The Āñjaneya Navaratna-Māla Stotram, verses

Benedictions

kūjantaṃ «Rāma!» «Rāmê!» ’ti madhuraṃ madhurâ-akṣaram |
āruhya kavitā-śākhāṃ vande Vālmīki-kokilam ||

कूजन्तं राम रामेति मधुरं मधुरा-ऽक्षरम् ।
आरुह्य कविता-शाखां वन्दे वाल्मीकि-कोकिलम् ॥

Sweetly cooing the sweet syllable "Rāma" over and over,
he is perched atop the highest branch of poetry:
	to him, 
		Vālmīki the cuckoo-bird,
	do I bow down!

goṣpadīkṛta-vārāṡiṃ maṣakīkṛta-rākṣasam |
Rāmāyaṇa-mahā-mālā-ratnaṃ vande Anilâ-ātmajam ||

गोष्पदीकृत-वाराशिम् मषकीकृत-राक्षसम् ।
रामायण-महामाला-रत्नम् वन्दे ऽनिला-ऽऽत्मजम् ॥

He turned the ocean into a puddle in a cow's hoofprint;
He squashed demons like mere mosquitos:

To him do I bow down:
	that son of the Wind, Hanumān,
	the gem shining in the middle of
		the great necklace that is the Rāmāyaṇa. 

The great Hanumān statue of Chhattarpur in Delhi (source: Wikipedia)

Introduction

On this holy day of Śrī-Hanumaj-Jayantī in the year named Krodhi, I wish to share my translation of the Āñjaneya Navaratna-mālā Stotram.

As its name suggests, the Āñjaneya Navaratna-mālā Stotram celebrates the heroism of Hanumān as demonstrated by 9 key episodes in the Sundara Kāṇḍa of the Rāmāyaṇa of the great sage Vālmīki. These 9 episodes, and the verses in which they are celebrated, are not chosen arbitrarily, though. Instead, the stotram links each verse and each episode to one of the navaratnas, the 9 gems associated in Indian culture with prosperity, protection, and success. People sometimes wear navaratna rings (rings with all nine gemstones set in them) as a way to bring spiritual and material well-being into their lives; for the same reason, people also recite the Āñjaneya Navaratna-mālā Stotram on a daily basis.

May this text and its translation bring all nine kinds of prosperity and peace and protection to devotees of Lord Hanumān, and of Lord Śrī-Rāma eternally accompanied by Sītā Devī and Lakṣmaṇa and Hanumān, in the year to come and in the years to come.

Verses

Verse 1 (māṇikya = ruby)

tato (a)Rāvaṇa-nītāyaḥ Sītāyāḥ śatru-karśanaḥ |
iyeṣa padam anveṣṭuṃ Cāraṇâ-ācarite pathi || VR-SK 1.1 ||

ततो (ऽ)रावण-नीतायाः सीतायाः शत्रु-कर्शनः ।
इयेष पदम् अन्वेष्टुं चारणा-ऽऽचरिते पथि ॥

Then he sought to discover the location, that slayer of foes
	of Sītā, 
		abducted (or was she?) by Rāvaṇa,
following the celestial path 
	frequented by the Cāraṇas.

This is the opening verse of the Sundara-Kāṇḍa and describes Hanumān as he is gathering his energies to launch himself into the sky to leap across the ocean and discover Sītā.

Verse 2 (muktāphala = pearl)

yasya tv etāni catvāri Vānarêndra! yathā tava |
dhṛtir dṛṣṭir matir dākṣyaṃ, sa karmasu na sīdati || VR-SK 1.201 ||

यस्य त्व् एतानि चत्वारि वानरेन्द्र! यथा तव ।
धृतिर् दृष्टिर् मतिर् दाक्ष्यं, स कर्मसु न सीदति ॥

“Steadfastness, 
vision, 
intelligence,
skill:

Those who possesses these four qualities,
	as you do, 
		o lord of monkeys,
will never falter in their deeds!”

After Hanumān slays Siṃhikā the shadowcatcher, heavenly beings extol him with this verse that guarantees the success of his quest.

Verse 3 (pravāla = red coral)

anirvedaḥ śriyo mūlam anirvedaḥ paraṃ sukham |
anirvedo hi satataṃ sarvâ-artheṣu pravartakaḥ || VR-SK 12.10a, 11a ||

अनिर्वेदः श्रियो मूलम् अनिर्वेदः परं सुखम् ।
अनिर्वेदो हि सततं सर्वा-ऽर्थेषु प्रवर्तकः ॥

“Dauntlessness is the root of prosperity; 
Dauntlessness is the highest happiness:
Dauntlessness is what impels us towards all our objectives.”

Initially depressed after not finding Sītā anywhere in the palaces of Laṅkā, Hanumān rebuilds his own confidence and continues his search.

Verse 4 (marakata = emerald)

namo ’stu Rāmāya sa-Lakṣmaṇāya
devyai ca tasyai Janakâtmajāyai |
namo ’stu Rudrê-Indra-Yamâ-Anilebhyo
namo ’stu Candrâ-Arka-Marud-gaṇebhyaḥ || VR-SK 13.59 ||

नमो ऽस्तु रामाय स-लक्ष्मणाय
देव्यै च तस्यै जनका-ऽऽत्मजायै ।
नमो ऽस्तु रुद्रे-ऽन्द्र-यमा-ऽनिलेभ्यो
नमो ऽस्तु चन्द्रा-ऽर्क-मुरद्‌-गणेभ्यः ॥

“Salutations to Lord Rāma, accompanied by Lakṣmaṇa,
	and to Lady Sītā, daughter of Janaka;
Salutations to the Rudras, Indra, Yama and Vāyu,
Salutations to Moon, Sun, and the Maruts!”

Hanumān prays to Lord Rāma and Lady Sītā before he mounts his ultimately-successful search for Sītā in the Aśoka pleasure-garden.

Verse 5 (puṣparāga = yellow sapphire)

priyān na sambhaved duḥkham, apriyād adhikaṃ bhayam |
tābhyāṃ hi ye viyujyante, namas teṣāṃ mahā-ātmanām || VR-SK 26.48 ||

प्रियान् न सम्भवेद् दुःखम् अप्रियाद् अधिकं भयम् ।
ताभ्यां हि ये वियुज्यन्ते नमस् तेषां महा-ऽऽत्मनाम् ॥

“From pleasure does not arise sorrow, 
from pain does not arise an even greater fear
	for those who have disengaged themselves from these two:

		salutations to those great souls!”

After Rāvaṇa’s threatening visit to Sītā in the Aśoka pleasure-garden, she lamentfull says this while Hanumān is looking on.

Verse 6 (hīraka = diamond)

Rāmaḥ kamala-patrākṣaḥ sarva-sattva-manoharaḥ |
rūpa-dākṣiṇya-sampannaḥ prasūto Janakâ-ātmaje! || VR-SK 35.8 ||

रामः कमल-पत्रा-ऽक्षः सर्व-सत्त्व-मनोहरः ।
रूप-दाक्षिण्य-सम्पन्नः प्रसूतो जनका-ऽऽत्मजे! ॥

“O daughter of Janaka!

Rāma is
	lotus-petal–eyed, 
	the charmer of the hearts of all beings,
	the acme of grace and graciousness,
since his very birth!”

Hanumān assuages Sītā’s fears and describes Lord Rāma to her.

Verse 7 (indra-nīla = blue sapphire)

jayaty atibalo Rāmo Lakṣmaṇaś ca mahābalaḥ |
dāso ahaṃ Kosalêndrasya Rāmasyâ akliṣṭa-karmaṇah || VR-SK 43.8a, 9a ||

जयत्य् अतिबलो रामो लक्ष्मणश् च महाबलः ।
दासो ऽहं कोसले-ऽन्द्रस्य रामस्या ऽक्लिष्ट-कर्मणः ॥

“Rāma 
	of incomparable strength 
is victorious
	along with Lakṣmaṇa 
		of great strength:

I am a servant 
	of the Lord of Kosalā:	
		Rāma of flawless deeds!”

Hanumān declares this to the rākṣasa armies after he wrecks the gardens and pavilions.

Verse 8 (gomedaka = hessonite)

yady asti pati-śuśrūṣā, yady asti caritaṃ tapaḥ |
yadi vâsty eka-patnītvaṃ, śīto bhava Hanūmataḥ || VR-SK 53.27 ||

यद्यस्ति पति-शुश्रूषा, यद्यस्ति चरितं तपः ।
यदि वा ऽस्त्य् एक-पत्नीत्वं शीतो भव हनूमतः ॥

“If I have truly served my husband,
If I have performed my austerities,
Or if I have truly been faithful to my husband:

	Be cool, 
		o Fire, 
	to Hanumān!”

Sītā requests Agni to not burn Hanumān’s tail as he sets fire to the city of Laṅkā.

Verse 9 (vaiḍūrya = cat’s–eye)

nivṛtta-vana-vāsaṃ taṃ tvayā sārdham arindamam |
abhiṣiktam Ayodhyāyāṃ kṣipraṃ drakṣyasi Rāghavam || VR-SK 68.28 ||

निवृत्त-वन-वासं तं त्वया सार्धम् अरिन्दमम् ।
अभिषिक्तम् अयोध्यायां क्षिप्रं द्रक्ष्यसि राघवम् ॥

“‘Soon will you see 
the scion of the Raghu dynasty
	slayer of his foes
	his forest exile completed
sitting next to you,
	coronated in Ayodhyā.’”

This is Hanumān’s promise to Sītā, as he narrates it to Lord Rāma in the penultimate verse of the Sundara-Kāṇḍa. (Hence the two layers of quotation marks in the translation.)

Conclusion: a verse from Kamba’s ⁱRāmāvatāram

The glories of Hanumān’s feat have been sung in every Indian language and beyond. I will share but one verse in Tamil, from Kamban’s ⁱRāmāvatāram, which beautifully distills the cosmic essence¹ of Hanuman’s action.

añjilē ŏṉḏṟu pĕṯṯṟān; añjilē oṉḏṟait tāvi
añjilē ŏṉḏṟ’ āṟ’ āga vĀriyarkkāga vēgi
añjilē ŏṉḏṟu pĕṯṯṟa vaṇaṅgaik kaṇḍ’ ayalār ūril
añjilē ŏṉḏṟai vaittan — avan nammai aḷittuk kāppān!

Born of one of the Five,

he leapt across one of the Five

journeying with one of the Five as his path
        in service of the noble Lord Rāma;

he saw the goddess 
                who was born of one of the Five 
        in the lustrous city of the Others

        where he then deposited one of the Five:

He will surely guard and protect us all!

|| Śrī-Sītādevī-Bharata-Lakṣmaṇa-Śatrughna-Hanumat-sameta-Śrī-Raghunandana-parabrahmaṇe namaḥ ||

1. The “Five”, repeated five times over in the verse, refers to the five cosmic elements (pañca-mahābhūtas):

• Hanumān is the son of the Wind.

• Hanumān leaps across the oceanic Water.

• Hanumān flies through the Sky / Space.

• Hanumān sees Sītā who is the daughter of the Earth.

• Hanuman burns Laṅkā with Fire.