Out of curiosity, once a brahman asked to Maharshi Ved Vyas (महर्षि वेद व्यास) “Out of four Yuga (युग), which one you like the most?”. He replied, Kallou, Kallou.... (कलौ, कलौ......). He said, KaliYug (कलीयुग) is the most suitable to attain libration from cycle of death and birth. Maharshi Ved Vyas was of opinion that, in the first three Yug, SatYug (सतयुग), TretaYug (त्रेतायुग) and DwaparYug (द्वापरयुग) one has to do detailed rituals like yagna, havan, tap and all to attain liberation, while in KaliYug (कलीयुग), ultimate libration can be achieved by just repeatedly reciting names of God/Goddess. No need of detailed expensive resourceful rituals. Wilfully and knowingly, by merely chanting the names, verses of deity, one attains the supreme liberation. This is called Jap Yagna.
Ashtakam or Ashtak, is composition of 8 verses in devotion of particular God/Goddess. These verses describe the deity, key life events, how it helps the devotee in difficult times and describes the key divine attributes of the invoked deity.
There is no fixed time or day for reciting Ashtakam, it is generally believed that reciting Ashtakam for 108 days gets you what you desire for. For Ashtakam recitation one has to choose place and time in such a way that minimal disturbance is there. It is desirable that one knows the meaning of the verses being sung too, this helps in immersing deeper into cosmic divine dip one inevitably will take while doing continuous recitation. Utmost thing required during recitation or other prayers of deities, is pure love and affection towards them.
I have tried my best to verify the authenticity of the verses, its sequence and its spellings, however if you have suggestions to improve it further, your suggestions are most welcome.
I hope and pray that you will benefit as much as possible with divine grace by regularly reciting Sankatmochan Hanuman Ashtakam