Ramcharitmanas · nine chaupais · free
Shri Ram Shalaka Prashnavali
Shri Ram Shalaka Prashnavali is the question grid printed in Gita Press's Shri Ramcharitmanas: 225 squares of syllables. Remember Shri Ram, think of your question and press any square. Every ninth square from it spells one of nine chaupais of the Manas, and each chaupai carries its answer — all nine are listed below.
Press any square
Nothing is asked for and nothing is kept: the square you press is sent to show its answer, and the answer page is not saved or indexed.
How it works
From your square, every ninth square spells a chaupai
- The grid, the chaupais and the answers as Gita Press prints them
- The squares are counted for you, and shown
- No question is typed, and nothing is kept
| No. | Chaupai | Answer | Where in the Manas |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | सुनु सिय सत्य असीस हमारी। पूजिहि मन कामना तुम्हारी॥ | The question is a good one; the work will succeed. | Bal Kand, in the chaupais before doha 236 |
| 2 | प्रबिसि नगर कीजे सब काजा। हृदयँ राखि कोसलपुर राजा॥ | Begin the work remembering God, and it will succeed. | Sundar Kand, in the chaupais before doha 5 |
| 3 | उघरहिं अंत न होइ निबाहू। कालनेमि जिमि रावन राहू॥ | No good will come of this work; its success is in doubt. | Bal Kand, in the chaupais before doha 7 |
| 4 | बिधि बस सुजन कुसंगत परहीं। फनि मनि सम निज गुन अनुसरहीं॥ | Leave the company of dishonest people; whether the work will be completed is in doubt. | Bal Kand, in the chaupais before doha 3 |
| 5 | होइहि सोइ जो राम रचि राखा। को करि तर्क बढ़ावै साखा॥ | Whether the work will happen is in doubt, so it is best to leave it to God. | Bal Kand, in the chaupais before doha 52 |
| 6 | मुद मंगलमय संत समाजू। जो जग जंगम तीरथराजू॥ | The question is a good one; the work will succeed. | Bal Kand, in the chaupais before doha 2 |
| 7 | गरल सुधा रिपु करहिं मिताई। गोपद सिंधु अनल सितलाई॥ | The question is a very good one; the work will succeed. | Sundar Kand, in the chaupais before doha 5 |
| 8 | बरुन कुबेर सुरेस समीरा। रन सन्मुख धरि काहुँ न धीरा॥ | Whether the work will be completed is in doubt. | Lanka Kand, in the chaupais before doha 104 |
| 9 | सुफल मनोरथ होहुँ तुम्हारे। रामु लखनु सुनि भए सुखारे॥ | The question is a very good one; the work will succeed. | Bal Kand, in the chaupais before doha 237 |
- Remember Shri Ramchandra, and with faith hold your question in your mind.
- Put a finger or a straw (the shalaka) on any square you like — here, press it.
- Write down that square's syllable. Then count on and write the syllable of every ninth square, round past the last square to the first, until you reach the square you began with: the syllables make one chaupai.
- A square holding only the aa matra joins the letter before it, and a square with two letters gives both; neither is skipped or counted twice. This page does the counting and shows the squares it passed.
- Read the chaupai and the answer printed for it.
- The grid is nine chaupais woven together. Each chaupai is split into 25 squares, and the nine are laid out side by side: the first square of each fills the first row's first nine squares, their second squares follow, and so on. 9 × 25 = 225.
- So the squares nine apart always belong to the same chaupai, and from whichever square you start, counting every ninth brings you round one whole chaupai.
- The grid, the way of reading it and the answer for each chaupai are printed in Gita Press's Shri Ramcharitmanas, which introduces the prashnavali as already well known to readers of the Manas. This page reproduces that grid square for square.
- The nine chaupais are Goswami Tulsidas's own lines from the Ramcharitmanas. The grid is often credited to Tulsidas too, but the book does not say who made it.
- The prashnavali is a devotional practice: the answer is the tradition's reading of the chaupai that came, not a forecast this site makes.
- Read the chaupai's own story too — the place each one comes from is given with it.
- For a decision about health, money or the law, talk to someone qualified.
Ram Shalaka Prashnavali FAQ
What is the Shri Ram Shalaka Prashnavali?
A grid of 225 squares, each holding a syllable, printed in Gita Press's Shri Ramcharitmanas. Read from any square by a fixed rule, it spells one of nine chaupais of the Manas, and each chaupai carries an answer to the question in the reader's mind.
How do you use the Ram Shalaka Prashnavali?
Remember Shri Ram, think of your question and put a finger on any square. Write its syllable, then the syllable of every ninth square after it, round the grid, until you come back to the first square. The syllables make a chaupai, and its answer is your answer.
Why do you count every ninth square?
Because the grid is nine chaupais of 25 squares each, laid side by side: squares nine apart belong to the same chaupai, so counting every ninth spells one whole chaupai wherever you start.
Which chaupais can the prashnavali give?
Nine, all from Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas: six from the Bal Kand, two from the Sundar Kand and one from the Lanka Kand. All nine, with their answers, are listed on this page.
Are the answers the same as in the Gita Press book?
Yes. The grid, the nine chaupais and the answer for each are as Gita Press prints them; this page only does the counting.
Is the answer a prediction?
It is a devotional practice, read as guidance from the Manas. For a decision about health, money or the law, talk to someone qualified.