Opinion | Vande Mataram: When Mother Becomes Nation

In the annals of India’s freedom struggle, perhaps there is no other composition that embodies the spirit of nationalism, devotion, and identity as powerfully as Vande Mataram. Written in the later decades of the 19th century, the song maps a journey from the personal invocation of a mother to the collective assertion of a nation. That evolution is not merely poetic; it is symbolic of how a motherland became a mother-nation, and how a song became a platform of collective identity.

In 1875, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay penned the evocative anthem of Vande Mataram. Published in his novel ‘Ananda Math’ in 1882, the poem was first a private homage and then an expansive public call.

The central theme of Ananda Math unfolds around a band of ascetic warriors — the Sanyasis, known as the Santanas (children) — who dedicate their lives to the liberation of their motherland. For them, the soil of Bharat is sacred, the homeland a divine presence. They worship the Motherland not merely as territory, but as the living Mother Goddess herself. Vande Mataram rises from this spirit — a chant that transcends religion to become the religion of patriotism, the heartbeat of Ananda Math and the soul of Bharat’s awakening.

What is striking about the anthem is the way it weaves maternal metaphors to embody both gentleness and strength. The mother who nurtures her children with tenderness is the same mother who rises in power — the protector, the eternal defender of her children.

It is this essence that enables the song to awaken the deeply rooted cultural nationalism that lies at the heart of Bharat. Moreover, the song gives a fresh thrust to the Vedic idea of “Mata bhumih, putro ham prithivyah" (The earth is our mother, we are her children).

The opening stanza of Vande Mataram addresses the mother (mataram) with reverence. It unfolds like a hymn whispered to the soul of the nation.

“Vande Mataram!

Sujalam, suphalam, malayaja........

© News18