Om Jai Jagdish Hare

"Om Jai Jagdish Hare" is the aarti most often sung in Hindu homes and temples in India and abroad. It is addressed to Jagdish, "lord of the world", a name of Vishnu, though people sing it to many deities. It was written by Pandit Shardha Ram Phillauri (1837 to 1881), a writer, astrologer and Sanatan Dharma preacher from Phillaur in Punjab, who is said to have composed it in about 1870.

How it spread

Shardha Ram Phillauri was a popular speaker and writer in Punjab, and the aarti spread quickly through his public talks and then through printed aarti books. Within a few decades it was sung all over north India, and it was recorded many times in the twentieth century.

The shape of the song

The aarti has a refrain that repeats after each verse, with the first line giving the aarti its name. The verses speak of the devotee's troubles being removed, of the lord as mother, father and friend, and of the grace of the deity. The tune is simple and can be sung by a whole room together, which has a large part in its popularity.

The text

The author died in 1881, so the work is in the public domain, but we did not find a reliable text edition to read, and we do not print the words from memory. Use a printed aarti book. See how to do aarti.

This page describes common practice in plain words. Families and temples differ, and your own tradition comes first. We do not print the words of the aartis and chalisas here; use a printed book from your family or temple for the exact text.