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{{short description|National personification of India}}
{{About|the national personification of India|the painting by Abanindranath Tagore|Bharat Mata (painting)|the Hindi film|Mother India}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = hindu
| name = Bharat Mata
| image = Bharat Mata by Abanindranath Tagore.jpg
| caption = ''[[Bharat Mata (painting)|Bharat Mata]]'' by [[Abanindranath Tagore]] (1871–1951).
| other_names = [[Banga Mata]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Abanindranath Tagore  Bharat Mata, Bengal School of Art, Rabindranath Tagore, & Facts Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abanindranath-Tagore#ref431075 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |date=3 August 2025}}</ref> Mother India
| deity_of = [[National personification]] of [[India]]
| affiliation = 
| symbols = Red or saffron-colored [[sari]], national flag, [[Nelumbo nucifera|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
}}

'''Bharat Mata''' ({{IAST|Bhārat Mātā}}, Mother India in [[Indian English|English]]) is a [[national personification]] of [[India]] ([[Names for India#Bharat|Bharat]]<ref name=mcgregor>{{cite book|last=McGregor | first = R. S. |chapter = bhārat |title=Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary|publisher=Oxford University Press| year = 1993}}</ref>) as a [[mother goddess]]. Bharat Mata is commonly depicted dressed in a red or [[Saffron (color)|saffron]]-coloured [[sari]] and in more contemporary iterations, holding a [[Flag of India|national flag]]; she sometimes stands on a [[Nelumbo nucifera|lotus]] and is accompanied by a [[Asiatic lion#In culture|lion]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=cMJMNvvpEuYC&q=Bharat+Mata%2C+contemporary+picture%22&pg=PA181 Visualizing space in Banaras: images, maps, and the practice of representation], Martin Gaenszle, Jörg Gengnagel, illustrated, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 2006, {{ISBN|978-3-447-05187-3}}</ref>

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 [[Partition of Bengal (1905)|division of Bengal province]] in 1905, she was highlighted during the [[Swadeshi movement|boycott of British-made goods]] organized by Sir [[Surendranath Bannerjee]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://scroll.in/article/805247/history-lessons-how-bharat-mata-became-the-code-word-for-a-theocratic-hindu-state|title=History lesson: How 'Bharat Mata' became the code word for a theocratic Hindu state|date=17 March 2016 }}</ref>  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 [[Bharat Mata (painting)|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 [[caste]]s and religions. Most visitors to the temple are foreign tourists.<ref name=express-bharatmata>{{citation|last=Singh|first=Ramendra|title=A day in the life of Bharat Mata Mandir, Varanasi: Idol chatter|work=Indian Express|date=April 3, 2016|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/a-day-in-the-life-of-bharat-mata-mandir-varanasi-idol-chatter/|access-date=October 17, 2021}} some</ref> [[Islam in India|Muslims]] and [[Sikhism in India|Sikhs]] have opposed the chanting of her name, because in [[Islam]] and [[Sikhism]], God cannot be worshipped in human form.<ref>https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/bharat-mata-ki-jai-controversy-continues-now-punjab-leader-says-won-t-chant-the-slogan-as-sikhs-don-t-worship-women-252470.html</ref>

==History==
[[File:1909magazine vijaya.jpg|thumb|250px|Cover of a 1909 issue of the [[Tamil language|Tamil]] magazine ''Vijaya'' showing "Bharat Mata" (Mother India) with her diverse progeny and the rallying cry "[[Vande Mataram]]".]]
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 [[Great Bengal famine of 1770|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.<ref name="scroll.in">{{cite web|url=http://scroll.in/article/805990/far-from-being-eternal-bharat-mata-is-only-a-little-more-than-100-years-old|title=Far from being eternal, Bharat Mata is only a little more than 100 years old|date=5 April 2016 }}</ref> The ''Manushi'' magazine story traces origin to a satirical work ''Unabimsa Purana'' or ''The Nineteenth Purana'' by [[Bhudev Mukhopadhyay|Bhudeb Mukhopadhyay]] which was first published anonymously in 1866.<ref name="Roche 2016">{{cite web | last=Roche | first=Elizabeth | title=The origins of Bharat Mata | website=livemint.com/ | date=17 March 2016 | url=http://www.livemint.com/Politics/lSOX1BWMcgypBUV8mUb8cJ/The-origins-of-Bharat-Mata.html | access-date=22 March 2017}}</ref> [[Bankim Chandra Chatterjee]] in 1882 wrote a novel ''[[Anandamath]]'' and introduced the hymn "[[Vande Mātaram]]",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/a-mothers-worship-why-some-muslims-find-it-difficult-to-say-bharat-mata-ki-jai/|title=A Mother's worship: Why some Muslims find it difficult to say 'Bharat Mata ki jai'|date=November 2017}}</ref><ref>Kinsley, David. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=hgTOZEyrVtIC Hindu Goddesses: Vision of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Traditions]''. Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi, India. {{ISBN|81-208-0379-5}}. pp. 181-182.</ref> 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.<ref name="scroll.in"/>

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 Gandhi. This temple does not have any statuary but only a marble relief of the map of India.<ref name="Roche 2016"/> [[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.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=s71oeW6SxzQC&q=archaic+spiritual+essence&pg=PA265 Producing India], Manu Goswami, Orient Blackswan, 2004, {{ISBN|978-81-7824-107-4}}</ref>

[[Abanindranath Tagore]] portrayed Bharat Mata as a four-armed [[Hindu goddess]] wearing saffron-colored robes, holding the manuscripts, sheaves of rice, a [[Hindu prayer beads|mala]], and a white cloth.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ipajdspYL00C&q=%22the+future+of+the+British+Policy%22 Specters of Mother India: the global restructuring of an empire], Mrinalini Sinha, Zubaan, 2006, {{ISBN|978-81-89884-00-0}}</ref> 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; [[Halo (religious iconography)|white halo]] and sincere eyes; and gifts Shiksha-Diksha-Anna-Bastra of the [[motherland]] to her children.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=OWfcoMnHU8gC&q=Shiksha-diksha-anna-bastra&pg=PA169 The Goddess and the Nation: Mapping Mother India], Sumathi Ramaswamy, Duke University Press, 2010, {{ISBN|978-0-8223-4610-4}}</ref>

[[File:Bharat Mata Temple map.jpg|thumb|right|x216px|The relief map of India as Bharat Mata, carved out of [[marble]] at [[Bharat Mata Mandir]], [[Varanasi]]]]
Indian Independence activist [[Subramania Bharati]] saw Bharat Mata as the land of [[Ganga]]. He identified Bharat Mata as [[Mahadevi]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hvk.org/2010/0810/31.html |title=Hindu Vivek Kendra |access-date=2016-03-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310070153/http://www.hvk.org/2010/0810/31.html |archive-date=2016-03-10 }}</ref> He also says that he has got the [[Darśana]] of Bharat Mata during his visit with his guru [[Sister Nivedita]].{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}.

==Significance==
[[File:Bharathamatha.JPG|right|thumb|A ''Bharathamatha'' statue at [[Kanyakumari]], or Cape Comorin, the southern-most coast of India]]

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.<ref>Kalyani Devaki Menon, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=hSnn_kDUI6AC Everyday Nationalism: Women of the Hindu Right in India: The Ethnography of Political Violence]'', University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009, {{ISBN|978-0-8122-4196-9}}, p. 89f.</ref> This association has caused controversy with devout Muslims, whose belief in the [[Tawhid|oneness of God]] keeps them from assigning divinity to any god other than [[Allah]].<ref>[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]].</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Patriotism in India: Oh mother: A nationalist slogan sends sectarian sparks|url=https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21696537-nationalist-slogan-sends-sectarian-sparks-oh-mother|access-date=9 April 2016|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=9 April 2016}}</ref><ref>[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.</ref><ref name="Deccan Chronicle">{{cite web|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/opinion/op-ed/220316/thinking-allowed-feeling-seditious-or-patriotic.html|title=Thinking Allowed: Feeling seditious or patriotic?|date=21 March 2016|work=[[Deccan Chronicle]]|type=Opinion|access-date=30 October 2016}}</ref>

The motto ''Bharat Mata ki Jai'' ("Victory for Mother India") is used by the [[Indian Army]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Vinay Kumar|title=It is Jai Hind for Army personnel|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/it-is-jai-hind-for-army-personnel/article3958180.ece|access-date=8 October 2012|location=Chennai, India|work=The Hindu|date=2 October 2012}}</ref> 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 Mandir|Bharat Mata Temple]] is located in the [[Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth]] campus in [[Varanasi]].<ref name=BHARAT-MATA-TEMPLE>[http://varanasi.nic.in/temple/various_temples.html#BHARAT%20MATA%20TEMPLE IMPORTANT TEMPLES OF VARANASI] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105032502/http://varanasi.nic.in/temple/various_temples.html#BHARAT%20MATA%20TEMPLE |date=2012-11-05 }}, [http://varanasi.nic.in/default.htm varanasi.nic.in] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628050118/http://varanasi.nic.in/default.htm |date=2011-06-28 }}</ref> The temple houses a marble idol of Bharat Mata along with a marble relief map of India.<ref name=BHARAT-MATA-TEMPLE/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://varanasicity.com/temples/bharatmata-mandir.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110211043538/http://varanasicity.com/temples/bharatmata-mandir.html|archive-date = 2011-02-11|title = Bharat Mata Temple - Bharat Mata Temple Varanasi - Bharat Mata Mandir}}</ref>

The Temple, a gift from the nationalists [[Shiv Prasad Gupta]] and Durga Prasad Khatri, was inaugurated by [[Mahatma Gandhi]] in 1936.<ref name=BHARAT-MATA-TEMPLE/> Mahatma Gandhi said, "I hope this temple, which will serve as a cosmopolitan platform for people of all religions, castes, and creeds including [[Dalit|Harijans]], will go a great way in promoting religious unity, peace, and love in the country."<ref name="Eck2012">{{citation|last=Eck|first=Diana L|title=India: A Sacred Geography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rNlJOSf__xYC&pg=PA100|date=27 March 2012|publisher=Potter/TenSpeed/Harmony|isbn=978-0-385-53191-7|pages=100–}}</ref>[[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.<ref name="mapsofIndia.com" /> It was inaugurated by [[Indira Gandhi]] in 1983.<ref name="mapsofIndia.com" /> Floors are dedicated to mythological legends, religious deities, freedom fighters and leaders.<ref name="mapsofIndia.com">[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]</ref>

=== Kolkata ===
The temple is located in Michael Nagar on Jessore Road, barely 2&nbsp;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)<ref name="worldhindunews.com">{{Cite web |url=http://www.worldhindunews.com/2015/08/14/46796/invitation-at-jatiya-shaktipeeth-inaugural-ceremony/ |title=Bharat Mata Mandir |access-date=2016-06-09 |archive-date=2019-12-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229163459/http://www.worldhindunews.com/2015/08/14/46796/invitation-at-jatiya-shaktipeeth-inaugural-ceremony/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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]] [[Tirtha (Hinduism)|tirth]] to the ''"Bharat Mata Trust"'' of ''"Juna [[Akhara]]"'' to construct the next temple of Bharat Mata.<ref name="worldhindunews.com1">[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]</ref>

==See also==

* General
** [[Bharat Mata Mandir]]
** [[Bharat Mata (painting)]], by the Abanindranath Tagore the brother or Ravindranath Tagore
** [[Mother India (magazine)]]
* [[National god]]
** [[National personification]]
** [[Tutelary deity]]
** [[Bangamata|Banga Mata]], Mother Bangla
** [[Tamil Thai]], Mother Tamil
** [[Telugu Thalli]], Mother Telugu
** [[Telangana Thalli]], Mother Telangana
* Anthems and mottos
** [[Jai Hind]], a salutation and slogan that means "Hail India"
** [[Janani Janmabhumishcha Swargadapi Gariyasi]], "mother and motherland are more sacred than the heaven"
** [[Jana Gana Mana]], the Indian national anthem
** [[Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate]], anthem in Kannada language for Mother India
** [[Vande Mataram]], hail the motherland
** [[National Pledge (India)|National Pledge of India]]
** [[List of Indian state anthems]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{commons category-inline}}
* {{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20110311102937/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/2003/08/17/stories/2003081700160200.htm Patriotic fervour]}} The Hindu, August 17, 2003.
* [http://www.indiatogether.org/manushi/issue142/bharat.htm The life and times of Bharat Mata] Sadan Jha, Manushi, Issue 142.
* [http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1800_1899/congress/bharatmata/bharatmata.html Bharat Mata Images] Prof. Pritchett, Columbia University

{{National personifications}}
{{HinduMythology}}

[[Category:Toponyms for India]]
[[Category:National personifications]]
[[Category:Hindu goddesses]]
[[Category:Mother goddesses]]
[[Category:National symbols of India]]
[[Category:Hindu nationalism]]
[[Category:Indian independence movement]]
[[Category:Forms of Durga]]