BhajanHinditraditional; Gandhi-era form 1930s
Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram
रघुपति राघव राजा राम
Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram is a Ram Dhun, a simple chant of the names of Ram and Sita. In the form sung at Mahatma Gandhi's ashrams and prayer meetings it adds the line Ishwar Allah tere naam, "Ishwar and Allah are your names", and became a song of the freedom movement.
- Written by
- Traditional
- Music
- Traditional
- In the video
- Ashit Desai
- Context
- Ram Dhun, traditional devotional chant in the form sung at Mahatma Gandhi's prayer meetings
- Year
- traditional; Gandhi-era form 1930s
- Language
- Hindi
Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram lyrics with English translation
Famous section only: the first three stanzas as transcribed by Kavita Kosh, which form the version associated with Gandhi's prayer meetings. The Kavita Kosh page adds a fourth stanza (रात को निंदिया दिन तो काम...) found in later popular versions; it is not reproduced here.
रघुपति राघव राजा राम पतित पावन सीता राम
Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram Patit Pavan Sita Ram
Lord of the Raghus, Raghava, King Ram, purifier of the fallen, Sita and Ram.
सीता राम सीता राम भज प्यारे तू सीता राम रघुपति ...
Sita Ram Sita Ram Bhaj pyare tu Sita Ram Raghupati ...
Sita Ram, Sita Ram, sing, dear one, the name of Sita Ram. Raghupati ...
ईश्वर अल्लाह तेरे नाम सबको सन्मति दे भगवान रघुपति ...
Ishwar Allah tere naam Sabko sanmati de Bhagwan Raghupati ...
Ishwar and Allah are your names; grant good sense to everyone, O God. Raghupati ...
Translation: Lyriccs (original translation). Transliteration: Lyriccs.
The story behind Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram
Ram Dhun chants, repeating the names of Ram and Sita, are an old part of North Indian devotional singing. The best-known version today is the one Mahatma Gandhi made part of daily prayer at his ashrams, with lines asking God, called both Ishwar and Allah, to give everyone good sense.
The chant is closely linked with the Salt March of 1930, when Gandhi and his companions walked from Sabarmati to Dandi, and it remained part of his public prayer meetings until his death in 1948. It was sung at many national occasions afterwards and is still heard on Gandhi Jayanti and at memorials.
Its music is very simple, so it can be sung by large groups without training. Many singers have recorded it, and lines have been added in popular versions over time; the linked recording is by Ashit Desai.
What Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram means
The opening lines praise Ram as Raghupati and Raghava, lord and descendant of the Raghu dynasty, and as patit pavan, the one who purifies the fallen. The middle lines are a pure repetition of Sita Ram, urging the listener, pyare, dear one, to sing the name.
The line Ishwar Allah tere naam carries the chant's wider message: the one God is called by many names, Hindu and Muslim alike. The prayer sabko sanmati de Bhagwan asks God to grant good sense and right understanding to everyone, not only to the singer. In a few short lines the chant joins personal devotion with a call for harmony between communities, which is why it became a song of the national movement.
Quick facts
- It is a Ram Dhun, a chant repeating the names of Ram and Sita.
- The line Ishwar Allah tere naam is part of the version sung at Gandhi's prayer meetings.
- It is associated with the Salt March to Dandi in 1930.
- It is still sung on Gandhi Jayanti, 2 October.