Vande Mataram

Vande Maataram (IAST: Vande Mātaram, also pronounced Bande Maataram; বন্দে মাতরম্-Bônde Mātôrôm transl. Mother, I bow to thee) is a poem written in Bengali (with some Sanskrit words as well) by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya in 1870s, which he included in his 1882 Bengali novel Anandamath. The poem was first sung by Rabindranath Tagore in the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress. The first two verses of the song were adopted as the National Song of India in October 1937 by the Congress Working Committee prior to the end of colonial rule in August 1947.

An ode to the Motherland, it was written in Bengali script in the novel Anandmath. The title 'Vande Mataram' means "I praise to motherland, Mother".The "mother goddess" in later verses of the song has been interpreted as the motherland of the people –– Banga Mata (Mother Bengal) and Bharat Mata (Mother India), though the text does not mention this explicitly.

It played a vital role in the Indian independence movement, first sung in a political context by Rabindranath Tagore at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress. It became a popular marching song for political activism and Indian freedom movement in 1905. Spiritual Indian nationalist and philosopher Sri Aurobindo referred it as "National Anthem of Bengal".The song and the novel containing it was banned by the colonial government, but workers and the general public defied the ban (with many being imprisoned repeatedly for singing it in public); with the ban being overturned by the Indian government after the country gained independence from colonial rule in 1947.

On 24 January 1950, the Constituent Assembly of India has adopted "Vande Mataram" as national song. On the occasion, the first President of India, Rajendra Prasad stated that the song should be honoured equally with the national anthem of India, "Jana Gana Mana". However the Constitution of India does not have any mention of "national song".

The first two verses of the song are an abstract reference to mother and motherland, they do not mention any Hindu deity by name, unlike later verses that do mention goddesses such as Durga. There is 65 seconds or circumstantial specification for the rendition of this song unlike the national anthem "Jana Gana Mana" that specifies 52 seconds.

Lyrics of the Song

The first two verses of Vande Mataram adopted as the "National Song" read as follows:

Bengali script	Bengali phonemic transcription	Devanagari script	IAST transliteration
বন্দে মাতরম্৷ সুজলাং সুফলাং মলয়জশীতলাম্ শস্যশ্যামলাং মাতরম্! বন্দে মাতরম্৷. শুভ্র-জ্যোৎস্না পুলকিত-যামিনীম্ ফুল্লকুসুমিত দ্রুমদলশোভিনীম্, সুহাসিনীং সুমধুরভাষিণীম্ সুখদাং বরদাং মাতরম্৷৷ বন্দে মাতরম্৷	Bônde mātôrôm sujôlāng suphôlāng môlôyôjôshītôlām shôsyô shyāmôlāng mātôrôm bônde mātôrôm shubhrô jyotsnā pulôkitô jāminīm phullô kusumitô drumôdôlôshobhinīm suhāsinīng sumôdhurôbhāshinī sukhôdāng bôrôdāng mātôrôm bônde mātôrôm	वन्दे मातरम्। सुजलाम् सुफलाम् मलयजशीतलाम् शस्यश्यामलाम् मातरम्। वन्दे मातरम्। शुभ्रज्योत्स्नाम् पुलकितयामिनीम् फुल्लकुसुमित द्रुमदलशोभिनीम् सुहासिनीम् सुमधुर भाषिणीम् सुखदाम् वरदाम् मातरम्।। वन्दे मातरम्।	vande mātaram vande mātaram sujalāṃ suphalāṃ malayajaśītalām śasyaśyāmalāṃ mātaram vande mātaram śubhrajyotsnām pulakitayāminīm phullakusumita drumadalaśobhinīm suhāsinīṃ sumadhura bhāṣiṇīm sukhadāṃ varadāṃ mātaram vande mātaram (Sanskrit)

Lyrics

বন্দে মাতরম্ (Bengali Script)	Latin transliteration (IAST)	वन्दे मातरम् (Devanagari transliteration)
বন্দে মাতরম্ ৷ সুজলাং সুফলাং মলয়জশীতলাম্ শস্যশ্যামলাং মাতরম্ ! শুভ্র-জ্যোত্স্না-পুলকিত-যামিনীম্ ফুল্লকুসুমিত-দ্রুমদলশোভিনীম্, সুহাসিনীং সুমধুরভাষিণীম্ সুখদাং বরদাং মাতরম্ ৷৷ সপ্তকোটীকন্ঠ-কল-কল-নিনাদকরালে, দ্বিসপ্তকোটীভুজৈধৃতখরকরবালে, অবলা কেন মা এত বলে ! বহুবলধারিণীং নমামি তরিণীং রিপুদলবারিণীং মাতরম্ ৷ তুমি বিদ্যা তুমি ধর্ম্ম[a] তুমি হৃদি তুমি মর্ম্ম[b] ত্বং হি প্রাণাঃ শরীরে ৷ বাহুতে তুমি মা শক্তি, হৃদয়ে তুমি মা ভক্তি, তোমারই প্রতিমা গড়ি মন্দিরে মন্দিরে ৷ ত্বং হি দুর্গা দশপ্রহরণধারিণী কমলা কমল-দলবিহারিণী বাণী বিদ্যাদায়িণী নমামি ত্বাং নমামি কমলাম্ অমলাং অতুলাম্, সুজলাং সুফলাং মাতরম্ বন্দে মাতরম্ শ্যামলাং সরলাং সুস্মিতাং ভূষিতাম্ ধরণীং ভরণীম্ মাতরম্ ৷	Bande[c] Mātaram. Sujalāṃ suphalām Malayajaśītalām Śasyaśyāmalām Mātaram. Śubhra-jyotsnā-pulakita-yāminī Phullakusumita-drumadalaśobhinī, Suhāsinīṃ sumadhurabhāṣinīm Sukhadāṃ baradāṃ[d] Mātaram. Saptakoṭīkanṭha-kala-kala-ninādakarāle Dbisaptakoṭībhujaidhṛtakharakarabāle,[e] Abalā[f] kena mā eta bale[g]! Bahubaladhārinīṃ[h] Namāmi tarinīṃ Ripudalabārinīṃ[i] Mātaram. Tumi bidyā[j] tumi dharma Tumi hrṛdi tumi marma Tbaṃ[k] hi prānāḥ śarīre. Bāhute[l] tumi mā śakti, Hṛdaye tumi mā bhakti, Tomārai pratimā gaṛi mandire mandire. Tbaṃ[m] hi Durgā daśapraharanadhārinī Kamalā kamala-dalabihārinī Bānī[n] bidyādāyinī[o] Namāmi tbaṃ[p] Namāmi kamalām Amalāṃ atulām, Sujalāṃ suphalām Mātaram Bande[q] Mātaram Śyāmalām saralām Susmitām bhūṣitām Dharanīṃ bharanīṃ Mātaram.	वन्दे मातरम् सुजलां सुफलाम् मलयजशीतलाम् शस्यश्यामलाम् मातरम्। शुभ्रज्योत्स्नापुलकितयामिनीम् फुल्लकुसुमितद्रुमदलशोभिनीम् सुहासिनीं सुमधुर भाषिणीम् सुखदां वरदां मातरम्।। सप्त-कोटि-कण्ठ-कल-कल-निनाद-कराले द्विसप्त-कोटि-भुजैर्धृत-खरकरवाले, अबला केन मा एत बॅले बहुबलधारिणीं नमामि तारिणीं रिपुदलवारिणीं मातरम्।। तुमि विद्या, तुमि धर्म तुमि हृदि, तुमि मर्म त्वम् हि प्राणा: शरीरे बाहुते तुमि मा शक्ति, हृदये तुमि मा भक्ति, तोमारई प्रतिमा गडी मन्दिरे-मन्दिरे।। त्वम् हि दुर्गा दशप्रहरणधारिणी कमला कमलदलविहारिणी वाणी विद्यादायिनी, नमामि त्वाम् नमामि कमलाम् अमलां अतुलाम् सुजलां सुफलाम् मातरम्।। वन्दे मातरम् श्यामलाम् सरलाम् सुस्मिताम् भूषिताम् धरणीं भरणीं मातरम्।।

Translation

The first translation of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel Anandamath, including the poem Vande Mataram, into English was by Nares Chandra Sen-Gupta, with the fifth edition published in 1906 titled "The Abbey of Bliss".

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.

Mother, I bow to thee!
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleams,
Cool with the 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 bow.

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 strong,
To thee I call, Mother and Lord!
Thou who savest, arise and save!
To her I cry who ever her foemen drove
Back from plain and Sea
And shook herself free.

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 divine.
In our temples is but thine.

Thou art Goddess Durga, Lady and Queen,
With her hands that strike and her swords of sheen,
Thou art Goddess Kamala (Lakshmi), lotus-throned,
And Goddess Vani (Saraswati), bestower of wisdom known
Pure and perfect without peer,
Mother lend thine ear,
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleams,
Dark of hue O candid-fair

In thy soul, with jewelled hair
And thy glorious smile divine,
Loveliest of all earthly lands,
Showering wealth from well-stored hands!
Mother, mother mine!
Mother sweet, I bow to thee,
Mother great and free!

Apart from the above prose translation, Sri Aurobindo also translated Vande Mataram into a verse form known as Mother, I praise thee!. Sri Aurobindo commented on his English translation of the poem that "It is difficult to translate the National Song of India into verse in another language owing to its unique union of sweetness, simple directness and high poetic force."

Notes

1. sometimes transcribed as ধর্ম
2. sometimes transcribed as মর্ম
3. Sanskrit transliteration "Vande"
4. Sanskrit
    "varadāṃ"
5. Sanskrit transliteration "Dvisaptakoṭībhujaidhṛtakharakaravāle"
6. Sanskrit transliteration "Avalā"
7. Sanskrit transliteration "vale"
8. Sanskrit transliteration "Vahuvaladhārinīṃ"
9. Sanskrit transliteration "Ripudalavārinī"
10. Sanskrit transliteration "vidyā"
11. Sanskrit transliteration "Tvaṃ"
12. Sanskrit transliteration "Vāhute"
13. Sanskrit transliteration "Tvaṃ"
14. Sanskrit transliteration "Vānī"
15. Sanskrit transliteration "vidyādāẏinī"
16. Sanskrit transliteration "tvaṃ"
17. Sanskrit transliteration "Vande"