Vaishnav jan to tene kahiye je
PeeD paraayi jaaNe re
Par-dukhkhe upkaar kare toye
Man abhimaan na aaNe re (Vaishnava)
SakaL lok maan sahune vande
Nindaa na kare keni re
Vaach kaachh man nishchaL raakhe
Dhan-dhan janani teni re (Vaishnava)
Sam-drishti ne trishna tyaagi
Par-stree jene maat re
Jivha thaki asatya na bole
Par-dhan nav jhaalee haath re (Vaishnava)
Moh-maaya vyaape nahi jene
DriDh vairaagya jena man maan re
Ram naam shoon taaLi laagi
SakaL tirath tena tan maan re (Vaishnava)
VaN-lobhi ne kapaT-rahit chhe
Kaam-krodh nivaarya re
BhaNe Narsaiyyo tenun darshan karta
KuL ekoter taarya re (Vaishnava)
English Translation
One who is a Vaishnav (Devotee of Vishnu)
Knows the pain of others
Does good to others
without letting pride enter his mind.
A Vaishnav, Tolerates and praises the the entire world.
Does not speak ill of others
Keeps his promises, actions and thoughts pure
your mother is blessed indeed.
A Vaishnav sees everything equally, rejects greed and avarice
respects women as he respects his own mother
though his tongue may tire he will utter no untruth
Never touches the property of others.
A Vaishnav does not succumb to worldly attachments
he has renounced lust of all types and anger
The poet Narsi will like to see such a person By who's virtue,
the entire family gets salvation
Notes
This is not a perfect translation of the poem, the first stanza has the words A Vaishnav in the susequent stanzas it is used only to make grammatical sense. It is not a poetic translation but the meanings of the lines have been explained simply and the integrity of the poem has been completely maintained.
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Comments
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Vaishnava janato song/poem
From guest V. Sridhar (contact)
This should find a place in school books of Gujarat state in 5th or 6th when a child can understand better what is being conveyed, as a moral science subject or basic philosophy, or rightful path of life, which no doubt is difficult to see, experience or practise in present situation in our country with the over greed, moral decay, misuse of power by the big business, the politicians and those in Administration having destroyed the peace and happiness of common man. Atleast we can enjoy the poem as much as we enjoy a dirty and criminal politician or senior police officer or moral and monetory corruption ladden govt official given capital punishment in films which is practically not possible in real life, as much as the expectation of this poet or every one of us. -
Vaishnava janato - english translation
From guest V. Sridhar (contact)
The essence is what is needed of what the poest had wished to convey and it has been well conveyed in simple easily understandable english, useful to the concerned. Sincere thanks to the translator. -
vjob as importent as restoration of vision to blind
From guest k.babu vaishnav (contact)
all these years i was listening to the song and enjoying without thinking of the meaning of the poetry ,today when I tried to understand what it was , as I couldn't figureout properly ,with one touch I reached your translation. great poetry above all great translation job. In fact many people like me might have been benefitted ,as my nature I will teach this poems meaning to many interested people thanks. -
Much Needed in the world today
From guest Bipasha (contact)
The song has a beautiful meaning and I feel that it becomes all the more important in the context of today's world to understand and comply to the meaning of this song.One can only thank you for the lovely translation. -
Great
From guest radjesh_ashabhosle@hotmail.com (contact)
Lovely poem - Beautifully sang by Lataji and many thanks for your translation. bless you! -
Beautiful
This was a beautiful poem. I love how it talked about the Honor of doing good and staying away from greed and lust. If only the world were like this too.
Awesome Job! -
Vaishnav jan toh...
From guest Singh (contact)
This is a great translation job. Especially for those in the Western hemisphere who does not speak, write, read hindi...it is always refreshing to see the meaning of beautiful poetic rendition. And this bhajan is a favourite of mine. God Bless you for your time to do this. -
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Good work this
From guest Basu (contact)
Great work, this translation. It is also heartening to find this poem up on the net. In today's world though it would be far better for people to interpret 'Vaishnav' as simply a man of god, a good and simple man, rather than a Vishnu bhakta. I am sure the poet would have suggested this himself if he could. We tend to confuse religion with the aim, whereas it is simple the way, for a short while in the begining. All raods lead to the center of one's being where god resides in all her splendour! -
I think you've translated it very well... though now a days its so hard to find "Vaishnav"... society in western world befits with the description more than in India... it was shocking news about the arrest of Swami Jayendra Saraswati... for the sake of faith, I sincerely hope he walks out pure and free... very well written...
mina -
This lyrical composition was a favourite of Mahatma Gandhi and it is not hard to see why. The words describe not only a perfect Vaishnav but also what a perfect human being should be. It aims high and one who achieves such objectives would indeed be a perfect person. It is a perfect example of the high ideals and philosophy of Eastern thought. A very melodious composition very popular even now. Has been recorded in the voice of some famed Indian singers. I find myself humming it even as I type this
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