PatrioticSanskritwritten 1870s, published 1882
Vande Mataram
वन्दे मातरम्
Vande Mataram, "I bow to thee, Mother", is the hymn to the motherland written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in Sanskritised Bengali. Its first two stanzas were adopted as the National Song of India in 1950, with equal honour to the national anthem.
- Written by
- Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (died 1894)
- Raga
- Kafi (in the linked rendition)
- In the video
- Pt. Omkarnath Thakur
- Context
- Hymn from Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel Anandamath (1882); first two stanzas are India's National Song
- Year
- written 1870s, published 1882
- Language
- Sanskrit
Vande Mataram lyrics with English translation
Only the first two stanzas, the official National Song of India, are given. The line अवला केन मा एत वले is Bengali (abala keno ma eto bole) and is spelled here exactly as on Sanskrit Wikisource. English translation from English Wikisource, Vande Mataram (Aurobindo Ghose, 1909).
वन्दे मातरम्॥ सुजलां सुफलां मलयजशीतलां शस्यश्यामलां मातरम्। शुभ्रज्योत्स्नापुलकितयामिनीं फुल्लकुसुमितद्रुमदलशोभिनीं सुहासिनीं सुमधुरभाषिणीं सुखदां वरदां मातरम्।
Vande Mataram Sujalam suphalam malayajashitalam shasyashyamalam Mataram Shubhrajyotsnapulakitayaminim phullakusumitadrumadalashobhinim Suhasinim sumadhurabhashinim sukhadam varadam Mataram
I bow to thee, Mother, richly-watered, richly-fruited, cool with the winds of the south, dark with the crops of the harvests, The Mother! Her nights rejoicing in the glory of the moonlight, her lands clothed beautifully with her trees in flowering bloom, sweet of laughter, sweet of speech, The Mother, giver of boons, giver of bliss!
सप्तकोटिकण्ठकलकलनिनादकराले द्विसप्तकोटिभुजैर्धृतखरकरवाले। अवला केन मा एत वले। बहुबलधारिणीं नमामि तारिणीं रिपुदलवारिणीं मातरम्।
Saptakotikanthakalakalaninadakarale Dvisaptakotibhujairdhritakharakaravale Abala keno ma eto bole Bahubaladharinim namami tarinim ripudalavarinim Mataram
Terrible with the clamorous shouts of seventy million throats, and the sharpness of swords raised in twice seventy million hands, who sayeth to thee, Mother, that thou are weak? Holder of multitudinous strength, I bow to her who saves, to her who drives from her the armies of her foes, The Mother!
Translation: Sri Aurobindo, literal translation published in Karmayogin, 20 November 1909 (public domain). Transliteration: Lyriccs.
The story behind Vande Mataram
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the Bengali novelist and civil servant, wrote the poem in the 1870s and placed it in his novel Anandamath, published in 1882, where it is sung by a band of ascetic rebels. Rabindranath Tagore sang it at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress in Calcutta.
During the Swadeshi movement against the Partition of Bengal in 1905, Vande Mataram became a slogan and a marching song, and British authorities at times tried to suppress it. On 24 January 1950 the Constituent Assembly of India declared that its first two stanzas would be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana.
The linked recording is Pandit Omkarnath Thakur's rendition broadcast by All India Radio in 1947, preserved by Prasar Bharati Archives. The full poem has further stanzas describing the motherland as the goddesses Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati.
What Vande Mataram means
The first stanza paints the land itself: rich in water and fruit, cooled by breezes from the sandalwood hills, dark green with harvests, its nights bright with moonlight and its trees in full flower. The Mother is smiling, sweet of speech, the giver of happiness and blessings.
The second stanza turns from beauty to strength. With the voices of seventy million and twice as many hands holding sharp swords, who could call her weak? The singer bows to her as the bearer of great power, the one who saves and drives back the hosts of enemies. Together the two stanzas joined love of the land with the courage the freedom movement asked of its people.
Quick facts
- The poem first appeared in Bankim Chandra's novel Anandamath in 1882.
- Rabindranath Tagore sang it at the 1896 Indian National Congress session.
- On 24 January 1950 its first two stanzas were adopted as the National Song of India.
- Pt. Omkarnath Thakur sang it on All India Radio in 1947.