My Mother Nation

{Translated & Adapted from Waha Janmabhoomi Meri  (वह जन्मभूमि मेरी) by Sohanlal Dvivedi (सोहनलाल द्विवेदी)}

My mother-nation, I bow to thee

The Himalayas, like barriers, stand tall in the north,
The blue seas of the south bring traders forth;
Where rivers like Ganga and Yamuna flow by
And greenery is everywhere, all spirits are high!

That is the sanctified land, where many holy men have preached
That is the ‘bird of gold’, the place where many have dreamt to reach.
Such is the land, where birth was taken by me
Such is my mother-nation, I bow to thee.

Where mighty waterfalls of humanity flow without bounds,
Where the Koyel bird’s sweet singing, from trees and bushes, sounds;
There, in summer, thickets of mango trees grow
And cool winds from the South, sandal-scented, blow;

That is the holy land, to which I owe my all,
That is the holy land, whose respect I shall never let fall;
Such is the land, where birth was taken by me
Such is my mother-nation, I bow to thee

Where descended ideals like Ram and Sita,
Where Lord Krishna gave us the Bhagavad Gita,
There, Prince Siddharth became Gautama Buddha,
Gave us the Eightfold Path, the channel to ‘Moksha’.

Oh, in that serene country, if war is ever waged
I’ll fight, till not an ounce of strength, in me, is left, caged,
To save that blessed land, where birth was taken by me
My dear mother Nation, I bow to thee.

– Mokshist