Maruti Stotram (Bhimarupi Maharudra)

By the BhaktiRas Editorial Team · Updated 16 July 2026

Bhimarupi Maharudra is one of the best-known devotional hymns to Hanuman anywhere in Maharashtra. Composed in Marathi by the seventeenth-century saint-poet Samarth Ramdas, its seventeen verses move from vivid, almost startling descriptions of Hanuman’s cosmic strength to a short closing promise of what steady recitation brings. Millions of Marathi households still open the day with these lines, and many temples play them at the Saturday morning arati.

Maruti Stotra Lyrics in English (Bhimarupi Maharudra)

Meaning & Significance

The first thirteen verses of the Maruti Stotram are pure description. Ramdas piles image on image – a tail curled over the head like a banner, eyes that flash fire, a body that can shrink smaller than an atom or swell past the edge of the universe. This is not gentle poetry. It is meant to put the listener directly in front of an overwhelming, protective force, the way a devotee might stand before a towering temple murti and feel both awe and safety at once.

The last four verses shift register completely. Where the opening lines describe, these closing ones promise: prosperity, freedom from fear, relief from illness and disturbed sleep, and a body strong enough to carry a devotee through hard days. Ramdas ties this promise to the fifteen core verses themselves, comparing them to the fifteen phases of the waxing moon, a small but telling detail that shows how carefully the stotra is constructed.

Ramdas built an entire spiritual and social movement, the Ramdasi tradition, around the figure of Hanuman as the ideal of disciplined strength placed in service of dharma rather than personal glory. That is why the Maruti Stotram became a fixture of Maharashtrian daily life well beyond religious ritual: wrestlers at akhadas recite it before practice, students say it before exams, and parents teach it to children as one of the first full stotras they memorise, because its short, punchy lines are as easy to remember as they are to feel.

How Do You Chant the Maruti Stotra?

1. Face Hanuman – Sit or stand facing a picture or idol of Hanuman, ideally after a bath, and light a lamp or incense if you can.
2. Start with the opening verse slowly – Begin with 'Bhimarupi maharudra' at a measured pace so the Marathi syllables settle before you pick up speed.
3. Keep the rhythm steady – The stotra is written to be chanted with force and rhythm, not whispered; a firm, even pace across all seventeen verses works best.
4. Move through all seventeen verses in order – The verses build on each other, from Hanuman's form to his deeds to the benefits of the stotra, so recite them in sequence rather than skipping around.
5. Close with the traditional line – Many reciters end with 'Jai Jai Raghuvir Samarth', the closing call associated with Samarth Ramdas.
6. Repeat on Saturdays or during hard times – Once-a-day recitation on Saturdays is common, though many people also turn to it specifically when facing fear, illness, or an important undertaking.

What Are the Benefits of Chanting?

Reciting the Maruti Stotram is traditionally believed to bring both practical and inner benefits, most of which are stated directly in its own closing verses.

• Courage and inner strength: The vivid verses on Hanuman's power are chanted to build confidence and steady the mind before a difficult task, exam, or physical challenge.
• Protection from fear and negative influence: Verse 15 speaks directly of relief from disturbing thoughts, restless spirits, and unseen troubles.
• Relief from illness: The same verse links regular recitation to freedom from disease and physical complaints.
• Physical strength and stamina: Wrestlers and athletes across Maharashtra recite it before training, treating the stotra almost as a warm-up for both body and mind.
• Prosperity and family wellbeing: Verse 14 speaks of wealth, grain, cattle, and the flourishing of one's children and grandchildren.
• A calm, focused mind: The final verses describe a body made steady and a mind free of doubt, a state many reciters describe after chanting.

Samarth Ramdas & the Ramdasi Tradition

Samarth Ramdas Swami (1608-1681) was a poet, philosopher and organiser of akhadas (wrestling and physical-training centres) across Maharashtra at a time when the region was contending with the Mughal empire and other regional powers. He is popularly remembered as the spiritual guide of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and his writings, especially the Dasbodh, argue that spiritual practice and physical strength should reinforce each other rather than stand apart.

Hanuman was central to that vision. Ramdas built hundreds of Maruti temples across Maharashtra and encouraged young men to train their bodies at the same akhadas where they were taught this stotra, treating strength as something to be offered in service rather than kept for oneself. The Bhimarupi Maharudra grew out of that same project: a hymn built to be recited standing, with force, almost like a physical exercise in itself.

That is also why the stotra is composed in Marathi rather than Sanskrit. Ramdas wanted every farmer, wrestler and child in his audience to understand every word without needing a scholar’s help, and that choice is a large part of why the Maruti Stotram has stayed this alive in Maharashtra for nearly four hundred years.

Frequently Asked Questions

॥ जय जय रघुवीर समर्थ ॥