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'''Where the mind is without fear''' ({{lang-bn|চিত্ত যেথা ভয়শূন্য|''Chitto Jetha Bhoyshunno''}}), is a poem written by [[Nobel Prize in Literature|1913 Nobel]] laureate [[Rabindranath Tagore]] before [[Indian independence movement|India's independence]]. It represents Tagore's vision of a new and awakened India. The original poem was published in 1910 and was included in the 1910 collection ''[[Gitanjali]]'' and, in Tagore's own translation, in its 1912 English edition. ''Where the mind is without fear'' is the 35th poem of Gitanjali, and one of Tagore's most anthologised poems.
{{Short description|Poem by Rabindranath Tagore}}
"'''Where the mind is without fear'''" ({{langx|bn|চিত্ত যেথা ভয়শূন্য|''Chitto Jetha Bhoyshunno''}}) is a poem written by [[Nobel Prize in Literature|1913 Nobel]] laureate [[Rabindranath Tagore]] before [[Indian independence movement|India's independence]]. It represents Tagore's vision of a new and awakened India. The original poem was published in 1910 in "Naivedya" and, in Tagore's own translation, in its 1912 English edition. "Where the mind is without fear" is the 35th poem of ''Gitanjali'', and one of Tagore's most anthologised poems.


It is an expression of the poet's reflective spirit and contains a simple prayer for his country, the India of preindependence times.
It is an expression of the poet's reflective spirit and contains a simple prayer for his country, the India of pre-independence times.


==Original Bengali script==
==Original Bengali script==
<poem>:চিত্ত যেথা ভয়শূন্য, উচ্চ যেথা শির
:চিত্ত যেথা ভয়শূন্য, উচ্চ যেথা শির,
:জ্ঞান যেথা মুক্ত, যেথা গৃহের প্রাচীর,
:জ্ঞান যেথা মুক্ত, যেথা গৃহের প্রাচীর
:আপন প্রাঙ্গণতলে দিবসশর্বরী
:আপন প্রাঙ্গণতলে দিবসশর্বরী
:বসুধারে রাখে নাই খণ্ড ক্ষুদ্র করি,
:বসুধারে রাখে নাই খণ্ড ক্ষুদ্র করি,
Line 17: Line 18:
:তুমি সর্ব কর্ম চিন্তা আনন্দের নেতা,
:তুমি সর্ব কর্ম চিন্তা আনন্দের নেতা,
:নিজ হস্তে নির্দয় আঘাত করি, পিতঃ;
:নিজ হস্তে নির্দয় আঘাত করি, পিতঃ;
:ভারতেরে সেই স্বর্গে করো জাগরিত৷</poem>
:ভারতেরে সেই স্বর্গে করো জাগরিত৷


==English translation==
==English translation==
Tagore's own translation, in the 1912 English edition of ''[[Gitanjali]]'':<ref name="Gitanjali (Song Offerings), 1915">{{cite book |last1=Tagore |first1=Rabindranath |title=Gitanjali (Song Offerings) |date=1915 |publisher=The Macmillan Company |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/gitanjali00unse/page/27 27]-28 |url=https://archive.org/details/gitanjali00unse |access-date=2020-02-12}}</ref>
Tagore's own translation, in the 1912 English edition of ''[[Gitanjali]]'':<ref name="Gitanjali (Song Offerings), 1915">{{cite book |last1=Tagore |first1=Rabindranath |title=Gitanjali (Song Offerings) |date=1915 |publisher=The Macmillan Company |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/gitanjali00unse/page/27 27]–28 |url=https://archive.org/details/gitanjali00unse |access-date=12 February 2020}}</ref>
<poem>
<poem>
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments;
by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action—
into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father let my country awake  
Where the mind is led forward by thee; into ever-widening thought and action—;
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
</poem>
</poem>


==History and translation==
==History and translation==
This poem was most likely composed in 1900. It appeared in the volume ''[[Naivedya]]'' in the poem titled "Prarthona" (July 1901, Bengali 1308 Bangabda). The English translation was composed around 1911 when Tagore was translating some of his work into English after a request from [[William Rothenstein]]. It appeared as poem 35 in the English ''[[Gitanjali]]'', published by [[The India Society, London]], in 1912.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://onemorelibrary.com/index.php/en/books/literature/book/indian-literature-373/gitanjali-3074 | title=Gitanjali | publisher=The India Society, London / One More Library | date=1912 | accessdate=April 28, 2019}}</ref><ref>
This poem was most likely composed in 1900. It appeared in the volume ''[[Naivedya]]'' in the poem titled "Prarthona" (July 1901, Bengali 1308 Bangabda). The English translation was composed around 1911 when Tagore was translating some of his work into English after a request from [[William Rothenstein]]. It appeared as poem 35 in the English ''[[Gitanjali]]'', published by [[The India Society, London]], in 1912.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://onemorelibrary.com/index.php/en/books/literature/book/indian-literature-373/gitanjali-3074 | title=Gitanjali | publisher=The India Society, London / One More Library | date=1912 | access-date=28 April 2019}}</ref><ref>
{{cite book
{{cite book
|editor = Sisir Kumar Das
|editor = Sisir Kumar Das
Line 39: Line 42:
|title = The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, v.1: Poems
|title = The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, v.1: Poems
|publisher = [[Sahitya Akademi]]
|publisher = [[Sahitya Akademi]]
|year = 1994}} p. 9</ref> In 1917, Tagore read out the English version (then titled 'Indian Prayer') at the [[Indian National Congress]] session in [[Calcutta]].<ref>[[Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay]], ''rabIndrajIbanIkathA'', 1981, p.104</ref>
|year = 1994}} p. 9.</ref> In 1917, Tagore read out the English version (then titled 'Indian Prayer') at the [[Indian National Congress]] session in [[Calcutta]].<ref>[[Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay]], ''rabIndrajIbanIkathA'', 1981, p.104</ref>


As in most of Tagore's translations for the English ''[[Gitanjali]]'', almost every line of the English rendering has been considerably simplified. Line 6 in the English version omits a reference to ''manliness'' (পৌরুষ), and the stern ending of the original, where the Father is being enjoined to "strike the sleeping nation without mercy" has been softened.[[File:WhereTheMindisWithoutFear.png|thumb|Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;]]
As in most of Tagore's translations for the English ''[[Gitanjali]]'', almost every line of the English rendering has been considerably simplified. Line 6 in the English version omits a reference to ''manliness'' (পৌরুষ), and the stern ending of the original, where the Father is being enjoined to "strike the sleeping nation without mercy" has been softened.


This poem often appears in textbooks in India and is also popular in Bangladesh. There is a [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]] translation of this song by the name "Mage deshaya awadhi karanu mena piyanani" which was translated into Sinhala by [[Mahagama Sekara]].
This poem often appears in textbooks in India and is also popular in Bangladesh. There is a [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]] translation of this song by the name "''Mage Deshaya Avadi Karanu Mana Piyaneni''" ([[Sinhala script|Sinhala]]: ''මාගේ දේශය අවදි කරනු මැන පියාණෙනි''; lit. "My father, let my country awake") which was translated into Sinhala by [[Mahagama Sekara]].
A more recent translation by Niladri Roy (who also translated Sukumar Ray's ''Abol in'' its entirety), - much truer,  literally,  to the original Bengali verse - and which preserves the rhymes in the original Bengali verse, can be found in the  attached image (used with permission from the translator) .
[[File:Tagore side by side - Where the Mind Is Without Fear..jpg|alt=Where the mind is without fear; head held high,  Knowledge is unfettered and stone walls nigh  In their confined cloisters bound, night and day,  Have split not this world in little bits of disarray. Where, from the fonts of hearts unconstrained,  Gush forth words; endeavors flow unrestrained  ’Cross many a land and manifold paths to race,  A myriad, many thousand aspirations to grace.  Where stifling sands of trifle, worthless custom  Have not engulfed the paths of streams of reason,  Smashed not manhood in a hundred pieces; lead  Where you each day every joy, thought ’n deed.  With pitiless blow of thine own hand subjugate  Into that heaven, my Father, let my country awake                                                     Rabindranath Tagore                                (Translated by Niladri Roy)|thumb|A literally true translation that preserves the rhyme of the original verse, without sacrificing meaning or mood. (By permission from the translator).]]


==See also==
==See also==
Line 58: Line 59:
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929093548/http://pib.myiris.com/speech/article.php3?fl=02031309955 Quoted by the Prime Minister] at [[Visva-Bharati University]] (15 December 2001)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929093548/http://pib.myiris.com/speech/article.php3?fl=02031309955 Quoted by the Prime Minister] at [[Visva-Bharati University]] (15 December 2001)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928010751/http://speakerloksabha.gov.in/Speech/SpeechDetails.asp?SpeechId=137 Quoted at the 66th Session of the Indian History Congress]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928010751/http://speakerloksabha.gov.in/Speech/SpeechDetails.asp?SpeechId=137 Quoted at the 66th Session of the Indian History Congress]
* [http://nitib2.wordpress.com/2006/02/02/where_the_mind_/ Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high]
* [http://nitib2.wordpress.com/2006/02/02/where_the_mind_/ "Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high"]
* [https://englicist.com/notes/summary-where-the-mind-is-without-fear-rabindranath-tagore Where The Mind Is Without Fear - Summary]
* [https://englicist.com/notes/summary-where-the-mind-is-without-fear-rabindranath-tagore Where The Mind Is Without Fear - Summary]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060428125057/http://www.outlookindia.com/mad.asp?fodname=20041122&fname=Making&sid=1 Where the Mind is Without Fear ]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060428125057/http://www.outlookindia.com/mad.asp?fodname=20041122&fname=Making&sid=1 Where the Mind is Without Fear]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060902010338/http://www.calcuttaweb.com/gaan/rabindra/index.shtml Bengali Songs - Rabindra Sangeet]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060902010338/http://www.calcuttaweb.com/gaan/rabindra/index.shtml Bengali Songs - Rabindra Sangeet]


{{Rabindranath Tagore |state=uncollapsed}}
{{Rabindranath Tagore |state=uncollapsed}}


[[Category:Bangladeshi literature]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi poems]]
[[Category:Poems in Bengali]]
[[Category:Indian poems]]
[[Category:Indian poems]]
[[Category:Bengali-language poems]]
[[Category:Poems by Rabindranath Tagore]]
[[Category:Poems by Rabindranath Tagore]]

Latest revision as of 23:11, 11 September 2025

"Where the mind is without fear" (Bengali: চিত্ত যেথা ভয়শূন্য, romanized: Chitto Jetha Bhoyshunno) is a poem written by 1913 Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore before India's independence. It represents Tagore's vision of a new and awakened India. The original poem was published in 1910 in "Naivedya" and, in Tagore's own translation, in its 1912 English edition. "Where the mind is without fear" is the 35th poem of Gitanjali, and one of Tagore's most anthologised poems.

It is an expression of the poet's reflective spirit and contains a simple prayer for his country, the India of pre-independence times.

Original Bengali script[edit | edit source]

চিত্ত যেথা ভয়শূন্য, উচ্চ যেথা শির,
জ্ঞান যেথা মুক্ত, যেথা গৃহের প্রাচীর
আপন প্রাঙ্গণতলে দিবসশর্বরী
বসুধারে রাখে নাই খণ্ড ক্ষুদ্র করি,
যেথা বাক্য হৃদয়ের উৎসমুখ হতে
উচ্ছ্বসিয়া উঠে, যেথা নির্বারিত স্রোতে
দেশে দেশে দিশে দিশে কর্মধারা ধায়
অজস্র সহস্রবিধ চরিতার্থতায়,
যেথা তুচ্ছ আচারের মরুবালুরাশি
বিচারের স্রোতঃপথ ফেলে নাই গ্রাসি,
পৌরুষেরে করে নি শতধা, নিত্য যেথা
তুমি সর্ব কর্ম চিন্তা আনন্দের নেতা,
নিজ হস্তে নির্দয় আঘাত করি, পিতঃ;
ভারতেরে সেই স্বর্গে করো জাগরিত৷

English translation[edit | edit source]

Tagore's own translation, in the 1912 English edition of Gitanjali:[1]

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments;
by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way;
into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee; into ever-widening thought and action—;
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

History and translation[edit | edit source]

This poem was most likely composed in 1900. It appeared in the volume Naivedya in the poem titled "Prarthona" (July 1901, Bengali 1308 Bangabda). The English translation was composed around 1911 when Tagore was translating some of his work into English after a request from William Rothenstein. It appeared as poem 35 in the English Gitanjali, published by The India Society, London, in 1912.[2][3] In 1917, Tagore read out the English version (then titled 'Indian Prayer') at the Indian National Congress session in Calcutta.[4]

As in most of Tagore's translations for the English Gitanjali, almost every line of the English rendering has been considerably simplified. Line 6 in the English version omits a reference to manliness (পৌরুষ), and the stern ending of the original, where the Father is being enjoined to "strike the sleeping nation without mercy" has been softened.

This poem often appears in textbooks in India and is also popular in Bangladesh. There is a Sinhala translation of this song by the name "Mage Deshaya Avadi Karanu Mana Piyaneni" (Sinhala: මාගේ දේශය අවදි කරනු මැන පියාණෙනි; lit. "My father, let my country awake") which was translated into Sinhala by Mahagama Sekara.

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Tagore, Rabindranath (1915). Gitanjali (Song Offerings). New York: The Macmillan Company. pp. 27–28. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  2. ↑ "Gitanjali". The India Society, London / One More Library. 1912. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  3. ↑ Sisir Kumar Das, ed. (1994). The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, v.1: Poems. Sahitya Akademi. p. 9.
  4. ↑ Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay, rabIndrajIbanIkathA, 1981, p.104

External links[edit | edit source]

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