Sankat Mochan Hanuman Ashtak

It was written by Goswami Tulsidas (1532 to 1623), the same saint who gave us the Hanuman Chalisa and the Ramcharitmanas. The Ashtak is his, in the Awadhi bhasha.

There are eight verses. Ashtak itself means eight. After the eight verses comes one doha to close the paath.

Sankat means trouble and mochan means the one who removes it. So Sankat Mochan is Hanuman ji as the remover of every trouble. That same line comes back after every verse.

Any day is fine. Many people read it right after the Hanuman Chalisa. Tuesday and Saturday, and Hanuman Jayanti, are felt to be specially good.

Yes, there is no rule stopping anyone. Read it with a clean heart and shraddha, that is all it asks.

People hold it as a very powerful paath, because each verse remembers Hanuman ji actually removing some big trouble in the Ramayan, and then asks the same for us. Let me be honest about what that power means. It is not a magic that removes your effort or gives a guaranteed result. What it does give, and this is real, is courage and a settled mind, so a heavy sankat feels a little lighter and you can face it with less fear.

Because in eight short verses it holds one whole idea, that Hanuman ji is Sankat Mochan, the remover of every trouble. It is easy to remember, takes only a few minutes, and in most homes and mandirs it is read right after the Hanuman Chalisa. For someone who is worried or afraid, having these words by heart is a great support.

The whole Ashtak is about Hanuman ji and nothing else. Every verse recalls one of his leelas from the Ramayan, freeing others from danger, crossing the sea, bringing the sanjeevani, and after each one it returns to his name Sankat Mochan. So it is not just praise, it is a reminder of the times he has removed trouble, said back to him as a prayer.

There is no hidden name as such. The name the Ashtak keeps returning to is Sankat Mochan, the remover of sankat, and that is really the heart of it. The refrain after every verse says that in this whole world everyone knows Hanuman ji by that name. So the so called secret is out in the open, it is Sankat Mochan.

Bhakt ise sankat, bhay aur chinta ke samay padhte hain, kyunki iski har chaupai Hanuman ji ko sankat mochan ke roop mein yaad karti hai. Par sach yeh hai ki iska sabse bada fayda man ka shant aur nirbhay hona hai. Ise shraddha se roz padhiye, kisi jaadu ki tarah nahi, tabhi asli laabh milta hai.

प्रातः स्नान करके हनुमान जी की मूर्ति या चित्र के सामने बैठिए, चाहें तो दीपक जलाइए, और पूरे अष्टक की आठों चौपाइयाँ पूरे ध्यान से पढ़िए. अधिकतर घरों और मंदिरों में इसे हनुमान चालीसा के तुरंत बाद पढ़ा जाता है. मंगलवार और शनिवार विशेष दिन हैं. गिनती से ज़्यादा ज़रूरी है साफ़ मन और श्रद्धा भाव.

Yes, and that is the best way. Once a day, in the morning after a bath or in the evening after the diya, is how most people do it. It takes only about five minutes. There is no rule against reading it every day.

Yes. There is no time when Hanuman ji's name is not allowed. Many people read it before sleeping, especially when the mind is worried. Sit up, read it with dhyan, and then rest.

Both are good, and they do different things. The Ashtak is calm, it remembers eight times Hanuman ji removed a sankat and asks the same for us. The Bajrang Baan is an urgent pukar, read when there is fear or a heavy trouble. For daily paath the Ashtak after the Chalisa is enough. Add the Bajrang Baan on Tuesday and Saturday if you wish.

Yes. I have checked the eight verses and the doha here word for word against the Gita Press book Bhaktaraj Hanuman (book no. 185), pages 59 and 60. Some books and videos spell a few words a little differently, like भक्षि or भक्ष, तीनहुँ or तीनों. These are the same words written two ways, the paath is the same.

About four to five minutes if you read at a normal pace. The famous Hariharan version is a little over six minutes because of the music. With the Hanuman Chalisa before it, the whole paath is around fifteen minutes.

Yes, listening with a full heart is also bhakti. If you cannot read Hindi yet, play the audio or the official video on this page and follow the words. Slowly you will start saying it along, and that is the best.

सच कहूं तो इसके लिए कोई गुप्त विधि नहीं है. रोज़ एक तय समय पर, साफ मन से पाठ करना ही इसकी सिद्धि है. कुछ लोग 40 दिन का संकल्प लेकर रोज़ पाठ करते हैं, आप भी कर सकते हैं. पर किसी चमत्कार के पीछे मत भागिए, नियम और श्रद्धा ही असली साधना है.