Amar Shonar Bangla
আমার সোনার বাংলা
Amar Shonar Bangla, "my golden Bengal", is a song of love for the land of Bengal written by Rabindranath Tagore. Its first ten lines are the national anthem of Bangladesh.
- Written by
- Rabindranath Tagore (died 1941)
- Music
- Rabindranath Tagore
- In the video
- Somobeto
- Context
- Swadesh song by Rabindranath Tagore (Gitabitan, Swadesh 1); first ten lines are the national anthem of Bangladesh
- Year
- c. 1905
- Language
- Bengali
Amar Shonar Bangla lyrics with English translation
Full song from Gitabitan (Swadesh, song 1) as transcribed on Bengali Wikisource, with extra spacing normalised. The first ten lines (the first three stanzas here) form the national anthem of Bangladesh.
আমার সোনার বাংলা, আমি তোমায় ভালোবাসি। চিরদিন তোমার আকাশ, তোমার বাতাস, আমার প্রাণে বাজায় বাঁশি॥
Amar shonar Bangla, ami tomay bhalobashi. Chirodin tomar akash, tomar batash, amar prane bajay bashi.
My golden Bengal, I love you. Forever your sky and your breeze play a flute in my heart.
ও মা, ফাগুনে তোর আমের বনে ঘ্রাণে পাগল করে, মরি হায়, হায় রে— ও মা, অঘ্রানে তোর ভরা ক্ষেতে আমি কী দেখেছি মধুর হাসি॥
O ma, Phagune tor amer bone ghrane pagol kore, Mori hay, hay re— O ma, Oghrane tor bhora khete ami ki dekhechhi modhur hashi.
O Mother, in spring the scent of your mango groves drives me wild with joy, ah, how it moves me, O Mother, in late autumn what sweet smiles I have seen in your brimming fields.
কী শোভা, কী ছায়া গো, কী স্নেহ, কী মায়া গো— কী আঁচল বিছায়েছ বটের মূলে, নদীর কূলে কূলে। মা, তোর মুখের বাণী আমার কানে লাগে সুধার মতো, মরি হায়, হায় রে— মা, তোর বদনখানি মলিন হলে, ও মা, আমি নয়নজলে ভাসি॥
Ki shobha, ki chhaya go, ki sneho, ki maya go— Ki achol bichhayechho boter mule, nodir kule kule. Ma, tor mukher bani amar kane lage shudhar moto, Mori hay, hay re— Ma, tor bodonkhani molin hole, o ma, ami noyonjole bhashi.
What beauty, what shade, what affection, what tenderness, what a sari's edge you have spread beneath the banyan trees and along the riverbanks. Mother, the words from your lips fall on my ears like nectar, ah, how it moves me, Mother, when your face grows sad, O Mother, my eyes fill with tears.
তোমার এই খেলাঘরে শিশুকাল কাটিল রে, তোমারি ধুলামাটি অঙ্গে মাখি ধন্য জীবন মানি। তুই দিন ফুরালে সন্ধ্যাকালে কী দীপ জ্বালিস ঘরে, মরি হায়, হায় রে— তখন খেলাধুলা সকল ফেলে, ও মা, তোমার কোলে ছুটে আসি॥
Tomar ei khelaghore shishukal katilo re, Tomari dhulamati onge makhi dhonno jibon mani. Tui din phurale shondhyakale ki dip jalish ghore, Mori hay, hay re— Tokhon kheladhula shokol phele, o ma, tomar kole chhute ashi.
In this playhouse of yours my childhood passed; smearing your dust and earth on my body, I count my life blessed. When the day ends, at dusk, what a lamp you light in the house, ah, how it moves me, then, leaving all my games, O Mother, I run back to your lap.
ধেনু-চরা তোমার মাঠে, পারে যাবার খেয়াঘাটে, সারা দিন পাখি-ডাকা ছায়ায়-ঢাকা তোমার পল্লীবাটে, তোমার ধানে-ভরা আঙিনাতে জীবনের দিন কাটে, মরি হায়, হায় রে— ও মা, আমার যে ভাই তারা সবাই, ও মা, তোমার রাখাল তোমার চাষি॥
Dhenu-chora tomar mathe, pare jabar kheyaghate, Shara din pakhi-daka chhayay-dhaka tomar pollibate, Tomar dhane-bhora anginate jiboner din kate, Mori hay, hay re— O ma, amar je bhai tara shobai, o ma, tomar rakhal tomar chashi.
In your fields where the cattle graze, at the ferry ghats for crossing over, on your village paths, shaded and full of birdsong all day, in your courtyards heaped with paddy, the days of life go by, ah, how it moves me, O Mother, all those who are my brothers are your herdsmen and your farmers.
ও মা, তোর চরণেতে দিলেম এই মাথা পেতে– দে গো তোর পায়ের ধূলা, সে যে আমার মাথার মানিক হবে। ও মা, গরিবের ধন যা আছে তাই দিব চরণতলে, মরি হায়, হায় রে— আমি পরের ঘরে কিনব না আর, মা, তোর ভূষণ ব’লে গলার ফাঁসি॥
O ma, tor choronete dilem ei matha pete— De go tor payer dhula, she je amar mathar manik hobe. O ma, goriber dhon ja achhe tai dibo choronotole, Mori hay, hay re— Ami porer ghore kinbo na ar, ma, tor bhushon bole galar phanshi.
O Mother, I lay my head down at your feet; give me the dust of your feet, it will be the jewel on my head. O Mother, whatever wealth a poor man has, I will lay at your feet, ah, how it moves me, never again will I buy from others' houses, Mother, a noose for my neck in the name of finery.
Translation: Lyriccs (original translation). Transliteration: Lyriccs.
The story behind Amar Shonar Bangla
Tagore wrote the song during the Swadeshi movement that followed the 1905 Partition of Bengal, when songs celebrating an undivided Bengal were sung at rallies and processions; the exact date of composition is not known. It appears as the first of the Swadesh songs in his songbook Gitabitan.
Its melody is derived from Ami kothay pabo tare, a song by the Baul singer Gagan Harkara of Kushtia, whose folk music Tagore admired. Decades later, the song was sung during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, and its first ten lines were adopted as the national anthem of Bangladesh, confirmed in 1972.
With Jana Gana Mana for India, the song makes Tagore the author of two national anthems. The linked recording is by Somobeto, a chorus performance released on a label-delivered channel.
What Amar Shonar Bangla means
The song is spoken to Bengal as a mother. Her sky and breeze play a flute in the singer's heart; the scent of the mango groves in spring and the smile of the ripe fields in late autumn fill him with joy. Her shade, love and tenderness spread beneath the banyan trees and along the riverbanks, and when her face is sad, his eyes fill with tears.
The later stanzas move to childhood spent playing in her dust, the lamp lit at dusk, the pastures, ferry ghats and village paths, and the herdsmen and farmers who are the singer's brothers. In the last stanza he lays his head at her feet and vows to give her all a poor man owns, refusing to buy foreign goods that would be a noose around his neck, a direct echo of the Swadeshi boycott.
Quick facts
- Its first ten lines are the national anthem of Bangladesh.
- The melody is derived from Ami kothay pabo tare by the Baul singer Gagan Harkara.
- It is the first of the Swadesh songs in Tagore's Gitabitan.
- It was written during the movement against the 1905 Partition of Bengal.