Mantra Arti Chalisa

A Mantra is a sacred utterance, a numinous (arousing spiritual or religious emotion) sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit believed by practitioners to have religious, magical or spiritual powers in Hinduism. Some mantras have a syntactic structure and literal meaning, while others do not. The use, structure, function, importance, and types of mantras vary according to the school and philosophy of Hinduism and Buddhism. They are typically melodic, mathematically structured meters, and believed to be resonant with numinous qualities.

A ritual of individual and communal worship in Hinduism, the word “Arti” is derived from the Sanskrit word आरात्रिक (ārātrika) which means something that removes rātrī, darkness. It is a part of puja(prayer), in which light (usually from a flame) is offered to one or more deities. Arati also refers to the songs sung in praise of the deity, when the light is being offered. Arti can be an expression of many things including love, benevolence, gratitude, prayers, or desires depending on the object it is done to/ for, not limited to a god. When done as part of a prayer to a god, it primarily eulogizes to the deity the ritual is being offered to.

A Chalisa is a forty-verse prayer dedicated to a particular god/goddess in Hinduism. It is recited as part of a prayer in order to call upon the deity. The verses are full of praises for the qualities of the deity and of devotion asking for the deity for blessings. The acts and deeds of deities are recalled in these verses to aid the devotee to meditate on righteous and noble qualities. They are primarily meant as a shorter version of the large body of purana texts dedicated to different deities. They are useful as a regular practice or worship for people who are unable to recite or understand the meanings of the Sanskrit hymns and texts. The first chalisa was written by tulsidas dedicated to Hanuman. The hymns are to purify our four aspects: manas, vuddhi, chitta and ahamkara. Each of these have ten aspects leading to a total of forty, which is considered an auspicious number in Hinduism.