You’ve probably heard it a thousand times in temples, at home, or even blasting from a speaker during a festival. It’s rhythmic, it’s powerful, and it feels ancient. But if you ask the average person what the Hanuman Chalisa original language actually is, they’ll usually guess Sanskrit.
Honestly? They’re wrong.
While most of India’s heavy-hitting religious texts—think the Vedas or the Bhagavad Gita—are written in formal Sanskrit, the Hanuman Chalisa is a different beast entirely. It was written in Awadhi.
Wait, what’s Awadhi?
Basically, it’s an Indo-Aryan language spoken primarily in the Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh. If you’ve ever been to Lucknow or Ayodhya, you’ve heard the modern roots of it. Back in the 16th century, when the poet-saint Goswami Tulsidas sat down to pen these forty verses, he didn't reach for the "language of the gods" (Sanskrit). He reached for the "language of the people."
Why Tulsidas Chose Awadhi Over Sanskrit
This wasn't just a random choice. It was a massive statement.
During the 1500s, Sanskrit was the gatekeeper language. If you weren't a scholar or a high-caste priest, much of the spiritual world was locked behind a linguistic wall. Tulsidas, despite being a brilliant Sanskrit scholar himself, wanted to break that wall down. He wanted a laborer in a field or a mother at home to be able to sing the glories of Hanuman without needing a translator.
By choosing the Hanuman Chalisa original language as Awadhi, he made devotion accessible. It was the "street slang" of spirituality. This move actually ticked off a lot of the orthodox scholars in Kashi (Varanasi) at the time. They felt he was "degrading" sacred stories by putting them into a common dialect. Tulsidas didn't care. He believed that Hanuman, the ultimate servant of Ram, would care more about the heart of the devotee than the grammar of the verse.
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The Breakdown: Is it Hindi or Awadhi?
People often get confused because Awadhi and modern Hindi look very similar on paper. They both use the Devanagari script.
If you read the first line—Shree Guru Charan Saroj Raj—it feels like Hindi. But as you go deeper, the verb endings and specific vocabulary are distinctly Awadhi. For example, the word "Chalisa" comes from "chalis," meaning forty. The structure of the quatrains, called Chaupais, is a classic folk meter that sounds beautiful when chanted but follows the rhythmic rules of the local tongue rather than rigid Sanskrit shlokas.
A Prison, a King, and 40 Verses
There’s a wild story behind how this text even came to be. Legend has it that the Mughal Emperor Akbar imprisoned Tulsidas after the poet refused to perform a miracle in court. While locked in a cell at Fatehpur Sikri, Tulsidas supposedly composed the Hanuman Chalisa.
Forty days in prison. Forty verses of praise.
On the fortieth day, an army of monkeys allegedly swarmed the prison, causing such chaos that Akbar released Tulsidas immediately. Whether you take that literally or as a metaphor for the power of faith, it highlights why the language had to be simple. It was a cry for help. It was meant to be urgent, raw, and direct.
Key Linguistic Features of the Original Text
If you're looking closely at the Hanuman Chalisa original language, you'll notice a few things:
- The Dohas: The prayer starts and ends with couplets (Dohas) that set the stage. These are short, punchy, and packed with meaning.
- The Chaupais: The "Forty" are quatrains. They have a specific rhyming scheme that makes them incredibly easy to memorize. That’s why you see five-year-olds chanting it perfectly without even knowing how to read.
- Vocabulary Mix: While primarily Awadhi, Tulsidas snuck in some Sanskrit loanwords to maintain a sense of "gravity," but he softened them to fit the local mouth-feel.
Why It Still Matters in 2026
You might wonder why we’re still obsessing over a 500-year-old dialect.
The truth is, the Hanuman Chalisa is probably the most recited piece of literature in Northern India today. It transcends the "classic vs. modern" debate. Because it was written in a vernacular language, it survived the shift into modern Hindi much better than Sanskrit texts did. It feels relatable. When you say Sankat Mochan (Reliever of Sufferings), it hits differently than a complex Sanskrit compound word might for a casual listener.
Real Talk: Does the Language Affect the Power?
In the world of Mantra Shastra, some people argue that the specific vibrations of Sanskrit are what make a prayer "work."
But the Hanuman Chalisa flipped the script. It proved that Bhakti (devotion) is a language of its own. Tulsidas showed that you don't need a PhD in ancient linguistics to talk to the divine. This is why you'll find versions of the Chalisa translated into Tamil, Bengali, English, and even Spanish today. But the soul of it remains in those original Awadhi rhythms.
Actionable Takeaways for Your Practice
If you're someone who recites this daily or is just curious about the history, here’s how to use this knowledge:
- Listen to an Awadhi Recitation: Go on YouTube and search for "Hanuman Chalisa in traditional Awadhi style." The cadence is slightly different than the "Bollywood" versions you might be used to. It's slower, more melodic, and highlights the rhymes better.
- Read the Word-for-Word Meaning: Don't just chant. Since the Hanuman Chalisa original language is so close to Hindi, taking thirty minutes to look up the specific meaning of words like Bikaṭ (terrible/awesome) or Kalesh (suffering) will change how you feel when you say them.
- Appreciate the Rebellion: Remember that every time you say these words, you’re participating in a 500-year-old act of spiritual democratization. You’re speaking a language that was chosen specifically so that anyone could be their own priest.
The Hanuman Chalisa isn't just a prayer; it’s a linguistic bridge. It took the high-brow philosophy of the Ramayana and brought it down to the dusty streets and village squares. Understanding that it’s written in Awadhi isn't just a fun trivia fact—it’s the key to understanding why it remains so deeply loved by millions of people across the globe.
Next Step: To truly grasp the nuance, compare a verse of the Valmiki Ramayana (Sanskrit) with a Chaupai from the Hanuman Chalisa. You'll immediately hear the difference between a formal anthem and a soulful folk song.