Since times immemorial, the Rishis of our land have glorified Mother Earth as the manifestation of the Supreme Mother. The ideal of Motherland and the unbounded adoration and loyalty to Her, is elaborately expounded in the Bhoomi sookta of the Atharva Veda. The Rishis declared: Maataa bhoomih putroham prithivyaah— “Mother Earth is our Supreme Mother and we are all Her children.” They considered Bharatavarsha as the manifestation of the Mahashakti, the creatrix of the entire universe. If the whole universe is the manifest body of the Mahashakti, the soul of the universe is Bharatabhoomi as a Hindi poet sang— “Deha vishwa hai, aatmahai Bharatamata”. Srimad Bhagavata, in the 5th skanda, chapter 19, gives a superb description of the glorious Bharatavarsha. After giving a list of the majestic mountains and the sacred rivers in the land from the Himalayas to the southern seas, the purana eulogizes the Motherland:
Etadevahi Devaa Gaayanti–
Aho ameeshaam kimakaari shobhanam
prasanna eshaam sviduta swayam harih
Yairjanma labdham nrishu bhaarataajire
mukundasevaupayikam sprihaa hi nah
“The Gods (in the heaven) verily sing thus (of the glory of human birth in Bharatavarsha):
‘Oh! What auspicious deeds have these done that God (Hari) Himself has become pleased with them – deeds by which they have obtained birth in the continent of India, a birth which is the means for, the service of God? We also keenly desire (to have) this (good fortune).’ (Bhagavata, V-XIX.20)
The Vishnupurana clearly demarcates the boundaries of Bharatavarsha:
Uttaram yat samudrasya himaadreschaiva dakshinam
Varsham tad bhaarataam naama bhaaratee yatra santatih
— “The land to the north of the oceans and south of the Himalayas is called Bharatavarsha and Bharatis are Her children.”
The Baarhaspatya Samhita proclaims:
Himaalayaadaarabhya yaavad Indu Sarovaraparyantam
Tam deva nirmitam desham Hindusthaanam prachakshate –
“The land stretching from the Himalayas up to the Indian Ocean, created by God, is known as Hindusthanam”.
Chanakya, who has been adored as the greatest emperor-maker and authority on political science, says in Artha Shastra:
Himavatsamudraantaramudeecheenam
yojana sahasra parimaanam
— “To the north of the oceans, up to the Himalayas, the country is 1000 yojanas in length.”
An oft quoted and famous saying of Sri Rama himself expresses the highest sentiment of devotion to the Motherland. Rama tells Lakshmana:
Api Swarnamayee lankaa na me lakshmana rochate
Jananee Janmabhoomischa swargaadapi gareeyasi
— “Oh Lakshmana! Even the golden Lanka has no fascination for me. For the Mother and Motherland are greater than Heaven itself.”
The Mahabharata also contains equally patriotic reference to the country:
Atraapi bhaaratam shreshtham jamboodweepe mahaamune
Yato hi karmabooreshah yato anya bhoga bhoomayah
Atra janma sahasraanaam sahasrairapi sattama
kadaachillabhate janturmanushyaam punyasanchayaat
— “Bharat is the greatest land on earth, and it alone is the land of action while the rest are lands of pleasure. It is only after great acquisition of merit that a person gets the privilege of being born a human being in this country.”
By Sadhu Prof. Dr. V. Rangarajan
Founder Trustee, Sister Nivedita Academy
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