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- Stanza 1 (refrain)
आरती श्री गैया मैया की।आरती हरनि विश्वधैया की॥
āratī śrī gaiyā maiyā kī।āratī harani viśvadhaiyā kī॥
This is the aarti of Mother Gaiya (the cow) — the aarti that takes away the sorrow of the world's ever-enduring mother.
- Stanza 2
अर्थकाम सद्धर्म प्रदायिनी, अविचल अमल मुक्तिपददायिनी।सुर मानव सौभाग्यविधायिनी, प्यारी पूज्य नंद छैया की॥आरती श्री गैया मैया की।आरती हरनि विश्वधैया की॥
arthakāma saddharma pradāyinī, avichala amala muktipadadāyinī।sura mānava saubhāgyavidhāyinī, pyārī pūjya nanda chaiyā kī॥āratī śrī gaiyā maiyā kī।āratī harani viśvadhaiyā kī॥
She grants wealth and rightful desire through righteousness; unwavering and pure, she is the giver of liberation. She bestows good fortune on gods and humans alike; dear and worthy of worship, she is the cherished shelter of Nanda's household. This is the aarti of Mother Gaiya — the aarti that takes away the sorrow of the world's ever-enduring mother.
- Stanza 3
अखिल विश्व प्रतिपालिनी माता, मधुर अमिय दुग्धान्न प्रदाता।रोग शोक संकट परित्राता, भवसागर हित दृढ़ नैया की॥आरती श्री गैया मैया की।आरती हरनि विश्वधैया की॥
akhila viśva pratipālinī mātā, madhura amiya dugdhānna pradātā।roga śoka saṅkaṭa paritrātā, bhavasāgara hita dṛḍha naiyā kī॥āratī śrī gaiyā maiyā kī।āratī harani viśvadhaiyā kī॥
O Mother, you alone sustain the whole world, giving sweet nectar-like milk as food; you rescue us from sickness, sorrow and trouble, the sturdy boat that carries devotees across the ocean of worldly existence. This is the aarti of Mother Gaiya — the aarti that takes away the sorrow of the world's ever-enduring mother.
- Stanza 4
आयु ओज आरोग्यविकाशिनी, दुःख दैन्य दारिद्र्य विनाशिनी।सुषमा सौख्य समृद्धि प्रकाशिनी, विमल विवेक बुद्धि दैया की॥आरती श्री गैया मैया की।आरती हरनि विश्वधैया की॥
āyu oja ārogyavikāśinī, duḥkha dainya dāridrya vināśinī।suṣamā saukhya samṛddhi prakāśinī, vimala viveka buddhi daiyā kī॥āratī śrī gaiyā maiyā kī।āratī harani viśvadhaiyā kī॥
She grants long life, vigor and health, destroying misery, wretchedness and poverty; radiant with beauty, ease and prosperity, she gives pure discernment and wisdom. This is the aarti of Mother Gaiya — the aarti that takes away the sorrow of the world's ever-enduring mother.
- Stanza 5
सेवक हो चाहे दुखदाई, सम पय सुधा पियावति माई।शत्रु मित्र सबको सुखदायी, स्नेह स्वभाव विश्व जैया की॥आरती श्री गैया मैया की।आरती हरनि विश्वधैया की॥
sevaka ho chāhe dukhadāī, sama paya sudhā piyāvati māī।śatru mitra sabako sukhadāyī, sneha svabhāva viśva jaiyā kī॥āratī śrī gaiyā maiyā kī।āratī harani viśvadhaiyā kī॥
Even when her keeper causes her pain, the Mother equally offers the nectar of her milk to drink; to friend and foe alike she brings happiness, her loving nature embracing the whole world. This is the aarti of Mother Gaiya — the aarti that takes away the sorrow of the world's ever-enduring mother.
Overview
In Hindu tradition, the cow — Gau Mata, “Mother Cow” — is honored as a nurturing, maternal presence rather than an ordinary animal, sustaining a household with her milk the way a mother sustains her children. This aarti addresses her directly as “Gaiya Maiya,” praising her as the sustainer of the whole world, the giver of wealth, health, and liberation, and the one who offers her “nectar-like” milk and her compassion equally to everyone who tends her, friend and foe alike. It reflects a wider devotional current — visible in cow shelters (goshalas), in stories of Krishna’s childhood among the cowherds of Nanda’s household, and in the everyday rituals of feeding and tending cows — in which caring for the cow is treated as an act of worship in its own right.
Origin and source
No composer is credited for this aarti in the Hindi devotional collections that preserve it; it circulates anonymously in aarti compendiums as one of several Hindi hymns dedicated to Gau Mata, alongside better-known, separately attributed aartis such as Jai Ambe Gauri. Its imagery — the “shelter” of Nanda’s household and the sturdy “boat” that carries devotees across the ocean of worldly existence — echoes the pastoral, Krishna-linked idiom of Vraj devotional poetry, even though the aarti itself is addressed to the cow rather than to any one deity.
How it is recited
This aarti is most closely associated with Gopashtami, the Kartik-month festival honoring cows and cowherds, when cow-worship is performed with particular care. It is also sung in goshalas (cow shelters) and at home as part of routine cow-worship, typically with a lit lamp or diya circled before the cow in the same manner as an aarti performed before a deity’s image.
Frequently asked questions
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Sourcing
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