Bharata Bhagya Bidhata (Bengali: ভারত ভাগ্য বিধাতা|lit=Dispenser of India's destiny) is a five-stanza Brahmo hymn in Bengali.[1] It was composed and scored by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in 1913. The first stanza of the song has been adopted as the National Anthem of India.[2] [3] [4]
The poem was first sung on the second day of the annual session of the Indian National Congress in Calcutta on 27 December 1911. The song was performed by Sarala Devi Chowdhurani, Tagore's niece, along with a group of school students, in front of prominent Congress Members like Bishan Narayan Dhar, Indian National Congress President and Ambika Charan Majumdar.
In 1912, the song was published under the title Bharat Bhagya Bidhata in the Tatwabodhini Patrika, which was the official publication of the Brahmo Samaj and of which Tagore was the Editor.
Outside of Calcutta, the song was first sung by the bard himself at a session in Besant Theosophical College in Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh on 28 February 1919. The song enthralled the college authorities and they adopted the English version of the song as their prayer song which is still sang today. Tagore made the first English translation of the song at Madanapalle.
On the occasion of India attaining freedom, the Indian Constituent Assembly assembled for the first time as a sovereign body on 14 August 1947, midnight and the session closed with a unanimous performance of Jana Gana Mana.
The members of the Indian Delegation to the General Assembly of the United Nations held at New York in 1947 gave a recording of Jana Gana Mana as the country's national anthem. The song was played by the house orchestra in front of a gathering consisting of representatives from all over the world.
Jana Gana Mana was officially proclaimed as India's National Anthem by the Constituent Assembly of India on 24 January 1950.[5]
The English translation below has been adapted from an unverifiable source.[6] Some changes have been made to both the translation and romanization.
Bengali (বাংলা) | Bengali transliteration | English translation | ||||||||||
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style='border-style: none solid none solid;' | জয় হে, জয় হে, জয় হে, জয় জয় জয় জয় হে॥ | style='border-style: none solid none solid;' | Jōyo he, jōyo he, jōyo he, jōyo jōyo jōyo jōyo he. | style='border-style: none solid none solid;' | Jaẏa hē, Jaẏa hē, Jaẏa hē, jaẏa jaẏa jaẏa jaẏa hē. | style='border-style: none solid none solid;' | Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat, Maratha (Marathi heartland), Dravida (South India), Orissa and Bengal,The Vindhyas, the Himalayas, the Jumna (Yamuna) and the Ganges, and the oceans with foaming waves all around.Wake up listening to Your auspicious name, ask for Your auspicious blessings,And sing to Your glorious victory.Oh! You who impart well being to the people, victory be to You, dispenser of the destiny of India | Victory, victory, victory to You! | ||||
style='border-style: none solid none solid;' | style='border-style: none solid none solid;' | style='border-style: none solid none solid;' | style='border-style: none solid none solid;' | Victory be to You, dispenser of the destiny of India!Victory, victory, victory to You | ||||||||
style='border-style: none solid none solid;' | style='border-style: none solid none solid;' | style='border-style: none solid none solid;' | style='border-style: none solid none solid;' | You who guide the people through torturous path, victory be to You, dispenser of the destiny of India!Victory, victory, victory to You | ||||||||
style='border-style: none solid none solid;' | style='border-style: none solid none solid;' | style='border-style: none solid none solid;' | style='border-style: none solid none solid;' | Victory, victory, victory to You! | ||||||||
style='border-style: none solid none solid;' | style='border-style: none solid none solid;' | style='border-style: none solid none solid;' | style='border-style: none solid none solid;' | Victory, victory, victory to You! |
Apart from the above translation which follows the original very closely, Tagore's own interpretation of Jana Gana Mana in English is available as The Morning Song of India. .