The final section of the Chalisa, Chaupais 33–40 and the closing doha, moves from describing Hanuman's qualities to describing the fruits of devotion to him — reaching Rama, shedding lifetimes of sorrow, finding all happiness through service to him alone. Tulsidas the poet then speaks as author, describing the practice of reading the Chalisa itself. He closes with his own signature and the most personal of all the Chalisa's prayers: a request that Hanuman dwell in the heart, bringing Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita with him. The Chalisa ends not with a declaration but with an invitation.
📖 Composed by Tulsidas (16th century)
Chaupai 33
तुम्हरे भजन राम को पावै ।
जनम-जनम के दुख बिसरावै ॥
Tumhare bhajan Raam ko paavai.
Janam-janam ke dukh bisaraavai.
तुम्हरे भजन
by singing your bhajan, by devotion to you
राम को पावै
one reaches Shri Rama
जनम-जनम के
of birth after birth, across many lifetimes
दुख बिसरावै
the sorrows are forgotten, are left behind
Devotion to Hanuman, Tulsidas says, leads to Rama — the very source Hanuman points toward. He describes the scope of what falls away: not just today's sorrow but the accumulated sorrow of birth after birth across many lifetimes. This is the classical understanding within bhakti tradition — that sustained devotion works not only on the present moment but on the deeper patterns a person carries.
Chaupai 34
अंत काल रघुबर पुर जाई ।
जहाँ जन्म हरि-भक्त कहाई ॥
Ant kaal Raghubar pur jaaee.
Jahaan janam Hari-bhakt kahaaee.
अंत काल
at the final time, at the moment of death
रघुबर पुर
the abode of Raghubara — Rama's divine realm
जाई
one goes
जहाँ जन्म
and wherever one is born after
हरि-भक्त कहाई
is known as a devotee of Hari (Vishnu/Rama)
The verse speaks of two outcomes that fold into one another. At the end of this life, the devotee goes to Rama's own realm. And in whatever life follows, they are known as a devotee of Hari. The tradition holds that the orientation of the soul — its direction of longing — carries forward. One who has turned toward Rama keeps that turning, life after life.
Chaupai 35
और देवता चित्त न धरई ।
हनुमत सेइ सर्ब सुख करई ॥
Aur devata chitt na dharaee.
Hanumat sei sarba sukha karaee.
और देवता
other deities
चित्त न धरई
even if one does not hold them in mind
हनुमत सेइ
through service to Hanuman
सर्ब सुख करई
all happiness is found
This is a verse about the completeness of Hanuman's devotion as a path. Tulsidas is not dismissing other deities — he is saying that Hanuman, as Rama's devoted servant and as someone who contains Ram-rasayan, is a complete enough gateway that all happiness can be found through him alone. In the bhakti tradition, choosing one's ishta devata (chosen deity) fully is itself the teaching.
Chaupai 36
संकट कटै मिटै सब पीरा ।
जो सुमिरै हनुमत बलबीरा ॥
Sankat katai mitai sab peeraa.
Jo sumirai Hanumat balbeeraa.
संकट कटै
crises are cut away, difficulty is severed
मिटै सब पीरा
all pain is erased
जो सुमिरै
whoever remembers, whoever calls to mind
हनुमत बलबीरा
Hanuman the powerful hero
The word sumirai — remembers — is the key. Not just reciting a name but actually holding Hanuman in mind, calling him to memory. For whoever does this, Tulsidas says, crises are cut through and all pain is erased. The image of cutting — sankat katai — is precise: as if a blade meets the knot of difficulty and parts it.
Chaupai 37
जय जय जय हनुमान गोसाईं ।
कृपा करहु गुरुदेव की नाईं ॥
Jai jai jai Hanumaan Gosaaeen.
Kripa karahu Gurudev ki naaeen.
जय जय जय
glory, glory, glory — three times
हनुमान गोसाईं
Hanuman, the Lord, the master
कृपा करहु
bestow grace
गुरुदेव की नाईं
in the manner of a Gurudev — a spiritual teacher
The triple jai — three times glory — marks a shift in tone. The long description is drawing to a close, and Tulsidas now addresses Hanuman directly with a personal prayer. He asks not just for grace but for grace given in the manner of a Gurudev — a teacher who guides, illuminates, and transforms. Hanuman here is not just a deity to be worshipped but a teacher to be learned from.
Chaupai 38
जो सत बार पाठ कर कोई ।
छूटहि बंदि महा सुख होई ॥
Jo sat baar paath kar koee.
Chhoothahi bandi mahaa sukha hoee.
जो सत बार
whoever, a hundred times
पाठ कर
recites, reads
कोई
anyone
छूटहि बंदि
is freed from bonds, from captivity
महा सुख होई
great happiness comes
Tulsidas the poet now speaks as an author, describing the practice of the Chalisa itself. Whoever reads it a hundred times, he says, is freed from bonds and finds great happiness. The bonds may be literal or figurative — physical captivity or the inner captivities of fear, habit, and attachment. The hundredfold reading is a description of sustained, repeated practice — the same as nirantar (continuous) in Chaupai 25.
Chaupai 39
जो यह पढ़ै हनुमान चालीसा ।
होय सिद्धि साखी गौरीसा ॥
Jo yah padhai Hanumaan Chaaleesaa.
Hoy siddhi saakhi Gaureesha.
जो यह पढ़ै
whoever reads this
हनुमान चालीसा
the Hanuman Chalisa
होय सिद्धि
attains siddhi — fulfilment, accomplishment
साखी
as witness
गौरीसा
Shiva (lord of Gauri — Parvati)
The Chalisa names its own witness. Whoever reads the Chalisa attains fulfilment — and Shiva himself, called here Gaureesh (lord of Gauri), stands as witness to this. The invocation of Shiva as witness is not incidental: Shiva is the witness of all spiritual practice, the one before whom no pretence is possible. The seal of the Chalisa is placed before Shiva's open eyes.
Chaupai 40
तुलसीदास सदा हरि चेरा ।
कीजै नाथ हृदय महँ डेरा ॥
Tulaseedaas sadaa Hari cheraa.
Keejai naath hridai mahan deraa.
तुलसीदास
Tulsidas (the poet himself)
सदा
always
हरि चेरा
a servant of Hari — of Rama
कीजै
please make, please do
नाथ
O lord (addressing Hanuman)
हृदय महँ
within the heart
डेरा
a dwelling, a home
The final chaupai is the poet's own signature and prayer. Tulsidas identifies himself: I am always Hari's servant. And then he makes a single request of Hanuman: O lord, come and dwell in my heart. It is the most personal moment in the entire Chalisa — forty verses of glory and praise ending in the simplest of all requests: please be here. Please stay.
Closing Doha
पवनतनय संकट हरन, मंगल मूरति रूप ।
राम लखन सीता सहित, हृदय बसहु सुर भूप ॥
Pawantanay sankat haran, mangal moorati roop.
Raam Lakhan Seetaa sahit, hridaya basahu sur bhoop.
पवनतनय
son of Pawan, the Wind — Hanuman
संकट हरन
remover of all crisis and difficulty
मंगल मूरति रूप
the very form of auspiciousness
राम लखन सीता सहित
together with Shri Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita
हृदय बसहु
please dwell in the heart
सुर भूप
O king of the devas
The closing doha brings everything together. Tulsidas addresses Hanuman with three names — son of the Wind, remover of crisis, embodiment of auspiciousness — and makes the final request: come and live in the heart. But not alone. Bring Rama. Bring Lakshmana. Bring Sita. The last image of the Chalisa is the entire divine family seated within the devotee's heart — not visited, not approached from afar, but present within. The Chalisa ends where all of bhakti is said to ultimately arrive: the divine within.
References
Hanuman Chalisa · 5 / 5