Anandamath to capture some of the cannons, and turn the fire back on to the British lines. The British are forced to fall back, the rebels winning their first battle. The story ends with Mahendra and Kalyani building a home again, with Mahendra continuing to support the rebels. The song Vande Mataram is sung in this novel. Vande Mataram means "I bow to thee, Mother". It inspired freedom fighters in the 20th century and its first two stanzas became the national song of India after independence. The novel was banned by the British. The ban was lifted by the Government of
Amangkurat I of Mataram conspired with Panembahan Rama from Kajoran, west of Magelang, who proposed a stratagem in which the crown prince financed Rama’s son-in-law, Trunajaya, to begin a rebellion in the East Java. Raden Trunajaya, a prince from Madura, lead a revolt supported by itinerant fighters from faraway Makassar that captured the king's court at Mataram in mid-1677. The king escaped to the north coast with his eldest son, the future king, leaving his younger son Pangeran Puger in Mataram. Apparently more interested in profit and revenge than in running a struggling empire, the rebel Trunajaya looted the court and withdrew to his