Introduction
The Hanuman Chalisa by Tulsidas is one of the best-known and best-loved poems in the world. Tens of millions of people can recite it by heart, and chant it daily, as well as in times singularly joyful or sorrowful-or when they feel the need for support or courage.
So too did Bhaskar, the precocious young mathematician in A Suitable Boy who, as a child, loved to participate in the annual Ramlila in Brahmpur in his role as a monkey warrior.
I did this translation more than ten years ago as a labour of love, but have only recently been persuaded to publish it. I hope that it will enable the Hanuman Chalisa to be enjoyed by those who cannot understand the Hindi or Awadhi of the 16th century. The Hanuman Chalisa is a hymn to Hanuman in his many mythic roles: warrior, protector, remover of obstacles, teacher, devotee, adviser, bestower of good things, intercessor, friend, miracle worker, god.
It consists of 43 rhymed couplets: two dohas by way of introduction; 40 chaupais, which is why it is called a Chalisa or 'Fortyverser'; and one final doha by way of coda.
Each line of a doha has a first half of 13 beats (or 'matras'); then a pause (or 'caesura'); then a second half of 11 beats. Each line of a chaupai has 16 beats, divided 4+4+4+4. These beats themselves are attached to the syllables of the poem: broadly speaking, a syllable has either 1 or 2 beats, depending on the length of the vowel it contains and whether it is or is not followed by a conjunct consonant.
This translation includes a phonetic transliteration, but no notes.
I was at first tempted to add a few notes. These would have discussed the history of the poem; its basic structure and movement; references to the names and events mentioned within the poem; and (dear to the heart of a poet) a detailed analysis of the rhythm and prosody of the dohas and chaupais (including exceptions to the standard beat-count of syllables, as well as Tulsidas's lively syncopation across divisions within a line of his chaupais). But I eventually decided against this on the grounds that it would encumber a simple translation with too much by way of apparatus.
I did decide, however, in order to make the sound of the poem accessible to those who cannot read the Hindi text, to add a simple phonetic transliteration-one which uses no superscripts, subscripts, italicisations or diacritical marks. (1) The short vowels, long vowels and diphthongs are written as follows: a, aa, i, ee, u, oo, e, ai, o, au. Where two vowels sit next to each other within a word, they are separated by a hyphen. (2) The light nasalisation of a vowel is written: '(n)' (3) The retroflex letters are shown as the capital letters T, D and R in order to distinguish them from their dental equivalents. As is the case with Hindi, nothing else is capitalised.
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