Sankatmochan Chalisa
श्री संकटमोचन चालीसा
A focused forty-verse hymn distinct from the Hanuman Chalisa, calling on Hanuman specifically in his Sankatmochan (distress-remover) emanation as installed by Goswami Tulsidas at the Sankat Mochan temple in Varanasi after a vision on the banks of the Assi. The verses invoke each of the eight siddhis and nine nidhis Hanuman possesses, naming the specific category of suffering each one removes.
Significance
Tuesday and Saturday evening recitations at the Sankat Mochan temple in Varanasi draw thousands; the temple distributes laddu prasad believed to carry Hanuman's healing power. The chalisa is the preferred text during personal crises that feel beyond rational solution — terminal diagnoses, court summonses, financial ruin — because Hanuman as Sankatmochan is held to be the one deity who acts immediately, without waiting for karmic ripening.
When recited: Tuesdays and Saturdays, during any crisis — illness, lawsuit, financial collapse, family conflict — and as a 21-day or 41-day continuous parayan during Mangal-dasha or Sade-Sati
Benefits
- Immediate relief in acute crises — medical, legal, financial
- Counteracts the malefic effects of Mangal (Mars) and Shani (Saturn)
- Breaks the grip of negative entities, black magic and graveyard rites
- Restores willpower in clinical depression and suicidal ideation
- Said to deliver results within 41 days of continuous Tuesday-Saturday recitation
Opening verses
First 6 verses of the Sankatmochan Chalisa — the most-recited opening section.
जय हनुमान संकटमोचन, दीन बन्धु करुणा के सागर।
काशी पुरी असि तट पावन, तुलसी प्रकटे रूप मनोहर।
अष्ट सिद्धि नव निधि के दाता, संकट हरण भक्त सुखदाता।
मंगल शनि दुख दूर करौ, भूत प्रेत भय निवारौ।
जो नर पाठ करे चालीसा, मिटें संकट होय जगदीसा।
राम लखन सीता सहचारी, बजरंगबली विघ्न निवारी।
Meaning
Victory to Hanuman, remover of distress, friend of the destitute, ocean of compassion. On the sacred bank of the Assi in the city of Kashi, Tulsidas beheld your enchanting form revealed. Bestower of the eight siddhis and nine nidhis, remover of crises, granter of joy to devotees. Remove the suffering of Mangal and Shani, dispel the fear of ghosts and spirits. Whoever recites this chalisa — their crises vanish and the lord of the world arrives. Companion of Ram, Lakshman and Sita, Bajrangbali, remover of all obstacles.
For complete authoritative text
Refer to printed editions from these sources for the full 40-verse chalisa with traditional pronunciation guides: