Bharat Mata

Bharat Mata (Bhārat Mātā, Mother India) is a national personification of India as a mother goddess and a symbol of Indian nationalism. She is commonly depicted wearing a red or saffron sari, sometimes holding the national flag, and accompanied by a lotus and a lion.

The concept originated in the Bengali literature and art in the late 19th century and was popularised by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's 1882 novel Anandamath. She subsequently became an important symbol during the Indian independence movement and became widely represented in Indian art, posters, magazines and calendars. There are several Bharat Mata temples in India, the first of which was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in Varanasi in 1936.

History

The term "Bharat" was used in ancient Hindu literature to denote the Bharatha people, and the earliest use of the word to represent a larger territory dates to the first century BCE. The concept of Bharat Mata as a national personification originated in the Bengali literature and art in the late 19th century. The character of Adhi-Bharat in the satirical play Unabimsa Purana, written by Bhudev Mukhopadhyay and first published anonymously in 1866, introduced the concept of a mother of all Indians. Bharat Mata, a play by Kiran Chandra Banerjee, was first performed in 1873. The play is set during Great Bengal famine of 1770, in which a couple prays to Bharat Mata, who emboldens them to lead a rebellion against the British Raj. The concept was later popularised by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in his novel Anandamath (1882), which also introduced the slogan Vande Mataram, which became closely associated with Bharat Mata.