Question

Who created the image of Bharat Mata for the first time?

Answer 1

Hint: The image of Bharat Mata was first created by the nephew of Rabindranath Tagore in the year 1905. His Bharat Mata was a beautiful young woman who wore an orange coloured saree, and resembled a sadhvi, standing at the edge of a lotus pond.

Complete answer:
Religion and certain aspects of the national religion got momentum during India’s independence movement when mythological allusions were used to bring a boost to the movement. Apart from these, new deities were also ‘created’ for a reference point and added credence to the movement. One of the deities which became the centre of attraction was “Bharat Mata”.

Abanindranath Tagore, Rabindranath Tagore’s nephew, drew the initial painting of Bharat Mata in 1905. The painting was actually drawn as “Banga Mata”, an undivided Bengal’s incarnation which was shattered by the British. However, this Banga Mata acted as a precursor to many more representations of Bharat Mata.

Abanindranath Tagore’s Bharat Mata differs a lot from the image that people had in their minds. His Bharat Mata was a beautiful young woman who wore an orange coloured saree, and resembled a sadhvi, standing at the edge of a lotus pond. She was having a halo behind her head and had four hands that gave her a divine look. She held a sacred manuscript, an akshmala (a rosary of beads), a vastra (a piece of fabric) and a bunch of rice foliage in her hands. She had a calm appearance and was a symbol of grace. She was an amalgamation of both Saraswati and Lakshmi, deities who were greatly respected, the former for intelligence and the latter for prosperity. Collectively, the deity seemed to suggest that the motherland had gifts of Shiksha, Diksha, anna and vastra, i.e. knowledge, spiritualism, food and clothing.

Thus, Abanindranath Tagore created the image of Bharat Mata for the first time.

Note: From time immemorial, a Vedic deity that was associated with the Earth was worshipped and was referred to as ‘Prithvi’. Earth’s worship was an age-old concept that was deep-rooted in the minds of Indians. Soon ‘earth’ became associated with ‘land’ and during India’s independence movement; ‘land’ became synonymous with ‘motherland’. In 1882, Anandmath, a novel written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, introduced a hymn ‘Vande Mataram, which became the clarion call for India’s Independence movement.