Ambe Tu Hai Jagdambe Kali

This is a modern devotional aarti in simple, heartfelt Hindi. Drik Panchang calls it the most famous aarti of Maa Durga, sung on most occasions connected with the Goddess. The text below follows Drik Panchang and is identical, line for line, with the text printed by Amar Ujala in 2025. It has also been compared with Bhakti Bharat, whose version differs slightly (see below). One obvious typing error ('सिहों' for 'सिंहों') has been corrected; otherwise the spelling of the source is kept. Each stanza is given in two parts: the rhyming couplet, then the closing lines that lead into the refrain.

The aarti opens with this refrain, and its last line, 'O maiyā ham sab utāre terī āratī', returns after every stanza. Many people repeat the whole refrain between stanzas.

When her devotees are in danger, the Mother is called to ride out on her lion against the forces of evil.

The best-known lines of the aarti: whatever her children are like, a mother is never unkind.

A prayer that asks for nothing material, only nearness to the Mother.

The devotees, aarti thali in hand, ask for her blessing and for hearts filled with devotion.

The aarti's author is not named in the text, and it is not found in older classical collections. In June 2025 Amar Ujala reported a claim by poets and writers of Hathras (Uttar Pradesh) that it was written about fifty years earlier by the late Rajendra Kumar Sharma, known as 'Rajjo Guru', who lived in the town's Seekna Pan Gali. They asked local officials to help secure recognition for him, and the paper notes that the claim was to be put to public notice before any further steps. The same report says the aarti became widely known through singer Anuradha Paudwal's rendition, which Bhakti Bharat also cites. Until the claim is examined further, the authorship is best described as uncertain.

Versions differ a little. Bhakti Bharat omits the stanza 'Tere bhakt jano par…', marks 'Charan sharan mein…' as an addition, and reads 'utarein' for 'utare' and 'ham to mange maa tere man mein ik chhota sa kona' (a small corner in your heart) for 'tere charanon mein' (at your feet).

The aarti joins two faces of the Goddess. In the refrain and first stanza she is Kali and Durga the warrior, holding the khappar (skull-bowl), eight-armed, stronger than a hundred lions, riding her lion against the demon hosts when her devotees are in danger. From the second stanza she is above all Mother. The famous lines 'pūt-kapūt sune hai par nā mātā sunī kumātā' echo the old Sanskrit saying 'kuputro jāyeta kvacid api kumātā na bhavati' from Adi Shankaracharya's Devi Aparadha Kshamapana Stotra: a child may go astray, but a mother never turns against her child. The third stanza is a model of selfless prayer, asking for no silver or gold, only a small place at her feet. The last stanza brings the worshippers before her with their puja thali, asking for her blessing hand and a cup filled with devotion.

The aarti is sung morning and evening throughout both Navratris (Chaitra and Sharad), at Durga Puja, at night-long jagratas and Mata ki Chowki gatherings, and on Fridays and Tuesdays, days traditionally associated with the Goddess.

1. Prepare a thali with a ghee lamp or camphor, red flowers, kumkum, incense and an offering such as halwa, chana or fruits. 2. Light the lamp, ring the bell and wave it clockwise before the Goddess while singing. 3. Sing the refrain, then each stanza, returning to 'O maiyā ham sab utāre terī āratī' after each. 4. Offer the lamp to everyone present, then offer the bhog and distribute prasad.

It is usually sung once in full, often followed by 'Jai Ambe Gauri', the older Durga aarti.

The aarti itself names the gifts devotees seek from the Mother: protection in crisis, relief for the suffering, the setting right of what has gone wrong, protection of honour, and above all devotion. Devotees believe that singing it with love, especially during Navratri, brings the Goddess's grace and courage in difficult times. These are expressions of faith, and for many families the aarti is simply the sound of Navratri at home.