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Bharat Mata

National personification of India

Field	Value
type	hindu
name	Bharat Mata
image	Bharat Mata by Abanindranath Tagore.jpg
caption	Bharat Mata by Abanindranath Tagore (1871–1951).
other_names	Banga Mata, Mother India
deity_of	National personification of India
symbols	Red or saffron-colored sari, national flag, lotus, lion
<!--	history	Late 19th century Bengal, popularized in Anandamath (1882)
significance	Became a symbol of Indian nationalism --	temples = Few temples in India, first inaugurated in Varanasi in 1936 by Mahatma Gandhi
animals	Lion

Note

the national personification of India

Bharat Mata (, Mother India in English) is a national personification of India (Bharat) as a mother goddess. Bharat Mata is commonly depicted dressed in a red or saffron-coloured sari and in more contemporary iterations, holding a national flag; she sometimes stands on a lotus and is accompanied by a lion.

The word Bharat Mata dates to late 19th century Bengal in modern literature. She was popularised by the Bengali language-novel Anandamath (1882), wherein she was depicted in a form inseparable from the Hindu goddesses Durga and Kali. After the controversial division of Bengal province in 1905, she was highlighted during the boycott of British-made goods organized by Sir Surendranath Bannerjee. In numerous protest meetings, she was invoked in the rallying cry Vande Mataram (I bow to the mother).

Bharat Mata was painted as a four-armed goddess by Abanindranath Tagore in 1904, in the style associated with the Bengal School of Art, in a form derived from typical depictions of Hindu goddesses. This painting is displayed in the Victoria Memorial Museum in Kolkata. By the late 19th century, maps of India produced by the British Raj, and based on the Great Trigonometrical Survey, had become widely available. Over the background of a map, Bharat Mata was depicted on the cover of the poet Subramania Bharati's Tamil language-magazine Vijaya in 1909. In the decades following, she appeared throughout India in popular art: in magazines, posters, and calendars, becoming a symbol of Indian nationalism.

There are a handful of Bharat Mata temples in India. The first was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in Varanasi in 1936. The temple has a large marble relief map of India on its floor, but originally lacked a murti (divine image used for worship). On its wall is displayed a poem written for the inauguration by the nationalist Hindi language-poet Maithili Sharan Gupt; it proclaims the temple to be open to all castes and religions. Most visitors to the temple are foreign tourists. Muslims and Sikhs have opposed the chanting of her name, because in Islam and Sikhism, God cannot be worshipped in human form.

History

The image of Bharat Mata formed with the Indian independence movement of the late 19th century. A play by Kiran Chandra Banerjee, Bharat Mata, was first performed in 1873. The play, set during the 1770 Bengal famine, depicts a woman and her husband who go to the forest and encounter rebels. A priest takes them to a temple where they are shown Bharat Mata. Thus they are inspired and lead a rebellion which results in the defeat of the British. The Manushi magazine story traces origin to a satirical work Unabimsa Purana or The Nineteenth Purana by Bhudeb Mukhopadhyay which was first published anonymously in 1866. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1882 wrote a novel Anandamath and introduced the hymn "Vande Mātaram", which soon became the song of the emerging freedom movement in India. As the British Raj created cartographic shape of India through the Geological Survey of India, the Indian nationalist developed it into an icon of nationalism.

In the 1920s, it became a more political image, sometimes including images of Mahatma Gandhi and Bhagat Singh. The Tiranga flag was also started being included during this period. In 1930s, the image entered in religious practice. The Bharat Mata temple was built in Varanasi in 1936 by Shiv Prashad Gupt and was inaugurated by Mahatma G. This temple does not have any statuary but only a marble relief of the map of India. Bipin Chandra Pal elaborated its meaning in idealizing and idealist terms, along with Hindu philosophical traditions and devotional practices. It represented an archaic spiritual essence, a transcendental idea of Universe as well as expressing Universal Hinduism and nationhood.

Abanindranath Tagore portrayed Bharat Mata as a four-armed Hindu goddess wearing saffron-colored robes, holding the manuscripts, sheaves of rice, a mala, and a white cloth. The image of Bharatmata was an icon to create nationalist feeling in Indians during the freedom struggle. Sister Nivedita, an admirer of the painting, opined that the picture was refined and imaginative, with Bharatmata standing on green earth and blue sky behind her; feet with four lotuses, four arms meaning divine power; white halo and sincere eyes; and gifts Shiksha-Diksha-Anna-Bastra of the motherland to her children.

Indian Independence activist Subramania Bharati saw Bharat Mata as the land of Ganga. He identified Bharat Mata as Mahadevi. He also says that he has got the Darśana of Bharat Mata during his visit with his guru Sister Nivedita..

Significance

In the book Everyday Nationalism: Women of the Hindu Right in India, Kalyani Devaki Menon argues that "the vision of India as Bharat Mata has profound implications for the politics of Hindu nationalism" and that the depiction of India as a Hindu goddess implies that it is not just the patriotic but also the religious duty of all Hindus to participate in the nationalist struggle to defend the nation. This association has caused controversy with devout Muslims, whose belief in the oneness of God keeps them from assigning divinity to any god other than Allah.

The motto Bharat Mata ki Jai ("Victory for Mother India") is used by the Indian Army. In contemporary colloquial usage, however, the expression is analogous to "Long live Mother India" or "Salute to Mother India." (See also Jai Hind.)

Temples

Varanasi

The Bharat Mata Temple is located in the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth campus in Varanasi. The temple houses a marble idol of Bharat Mata along with a marble relief map of India.

The Temple, a gift from the nationalists Shiv Prasad Gupta and Durga Prasad Khatri, was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1936.[[File:Bharat Mata at Jatiya Shaktipeeth, Kolkata.jpg|alt=Bharat Mata at Jatiya Shaktipeeth, Kolkata|thumb|Bharat Mata at Jatiya Shaktipeeth, Kolkata]]

Haridwar

The temple was founded by Swami Satyamitranand on the banks of the Ganges in Haridwar. It has 8 storeys and is 180 feet tall. It was inaugurated by Indira Gandhi in 1983. Floors are dedicated to mythological legends, religious deities, freedom fighters and leaders.

Kolkata

The temple is located in Michael Nagar on Jessore Road, barely 2 km away from the Kolkata Airport. Here, Bharat Mata is portrayed through the image of "Jagattarini Durga". This was inaugurated on October 19, 2015 (Mahashashti Day of Durga Puja that year) by Keshari Nath Tripathi, the Governor of West Bengal. The initiative to build the temple, which has been named Jatiya Shaktipeeth, was taken by the Spiritual Society of India in order to mark the 140th anniversary of "Vande Mataram".

Kurukshetra

In July 2019, the Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar, granted 5 acre land near Mahabharta-era Jyotisar tirth to the "Bharat Mata Trust" of "Juna Akhara" to construct the next temple of Bharat Mata.

References

(3 August 2025). "Abanindranath Tagore Bharat Mata, Bengal School of Art, Rabindranath Tagore, & Facts Britannica".
McGregor, R. S.. (1993). "Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary". Oxford University Press.
978-3-447-05187-3
(17 March 2016). "History lesson: How 'Bharat Mata' became the code word for a theocratic Hindu state".
Singh, Ramendra. (April 3, 2016). "A day in the life of Bharat Mata Mandir, Varanasi: Idol chatter". Indian Express.
(23 March 2016). "Punjab Leader Says Won't Chant 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' Slogan as Sikhs Don't Worship Women".
(5 April 2016). "Far from being eternal, Bharat Mata is only a little more than 100 years old".
Roche, Elizabeth. (17 March 2016). "The origins of Bharat Mata".
(November 2017). "A Mother's worship: Why some Muslims find it difficult to say 'Bharat Mata ki jai'".
81-208-0379-5. pp. 181-182.
978-81-7824-107-4
978-81-89884-00-0
978-0-8223-4610-4
"Hindu Vivek Kendra".
978-0-8122-4196-9, p. 89f.
[https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/asaduddin-owaisi-bharat-mata-ki-jai-whats-wrong-in-saying-bharat-mata-ki-jai-congress/ What's wrong in saying Bharat Mata Ki Jai: Congress], [[Indian Express]].
(9 April 2016). "Patriotism in India: Oh mother: A nationalist slogan sends sectarian sparks". [[The Economist]].
[https://www.dailyo.in/politics/asaduddin-owaisi-sloganeering-in-parliament-vande-mataram-vande-mataram-national-song-bankim-chandra-chatterjee/story/1/31179.html The Sound of Dog-Whistling: 'Vande Mataram' itself is not communal.], DailyO, 2019.
(21 March 2016). "Thinking Allowed: Feeling seditious or patriotic?". [[Deccan Chronicle]].
Vinay Kumar. (2 October 2012). "It is Jai Hind for Army personnel". The Hindu.
[http://varanasi.nic.in/temple/various_temples.html#BHARAT%20MATA%20TEMPLE IMPORTANT TEMPLES OF VARANASI] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-11-05 , [http://varanasi.nic.in/default.htm varanasi.nic.in] {{Webarchive). link. (2011-06-28)
"Bharat Mata Temple - Bharat Mata Temple Varanasi - Bharat Mata Mandir".
[http://www.mapsofindia.com/haridwar/tourism/bharat-mata-temple.html Bharat Mata Temple], [http://www.mapsofindia.com/haridwar/tourism/bharat-mata-temple.html mapsofIndia.com]
"Bharat Mata Mandir".
[https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=hi&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amarujala.com%2Fchandigarh%2Fmother-india-third-temple-will-construct-in-kurukshetra-of-haryana%3FpageId%3D2 Bharat Mata's third temple will be built in Kurukshetra, 5 acres of land will be near Jyotisar]

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