Anandamath Abbey of Bliss" (literally Anand=Bliss and Math=Abbey). "Vande Mataram", "Hail to the Mother", first song to represent Bengal - or India, which is almost synonymous at that time as far as nationalism is concerned - as the Mother (the goddess Durga) was published in this novel. The book is set in the years during the famine in Bengal in 1770 CE. It starts with introduction to a couple, Mahendra and Kalyani, who are stuck at their village "Padachina" without food and water in the times of famine. They decide to leave their village and move to the next closest city
Vande Mataram unlike later verses that compare certain qualities of thee country and mother to goddesses like Durga and Lakshmi. There is no time limit or circumstantial specification for the rendition of this song [unlike the national anthem "Jana Gana Mana" that specifies 52 seconds]. The root of the Sanskrit word Vande is "Vand", which appears in "Rigveda" and other Vedic texts. According to Monier Monier-Williams, depending on the context, "vand" means "to praise, celebrate, laud, extol, to show honour, do homage, salute respectfully", or "deferentially, venerate, worship, adore", or "to offer anything respectfully to". The word "Mātaram" has Indo-European roots in