An aarti is a song of praise sung while a lit lamp is waved before a deity. Om Jai Jagdish Hare is the aarti most people in the Hindi-speaking world learn first. It closes the puja in countless homes, and many families sing it whatever deity they have just worshipped. The title calls on Jagdish, the Lord of the world (jagat is world, ish is lord), and Hare, a form of Hari, a name of Vishnu.
Tradition credits the song to Pandit Shardha Ram Phillauri, a nineteenth-century religious teacher and writer from Phillaur in Punjab, and the usual date given is 1870. That date and name come from the publishers and tradition rather than from a manuscript we can show, so treat both as the accepted attribution and not as a proven record. The words are in plain Hindi with a little Braj flavour, which is part of why children and elders can sing it together.
The text, transliteration and meaning
The aarti is built from eight couplets. In singing, each couplet is stretched out: the second half of a line is usually repeated, a word such as swami is added, and the refrain Om jai jagdish hare follows. Because those habits vary from home to home, the page shows each couplet once, in the plain form on which the sources agree, with the refrain shown separately below.
Verse 1
ॐ जय जगदीश हरे, स्वामी जय जगदीश हरे ।
भक्त जनों के संकट, क्षण में दूर करे ॥
Om jai jagdish hare, swami jai jagdish hare
Bhakt jano ke sankat, kshan mein door kare
MeaningOm, victory to the Lord of the world, to Hari, my master. He removes the troubles of his devotees and servants in a moment.
Verse 2
जो ध्यावे फल पावे, दुख बिनसे मन का ।
सुख सम्पत्ति घर आवे, कष्ट मिटे तन का ॥
Jo dhyave phal pave, dukh binse man ka
Sukh sampatti ghar aave, kasht mite tan ka
MeaningThe one who meditates on you receives the fruit of it, and the sorrow of the mind is destroyed. The text adds that comfort and prosperity come to the house and the pain of the body ends. This is the song's own statement of faith.
Verse 3
मात पिता तुम मेरे, शरण गहूं मैं किसकी ।
तुम बिन और न दूजा, आस करूं मैं जिसकी ॥
Maat pita tum mere, sharan gahun main kiski
Tum bin aur na dooja, aas karun main jiski
MeaningYou are my mother and my father, so whose refuge should I take? Without you there is no other, in whom I could place my hope.
Verse 4
तुम पूरण परमात्मा, तुम अन्तर्यामी ।
पारब्रह्म परमेश्वर, तुम सब के स्वामी ॥
Tum puran paramatma, tum antaryami
Parabrahma parameshwar, tum sab ke swami
MeaningYou are the complete Supreme Self and the inner witness who knows every heart. You are Parabrahman, the supreme Lord, the master of all.
Verse 5
तुम करुणा के सागर, तुम पालनकर्ता ।
मैं मूरख खल कामी, कृपा करो भर्ता ॥
Tum karuna ke sagar, tum palankarta
Main moorakh khal kaami, kripa karo bharta
MeaningYou are an ocean of compassion and the sustainer of the world. The singer calls himself foolish, flawed and full of wants, and asks for kindness from the one who supports him.
Verse 6
तुम हो एक अगोचर, सबके प्राणपति ।
किस विधि मिलूं दयामय, तुमको मैं कुमति ॥
Tum ho ek agochar, sabke pranapati
Kis vidhi milun dayamay, tumko main kumati
MeaningYou are the one beyond the reach of the senses, the lord of every life. How can I, of poor understanding, ever meet you, O merciful one?
Verse 7
दीनबन्धु दुखहर्ता, तुम ठाकुर मेरे ।
अपने हाथ उठाओ, द्वार पड़ा तेरे ॥
Deenbandhu dukhharta, tum thakur mere
Apne haath uthao, dwar pada tere
MeaningFriend of the poor and remover of sorrow, you are my lord. Raise your hand to me; I lie at your door.
Verse 8
विषय विकार मिटाओ, पाप हरो देवा ।
श्रद्धा भक्ति बढ़ाओ, सन्तन की सेवा ॥
Vishay vikar mitao, paap haro deva
Shraddha bhakti badhao, santan ki seva
MeaningTake away the faults of sense-attachment and remove sin, O Lord. Increase faith and devotion, and the service of saints.
Refrain after every verse
ॐ जय जगदीश हरे
Om jai jagdish hare
MeaningOm, victory to Hari, the Lord of the world. This line is sung after each couplet, and the first couplet is sung again at the very end.
Text: no edition of this aarti exists on Hindi or Sanskrit Wikisource, so the words were compared across six independent publishers (Bhakti Bharat, Sanskrit Documents, Drik Panchang, Hindi Bhajan Manjari, Tring and Bharat Discovery) with a word-by-word script. Every word shown here is found in the same spelling in at least two of them. Transliteration is simplified; meanings are our own.
Where the versions differ
No two printed versions of this aarti are identical, and it is worth knowing where. The first line is swami jai jagdish hare in most sources and prabhu jai jagdish hare in one. In the fifth couplet the second line reads main moorakh khal kaami (I am foolish, flawed and full of wants) in most of the sources compared, while two read main sevak tum swami (I am the servant, you the master). In the seventh couplet some versions say tum rakshak mere (you are my protector) in place of tum thakur mere, and the next line may read karuna hast badhao (stretch out a kind hand) in place of apne haath uthao.
Several printed versions add more stanzas. One set ends with tan man dhan aur sampatti, sab kuchh hai tera (body, mind, wealth and property, everything is yours) and a closing stanza that names a teacher called Shivananda. Another adds a long run of descriptive couplets in a different style. These extra stanzas were not found in the same words in two independent sources, so they are not printed here. If your family sings them, that is a faithful household tradition, and nothing here asks you to drop it.
Spelling differs too: dukh or duhkh, sampatti or sampati, puran or pooran. Where the sources split, the spelling chosen is the one at least two of them share.
When and how it is traditionally sung
Aarti comes at the end of a puja, after the offerings and prayers. A lamp of ghee or a camphor flame is lit on a plate, and it is waved clockwise before the image while the song is sung, often with a bell and with clapping. Afterwards people pass their palms over the flame and touch them to their eyes, a gesture of receiving the light.
This aarti is sung on many occasions: the morning or evening household prayer, the close of a Satyanarayan puja, festival nights such as Diwali, and community gatherings. Its words are general enough that it is also used after the worship of other deities. Customs differ by region and family, and the tune you grew up with is the right one to use.
What the text itself says and claims
The aarti is a song of surrender more than of petition. Its central picture is of a devotee who has nowhere else to go: the Lord is mother, father, friend, protector and the only hope. The second couplet makes a promise in its own voice, that meditation brings the fruit and removes sorrow, and the last lines ask for faith and for the company of saints. These are the song’s own statements of faith. This page does not present them as a guarantee of any result, and a prayer sits beside practical help for hard situations, never in place of it.
The song names no sect. Its address is to a Lord who is all-knowing, merciful and beyond the senses, which is why people of different Hindu traditions sing it.
Pronunciation notes
Say each syllable evenly. Jagdish is “jag-deesh”, with a short first vowel and a long second one. Hare is “ha-ray”. Swami is “swaa-mee”. The dh in dhyave is a breathy d, and kh in dukh is a breathy k. Words ending in n with a dot, such as gahun, carry a soft nasal sound.
Related mantras and pages
- Shiv Aarti, Om Jai Gangadhar Har: another aarti sung at the close of a puja
- Satyanarayan Puja: a Vishnu puja that ends with aarti
- Diwali Lakshmi Puja: the evening puja where aartis are sung
- Achyutashtakam: eight verses in praise of Vishnu
- Ekadashi: the fasting day many Vishnu devotees keep
- All mantras, stotras, chalisas and aartis
Frequently asked questions
↳ Who wrote Om Jai Jagdish Hare?
Tradition credits Pandit Shardha Ram Phillauri, who is usually dated to about 1870. That attribution comes from publishers and tradition, so it is best held as the accepted account and not as a proven fact.
↳ Which deity is Om Jai Jagdish Hare addressed to?
The name Jagdish means Lord of the world, and Hare is a form of Hari, a name of Vishnu. In practice many families sing it at the end of worship of any deity.
↳ Why do the words differ from the version I know?
The aarti has been handed down by singing and printed in many books, so the versions differ in a word or a line, and some add extra stanzas. This page prints only the words found in at least two independent sources.
↳ Is there a verse that names the author?
Some printed versions end with a stanza naming Shivananda, and others do not. Because it was not found in the same words in two independent sources, it is not printed here and the authorship is left to tradition.
↳ When is this aarti sung?
It is sung at the end of puja, in the morning or evening, and on festival nights. There is no single fixed time, and customs differ by region and family.