Ever Wonderered what ”adhinayak” and “bharat bhagya vidhata” mean in our national anthem?? Whose praise we are singing??
India ’s national anthem, Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka, was written by Rabindranath Tagore
in honour of King George V and the Queen of England when they visited India in 1919.
To honour their visit Pandit Motilal Nehru had the five stanzas included , which are in praise of the King and Queen. (And most of us think it is in the praise of our great motherland!!!)
In the original Bengali verses only those provinces that were under British rule, i.e. Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat , Maratha etc.were mentioned. None of the princely states were recognized which are integral parts of India now Kashmir, Rajasthan, Andhra, Mysore or Kerala.
Neither the Indian Ocean nor the Arabian Sea was included, since they were directly under Portuguese rule at that time. The Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka implies that King George V is "the lord of the masses" and Bharata Bhagya Vidhata is “the bestower of good fortune”.
Following is a translation of the 5 stanzas that glorify the King:
1st stanza: (Indian) People wake up remembering your good name and ask for your blessings and they sing your glories. (Tava shubha name jaage; tava shubha aashish maage, gaaye tava jaya gaatha)
2nd: Around your throne people of all religions come and give their love and anxiously wait to hear your kind words.
3r: Praise to the King for being the charioteer, for leading the ancient travelers beyond misery.
4th: Drowned in the deep ignorance and suffering, poverty-stricken, unconscious country? Waiting for the wink of your eye and your mother’s (the Queen’s) true protection.
5th: In your compassionate plans, the sleeping Bharat (India) will wake up. We bow down to your feet O’ Queen, and glory to Rajeshwara (the King)
This whole poem does not indicate any love for the Motherland but depicts a bleak picture. When you sing Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka, whom are you glorifying?
Certainly not the Motherland. Is it God? The poem does not indicate that.It is time now to understand the original purpose and the implication of this, rather than blindly sing as has been done the past fifty years.
Nehru chose the present national anthem as opposed to Vande Mataram because he thought that it would be easier for the band to play!!!!!!!!
It was an absurd reason but Today for that matter bands have advanced and they can very well play any music. So they can as well play Vande Mataram, which is a far better composition in praise of our Dear Motherland – India .
Wake up, it’s high time! I dont know if we shud disrespet this POEM or not but I guess Vande Mataram shud be our National Anthem.
Guys I am ashamed I was singing glory of the killers of legends of Revolution and that too loudly and standstill coz I never knew this (another) blunder of Nehru.
Views are always welcome.
Jana Gana Mana - The Literal Meaning!
Labels:
India,
Jawahar Lal Nehru,
National Anthem,
Rabindranath Tagore
May 9, 2009
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11 comments:
U are totally correct.
but, no matter even if it is wrong or correct, we all expect to change our national anthem to vande mataram. but, we must certainly not disrespect our national anthem as it is written in our constitution that to respect and protect anthem is our duty.
hey.. i m not disrespecting our national anthem? i m just trying to get the real meaning out.. and telling why we need a change!
gorgeous,,............
gorgeous,........................................................................................................................................... th
I don’t think “Jana Gana Mana adhinayaka” should point to King George V necessarily. The song ,as unanimously agreed ,was meant to be sung during the Coronation Durbar of George V.
However, Tagore used only the adjectives describing the greatness of somebody but did not mention any adjectives which point to the king in particular. Anyone who knows Sanskrit can easily figure out the meaning of “Jana Gana Mana adhinayaka” as “the ruler of the hearts of a category of people (Indians probably)” which necessarily might not mean George V, it could be God also.
Wikipedia and some websites say : On a visit to India, the poet Yeats received a visit from an Indian admirer who was also, in Yeats' words, "an Indian devotee" of Tagore. In a letter to a lady friend, Yeats quoted this unnamed devotee as giving him a 'strictly off the records' version of events dealing with the writing of Jana Gana Mana. Thus, Tagore is said to have written the poem in the honour of God.
Many musicians have composed songs praising the almighty and sang them in the courts of kings. On the similar lines, we can assume that Tagore wrote a song praising God on behalf of people from various regions of India which were under the British rule that time.
Vande mataram is also a great song worthy enough to be our second national anthem. However, jana gana mana already induced the spirit of national integrity and patriotism among us and that is what is important. Also, many people are known to have done some analysis on this issue but could not arrive at a firm conclusion. Hence it is not reasonable on our part to flare up this controversy with irrational thinking and play with the sentiments of people. What’s written in blogs is not always true unless it is accompanied by authenticated citations.
Respecting the national anthem is the fundamental duty of every citizen of India
Long live India !
I agree. Respect the National anthem or be tried for treason.
Mr. Ritesh Seth,
You are making a wrong meaning of national anthem.
I think you are just copying the text and pasting in your website from another source, just for the sake of publishing and
attracting the visitors to read.
But please do not publish such things, which makes people thinking wrong of national anthem.
This is the only reason, why britisher succeeded in the theory of "Divide and Rule".
Think right always.
Below is the correct meaning -----
At that time Britishers were ruling our country.
All our country there was fire for freedom.
Freedom fighters all the country were trying to get free for Britishers.
The words "Jaye, jaye, jaye hai, jaye hai" - is for the Victory & Freedom to get from britishers.
The name of India arouses the mind of people to get more strenghth for fighting the freedom struggle.
The name of Motherland is echoed in himalayas, seas and everywhere.
None of the words are for BRitishers, but all are for the motherland itself,
This song gave them a strength and to praise for motherland.
Don't show the wrong meaning........
Playing time of the full version of the national anthem is approximately 52 seconds.
A short version consisting of first and last lines of the stanza
(playing time approximately 20 seconds) is also played on certain occasions.
The following is Tagore’s English rendering of the anthem :
Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,
dispenser of India’s destiny.
Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind, Gujarat and Maratha,
Of the Dravida and Orissa and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindyas and Himalayas,
mingles in the music of Jamuna and Ganges and is
chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise.
The saving of all people waits in thy hand,
thou dispenser of India’s destiny.
Victory, victory, victory to thee.
Thnks for your unasked comments! :) this is just to tell u mr.manish pal, that this is actually the correct literal meaning of the national anthem! and the one you are talking about is actually not true, because when this national anthem was written, the freedom struggle had not even begun! anyways, I hope you are able to learn the correct meaning!
Ps- my post means no disrespect for the national anthem! and if I somehow manage to hurt someone's sentiments, then I am really sorry about it! cheers!
Ummm, no, its not the true translation. you are miles off in both the third and fourth verse, which completely distorts the meaning. Do you understand 'old' Bengali ? If so, I'd suggest you try a line by line translation, not that idiotic summary that you've given here -- start with translating "Patana Abhyudaya Bandhura Pantha, Yuga Yuga Dhaavita Yatri, he Chira-Sarathi, taba Ratha-chakre Mukhorito Patha dina raatri"......
And btw, you may want to do a little more research. As Tagore himself had said in a letter, he really didn't know what was the appropriate reply to people fool enough to think he would refer to some 'King George' as the 'Chirasarathi' whose 'sankha-dhwani' has been heard amidts every great revolution against tyranny.
India's National Anthem - Was it Tagore's intention to honor King George V and British Rule with this Song? - (Interview with Bhagwan S. Gidwani, Author of Return of the Aryans)
Bhagwan S. Gidwani is
A known author (The Sword of Tipu Sultan & Return of the Aryans, etc.)
Earlier Director General of Civil Aviation
Additional Director General of Tourism of Government of India
Served also as a Counsel for India at the International Court of Justice at the Hague; later as Director of the Legal Bureau of International Civil Aviation Organization (United Nations). He is based in Montreal, Canada
In his interview, he said
There is record to show that, while handing over the Song, Gurudev Tagore had clearly said that it was intended to honor God.
There was absolutely no truth in the frivolous hoax that Tagore's Jana Gana Mana was intended to honor King George V.
In any case, the Song Jana Gana Mana is larger than the National Anthem and in that extended Song there are images of the Bhagya Vidhata who is also India`s eternal Mother - and surely Tagore knew that King George V was not a female.
Lord to which Jana Gana Mana is addressed, is the Bhagya Vidhata who is India`s eternal guiding spirit, and certainly not the temporal king of a colonial empire.
Quoting various experts, Gidwani pointed out how senseless was the bizarre accusation that Jana Mana Gana was inspired to honor the British King in 1911. If such a taint had attached to the Song, would Tagore have translated the Song into English, eight years later, in 1919, which was the year when Tagore had renounced his knighthood in protest over the massacre at Jallianawala Bagh, Amritsar.
Gurudev Tagore's words: "I should only insult myself if I cared to answer those who consider me capable of such unbounded stupidity as to sing in praise of George the Fifth as the Eternal Charioteer leading the pilgrims on their journey through countless ages of the timeless history of mankind."
As to the question that certain territories of India and even rivers that flow in India, do not find a mention in the National Anthem, Gidwani countered with questions: What do you think? Was Gurudev Tegore writing a geographical handbook or an encyclopedia? Tagore was not writing geography, but a poem. He did not enumerate states.
Nowhere in the world has this task been performed by its courts and I cannot believe that the highest legal body in India would engage in such an act of lawlessness.
The plain fact is that in this great song, Jana Mana Gana, Tagore, enamored of the river-culture of India starts with Punjab (five rivers, or the land of five rivers), then Sindh(u) another river, also meaning ocean, Utkal and Bang- littoral provinces (of Bengal then), lapped by the ocean, and he ends with Jamuna-Ganga - who all commingle in the ocean (Jaladhi) and its waves (tarang). In one word Dravid, he refers to today`s all four southern states (Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala) abutting on the ocean.
For more details visit http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_jana_gana_mana
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpQQhcjON0Q&lc=UgwfDCKqteQFn_JFz8F4AaABAg
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