HomePolitics Jana Gana Mana (India's National Anthem) - An Inferential Linguistic Analysis
Jana Gana Mana (India's National Anthem) - An Inferential Linguistic Analysis
Contributed by NSingh
Monday, 18 June 2007
Jana Gana Mana is India's national anthem written in Sanskrit by poet Rabindranath Tagore (Nobel Prize Winner. Attached is an inferential linguistic analysis of the National Anthem. Also is a brief description of the making of the Anthem around King George 5ths visit to India.
Jana Gana Mana was written by the poet Tagore. So with what intention did Tagore compose this song? It did go on to be honored as the national anthem.What are the hidden undertones of this song?
Now the situation for the making of Jana Gana Mana is best explained by this link
http://www.cs.brockport.edu/~smitra/janaganamana.html To quote: "... surrounds the 1911 visit to India by King George V. To commemorate the $occasion, the Indian National Congress (INC) approached Tagore for a poem of welcome. As Yeats (his Irish admirer of many years) recalled later, Tagore was deeply troubled by the assignment. Early one morning, he composed a very beautiful poem and handed it over to his colleagues. He suggested that it was a poem addressed to God, and that they should give it to the Congress people.
At the Calcutta Congress session which began on December 16, 1911, the second day was apparently devoted entirely to welcoming King George V. Jana Gana Mana was sung on this occasion. Thereafter, the newspaper reports maintained that it was sung as a salute to the King Emperor (George V). Since Tagore did not immediately refute the allegation, the perception spread that the song was a eulogy to the monarchy"
From this I infer that Tagore being very soft hearted and compliant complied with the wishes of the INC and composed a song and handed it over to the INC. He also suggested that it be sung for god while knowing heart of heart that it will ultimately be sung for George. Here is where the beauty of the poet Tagore shines through.
Line 1:Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he Bharata-bhagya-vidhata
Translation: Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people, dispenser of India's destiny.
Linguistic Inference: So are you, George really the ruler of the people as well as the minds of the people of Bharat? If yes then accept this praise. If no then this praise is intended for the real ruler of the minds of all the people of Bharat.
Line 2: Punjaba-Sindhu-Gujarata-Maratha, Dravida-Utkala-Banga
Translation: Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind,Gujarat and Maratha.
Linguistic Inference: Now here Tagore states that your name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sindhu, Gujarat and Maratha. Did George's name really resound in Punjab, Sindhu, Gujarat and Maratha? If not then whose names resounded in these provinces in those times? The plain answer is your ancestors' names. But are these names really your ancestors' or are they god's names? I will sample a few of the most popular Indian names to show you what I mean.
These are the names that "rouse the hearts of Punjab, Sind, Gujarat, Maratha, Dravida-Utkala-Banga". Not to say that there are'nt any mundane names in India that do not have a direct reference to God but the names mentioned above are by far the most popular names in India.
Line 3: Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga Tava shubha name jage Tava shubha asisa mage.
Translation: It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas, mingles in the music of Jamuna and Ganges and is chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
Linguistic Inference: "Tava shubha name jage Tava shubha asisa mage" Your auspicious names echo in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalyas, mingle in the music of Jamuna and Ganga and are chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
Line 4: Gahe tava jaya gatha
Translation: They pray for thy blessing and sing thy praise.
Linguistic Inference: So in this line they pray for your blessing and sing your praise (unknowingly or knowingly they chant your names and are blessed.)
Line 5: Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he Bharata-bhagya-vidhata
Translation: The saving of all people waits in thy hand,thou dispenser of India's destiny.
Linguistic Inference: "The saving of all people waits in thy hand, thou dispenser of India's destiny". Saving from what; what will George save us from? So this is a direct reference to God not George. The saving of all people waits in your hand God. You who can dispense with India's destiny.
Or maybe the poem addresses a conquered country whose inhabitants are restless? Common people who have taken up arms and whose war cries of hopeful victory ring through the mountainous terrain.. (apparently Punjab, Sindh, Gujrat, Maratha, Bengal were not very peaceful for the English). In a circular way the inhabitants define the country too, so 'God' might as well be the inhabitants...
Posted by Indraneel Majumdar, on 05/18/2010 at 19:16
Why bring King George into it at all the anthem was undoubtedly written for God.
Posted by Ashwin, on 01/18/2010 at 01:24
The meaning of the national anthem is real in addressing the god for what exactly Tagore means. Look friends if we feel like it is sung by Tagore for George V then what about all other leaders at Indian national congress, what about other freedom fighters to accept this as our national anthem. Arey yaar those who are reading this controversy for first time don’t immediately try to send this information to ur frs. Try to read the complete history of Tagore he never did so to anyone. This is a misspell given by a Anglo-Indian press which was handled by British at those time. It is just a false statement that jana gana mana is sung for George V. Even if Tagore was asked to sing a song for George V, it was never written by him. He really even don’t like to sing that stupid song for him. And how can he sing this national anthem for him. The jana gana mana was already sent to Indian National Congress in a written form before it is sung. Never try to accept that jana gana mana was sung for George V. It is for the eternal god. He means adhinayaka as a god and why he didn’t specify name of god is he written this song as a purpose of national anthem so he referred it for all Indians where we are the unity in diversity. We pray lot of gods so it referred to a god that a person believes in if he/she sings it. If we look into other literature or poetry of Tagore he always referred the same way to god. For him adhinayaka and bharata bhagya vidhata means the one who is caring all Indians form long back from the ages of gold, from the very beginning of our history. If anyone read these kinds of blogs which are created for false spread out try to spend time to login into that site or blog and leave comments. I don’t want to tell you do this blind, read considerable literature do some work and then try to post a comment. Say aloud: “HAMARA BHARAT MAHAN”
Posted by jagan, on 07/03/2009 at 02:57
Impressive, I had never considered the fact that Tagore could have been referring to any one particular person after reading the translation to the song quite some time ago - I had always assumed that he was referring to God! But this seems to make sense as well. Some other Indians should read this and give their opinions, this is interesting.
Posted by Nikhil Kunapuli, on 08/11/2008 at 16:54
Thought-provoking! I do not know how many Indians know of this, or as to how they would react if they knew it! But nevertheless, as Mr. Partha has rightfully said, the construction of the poem is done in Bengali, while using Sanskrit words!
Posted by Udai Chandra, on 02/06/2008 at 04:04
Interesting article, although I must say that your translation, and by extension your linguistic inferences, are a bit fanciful. The song was written in Bengali, although most words used are of Sanskrit origin. I am sure there is an authorized English version of the anthem available if you wish to compare notes.
