Bajrang Baan is a devotional prayer to Hanuman in which each line is offered like an arrow — baan means arrow — sent with the single request that difficulty be carried away and work brought to completion. It is composed in Awadhi, is traditionally read after the Hanuman Chalisa rather than before it, and is most often taken up on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The verses on this page are the short form in common household use; longer recensions circulate in print and differ in length.
मूल पाठ · The text, line by line
Each line carries its meaning in our own words — tap a line to read it.
Opening salutation
नमो नमो बजरंग बलवान। संकट हरो मम काज निबाहन॥
Namo namo Bajrang balwan। Sankat haro mam kaj nibahan॥
The opening salutation greets Hanuman as Bajrang, the one whose body is firm as a thunderbolt, and asks plainly for two things: that present difficulty be lifted, and that work already begun be carried through.
The call
उठो उठो बजरंग बलवान। रामदूत अतुलित महान॥
Utho utho Bajrang balwan। Ramdoot atulit mahan॥
The arrow
बजरंग बाण चलो महाराज। हनुमत सुमिरो सब काज॥
Bajrang baan chalo maharaj। Hanumat sumiro sab kaj॥
Closing
जय जय जय बजरंग बलवान। तुम बिन मेरो कौन सहायक आन॥
Jai jai jai Bajrang balwan। Tum bin mero kaun sahayak aan॥
When this is traditionally recited
- Days of the week
- Tuesday and Saturday, the two days most associated with Hanuman across North and West India. Many households keep to one of the two rather than both.
- After the Chalisa
- Common practice is to recite the Hanuman Chalisa first and the Bajrang Baan after it. The order is a convention of practice, not a rule, and some read the Baan on its own.
- Occasions
- Periods of prolonged worry, a court matter, an examination season, or the start of something that has already been attempted once — situations where people want steadiness while they keep going.
- Time of day
- Usually after bathing in the morning, or at dusk once a lamp has been lit. Both are described as settled parts of the day rather than as required hours.
How it is traditionally recited
- Count
- One reading is the ordinary practice. Some keep a resolve of eleven or twenty-one readings across a period of weeks; the number is personal and traditions differ on which are favoured.
- Pace
- Faster and more emphatic than the Chalisa — the prayer is built on short, insistent lines, and household recitation usually reflects that rhythm.
- Posture and setting
- Seated, facing east or north, with a lamp or a simple image nearby. Recitation at a temple is equally common.
- Regional variation
- Printed versions differ in length and in the ordering of some lines, and melodies vary widely between regions. Tradition treats these variants as legitimate rather than ranking one as correct.
- On correctness
- Traditional practice describes preferences, not penalties: a recitation offered with attention is considered complete, and there is no traditional teaching that a missed day or a mispronounced word brings harm.
Significance and imagery
The Baan is the most direct of the Hanuman texts. Where the Chalisa recounts episodes and lets the praise emerge from them, this prayer asks — repeatedly, in the imperative, almost impatiently. That tone is the reason it is so often chosen during a long-running worry: it gives the reciter something to say when praise alone feels insufficient.
Calling the recitation an arrow reverses the usual picture. The arrow is not aimed at an opponent; it is the request itself, released and let go of. Read that way, the prayer is as much about handing something over as it is about asking for it.
Traditional teaching pairs this prayer with effort rather than replacing it. The request is that a task be carried through — which presupposes that the task is being worked on. Nothing in the text treats recitation as a substitute for the work, and no traditional source presents it as a guaranteed remedy for a specific outcome.
Key names and epithets
- Bajrang
- Thunderbolt-limbed. The name points to a body that holds firm under strain, which is why it is the name chosen for a prayer recited under strain.
- Ramdoot
- Rama's messenger. In this prayer it functions as the reason the request can be made at all: the one addressed is already in the habit of carrying things through for someone else.
- Baan
- Arrow. Used here for the lines of the prayer themselves — released with intent, and then no longer held.
- Sankat
- Difficulty, a tight place. The word describes constriction rather than catastrophe, which matches how the prayer is used in practice.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the Hanuman Chalisa and the Bajrang Baan?
The Chalisa is forty verses of praise built from episodes in Hanuman's life, and it is the text most people learn first. The Bajrang Baan is shorter, addressed in the imperative, and is a request rather than a recounting. In household practice the Chalisa is usually recited first and the Baan after it, and many people who recite daily use only the Chalisa and keep the Baan for periods of particular difficulty.
Why do printed versions of the Bajrang Baan differ in length?
Because it has circulated for centuries in manuscript, in pamphlets and by memory, and no single edition became the standard the way it did for the Chalisa. Short household forms of a few couplets and much longer recensions are both in print. The version on this page is a short form in common use; if your family recites a longer one, that is not a corrected or expanded text so much as a different line of transmission.
Is Tuesday required, or can it be recited on any day?
Tuesday and Saturday are the days most associated with Hanuman, but the prayer is recited on every day of the week and traditional practice places no restriction on this. Households that keep a weekly reading usually choose one day and stay with it, because regularity is what makes a practice easy to hold. If a day is missed the recitation is simply taken up when possible.
Does reciting it remove a specific problem?
Tradition presents it as a prayer for steadiness and for work to be carried through, and that is how it is described here. It is not offered as a guaranteed fix for a named outcome, and it sits alongside practical effort and, where health is involved, alongside medical care rather than in place of either.
Meaning in your language
A devotional appeal to Hanuman for swift protection, courage and removal of troubles.
Benefits / when to read
Read for protection and strength in difficult times.
Suggested day / time
Tuesdays and Saturdays.
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Disclaimer: This content is shared for devotional and informational purposes with respect for tradition. Meanings and benefits are original short summaries in simple language and are not a guarantee of any outcome. We publish only traditional / public-domain or properly licensed text. If you notice any error in a text, please let us know so we can correct it. Verification status: Prayer · verified.