‘naya shivala’ was first published in March 1905, in a Lahore magazine called “maKhzan” and also in December 1913 in a Hyderabadi magazine called “shahed-e suKhan”.   During this phase iqbal wrote of universal love with sufi, vedantic and nationalist overtones. iqbal had deep familial/ancestral roots in Kashmiri Saivite Brahminism and has written about it with pride.  The title of this nazm, his translation of gaytri mantr, his ode to swami ramtirth, the description of his encounter with shiva during his imaginary celestial travels, ‘javed naama’ and his many nationalist nazms are all indications of these tendencies. This early phase is in sharp contrast to his later reactionary phase of pan-Islamism and strident religiosity during which he wrote “shikwa”.

It is interesting that in ‘naya shivala’, iqbal identifies religion as the source of evil, caste system and “juNg o jadal”. He identifies the sense of superiority and exclusiveness in religion as the source of discrimination in the caste system of Hinduism and aggressiveness in Islam. iqbal seems to be willing to accept nationalism-patriotism as a force equivalent to “faith” and in fact is declaring his preference for it.

By the time, in 1924, he compiled his early works and published “baaNg-e dara” he was well into his reacationary phase and was also keenly aware of the heavy criticism he had received for ‘naya shivala’ and other similar works.  He edited the 1905 version of ‘naya shivala’ heavily, taking out a lot of the verses with very explicit Hindu imagery.  The edited version is posted as ‘naya shivala 1924’.

naya shivala – mohammed iqbal

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sach kah duN aye brahman, gar¹ tu bura na mane
tere sanam kadoN² ke but³ ho gaye puraane
apnoN se bair⁴ rakhna tu ne butoN se seekha
jung o jadal⁵ sikhaya vaa’ez⁶ ko bhi Khuda ne1. “agar”, if 2. idol houses, temples 3. idols 4. malice, hostility 5. war and conflict 6. Muslim preacher
I will speak frankly, O Brahmin, if you don’t take offence. The idols in your temples have become irrelevant. You have learnt from the idols, contempt for your own people, and god has taught war and conflict to the Muslim preacher.

tang aake maiN ne aaKhir daer o haram⁷ ko chhoRa
vaa’ez ka va’az⁸ chhoRa, chhoRe tere fasane⁹
pathhar ki mooraton¹⁰ men samjha hai tu Khuda hai
khaak¹¹ e vatan ka mujhko har zarra¹² devta hai7. temple and mosque 8. sermon 9. fables 10. “moorti”, idol 11. dust 12. particle
Finally, in disgust, I leave temple and mosque. I reject the sermon of the preacher and discard your fables (O, Brahmin). You think that there is god in these stone idols. I think every particle of dust of my country is god.

aa, Ghairiyat¹ ke parde ek baar phir uTha deN
bichhRoN ko phir mila deN, naqsh e doee² miTa deN
sooni³ paRi hui hai, muddat⁴ se dil ki basti
aa, ek naya shivala is des meN bana deN1. separateness, otherness 2. signs of duality i.e. separateness 3. desolate 4. long time
Come, let us remove the curtain of separation. Re-join the separated and remove all signs of duality. The “curtain of separation” to be removed is the one between Hindu and Muslim. The duality to be erases is also the same duality. For too long now my heart has been forlorn. Come let us build a new shivalay in this country.

duniya ke teerathoN⁵ se ooNcha ho apna teerath
daamaan e aasmaN⁶ se iska kalas⁷ mila deN
har subh uTh ke gaayeN mantar⁸ vo meeThe meeThe
saare pujariyoN ko mai⁹ peet¹⁰ ki pila deN5. place of pilgrimage 6. apron/hem of the sky, horizon 7. spire 8. hymns 9. wine 10. “preet”, love
May our temple be higher than any in the world. Let us raise its spire to kiss the sky, sing sweet hymns every morning so that all devotees may become inebriated with love.

shakti bhi shanti bhi bhaktoN ke geet meN hai
dharti ke baasiyoN ki mukti¹¹ bhi preet meN hai11. deliverance (from the cycle of birth-death)
Peace and strength come from the songs of the devotees. Deliverance of the people of this world is in love alone.