"Shriman Gambhir" (, ), formally known as "Rastriya Gaan" (, , literally meaning "national song") was the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

of the Kingdom of Nepal from 1962 to 19 May 2006, when the political parties prepared to abolish the monarchy. In English, it may be glossed as "May Glory Crown You, Courageous Sovereign" or "May Glory Crown Our Illustrious Sovereign".

History

The music was composed by Bakhat Bahadur Budhapirthi (grandfather of musician Louis Banks) in 1899, and the lyrics were written by

Chakrapani Chalise Chakrapani Chalise ( ne, चक्रपाणि चालिसे) was a Nepalese poet. He wrote the words of the first national anthem of Nepal in 1924 AD to the music composed by Bakhat Bahadur Budhapirthi in 1899 AD (grandfather of musician ...

in 1924. It was adopted as the country's national anthem in 1962, as a homage to the Nepalese sovereign. The song originally had two stanzas, but the Nepalese government dropped the second stanza upon adopting the song as the national anthem. The stanza that was retained honoured the king.

Replacement

Following the

2006 democracy movement in Nepal The 2006 Democracy Movement ( ne, text=लोकतन्त्र आन्दोलन, translit=Loktantra Āndolan) is a name given to the political agitations against the direct and undemocratic rule of King Gyanendra of Nepal. The movement ...

, "Rastriya Gaan" was discontinued by order of the interim legislature of Nepal in August 2007, after it was seen as merely glorifying the monarchy instead of representing the nation as a whole. It was then replaced by the current national anthem, "

Sayaun Thunga Phulka "", or "" ( ne, सयौँ थुँगा फूलका, ; "Made of Hundreds of Flowers"), is the national anthem of Nepal. It was officially adopted as the anthem on 3 August 2007 during a ceremony held at the conference hall of National P ...

Full Version (with second verse)

The second verse of the song largely remained unknown to most people. On 10 January 2019, a

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel, Classic Reignite, released a re-recorded and rendered version of the anthem with its second verse. The first four-bar of the song features a regal orchestral introduction which is soon followed by a choir singing. It was dropped in the version which became the national anthem.

Lyrics

Official lyrics

Second verse

When officially adopted, the government of Nepal dropped the second verse of the song.

References

{{Authority control Historical national anthems Nepalese songs Royal anthems Asian anthems Nepalese monarchy Kingdom of Nepal 1962 establishments in Nepal 2006 disestablishments in Nepal Nepali-language songs