The phrase is familiar from a line of the Hanuman Chalisa: ashta siddhi nava nidhi ke data — the giver of the eight powers and nine treasures. What is less often noticed is what every text that catalogues them says immediately afterwards. Patanjali calls them obstacles. The Bhagavata calls them a waste of time. The Chalisa itself says Hanuman received them from Sita and gives them away.
✨ The Eight and the Nine
Ashta siddhi: the eight powers — the classical list
Nava nidhi: the nine treasures of Kubera
Sources: Bhagavata skandha 11; Yoga Sutras pada 3; the Puranas
The Chalisa line: aṣhṭa siddhi nava nidhi ke dātā
What Patanjali says: attainments outward, and obstacles to samadhi (3.37)
What the Bhagavata says: a waste of the time meant for something else
📑 Table of Contents
8️⃣ The Eight Siddhis
| # | Siddhi | Literally | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anima | Minuteness | To become as small as one wishes |
| 2 | Mahima | Greatness | To become as large as one wishes |
| 3 | Laghima | Lightness | To become weightless |
| 4 | Garima | Heaviness | To become immovably heavy |
| 5 | Prapti | Attainment | To reach or obtain anything, anywhere |
| 6 | Prakamya | Irresistible will | To have what is willed come about |
| 7 | Ishitva | Lordship | Mastery over the elements and over beings |
| 8 | Vashitva | Control | To bring under one's control |
💡 Where you have seen them in the narratives
Hanuman uses anima to enter Lanka unseen and mahima to grow for the ocean crossing; both are explicit in the Sundara Kanda. Vamana's expansion from a dwarf to cover the worlds is mahima. Garima is what Hanuman uses against Bhima in the well-known Mahabharata episode where the tail cannot be lifted. The powers are narrative devices as much as yogic categories.
💎 The Nine Nidhis
The nidhis are treasures associated with Kubera, lord of wealth, and the lists differ between Puranas. A commonly given set:
| Nidhi | Associated with |
|---|---|
| Padma | The lotus treasure |
| Mahapadma | The great lotus |
| Shankha | The conch |
| Makara | The sea creature |
| Kachchhapa | The tortoise |
| Mukunda | — |
| Kunda | — |
| Nila | — |
| Kharva | — |
🐒 The Chalisa Line
aṣhṭa siddhi nava nidhi ke dātā | asa bara dīnha jānakī mātā ||
Giver of the eight siddhis and the nine nidhis — such a boon was given by Mother Janaki.
📌 Three things in one couplet
- Hanuman is called the giver — data — not the possessor. The powers are described as his to bestow.
- They came from Sita, not from a practice. Tulsidas attributes the boon to Janaki, which places the whole thing in the register of grace rather than attainment.
- And the surrounding verses of the Chalisa are entirely about Hanuman's service — the powers appear in a text whose subject is a servant.
⚠️ What Every Source Says Next
te samādhāv upasargā vyutthāne siddhayaḥ ||
These are attainments in the outgoing state, and obstacles to samadhi.
| Source | What it says about the powers |
|---|---|
| Yoga Sutras 3.37 | Obstacles to samadhi, however impressive from outside |
| Yoga Sutras 3.51 | On the invitation of celestial beings, feel neither attachment nor pride — because the undesirable is again possible |
| Yoga Sutras 4.1 | Siddhis may arise from birth, herbs, mantra, austerity or samadhi — that is, they are not proof of realisation |
| Bhagavata skandha 11 | Krishna, having catalogued them for Uddhava, says that for the yogi who has controlled the mind and senses they are obstacles and a waste of time |
| The narrative record | The Puranas' asuras hold enormous siddhis, obtained by legitimate austerity. Ravana, Hiranyakashipu and Bhasmasura all had them |
💡 The sharpest of the four
Yoga Sutras 4.1 is the one that settles the matter: siddhis can come from birth, herbs, mantra, austerity or samadhi. If a power can arise from a herb, then its presence tells you nothing about the person who has it. The tradition put that in writing at the head of the chapter on liberation.
How the lists are actually used
- As description, in the narratives — explaining how Hanuman crossed the ocean or Vamana covered the worlds.
- As a checkpoint — the yogic texts list them precisely so that a practitioner recognises and does not stop at them.
- As devotional idiom — the Chalisa line is a way of saying that everything is in Hanuman's gift, not a technical claim.
- Not as a syllabus. No serious text in the tradition presents the eight siddhis as something to pursue.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What are the eight siddhis?
Anima (minuteness), mahima (greatness), laghima (lightness), garima (heaviness), prapti (reaching anything anywhere), prakamya (irresistible will), ishitva (mastery over elements and beings) and vashitva (control). The Bhagavata and the Yoga Sutras both give longer catalogues — the eight are the conventional short list, not the only one.
What does the Hanuman Chalisa line about the siddhis mean?
“Giver of the eight siddhis and nine nidhis; such a boon was given by Mother Janaki.” Three things: Hanuman is the giver — data — not the possessor; they came from Sita, not from a practice, placing it in the register of grace rather than attainment; and the surrounding verses are entirely about his service.
What does Patanjali say about the siddhis?
Having catalogued them, he says at 3.37 that they are obstacles to samadhi; at 3.51, to feel neither attachment nor pride when celestial beings invite; and at 4.1 — the sharpest — that siddhis may arise from birth, herbs, mantra, austerity or samadhi. If a power can arise from a herb, its presence tells you nothing about the person who has it — and that stands at the head of the chapter on liberation.
What are the nine nidhis?
Treasures associated with Kubera — commonly Padma, Mahapadma, Shankha, Makara, Kachchhapa, Mukunda, Kunda, Nila and Kharva. The lists are less standardised than the siddhis: names differ across Puranic and Tantric sources, and the nidhis are variously personified as attendants, treated as classes of wealth, or read esoterically. What is consistent is the number nine and the association with Kubera.
Do siddhis prove someone is spiritually advanced?
The texts say explicitly that they do not. Yoga Sutras 4.1 lists birth, herbs, mantra, austerity and samadhi as possible sources — so a power's presence tells you nothing about its holder. The narratives agree: Ravana, Hiranyakashipu and Bhasmasura all had siddhis, legitimately obtained. And the Bhagavata has Krishna call them obstacles and a waste of the time.
🙏 Conclusion
Eight powers and nine treasures, catalogued carefully in the Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavata — and in both cases the catalogue is followed immediately by a warning. Patanjali calls them obstacles and then notes that they can be produced by a herb. Krishna calls them a waste of the time. And the devotional text that names them gives them to a figure whose whole characterisation is service, describes him as their giver rather than their owner, and says he got them as a gift.