T he opening stanza of the song Jana gana mana, by the poet Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted as the National Anthem of India in January 1950. It was first sung in December 1911 at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress. The Anthem was translated into English in 1911 by Tagore.
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.
Punjaba-Sindhu-Gujarata-Maratha-
Dravida-Utkala-Banga
Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga
Uchchhala-Jaladhi-taranga
Tava subha name jage,
Tava subha asisa mage,
Gahe tava jaya-gatha.
Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka, jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata
Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he,
Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he.
The following is Tagore's English rendering of the stanza:
Thou dispenser of India's destiny.
Thy name rouses the hearts of the Punjab, Sind,
Gujarat and Maratha, of Dravid, Orissa and Bengal.
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
mingles in the music of the Jamuna and Ganges
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, Victory to thee.
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