5 verses · ~1 min
कृष्ण-मंदिर में प्यारे बंधु पधारो निर्भयता के साथ। तुम्हारे मस्तक पर हो सदा कृष्ण का वह शुभचिंतक हाथ॥
तुम्हारी दृढ़ता से जग पड़े देश का सोया हुआ समाज। तुम्हारी भव्य मूर्ति से मिले शक्ति वह विकट त्याग की आज॥
तुम्हारे दुख की घड़ियाँ बनें दिलाने वाली हमें स्वराज्य। हमारे हृदय बनें बलवान तुम्हारी त्याग मूर्ति में आज॥
तुम्हारे देश-बंधु यदि कभी डरें, कायर हो पीछे हटें, बंधु! दो बहनों को वरदान युद्ध में वे निर्भय मर मिटें॥
हजारों हृदय बिदा दे रहे, उन्हें संदेशा दो बस एक। कटें तीसों करोड़ ये शीश, न तजना तुम स्वराज्य की टेक॥
इति
The Poet
सुभद्राकुमारी चौहान
Subhadra Kumari Chauhan
1904 · 1948
There is a moment in every liberation movement when the struggle finds the poem that becomes its most essential utterance, not because the poem is merely rhetorical, but because it crystallizes an emotion so precisely that an entire people recognize themselves inside it. Subhadra Kumari Chauhan provided such a moment with Jhansi Ki Rani, her electric account of the warrior queen of Jhansi. This poem was so concentrated in its energy and so clear in its moral architecture that generations of Indian schoolchildren have carried it inside them as something closer to memory than memorization. But to reduce Chauhan to a single poem would be a severe literary injustice. She was an active participant in the independence movement who walked the path of satyagraha herself, becoming one of the first women to be imprisoned for civil disobedience. She was a poet of domestic tenderness, exploring childhood and the complex inner life of Indian women that formal literature had largely chosen to ignore. Born in 1904, she died in a road accident in 1948 too soon and too abruptly. Her voice remained fully alive and deeply necessary. She gave the warrior women of Indian mythology a voice, and in doing so, she became one herself.
Paired Painting
Portrait of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on Horseback
This evocative artwork immortalizes Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the visionary founder of the Maratha Empire, as he rides forth among his devoted followers. He holds his sword aloft with quiet determination, embodying the spirit of self-rule and righteousness, known as Swarajya, that inspired generations. Surrounding him, loyal soldiers and subjects gaze upward with profound reverence and unwavering loyalty. The gentle hues and expressive brushwork capture not merely a moment of military movement, but an eternal symbol of pride, freedom, and cultural awakening for the people of India.
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