Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram Explained

"Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram" (also called Ram Dhun) is a bhajan (devotional song) widely popularised by Mahatma Gandhi and set to tune by Vishnu Digambar Paluskar in Raga Mishra Gara.^{[1] [2] [3]}

History

The precise origins of the song are not entirely clear.^[4] It is believed to have been either written by Tulsidas (or based on his work Ramcharitmanas)^[5] or based on a 17th-century sung-prayer by the Marathi saint-poet Ramdas.^{[6] [7]}

Anthony Parel writes in Gandhi's Philosophy and the Quest for Harmony,^[8]

There have been many versions of the Ramdhun, and the version that Mahatma Gandhi used had an "ecumenical flavour" to it. Gandhi modified the original bhajan, adding that the Ishwar of the Hindus and the Allah of the Muslims were one and the same,^[9] to make the song more secular-looking and to spread the message of reconciliation between Hindus and Muslims.^[10] The song was extensively used to project a secular and composite vision of Indian society — it was sung during the 1930 Salt March.^[11]

In popular culture

• Elements of the chant were included in the song "Utho Utho he Bharat" in the movie Bharat Milap (1942), in songs of Shri Ram Bhakta Hanuman (1948), the song "De Dii Hamen Aazaadii" in the movie Jagriti (1954),^[12] Purab Aur Paschim (1970)^[13] and in the film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998),^[14] in the Kannada film Gandhinagara (1968), in the British-Indian movie Gandhi (1982),^[15] in the film Gandhi, My Father (2007),^[16] in Satyagraha (2013),^[17] and also in Krrish 3 (2013).^[18]
• The song is an important motif in the 2006 Bollywood film, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, and is featured in the movie.^[19]
• Pete Seeger included "Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram" on his album "Strangers and Cousins" (1964) and performed it in Episode 10 of his television series Rainbow Quest.
• The game featured Ananda Shankar's version on one of the in-game radio stations, "Radio del Mundo".

See also

• Vaishnava Jana To
• Hari Tuma Haro
• Hanuman Chalisa
• Shri Ramachandra Kripalu
• Thumak Chalat Ram Chandra

Bibliography

• Book: Dalton, Dennis . Mahatma Gandhi: Nonviolent Power in Action . 1993 . Columbia University Press . 0-231-12237-3.

Notes and References

1. Book: Lal, Vinay . Experiments with Truth: Gandhi and Images of Nonviolence . The Menil Collection . 2014 . Helfenstein . Josef . Houston . 244–45 . Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram . Newland . Joseph N..
2. Book: Dalton, Dennis. Mahatma Gandhi: Nonviolent Power in Action. Columbia University Press. 1993. 0-231-12237-3. 109. Dennis Dalton.
3. News: Sinha. Manjari. 2008-08-08. Tuned to excellence. 2009-04-27. The Hindu.
4. Book: Lal, Vinay. Experiments with Truth: Gandhi and Images of Nonviolence. The Menil Collection. 2014. Helfenstein. Josef. Houston. 244–45. Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram. Newland. Joseph N..
5. Book: Devi, Vindhya Basini . Loka-rāmāyaṇa: Śrīmad Gosvāmi Tulasīdāsa jī viracita Śrī Rāmacarita Mānasa para ādhārita . 1998 . Madhyapradeśa Tulasī Akādemī . hi . Bindhyabasini Devi.
6. PhD . Snodgrass . Cynthia . 2007 . The Sounds of Satyagraha : Mahatma Gandhi's Use of Sung-Prayers and Ritual . University of Stirling . 159.
7. Book: Gokhale, Namita . In Search Of Sita: Revisiting Mythology . 2009-10-15 . Penguin UK . 978-93-5118-420-1 . en . Namita Gokhale.
8. Book: Parel, Anthony J. . Gandhi's Philosophy and the Quest for Harmony . 2006-08-10 . Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-86715-3 . 167 . en.
9. Book: Thapar, Romesh . Seminar . 1998 . Rarely do they bother to point to his innovation of adding Ishwar Allah Tero Naam to the Tulsidas Ram dhun Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram. . Romesh Thapar.
10. Book: Handoo, Jawaharlal. Folklore in Modern India. 1998. Central Institute of Indian Languages. 978-81-7342-053-5. en.
11. Web site: Dandi: Salt March . Lal, Vinay. University of California, Los Angeles.
12. Web site: Bose . Rakhi . 2023-01-24 . 'Ishwar Allah Tero Naam' No More: The Fading Secularism Of Bollywood Songs . 2024-03-16 . Outlook India . en.
13. Web site: Purab aur Pachhim Indian Cinema - The University of Iowa . indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu . en . There is also Francis, a French hippie pal of Orphan, who sacrifices his life to save Bharat in a club brawl and then dies requesting, "Pour l'amour de Dieu....votre chanson" (i.e., the Gandhian anthem Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram), while cradled in Bharat and Orphan’s arms in an amazing intercultural pieta..
14. Book: Indian Horizons . 2008 . Indian Council for Cultural Relations. . 55 . en . ...band of boisterous hippies who energetically throw themselves into singing, "Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram." The re-working of one of Gandhi's favourite hymn is effected through wit, humour, irony and even irreverence..
15. Web site: 2014-10-18 . Songs for the 'Great Soul' . 2022-08-27 . ABC Radio National . en-AU.
16. Web site: Gandhi My Father: 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram' song Entertainment - Times of India Videos . 2022-08-27 . timesofindia.indiatimes.com . en.
17. Web site: Gandhiji's Raghupati Raghav modified for 'Satyagraha' - Times of India . 2022-08-27 . The Times of India . en.
18. Web site: 2013-09-12 . Watch: 'Raghupati Raghav',a new party anthem from Hrithik Roshan's 'Krrish 3' . 2022-08-27 . The Indian Express . en.
19. Book: Chopra, Vinod . Lage Raho Munna Bhai . 2010 . Om Books International . 978-93-80069-75-3 . en.