Which of the following books portrays three images of the Mother Goddess : "Mother as she was", "Mother as she is" and "Mother as she will be"?
- A.Durgeshnandini
- B.Kapalkundala
- C.Anandamath
- D.Devi Chaudhurani
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Anandamath. In Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's Bengali novel Anandamath (1882), the monk-rebels are shown three images of the Mother Goddess standing for the motherland: as she was, as she is and as she will be.
The novel is set against the Sannyasi rebellion and the Bengal famine of 1770. In a temple, the hero is shown the Mother as she was, splendid and rich; the Mother as she is, as the dark goddess Kali, ruined and stripped bare; and the Mother as she will be, as the radiant ten-armed goddess Durga, restored to glory. The song Vande Mataram, which became the National Song of India, appears in this novel and made it a source of inspiration for the freedom movement.
Option A is wrong because Durgeshnandini (1865), Bankim's first Bengali novel, is a historical romance set in Mughal-Pathan times. Option B is wrong because Kapalkundala is a romantic tale of a girl raised by a Kapalika ascetic. Option D is wrong because Devi Chaudhurani is about a woman who becomes a rebel leader, not the three images.
Exam tip: Anandamath (1882), Bankim Chandra, Vande Mataram, Sannyasi rebellion.
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