Hanuman Aarti: Aarti Kije Hanuman Lala Ki, Text and Meaning

Aarti Kije Hanuman Lala Ki is the aarti sung to Hanuman, the devoted servant of Rama, at the end of his puja. An aarti is a song of praise sung while a lit lamp is waved before the deity. This one is among the first that many people learn, because it is sung at nearly every Hanuman temple, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and on Hanuman Jayanti. Its opening words, aarti kijai Hanuman lala ki, mean “do the aarti of dear Hanuman”.

The words of the song name no author. Some printed collections add a last couplet that mentions Tulsidas, and for that reason the aarti is often linked to him. That couplet appears in only three of the books we compared and the song is not found in Tulsidas’s own works, so the link is a popular attribution and not an established fact. Treat the author and the date as unknown. The text is built on the well-known deeds of Hanuman from the Ramayana: the crossing to Lanka, the burning of the city, the herb for Lakshmana and the rescue from Ahiravan in the nether world. You can read the first of these in Sundar Kand and the verses to him in the Hanuman Chalisa.

The text, transliteration and meaning

The aarti is a refrain with eleven couplets. The first couplet doubles as the refrain, and in singing it is repeated after every couplet, so the song feels longer than the page. The spelling follows the majority of the printed versions we compared, and where they split evenly, the Gita Press reading is used.

Where the versions differ

Printed versions agree on the shape of this aarti and differ in a few words. These are the differences that matter, with the reading used above first.

• Rog-dosh jake nikat na jhanke. Seven of the books we compared print jhanke (comes peeping near, with or without the nasal mark) and six print jhaanpai or jhaanpe (comes to cover or touch), which is the Gita Press reading. Both give the same idea, that sickness and fault keep away from him.
• Siya or Seey. Most versions have sudhi of Siya (Sita), and a few have Seey, an older form of the same name.
• Baayen or Baaee. The left arm is baayen bhuja in most and baaee bhuja in a few, which also end the line with asur sanhare instead of asur dal maare. The sense is the same.
• Daahine or dahine. The right arm is daahine in the majority and dahine in the Gita Press printing.
• Lakshman moorchhit pade sakare. Three versions read pade dharni mein, laaye sanjeevan, which puts Lakshmana on the ground and says Hanuman “brought” the herb. The wording of the page is the more common one.
• Karpoor lau chhai or karpoor ki baati. A minority print the camphor “wick” in place of the camphor flame.
• Jai jai jai. The Gita Press version prints jai with a different vowel sign, and one printing adds ji after Hanuman. These are spelling and metre choices.

Some books add a closing couplet, lank vidhvans kiye raghurai, Tulsidas swami keerti gaai, and then repeat the refrain. It appears in only three of the books compared, so it is left out of the text above. If your temple or family sings it, it belongs to your tradition, and nothing here asks you to drop it.

When and how it is traditionally sung

The aarti closes the puja. After flowers, sindoor or oil, and an offering of sweets such as laddu or boondi, a lamp with camphor is lit and waved clockwise before the image while the family sings, usually with a bell and clapping. The singers then pass their palms over the flame and touch their eyes. In temples it is sung at the evening lamp, and on Tuesdays and Saturdays, the weekdays most associated with Hanuman in popular practice, many devotees visit a Hanuman shrine and sing it. Customs differ by region and family, and there is no single required time.

It is sung most on Hanuman Jayanti, and the steps of that day’s worship are in the Hanuman Jayanti puja guide. It is also sung at Ram Navami, when the family of Rama is honoured together with Hanuman.

What the text says and what the tradition holds

The aarti sets out his strength first, so great that mountains shake and illness stays away. It then walks through four deeds in turn. Sent by Rama with the betel-leaf pledge, he burned Lanka and brought news of Sita. He crossed the sea at once. He brought the herb that saved Lakshmana. He went to the nether world and dealt with Ahiravan. The last lines show gods, people and sages waving lamps, and his mother Anjana waving one too.

The last couplet states that whoever sings the aarti dwells in Vaikuntha and reaches the highest state. That is the text’s own claim of faith, and it is reported here as such and not as a promise. Devotees treat the aarti as a way to end worship with gratitude and a steady mind. It does not replace a doctor or practical help when you are ill or in difficulty.

Pronunciation notes

Hindi final short a is not pronounced, so lala is “laa-laa” and kijai is “kee-jai”. The ai in kijai and gaavai is a single vowel, as in the English word “aisle”. The breathy consonants carry a puff of air, as in bhuja and bhaanti. The nasal sign over kanpai and jhanke is a soft hum through the nose. The a at the end of kala in the refrain is long, “kalaa”.

Related mantras and pages

• Hanuman Chalisa: the forty verses to Hanuman by Tulsidas
• Sundar Kand: the book of the Ramcharitmanas that tells of his journey to Lanka
• Hanumat Pancharatnam: a Sanskrit prayer of five verses to Hanuman
• Hanuman Jayanti: the festival of his birth
• Hanuman Jayanti puja guide: the steps of the worship
• Jai Ganesh Deva aarti: another aarti sung at the close of a puja
• All mantras, stotras, chalisas and aartis

How the text on this page is sourced. No edition of this aarti exists on Hindi or Sanskrit Wikisource, and we could not find a printed edition of it with a date before 1960. The words were therefore compared across thirteen independent printings, following the rule this site uses for popular devotional texts: Gita Press, Gorakhpur (Hanuman Chalisa booklets and an Aarti Sangrah, undated scans); Rashtra Kavi Maithili Sharan Gupta Shodh Evam Sahitya Parishad, Bhopal (Aarti Sangrah); Shiv Prakashan Mandir (Arati Sangrah); Hari Darshan Arti Sangrah; Hanuman Siddhi; Sri Hanuman Upasana (Amit Pocket Books, Jalandhar); an Aarti Chalisa Sangrah; an Aarti Collection; Nitya Path Stotra Mala; and four websites (Bhakti Bharat, Vedadhara, Bharat Discovery and Drik Panchang). Each word printed above appears with identical spelling in two or more of these sources, and where readings differ the majority reading is taken. Where the count was equal (the left arm, the spacing of Asur dal, and Baikunth), the Gita Press reading is followed. Notable differences are listed above. Transliteration is simplified for easy reading, and the meaning is written from the Hindi itself.

Frequently asked questions