Vande Mataram

History

Composition

Indian independence movement

Adoption as national song of India

...The composition consisting of the words and music known as Jana Gana Mana is the National Anthem of India, subject to such alterations in the words as the Government may authorise as occasion arises; and the song Vande Mataram, which has played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it.. I hope this will satisfy the Members.

Identification with Mother India and Mother Bengal

While the poem is an ode to the motherland, and the text does not explicitly name the figure, the question of its intended subject is debated. Even though some argue that, the poem initially refers to Mother Bengal a view supported by Sri Aurobindo, who referred to it as the "National Anthem of Bengal," conversely, a more substantial number of bipartisan political parties, historians and national sources emphasize the poem's broader significance as a pan-Indian symbol: it was officially adopted by the Indian National Congress for all-India use in 1905 and again by the Congress Working Committee in 1937 when it was sung by the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore to serve as a militant salutation to Bharat Mata, a concept integral to the pan-Indian Indian independence movement against the colonial British Raj. Its status as a symbol of the larger national resistance culminated in the Constituent Assembly granting it official status as the National Song in 1950, to be honoured equally with the National Anthem. Adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 24 January 1950, Vande Mataram is the national song of the Republic of India, sharing equal honour with the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana. This status was initially affirmed by President Rajendra Prasad, and reaffirmed by the Madras High Court in 2017, and the Bhartiya Janta Party-ruled Government of India in November 2022, despite the Constitution of India containing no explicit reference to a "national song".
The poem played a vital role in the Indian independence movement. It first gained political significance when it was recited by Rabindranath Tagore at Congress in 1896. By 1905, it had become popular amongst political activists and freedom fighters as a marching song. The first two verses of the poem were adopted as the National Song of India in October 1937 by the Congress. The song, as well as Anandmath, were banned under British colonial rule under threat of imprisonment, making its use revolutionary. The ban was ultimately overturned by the Indian government upon independence in 1947.

Official status as the National Song

On 24 January 1950, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted "Vande Mataram" as the national song of the Republic of India. President of India Rajendra Prasad stated that the song should be honoured equally with the national anthem of India, "Jana Gana Mana".
In July 2017, the Madras High Court ruled that the "Vande Mataram" shall be sung or played at least once a week in all schools, universities and other educational institutions of Tamil Nadu. The Court also ruled that the song should be played or sung in government offices and industrial facilities at least once a month. However, in November 2017, the Madras High Court backtracked and left the decision for the Tamil Nadu's government to make the decision.
In November 2022, the Government filed an affidavit at the Delhi High Court, stating that "Jana Gana Mana" and "Vande Mataram" would "stand on the same level" and should be accorded equal respect by citizens, even though the Constitution of India does not make an explicit reference to a "national song".

Lyrics

Bengali and Hindi

The first two verses of "Vande Mataram" adopted as the national song of India read as follows:

Full lyrics

The complete original lyrics of the "Vande Mataram" are available at

বন্দে মাতরম্	Sanskritised romanization	वन्दे मातरम्
বন্দে মাতরম্ ৷ সুজলাং সুফলাং মলয়জশীতলাম্ শস্যশ্যামলাং মাতরম্ ! বন্দে মাতরম্ ৷ শুভ্রজ্যোৎস্না-পুলকিতযামিনীম্ ফুল্লকুসুমিত-দ্রুমদলশোভিনীম্, সুহাসিনীং সুমধুরভাষিণীম্ সুখদাং বরদাং মাতরম্ ৷৷ বন্দে মাতরম্ ৷ সপ্তকোটীকণ্ঠ-কলকল-নিনাদকরালে, দ্বিসপ্তকোটীভুজৈর্ধৃতখরকরবালে, অবলা কেন মা এত বলে ! বহুবলধারিণীং নমামি তারিণীং রিপুদলবারিণীং মাতরম্ ৷ বন্দে মাতরম্ ৷ তুমি বিদ্যা তুমি ধর্ম্ম	Vande Mātaram. Sujalāṃ suphalāṃ Malaẏajaśītalām Śasyaśyāmalāṃ Mātaram. Vande Mātaram. Śubhra-jyotsnā-pulakita-yāminīm Phullakusumita-drumadalaśobhinīm, Suhāsinīṃ sumadhurabhāṣinīm Sukhadāṃ varadāṃ Mātaram. Vande Mātaram. Saptakoṭīkanṭha-kala-kala-ninādakarāle Dvisaptakoṭībhujaidhṛtakharakaravāle, Avalā kena mā eta bale! Vahuvaladhāriṇīṃ Namāmi tāriṇīṃ Ripudalavāriṇīṃ Mātaram. Vande Mātaram. Tumi vidyā tumi dharmma Tumi hṛdi tumi marmma Tvaṃ hi prāṇāḥ śarīre. Bāhute tumi mā śhakti, Hṛdaẏe tumi mā bhakti, Tomārai pratimā gaṛi mandire mandire. Tvaṃ hi Durgā daśapraharaṇadhārinī Kamalā kamala-dalavihāriṇī Vānī vidyādāẏiṇī Namāmi tvaṃ Namāmi kamalām Amalāṃ atulām, Sujalāṃ suphalāṃ Mātaram Vande Mātaram. Vande Mātaram Śyāmalāṃ saralāṃ Susmitāṃ bhūṣitām Dharaṇīṃ bharanīm 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, अवला केन मा एत वले वहुवलधारिणीं 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

English 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 praise 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, lotus-throned,
And Goddess Vani, 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 " 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."

Translation into other languages

"Vande Mataram" has inspired many Indian poets and has been translated into numerous Indian languages, such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Odia, Malayalam, Assamese, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu, and others.
Arif Mohammad Khan translated "Vande Mataram" into Urdu. It can be read in Urdu as:

Devanagari script	Nastaliq
तस्लीमात, माँ तस्लीमात तू भरी है मीठे पानी से फल फूलों की शादाबी से दक्खिन की ठंडी हवाओं से फसलों की सुहानी फ़िज़ाओं से तस्लीमात, माँ तस्लीमात तेरी रातें रौशन चांद से तेरी रौनक सब्ज़-ए-फ़ाम से तेरी प्यार भरी मुस्कान है तेरी मीठी बहुत ज़ुबां है तेरी बांहों में मेरी राहत है तेरे क़दमों में मेरी जन्नत है तस्लीमात, माँ तस्लीमात

Ongoing demand for national anthem status

Despite the Constituent Assembly of India declaring "Vande Mataram" as the "National Song of India" with "equal honour" to the National Anthem of India, "Jana Gana Mana", an intermittent political and legal demands persists regarding the elevating the status of Vande Mataram to the national anthem. Advocates for elevating Vande Mataram to the status of national anthem often cite its pivotal role as the rallying cry of the Indian independence movement, arguing that its historical significance and revolutionary background surpass that of the current anthem. This demand has led to several PIL pleas in various courts, including the Delhi High Court, seeking a directive to grant it equal status to, or replace, "Jana Gana Mana"; however, such petitions have historically been dismissed, with courts noting that the decision is not a matter for judicial interference. But, these persistent demands continue to resurface.

150 Years completion of Vande Mataram

Year 2025 marks completion of 150 years of publication of Vande Mataram, first published on 7 November 1875. The event is acknowledged by the Narendra Modi government as a celebration of the song. A parliamentary discussion has been scheduled in Lok Sabha on 8 December 2025 to mark this anniversary and to spotlight lesser known facets of the song’s history and legacy. The discussion is as an attempt to redefine and reinforce national identity through the lens of the song, its legacy, and what it stands for today.

In popular culture

The poem has been set to a large number of tunes. The oldest surviving audio recordings date to 1907, and there have been more than a hundred different versions recorded throughout the 20th century. Many of these versions have employed traditional Indian classical music|classical] ragas. Versions of the song have been visualised on celluloid in a number of films, including Leader, Amar Asha, and Anand Math. It is widely believed that the tune set for All India Radio station version was composed by Ravi Shankar. Hemant Kumar composed music for the song in the movie Anand Math in 1952. Many singers like Lata Mangeshkar, K.S.Chithra sung made it cult classic. In 2002, BBC World Service conducted an international poll to choose ten most famous songs of all time. Around 7000 songs were selected from all over the world. "Vande Mataram", from the movie Anand Math, was ranked second. All India Radio's version and some other versions are in Desh raga.

• Vande Mataram (album), 1997 studio album by Indian musician A. R. Rehman.
• Vandae Maatharam, 2010 Indian action film in Malyalam and Tamil featuring Mammootty and Arjun Sarja