I love the Vande Maataram composition in Raag Des sung by Lata Mangeshkar.
Vande Mataram is the national song of India. In 2003, BBC World Service picked Vande Mataram among top 10 songs in the world selected from 7000 songs from 155 countries/island voted. It was composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in a mixture of Bengali and Sanskrit. It comes from a poem published in Bankim Chandra's 1882 novel Anandamath. The first political occasion where it was sung was the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress. In 1950 (after India's independence), the song's first two verses were given the official status of the "national song" of the Republic of India, distinct from the national anthem of India, Jana Gana Mana.
As magnanimous Indians it behooves us to share this beautiful song with the rest of the world. As Guru Nanak says in Pavan Guru, Earth is our shared mother. Joy Harjo asks in her meditative poetry for us to remember the earth whose skin we are.
Vande Mataram Lyrics in Hindi/Sanskrit
Vande Mataram Lyrics in English
Word by word Meanings of Vande Mataram chorus
Translation of Complete Vande Mataram - Shivpreet Singh
Translation of Complete Vande Mataram - Sri Aurobindo
Here is the translation in prose of the above two stanzas rendered by Sri Aurobindo Ghosh. This has also been adopted by the Government of India's national portal. The original Vande Mataram consists of six stanzas and the translation in prose for the complete poem by Shri Aurobindo appeared in Karmayogin, 20 November 1909.
bright with orchard gleams,
Cool with thy winds of delight,
Dark fields waving Mother of might,
Mother free.
Glory of moonlight dreams,
Over thy branches and lordly streams,
Clad in thy blossoming trees,
Mother, giver of ease
Laughing low and sweet!
Mother I kiss thy feet,
Speaker sweet and low!
Mother, to thee I praise thee. [Verse 1]
Who hath said thou art weak in thy lands
When the swords flash out in seventy million hands
And seventy million voices roar
Thy dreadful name from shore to shore?
With many strengths who art mighty and stored,
To thee I call Mother and Lord!
Thou who savest, arise and save!
To her I cry who ever her foeman drove
Back from plain and Sea
And shook herself free. [Verse 2]
Thou art wisdom, thou art law,
Thou art heart, our soul, our breath
Thou art love divine, the awe
In our hearts that conquers death.
Thine the strength that nerves the arm,
Thine the beauty, thine the charm.
Every image made divine
In our temples is but thine. [Verse 3]
Thou art Durga, Lady and Queen,
With her hands that strike and her swords of sheen,
Thou art Lakshmi lotus-throned,
And the Muse a hundred-toned,
Pure and perfect without peer,
Mother lend thine ear,
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleems,
Dark of hue O candid-fair [Verse 4]
In thy soul, with bejeweled hair
And thy glorious smile divine,
Loveliest of all earthly lands,
Showering wealth from well-stored hands!
Mother, mother mine!
Mother sweet, I praise thee,
Mother great and free! [Verse 5]
Translation of Vande Mataram by Keshab Bhattarai
Salutations (to you), oh Mother!(You are blessed with) Richness in water
resources, plenty of fruits (and forest
resources), flushed with cool air breezing
from Malaya mountains;
Green with rice plants o ! our motherland
Salutations (to you), oh Mother!
Where nights are made joyous by sparkling light
very beautiful by buds-flowers- and rows of trees
Always looking pleasant, sweet speaking
giver of happiness and riches
o! our motherland!
Salutations (to you), oh Mother!
Seventy million voices are heard (praising you) in kalakala sound
many million hands have taken swords (for your protection)
How can I say that you are a helpless woman?
I pray (to you), oh savier mother adorned
with strength, the destroyer of enemies.
Salutations (to you), oh Mother!
You are embodiment of wisdom, virtues
(religion), love, and the essence (of everything).
You are certainly the life force in (our) bodies.
Oh Mother, you are strength in (our) arms,
Oh Mother, you are devotion in (our) hearts,
Your (sacred) image is in every temple
Salutations (to you), oh Mother!
You are indeed the ten-handed Durga goddess,
you are the goddess of wealth, Kamala or
Laxmi, residing on the lotus,
you are the bestower of (power of) speech and
knowledge - Goddess Saraswati, I pray to you.
I salute you oh pure unmatched Goddess KamalA.
You are blessed with water resources,
blessed with plenty of fruits,
Salutations (to you), oh Mother!
You are peaceful, kind, pleasant, and beautiful.
Oh Mother earth, nourisher, salutations.
Salutations (to you), oh Mother! Vande Mataram
Vande Maataram - An ode to the motherland
In the novel "Anandmath," composed in the Bengali script, there exists a heartfelt tribute to the Motherland known as "Vande Mataram." Translated, this title signifies "I bow to thee, Mother." Interestingly, within the later verses of the song, the concept of the "mother goddess" has been inferred to symbolize the homeland of the people – Banga Mata (Mother Bengal) and Bharat Mata (Mother India), even though such allusions are not explicitly stated in the text.
This iconic composition played a pivotal role in the Indian independence movement. It was first sung in a political context by Rabindranath Tagore during the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress. Subsequently, in 1905, it gained popularity as a marching song for political activism within the Indian freedom movement. Sri Aurobindo, a spiritual Indian nationalist and philosopher, hailed it as the "National Anthem of Bengal." Remarkably, despite being banned by the British government along with the novel that contained it, the ban was openly defied by workers and the general public. Many individuals faced imprisonment for singing it, but ultimately, the ban was lifted by the Indian populace after they achieved independence from colonial rule.
On January 24, 1950, the Constituent Assembly of India officially adopted "Vande Mataram" as the national song. During this historic moment, India's first President, Rajendra Prasad, emphasized that the song should be held in equal regard with the national anthem of India, "Jana Gana Mana." Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that the Constitution of India does not explicitly designate "Vande Mataram" as the national song.
The first two verses of the song symbolize an abstract reference to mother and motherland, devoid of any specific mention of Hindu deities by name, unlike the later verses that do invoke goddesses such as Durga. Additionally, unlike the national anthem "Jana Gana Mana," which has a specified duration of 52 seconds for rendition, there are no time constraints or circumstantial specifications for performing "Vande Mataram."
Controversies with Vande Mataram
In 1937, during the pursuit of India's independence from British colonial rule, a committee consisting of prominent figures like Maulana Azad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Bose, Acharya Deva, and Rabindranath Tagore recommended the adoption of certain portions of "Vande Mataram" as the national song. However, it was a deliberate choice not to select the entire song in order to honor the sentiments of non-Hindus. The gathering unanimously agreed that individuals should have the freedom to sing an alternative "unobjectionable song" during national gatherings if they found "Vande Mataram" objectionable for personal reasons.
The reasoning behind this decision, as expressed by the assembled leaders, including Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, was that while the first two stanzas of the song beautifully evoked the essence of the motherland without any objectionable content, the later stanzas contained references to the Hindu goddess Durga. This consideration aimed to ensure inclusivity and respect for the diverse religious and cultural beliefs of the Indian population.
Opposition to the song also came from the Muslim League and its leader, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Subsequently, with the backing of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, the Indian National Congress made the decision to adopt only the first two stanzas of "Vande Mataram" as the national song for public gatherings. This choice involved the exclusion of verses that contained references to goddesses like Durga and Lakshmi.
Rajendra Prasad, who was presiding the Constituent Assembly on 24 January 1950, made the following statement which was also adopted as the final decision on the issue:
... The composition consisting of the words and music known as Jana Gana Mana is the National Anthem of India, subject to such alterations in the words as the Government may authorise as occasion arises; and the song Vande Mataram, which has played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it. (Applause). I hope this will satisfy the Members.
—Constituent Assembly of India, Vol. XII, 24-1-1950[47]
Singing oneness!
19 Comments
wow i loved the music
ReplyDeleteMother is the One and Only God with whom we can freely and happily Interact forever.
ReplyDeleteThe seer sees everywhere
DeleteWow it is so easy to learn I needed it for my republic day because I had to sing a national song that day so I picked vande matram and I stumbled upon this lyrics . Very easy translation to . Thank you .🙏
DeleteI feel strongly with conviction that Mothers are the Greatest and Loveliest phenomenon in the Universe
ReplyDeleteMake no mistake. This is Mother India. The personification of Indian nationalism - the central driving force of national unity.
DeleteI like it
DeleteAs I have been looking for meanings of some of the most wonderful songs/ hymns,twice now I have chanced upon your blog. You have a great taste for music and beyond that the meaning that you seek and convey is wonderful. Thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteWonderful to hear from you :)
DeleteSHIVPREET THIS IS SOOO GOOD
ReplyDeleteSOO GOOD SONG. I LOVED THIS
ReplyDeleteSinging VandeMataram gives me goose pimples
ReplyDeleteAnd A R Rahman Wow!
Thank you very nuch.
ReplyDeleteThis is undoubtedly the best thing that I’ve come across today in the internet. It was a long time that I have been thinking on this topic but I couldn’t satiate my quench for knowledge through any post that I read. However, today that I came across your article, I seem to have learnt a lot and I have also gained enough knowledge on this topic. Thanks once again.
ReplyDeleteNational Song Of India – Vande Mataram
Shivpreet thanks for posting this beautiful and very well explained.
ReplyDeleteAmazing translation by both Aurbindo and Shivpreet.
ReplyDeleteVande Mataram
Thank you for sharing the detailed article on Vande Mataram both in Sanskrit and English.
ReplyDeleteJai Hind
good shivu
ReplyDeleteJai Hind
ReplyDelete