Rama, in the same
way Hanuman is the King without being the actual monarch.
Kapis has another underlying meaning, relating to its Sanskrit route. The
word can be divided into the roots Ka and Pi. Pi means to drink. Ka
means joy, specifically the joy arising from spiritual illumination. Hence Kapis
can also means One who drinks the joy of spiritual illumination. It is by
such individuals who rule peoples hearts without wielding political
authority and who live in the joy of spiritual knowledge because of whom the
three worlds are illumined (tihun lok ujagar).

Insight into Verse 4

Rama doot atulit bal dhama
Anjani-putra Pavan sut nama
You are the divine messenger of Rama and repository of immeasurable strength, and
are also known as Anjaniputra and known as the son of the wind Pavanputra.
You are the divine messenger of Rama and repository of
immeasurable strength
Rama doot means Ramas messenger or Ramas servant. In life, a
person generally prefers to be introduced as the family member or associate

of the person he or she admires the most, or who is closest to them self.
Hanuman could introduce himself in many ways, but he preferred to
introduce himself just as Ramas messenger. When he first met Sita and she
asked him who he was, he said with humility, Mother I am the servant of
Ramachandraji. In Lanka, Ravana asked him who the hell he was who had
just come and wreaked havoc in his kingdom. Hanuman replied By whose
drop of power you have wielded power over the entire earth, I am His
servant.
To be a messenger of the Lord is a position of great responsibility it means
to do His work upon Earth. It is more than just being a devotee. Making
oneself a servant of Rama, being proud of it, and taking responsibility to do
His work is a key to developing immeasurable strength because the
strength flows from the a higher source than oneself.
Hanumans strength wasnt manifest when he was just a servant of Sugriva
(King of Kishkinda), even though he was a dutiful servant of the latter. It is
when he came into the service of Rama that his immeasurable strength was
witnessed. This shows that ones full potential is manifested by being in the
service of the right cause and right master a message which is highly
relevant today.
and are also known as the son of Anjani and known as the son of
the Pavan
Anjani-putra means Son of Anjani. Anjani was Hanumans mother. Although
to Hanuman it was his relationship with Lord Rama that was most important
to him, rather than his family, he was still a dutiful family member, and in
fact brought great honour upon his mother through his great deeds. The
same should be the case for any person who is in service of a great divine
cause which they believe in. The cause is worthy of first loyalty, but ones
mother should also be made proud and be honoured.
Hanuman is also known as the son of Pavan Devata (the Deity of Wind), one
of the divine celestial powers which upholds the functioning of the world.
Pavan Devata is the life force or life breath (praana) of the world. Spiritual
commentaries of the Ramayana have described Hanuman as the subtle life
force which links Spirit (Rama), with Sita (Nature).
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