Jai Durge de de aaj vardaan
Posted by: Atul on: April 18, 2026
This article is written by Arunkumar Deshmukh, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a contributor to this blog. This article is meant to be posted in atulsongaday.me. If this article appears in other sites without the knowledge and consent of the web administrator of atulsongaday.me, then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.
|
Blog Day : |
6483 | Post No. : | 20146 |
Today’s song is from a Mythological film – Shiv Kanya-1954.
The decade of the 1950 was known for 2 things. As we all know, the first thing was that it was the peak of “The Golden Era” of Hindi film music. Secondly, it was also the peak of Mythological and Religious films (124 films in 10 years). So, there was atleast 1 such new film every month continuously for the next 120 months !
When so many Mythological films are made, naturally many stories are repeated in some way or the other. Usually stories from the 18 Puranas, 18 Up-Puranas and 2 Epics- Ramayana and Mahabharat are used for films. Fed up with the usual stories, some filmmakers tried to find unused new stories from the puranas,while some tried to cook up own stories by using the Mythological names and mixing several stories.
Dhirubhai Desai, a well known producer and director of such types of films opted to present a hitherto unknown story of the daughter of Lord Shiva – Mansa Devi. He found out the details from various sources and used them in the story.
When one talks of Lord Shiva, one is thinking about Mahadev, Parvati, Kartikeya and Ganesha. Very few people know about MANASA DEVI, who is supposed to be the daughter of Mahadev. Manasa Devi is quite a well known name of a Deity who is worshipped in Bengal and North East part of India.
Mangalkavyas, written in Bangla during the 13th and 18th centuries, describes the origin of Mansa Devi. There is a mention of Manasa Devi in Saam Veda also. ‘Devi Bhagavatam’ from the south describes many aspects of Manasa Devi. She has 12 names- Manasa devi, Karupriya, Jagadgauri, Sidha yogini, Vaishnavi, Shaivi, Naageshwari, Jaratkarupriya, Naag Bhagini, Astikmata, Vish hari and Maha jnanayuta.
In Bengal and North East, it is believed that Manasa Devi is the sister of Vasuki, the King of Naagas, wife of sage Jaratkaru and mother of Agasti, who saved all Naagas from King Janamejaya’s Sarpa-Yadnya.
She is worshipped in the form of a Cactus and always in the open, lest snakes invade the house.
Manasa Devi is a symbol of Bad temper and unhappiness due to rejection of Father (Shiva) and hatred of step mother Parvati. In some Puranas, like Shiv Puran, she is also called the daughter of sage Kashap and mata kadru.
In Greek mythology also there is a mention of a Goddess Ma Na Sa devi.
There is a hugh Manasa Devi Temple in Haridwar and one is in Panchkula, near Chandigarh, besides the Eastern India states.
When this film SHIV KANYA-1954, first came to cinemas, I was perplexed as I did not know Mahadev had any daughter. That time, my father explained to me about Manasa Devi. Later on I read about her in some books too. This is what is written in ” Hindu Mythology-Gods and Goddesses “, by Acharya Shyam Purohit… ” Ma Manasa Devi, the snake goddess, is worshipped by Hindus, mainly for the prevention and cure of snakebites and infectious diseases like smallpox and chickenpox as well as for prosperity and fertility. She stands for both ‘destruction’ and ‘regeneration’, almost akin to a snake shedding its skin and being reborn.
The idol of the goddess is depicted as a graceful lady with her body, adorned with snakes and sitting on a lotus or standing on a snake, under a hooded canopy of seven cobras. She is often seen as ‘the one-eyed goddess’, and sometimes portrayed with her son Astika on her lap.
Also known as ‘Nagini,’ the female serpentine avatar or ‘Vishahara,’ the goddess who annihilates poison, Manasa, in the Hindu mythology, is believed to be the daughter of sage Kasyapa and Kadru, the sister of the serpent-king Sesha. She is the sister of Vasuki, king of Nagas and wife of sage Jagatkaru. A simplified version of the myth regards Manasa as the daughter of Lord Shiva. Legends have it that she was rejected by her father Shiva and husband Jagatk?ru, and hated by her stepmother, Chandi, who scooped out one of Manasa’s eyes. So, she appears to be foul-tempered, and benevolent only towards her devotees.
Manasa, due to her mixed parentage, is denied full Godhood. Ancient Hindu legends in the Puranas, narrate the story of the birth of this powerful serpentine goddess. Sage Kashyapa created goddess Manasa from his ‘mana,’ or mind, so she could control the reptiles that were creating havoc on earth and Lord Brahma made her the presiding deity of snakes. It is believed that Lord Krishna granted her divine status and she established herself in the pantheon of gods.
During the monsoon season, Goddess Manasa is worshiped, mainly in the eastern Indian states of Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, and Orissa, throughout the months of June, July and August (Ashar – Shravan), a time when the snakes leave their nesting ground and come out into the open and become active. In Bangladesh, the Manasa and Ashtanaag Puja is a month-long affair spanning July and August. Devotees pay obeisance to goddess Manasa and perform various ‘pujas’ or rituals to appease her. Special ‘murtis’ or statues of the goddess are sculpted, various sacrifices made, and prayers chanted. In some places, worshippers are seen to pierce their bodies, poisonous snakes are displayed on the altar, and live shows depicting the life and legends of Manasa Devi are performed. “
And this is what ” Hindu Daivat in India” by Shrinivas Potdar says….. ” Manasa Devi is also known as the snake Goddess who is worshipped mainly in Bengal and other North-Eastern states of India. It is believed that Goddess Manasa is the one who controls all the snakes on Earth and a snake bite can be cured by worshipping Her. People also worship Goddess Manasa for fertility and prosperity. According to the legends Goddess Manasa is the daughter of Lord Shiva. However some scriptures suggest that She was the daughter of Sage Kashyapa and is distantly related to Shiva. She is the sister of Vasuki and wife to Sage Jaratkaru. Due to the confusion in Her parentage, Goddess Manasa has been denied the position which other deities enjoy. Hence, She is an extremely furious Goddess for those who refuse to worship Her while extremely kind to those who worship Her with devotion. ”
The story of the film Shiv Kanya-1954 was….Lord Shiva visits Lord Brahma Dev once. Brahma is enjoying the Veena Vaadan of his daughter Saraswati. Seeing this Shiva becomes emotional with a thought of having a daughter for himself and one of his tears falls on a blooming Lotus. It gives birth to Manasa Devi,Shiva’s daughter.
At the time of Amrit Manthan,Mahadev drank the ‘Halahal’ (extreme poison),to save the world,but he fell unconscious. That time Nagaas from Naag Lok came to his rescue and sipped poison from his body,thus becoming poisonous themselves. However,due to this the Human race started killing them. to avoid their massacre the nagaas took shelter in patal lok. Shiv sent his daughter Manasa as their chief and to protect them. Everyone started worshipping her.
Chandradhar,king of Champaknagar was a devotee of Mahadev and Parvati and did not worship Manasa devi and also insulted her. All the nagas attacked Champaknagar and killed Chandradhar’s 6 married sons. The remaining son Laxmendra married Vipula-who had a blessing for marital bliss from Jagdamba. Mansa Devi ordered his killing too. Vipula prayed to Jagdamba for 6 months,after which she decided to immolate herself with the body of her husband and die . Jagdamba was moved with her devotion and brought back her husband. Shiv ji blessed Manasa Devi that she will be eternally worshipped by mankind…….
The film was made by Chandrakala Pictures, Bombay. It was produced by Ravji bhai Patel and Sharad Desai – son of Dhirubhai Desai, who directed this film. This partly coloured film had music by Manna Dey. The cast of the film was Nirupa Roy, Trilok Kapoor, Lalita Pawar, Shakuntala, Niranjan Sharma, Anjali Devi, Indira Bansal, Master Dhulia and many others.
Many people do not know that Manna Dey gave music in Hindi films. He gave music to 15 films. In most films he was a joint MD with other composers. As per the book “Dhunon ki Yatra” by Pankaj Raag, he gave music to Sati Toral-47, Veerangana-47, Hum bhi Insaan hai-48, Jaan Pehchan-50, Shri Ganesh janma-51, Chamkee-52, Tamasha-52, Naina-53, Shuk Rambha-53, Mahapooja-54, Shiv kanya-54, jai mahadev-55, Gauri Pooja-56, Naag Champa-58 and Sonal-1973.
Manna Dey’s Biography is available at many places on the Internet and anyone can read it easily. So, I am not giving his Biodata, but here is a different look at him from another angle. Manna Dey ( 1-5-1919 to 24-10-2013 ) was essentially a singer, but initially he wanted to become a Composer. So, by becoming assistant first to his uncle K.C.Dey and later to Khemchand Prakash, he managed to give music to 17 films, composing 129 songs in these films, in his career. None of his composed songs became a Hit or very popular.
In contrast, he sang in 839 Hindi films and sang 1370 songs ! This output clearly proves that he was a successful singer. The problem with many singers is that they want to become Music Directors or act in the films or do both or all three ( Like Mukesh), but they do not possess that mindset.
A Composer is a Planner and a singer is an implementer. You can either be this or that. In any case an implementer rarely has the Talent of a planner. Singers like Mukesh, Talat, S D Batish, Khan mastana and few others never became famous or popular or successful Composers or actors. Singers like Talat realised this too late and spoiled his singing career too.
Here are 10 points in Manna Dey’s life….
1. Manna Dey’s singing talent came to the fore while he was studying at Scottish Church College. Later he started taking singing lessons from his uncle Krishna Chandra Dey as well as Ustad Dabir Khan.
2. Manna Dey’s career as a playback singer started with the movie Tamanna in the year 1943. His uncle, Krishna Chandra Dey composed the musical score and he paired up with the well-known Suraiya to sing this wonderful duet. The entire nation loved this song and Manna Dey became a household name.
3. Mohmammad Rafi had famously said that though the world listens to his songs, he only listens to Manna Dey’s songs.
4. Manna Dey sang two hugely popular songs with the evergreen Kishore kumar- Yeh dosti(Sholay) and Ek chatur naar (Padosan)
5. In his playback singing career spanning over seven decades, Manna Dey sang in many languages, mainly Bengali and Hindi. He sang more than 1200 songs in Bengali, 85 songs in Gujarati films, 55 songs in Marathi, 35 in Bhojpuri and several others in ten more different languages.
6. Dey had teamed up with Bhimsen Joshi and belted out the classic number Ketaki Gulab Juhi
7. His autobiography, Jiboner Jalsaghorey, has been published by renowned Ananda Publisher in the year 2005 which has been translated in English as Memories Come Alive, in Hindi as Yaden Jee Uthi and in Marathi as Jiboner Jalsaghorey.
8. Manna Dey is one of the rarest singers who has worked with more than 100 music composers.
9. He sang a record 160 songs with Asha Bhosle and 101 duets with Mohd Rafi.
10. Dey was a huge fan of Rajesh khanna. “I loved the way he picturised music. The success of a song depends upon how an actor picturises it. He was the number one in picturising songs. I will be indebted to him,” said Dey about the first superstar of the country.
When Manna Dey was interviewed by Chandan Mitra for The Pioneer, dated 25-10-2013, he asked him this question….
Many people say you are the film world’s most under-rated and under-recognised singers despite being so phenomenally talented. Does this bother you ?
It used to. I would be very hurt at being overlooked when it came to singing for the hero. Some music directors, such as Naushad saab, never used me, always relying on Rafi for the male voice. As a result, I never sang for Dilip Kumar. In my days of struggle, some producers were positively indecent. I will tell you two incidents to explain what I have undergone and how God has been on my side.
Bharat Bhushan was a big hero in the 1950s, especially after his Baiju Bawra became a major hit. His brother Shashi Bhushan decided to produce Basant Bahar and hired Shankar-Jaikishan to score the music. Shankar was my mentor in the film world and always pushed my case especially if the tunes were classical-based or very fast. They had composed Sur Na Saje, a really beautiful number. Rehearsals were complete and we were about to record when Shashi Bhushan heard I was to sing it. He said, ‘Nothing doing, get Rafi.’ Shankar argued but the producer would not listen. I was feeling very humiliated when Bharat Bhushan walked in. He heard the debate and finally said, ‘let Manna sing now. We will see what to do later.’ As you know, the song became a very big hit. At stage shows, I am requested to sing it even now.
Another time, we were about to record Yeh Raat Bheegi Bheegi for the Raj Kapoor Nargis starrer, Chori Chori. It was a South Indian production by AVM, which was owned by Chettiar. He had just flown into Mumbai that day and drove straight to the studio to attend the recording. As he entered, he yelled, ‘I don’t see Mukesh. Where is Mukesh ji’ Shankar told him, ‘You don’t see Mukesh because Manna Dey is singing this number.’ Chettiar was very angry. ‘Cancel the recording,’ he ordered, turned to me and said, ‘You go home.’ At that point Raj saab really got annoyed. He told Chettiar, ‘Manna and Manna alone will sing this number whether you like it or not.’ Few people dared to talk to a big producer like that, but then, few producers had the guts to disobey Raj Kapoor. Reluctantly, Chettiar had to allow the recording to proceed. When I finished, the same Chettiar (he was quite fat) grabbed me and wouldn’t release me from his hug!
But you are right. I never got what I fully deserved. You see, I was born into a very proud family. We had no ego but we were proud of our talent. So, I couldn’t do the rounds of producers and music directors’ homes, get into Mumbai’s sharabi-kababi culture, or sit in the durbars of big heroes. Most struggling singers have to do that even now. I was a struggling singer in my early years in Mumbai and, thereafter, when I did gain acceptance, I got somewhat typecast. Only a few music directors would experiment with me as the hero’s voice. But I don’t hold a grudge against anybody or anything. I have sung my heart out, I have got people’s love in return, I love to sing even now; I have led a contented life. What more can a person ask for ? I am very happy the way I am.
Here is today’s video song. The singer is Asha Bhosle with Chorus. Enjoy….
Song-Jai Durge de de aaj vardaan (Shiv Kanya)(1954) Singer- Asha Bhosale, Lyricist- Ramesh Gupta, MD- Manna Dey
Female chorus
Lyrics
jai durge
de de aaj vardaan
de de ye vardaan
tu hai shakti mahaan
bhagti bhaaw se shakti
tere gaayen ham gungaan
jai durge
aasha kee jholee le ke aayee tere dwaar main
maangne tera madhur pyaar aar
maangne tera madhur pyaar
aisa var deejyo mohey maayee ree sansaar mein
ho mere jeevan ka singaar aar
ho mere jeevan ka singaar
manmohan kee banoon main muraliyaa
?? shyaam muraaree
tan man jeevan kar doon main arpan
miley jo mohey tripuraaree
miley jo mohey tripuraaree
itna var maangoon tose maai baar baar main
de mere jeevan ka aadhaa aar
de mere jeean ka aadhaar
aa aa aa
aa aa aa
aa aa aa
aa aa aa aa
seeta ban jaaoon main
jo mohe raam miley ae
saavitri ban jaaoon main ae ae
saavitri ban jaaoon main
jo satyavaan miley ae ae
seeta ban jaaoon main
sati banoon jo miley mohe bhole shankar bhagwaan
bhole shankar bhagwaan
jai durge de de aaj vardaan
de de ye vardaan
de de vardaan
de de vardaan
Share this:
- Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
- Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
- Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
- Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
- Print (Opens in new window) Print
- Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
- Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
- Share on X (Opens in new window) X
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
Leave a comment