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SvastiPrajabhya|TamilandVedas

ALLPOSTSTAGGEDSVASTIPRAJABHYA

HindusarethePioneersofNationalAnthems

BySantanamSwaminathan(LondonSwaminathan)
(SSwaminathanwasaSeniorSubEditorofDinamani,aTamillanguagedaily,inMaduraibefore
takingoverastheProduceroftheBBCTamilServiceinLondon.LaterhestartedteachingTamil
asaparttimetutoratSOASnowretiredandcontributingtomagazines.)
PostNo1004Date:26thApril2014.
Manyinquisitiveyouthsaskthequestion,WhoinventedtheNationalAnthem?Whosangthe
firstnationalAnthem?Whichoneistheoldest?Ifyougotoencyclopaediasyouwouldnotgetan
answerinonewordoronesentence.Theywillstartfromtheoldestlyricortheoldestonesetto
musicortheoldestonetoappearinprintetc.ButmyanswertothequestionsisTHEHINDUS
aretheonewhostartedsingingthenationalanthem.
WhatisaNationalAnthem?
Itisasonginpraiseofaparticularcountrywishingallthebestforitspeopleandtheland.Hindus
startedsingingthis,thousandsofyearsagoandcontinuethiseventoday,thoughtheofficial
nationalanthemofIndiaisdifferent.TheofficialnationalanthemofIndiawaswrittenbythe
greatpoetRabindranathTagoreinhighlySanskritisedBengali.

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Everyreligiousdiscourse,traditionalBhajan(HinduChoir)andtemplePujas(Flowerofferingto
Gods)recitethefollowingtwohymns/anthemsattheendoftheceremony:
Swasthiprajabhyaparipalayantam
Nyayenamargenamahimmahisaha
GoBrahmanebhyasubhamastunityam
Lokassamastosukhinobhavantu
Maytherebehappinessforallpeople
Maytherulersrighteouslyruletheearth
Maytherebewelfarefortheanimalsandmenofwisdomatalltimes
Mayallbeingsbehappyandprosperous
Thoughthetranslationofthethirdlinesaysanimalsandmenofwisdomintheabovehymn,the
literaltranslationisCowsandBrahmins.TheancientHindusocietyplacedthesetwoatthetop
oftheanimalworldandhumanworldfortheirpurityandholiness.Whattheyreallymeantisthat
startingfromthecowsandBrahminseverycreatureandeveryhumanmustbeprosperous.
Follow
Thisisabeautifulanduniversalanthemthatcanbeusedbyanycountry.OneofthegreatFour
SaiviteSaints(calledNaalvari.eTheFourinTamil)TiruJnanaSambandharalsotranslatedit
Follow Tamil and
verbatiminTamil.Sambhandar,theBoyWonder,whostartedcomposingpoemsattheageof
Vedas
three,livedinTamilNaduintheseventhcenturyCE.

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Thesecondhymn(slokainSanskrit)thatissungattheendofalltheHinduceremoniesisas
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follows:
Kalevarshatuparjanya,
Prithivisasyashalini
Deshoyamkshobharahitaha
Brhamanasantunirbhayaha
Maythecloudsrainatpropertime
Maytheearthproduceplentyofgrains
Maythiscountrybefreefromfamine
Maymenofcontemplationbefearless
Alternativetranslation:
Letthemonsoonbetimelyandplentiful
Letearthbecoveredwithvegetation
Letthecountrylivewithoutproblems
Andletgoodpeopleneverhavefear.
Thebeautyofthesetwoslokas/hymnsisthattheyareuniversalandcanbeusedbyanyoneatany
time.Anotherbeautyisthatitpraysforfearlesssurvivalofintellectualsofthecountry.Onlywhen
intellectualslivefearless,theycansuggestnovelideasandexecuteprogressivepolicies.Wehave
seensuchreformsinIndiainthepast.

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Myhumblesuggestionisthatthesetwohymnsshouldbesungateveryeventinallpartsofthe
world.Theyarethepropertyofthehumanity.SriJagadguruChandraSekarendraSaraswatiof
Kancheepuram,whoisknownasParamacharya,givesthefollowingsuggestion:
BetterthanNationalAnthem:
TheconcludingsuktaoftheRigVedacontainsahymnthatshouldberegardedhavingahigher
significancethanthenationalanthemofanycountry:itisaprayerforamityamongallnations,a
trueinternationalanthemMaymankindbeofonemind,itgoes,Mayithaveacommongoal,
Mayallheartsbeunitedinlove.Andwiththemindandthegoalbeingone,mayallofuslivein
happinessKanchiParamacharya(18941994).
Page193ofHinduDharma,BharatiyaVidhyaBhavan,Bombay,1995

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BharatavakyasinSanskritLiteraryWorks
Hindusprayedforthewelfareofthepeopleandtheirkingevenintheentertainmentshowssuch
asdramasstagedinthepublic!
BharatavakyaisthebenedictoryaddressspokenatthecloseofeverySanskritdrama.Wefindthis
inallthedramasofBhasaandKalidasa.Itexpressesgoodwishestoeveryoneandprosperityfor
thecountry.KalidasasmasterpieceAbhijnanasakuntalam,hasthefollowingbenediction
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(Bhatatavakya):
Maricasays:
Honourthegodsinfullmeasure
Withholyritesandalldueofferings
MaytheGodofgodsinreturn
Blessyourpeoplewithabundantrains
LetTimerunitsroundinthispattern
Wovenofactsofmutualservice:
MayboththeWorldsenjoyGloryandPlenitude
Builtonsuchenduringfriendship
King
Maykingseverworkforthegoodoftheirsubjects
MaytheutteranceofthoseblessedbytheWord
Beeverhonoured
MaytheSelfExistentLordwhounitesinHimself
TheDarkandtheLight
WhoseInfinitePowerpervadestheUniverse
Annihilateforevertheroundofmybirth.
(TranslatedbyChandraRajan,Kalidasa,TheLoomofTime,Penguin,1990)

Authorsemail:swami_48@yahoo.com

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PostedbyTamilandVedasonApril26,2014
http://tamilandvedas.com/2014/04/26/hindusarethepioneersofnationalanthems/

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