Jana Gana Mana (Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All People) is the national anthem of India. It is the first of five stanzas of a poem by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, written in the Bengali language.

A formal rendition of the national anthem takes approximately 52 seconds. A short version consisting only the first and last lines takes about 20 seconds and is also played occasionally.

Lyrics

Devanagiri(Hindi) Text

जन गण मन अधिनायक जय हे
भारत भाग्यविधाता
पंजाब सिन्धु गुजरात मराठा
द्राविड़ उत्कल बंगा
विन्ध्य हिमाचल यमुना गंगा
उच्छल जलधि तरंगा
तव शुभ नामे जागे
तव शुभ आशीष मांगे
गाहे तव जयगाथा
जन गण मंगलदायक जय हे
भारत भाग्यविधाता
जय हे, जय हे, जय हे
जय जय जय जय हे!

Transliterated text

Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka jaya hai,
Bharata bhagyavidhata.
Punjaba, Sindhu, Gujarata, Maratha,
Dravida, Utkala, Banga,
Vindhya, Himachala, Yamuna, Ganga,
Uchchala jaladhi taranga
Tava shubha naamey jaagey,
Tava shubha aashisha maangey,
Gahe tava jayagatha.
Jana gana mangaladhayaka jaya hai
Bharat bhagyavidhata.
Jaya hai, Jaya hai, Jaya hai,
Jaya jaya jaya jaya jaya hai!

Bengali Text

জনগণমন-অধিনায়ক জয় হে ভারতভাগ্যবিধাতা!
পঞ্জাব সিন্ধু গুজরাট মরাঠা দ্রাবিড় উত্‍‌কল বঙ্গ
বিন্ধ্য হিমাচল যমুনা গঙ্গা উচ্ছলজলধিতরঙ্গ
তব শুভ নামে জাগে, তব শুভ আশিস মাগে,
গাহে তব জয়গাথা।
জনগণমঙ্গলদায়ক জয় হে ভারতভাগ্যবিধাতা!
জয় হে, জয় হে, জয় হে, জয় জয় জয়, জয় হে॥

English translation

Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people, dispenser of India's destiny.
Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sindhu, Gujarat and Maratha, of the Dravida and the Orissa (Utkalla) and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindyas and Himalayas, mingles in the music of Jamuna and Ganga 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.

Controversy

There is some controversy surrounding the appropriateness of this poem to be the national anthem of independent India. This poem was first sung during a convening of the Indian National Congress in 1911. Rabindranath Tagore had submitted the poem as a paean of India's divine destiny, and it was sung on the first day of the convening. The day after, a welcome was given to King George V on his visit to India. It was assumed thenceforth by many that it had been written for the King. However, Tagore is said to have written the poem in honour of God. In particular, given the great patriotism of Tagore, and his involvement in the freedom struggle, people are skeptical that the "protector" refers to the British monarch. Indeed, one of Tagore's greatest moments was his refusal of the British knighthood on grounds of the empire's immoral dealings in its rule of India, a title offered to him by none other than the king (George) about whom some feel Tagore was writing! But most definitive is Tagore's own statement about this, showing this allegation to be myth:

In a letter to Pulin Behari Sen, Tagore later wrote, "A certain high official in His Majesty's service, who was also my friend, had requested that I write a song of felicitation towards the Emperor. The request simply amazed me. It caused a great stir in my heart. In response to that great mental turmoil, I pronounced the victory in Jana Gana Mana of that Bhagya Vidhata [ed. God of Destiny] of India who has from age after age held steadfast the reins of India's chariot through rise and fall, through the straight path and the curved. That Lord of Destiny, that Reader of the Collective Mind of India, that Perennial Guide, could never be George V, George VI, or any other George. Even my official friend understood this about the song. After all, even if his admiration for the crown was excessive, he was not lacking in simple common sense."

See also

• India
• Rabindranath Tagore
• Vande Mataram

External links

• Indian Anthem in MIDI Format
• Indian Anthem in MP3 format -- from the Indian embassy in Lisbon, Portugal
• Genesis of Jana Gana Mana