Nagpur: “I believe that every Bharatiya should recite the Sangh’s Ekatmata Stotra. This hymn contains the noblest expression of Bharatiya history, geography, culture, life values, and social inclusiveness and harmony, said Former President of Bharat, Ramnath Kovind at RSS Vijayadashmi Utsav 2025 at Reshim Bagh, Nagpur.
Ramnath Kovind was the Chief Guest of this year’s Vijayadashami Utsav. Notably, Ekatmata Stotra is a Sanskrit hymn recited in Sangh Shakhas, known as the “Hymn of Unity.” It celebrates the unity and cultural heritage of Bharat. The Stotra praises various aspects of the nation, including its people, landscapes, great historical figures, and the values that bind society together.
The intent of the Ekatmata Stotra is to foster a sense of oneness (ekatmata) by reminding swayamsevaks that the entire length and breadth of Bharat, from the Himalayas to Kanyakumari, from Sindhu to the seas, is a single, indivisible cultural entity.
The Ekatmata Stotra is a testament to the inclusive approach of the RSS as it unites Bharat’s diverse spiritual, cultural, and historical legacy into one hymn. It reveres rivers, mountains, sacred places, saints, reformers, warriors, and freedom fighters. It symbolises cultural unity, social inclusiveness, and the vision of one indivisible Bharat.
Every morning, right from its very inception, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh remembers the great personalities of our nation through a practice of reciting a Stotra. In 1963, this Stotra was revised by adding some new names.
It was first introduced in 1950’s. It was known at that time as Pratahsmaran. It was a collection of old shlokas in praise of old saints, warriors, and incarnations. It was revised in the 1970’s and was named as ‘Ekatmata Stotra’. It includes the names of modern great men, viz. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Dayananda Saraswati, Rabindranath Tagore, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Rama Tirtha, Vivekananda, Aurobindo, Dadabhai Naoroji, Gopabandhu of Assam, Lokmanya Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, Ramana Maharshi, Lakshmibai, Ahalya Bai Holkar, Chennamma, Rudramaambaa, Sister Nivedita and Ma Sharada, Pt. Madan Mohan Malviya, Subramania Bharati, Subhas Chandra Bose, Pranavananda, VD Savarkar, Thakkar Bapa, BR Ambedkar, Mahatma Phule, Narayana Guru of Kerala in the list of Rishis, which itself is heartening.
Scholarly women like Draupadi, Kannagi, Gargi, devote Sant like Meera, and warriors like Rani Durgawati, Rani Laxmibai, Ahilyabai Holkar, Rani Chenamma, Rani Rudramamba are also invoked in the daily morning prayer.
