Jana Gana Mana

Overview

Jana Gana Mana is the national anthem of India, composed in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore in 1911. The text addresses a divine dispenser of India's destiny, acknowledging the country's diverse regions and peoples from Punjab and Sindh to Dravida and Banga. While not a traditional stotram, it uses devotional language and is included here as a Sanskrit-script devotional text of national significance.

What are the benefits of chanting Jana Gana Mana?

• Fosters national unity and a sense of shared identity
• Inspires patriotism and gratitude for the country's heritage
• Evokes reflection on India's geographic and cultural diversity
• Connects the reciter to a shared civic tradition

When is the best time to recite this?

Jana Gana Mana is sung on national holidays such as Republic Day (January 26) and Independence Day (August 15), at official ceremonies, school assemblies, and other events of national significance.

What is the historical and traditional background?

Rabindranath Tagore composed the text in Bengali in 1911 under the title "Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata" (The Dispenser of India's Destiny). It was first publicly sung at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress on December 27, 1911. After Indian independence, it was formally adopted as the national anthem on January 24, 1950. The text is secular and literary in origin, not derived from Vedic or Puranic scripture, though its invocatory tone resonates with Hindu devotional sensibilities.

Available scripts

This text is available in 14 scripts: devanagari, tamil, telugu, kannada, malayalam, gujarati, bengali, iast, gurmukhi, oriya, assamese, sinhala, itrans, hk. Use the script selector above to switch between them.

Related Texts

• Vande Mataram — another patriotic hymn of national importance, composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and closely associated with the Indian independence movement
• Jaya Jaya Jaya Priya Bharata — a devotional hymn that also personifies India as a divine mother