Sundar Kand of the Ramcharitmanas: Overview, Sources and the Opening Verses

The Sundar Kand is the fifth book of the Ramcharitmanas, the retelling of the Ramayana in Awadhi by Tulsidas. In the first book Tulsidas says that he began the poem in Samvat 1631 (1574 CE) at Ayodhya, on the day of Ram Navami. The earlier books follow the birth, marriage and exile of Rama and the loss of Sita. This book follows Hanuman almost alone: his leap over the sea to Lanka, his search for Sita, the burning of the city, his return, and then the army’s arrival at the shore of the sea.

It is the part of the Manas that people most often lift out and read on its own, as a Sundar Kand path, and it is the book in which Hanuman is the hero in his own right. The poem is in Awadhi, the speech of the whole Manas, so some words (jasu, badanu, mahun) will not match modern Hindi.

The book opens with three verses in Sanskrit, then runs through sixty numbered dohas. Between the dohas come the chaupais, the two-line verses that carry the story, and a few longer passages in the chhand metre. Three of the dohas are numbered in two parts (39, 49 and 56), and one verse (12) is a soratha, a related couplet metre. The text is given here in seven pages: this overview with the three opening verses, and six pages of ten dohas each.

The six parts

• Dohas 1 to 10: Hanuman crosses the sea, passes his tests, enters Lanka, meets Vibhishana and finds a grieving Sita in the Ashoka grove as Ravana threatens her.
• Dohas 11 to 20: Hanuman reaches Sita, gives her Rama’s ring and message, uproots the grove and is bound by Meghnad, then stands before Ravana.
• Dohas 21 to 30: Hanuman warns Ravana, Lanka burns, Sita gives him her crest-jewel and he returns to Rama, who asks how Janaki is.
• Dohas 31 to 40: Hanuman reports to Ram, the army marches to the sea, and Vibhishana urges Ravana in open court to return Sita.
• Dohas 41 to 50: Vibhishana is driven out by Ravana, is welcomed by Ram despite the monkeys’ doubts, and is given Lanka’s kingship before the question of crossing the sea comes up.
• Dohas 51 to 60: Ram waits three days at the sea, sends Ravana a letter by his spies, then lifts his bow until the sea bows, names the bridge-builders, and the kand closes.

The three opening verses

Before the first doha the book begins with three verses in Sanskrit, a salutation to Rama, a prayer for devotion, and a salutation to Hanuman. They are in the Gita Press printing and in the 1925 Belvedere edition, though the third verse reads a little differently in the two, as noted below.

Why it is called Sundar Kand

Sundar means beautiful, and explanations of the name differ. In the poem a beautiful (sundar) mountain stands on the shore, and Hanuman climbs it in play before he leaps, and one old commentary takes that as the reason. Others say it is the book of the beautiful, because it holds the finding of Sita, or that Lanka stood on a hill called Trikuta, or that the name goes with Hanuman himself. The poem does not choose between these, and neither does this page.

How the text on these pages is sourced

The first choice for a text like this is a scholarly or a Wikisource edition. Hindi Wikisource does carry the Ramcharitmanas as a scan of the 1925 edition from the Belvedere Press, Prayag, edited by Mahavir Prasad Malaviya, but its Sundar Kand pages are marked as proofread and not yet validated by a second reader, and on checking them we found places where a line is typed twice and the line that should follow is missing, as well as many single-letter slips. A text with those faults cannot be printed as it stands, so the Belvedere edition is used here as a second witness and the main text follows the printing that nearly all readers use, the Gita Press edition of Gorakhpur, edited by Hanuman Prasad Poddar.

The Devanagari was taken from a volunteer digital copy of the Gita Press text on sanskritdocuments.org and compared line by line with scanned Gita Press printings on the Internet Archive from 1948, 1956 and 1959 and two more undated printings, using a script and then looking at the printed pages themselves where the scans disagreed with the digital copy. Where the scanned text was unclear, or disagreed with the digital copy, the page images were looked at directly. In six places the digital copy differed from the books and the books were followed. These are आसिष देइ (the copy had देह) in Doha 2, एतनेहि (the copy had एतेनहि) between Doha 14 and Doha 15, तोहि added in सुनु सुत तोहि उरिन after Doha 31, कपि added in जय कृपाल कहि कपि चले in Doha 44, प्रभु added before प्रभुताई in मैं पुनि उर धरि प्रभु प्रभुताई between Doha 59 and Doha 60, and a stray mark in देखेउँ मैं.

The doha numbering is that of the Gita Press printing, which numbers sixty dohas and splits three of them into ka and kha parts. The 1925 Belvedere edition also has sixty dohas.

Where the 1925 edition reads differently

The 1925 Belvedere edition and the Gita Press printing agree on nearly every word apart from spelling, but they differ in a few readings. In the third opening verse Gita Press has रघुपतिप्रियभक्तं (dear devotee of Raghupati) where Belvedere has रघुपतिवरदूतं (best messenger of Raghupati). In the first chaupais Gita Press has होइहि काजु where Belvedere has होइ काज, यह कहि नाइ where Belvedere has अस कहि नाइ, and एही भाँति चलेउ हनुमाना where Belvedere has तेही भाँति चला हनुमाना. In the line to the mountain Mainaka, Gita Press has तैं मैनाक होहि श्रमहारी and Belvedere होइ. In Lankini's words, Gita Press reads गरुड़ सुमेरु रेनू सम ताही and Belvedere reads गरुअ सुमेरु रेनु सम ताही, the word गरुअ meaning heavy. In Sita's tears Gita Press has प्रीति अति गाढ़ी and पुलकावलि बाढ़ी where Belvedere has अति बाढ़ी and पुलकावलि ठाढ़ी. In the chhand of the army's march Gita Press has मन हरष सभ गंधर्ब सुर where Belvedere has मन हरष दिनकर सोम सुर. Elsewhere the two editions differ in spelling, such as कहु and कह or महुँ and महँ, and such differences are normal in Awadhi texts.

When and how it is traditionally read

Many families hold a Sundar Kand path, a continuous reading of the book, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, the days most linked to Hanuman, and on Hanuman Jayanti and Ram Navami. Some read it before a journey, an examination or a new undertaking, and some read it when they are going through a hard time. How it is done varies widely: some read it alone and some sing it in a group, with a harmonium or drum, and some read it in a single sitting.

In the Gita Press edition the end of the Sundar Kand is marked as the twenty-fourth rest (vishram) of a monthly reading, in which the whole Ramcharitmanas is read over thirty days. Households that read the Manas in this way therefore reach this book near the end of the month. The pace, the number of readings and any fast are family custom and not a rule of the text, so follow your own household or teacher.

What the tradition says it is for

Devotees treat the Sundar Kand as a text of courage, faith under pressure and surrender to Rama. Its hero succeeds through humility as much as strength: he turns down rest, passes tests of wit, holds back his power when he chooses and credits every deed to Rama.

The poem makes a claim of its own in its closing doha (Doha 60): that singing the virtues of Rama brings every good, and that those who listen with respect cross the ocean of worldly life without needing a boat. This page reports that as the text’s own statement of faith and not as a promise. A prayer sits beside practical help and not in place of it. If you are ill or in difficulty, please also speak to a doctor, a counsellor or another qualified person.

Pronunciation notes

Awadhi verses are sung rather than spoken, and the transliteration drops a final short a, as Hindi speech does, so hanuman is said “ha-nu-maan”. Long vowels last about twice as long as short ones, and the breathy consonants bh, dh, kh, gh and th carry a puff of air. A nasal mark over a vowel, as in hiyan or kahun, is a soft hum through the nose. The ending aun, as in kahaun or karaun, is said like the o in “go” followed by a soft nasal hum. Conjuncts such as sankalp go smoothly when said slowly, one syllable at a time. Listening first to a recitation you trust is the kindest way to learn the rhythm.

Related pages

• Hanuman Chalisa: the forty verses of Tulsidas to Hanuman
• Hanumat Pancharatnam: a Sanskrit hymn of five verses to Hanuman
• Shri Ramachandra Kripalu Bhaju Man: a prayer to Rama by Tulsidas
• Hanuman Jayanti: the birth festival of Hanuman
• Hanuman Jayanti puja vidhi: how the day is observed at home
• Ram Navami: the birthday of Rama
• Shani puja on Saturday: a Saturday observance many families pair with a visit to Hanuman
• All mantras, stotras, chalisas and aartis

Frequently asked questions