Hanuman Chalisa, Chaupai 12

Meaning of “raghupati kīnhī bahut baṛāī”

"raghupati kīnhī bahut baṛāī" is Chaupai 12 of the Hanuman Chalisa, which Tulsidas wrote in Awadhi. It means: Rama, lord of the Raghus, praised you greatly: "You are as dear to me as my brother Bharata." At their first meeting in the Manas, Rama tells Hanuman he is twice as dear to him as Lakshmana.

रघुपति कीन्ही बहुत बड़ाई ।तुम मम प्रिय भरतहि सम भाई ॥raghupati kīnhī bahut baṛāītum mam priya bharatahi sam bhāī

Rama, lord of the Raghus, praised you greatly: "You are as dear to me as my brother Bharata."

Tulsidas, Hanuman Chalisa, Chaupai 12, Gita Press reading

Word by word

रघुपतिraghupati
lord of the Raghus, Rama
कीन्हीkīnhī
gave
बहुतbahut
much
बड़ाईbaṛāī
praise
तुमtum
you
ममmam
my
प्रियpriya
dear
भरतहि समbharatahi sam
equal to Bharata
भाईbhāī
brother

Where this happens in the Ramayana

At their first meeting in the Manas, Rama tells Hanuman he is twice as dear to him as Lakshmana.

सुनु कपि जियँ मानसि जनि ऊना। तैं मम प्रिय लछिमन ते दूना॥

Ramcharitmanas, Kishkindha Kand 4.4, chaupai 4

Other readings

  • Some editions print भरतहिं.

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Sources and method

Awadhi text: Goswami Tulsidas, Gita Press reading, checked against three Gita Press printings and Rambhadracharya's Mahaviri. English meaning and word glosses: Wisdom's own, following the traditional reading, edited by Ankur Shukla.