From the archive record
Holiest of holy ceremonies and chants of sanatani (idol worshipping Hindus) straight from the bank of the Ganges at Rishikesh - this is an uncut virtual ceremony for devout Hindus to listen in to, just as if there were there, at their holy river's banks, for prayer. The Hanuman Chalisa is a Hindu devotional hymn (stotra) addressed to Hanuman. It is traditionally believed to have been authored by 16th-century poet Tulsidas in the Awadhi language, and is his best known text apart from the Ramcharitmanas. The word "chālīsā" is derived from "chālīs", which means the number forty in Hindi, as the Hanuman Chalisa has 40 verses (excluding the couplets at the beginning and at the end). The Hindu deity to whom the prayer is addressed, Hanuman (Sanskrit: हनुमान्, Hanumān), is an ardent devotee of Ra