For word meanings and explanatory discussion in English click on the tabs marked “Roman” or “Notes”.
Recitation
وسعتِ کونین میرے دل میں ہے ۔ جگرؔ مرادآبادی
۱
کون یہ جانِ تمنّا عشق کی منزل میں ہے
جو تمنّا دل سے نکلی پھر وہ دیکھا دل میں ہے
۲
وہ کچھ اس صورت سے آئے جلوہ دکھلاتے ہوئے
میں یہ سمجھا وسعتِ کونین میرے دل میں ہے
۳
شائد اُٹھنے ہی کو ہے پردہ رُخِ مقصود سے
آج حاصل کی سی لذّت سعٔیِ لا حاصل میں ہے
۴
اے میں قرباں واہ کیا کہنا ترا اعجازِ عشق
اک سکونِ مستقل بھی اضطرابِ دل میں ہے
۵
اس شہیدِ ناز کے کیا خوں بہا کا پوچھنا
جس کی رودادِ مکمل دامنِ قاتل میں ہے
۶
اُٹھ گیا آخر محبت کا بھی پردہ اُٹھ گیا
اب نہ میرے دل میں حسرت ہے نہ اُن کے دل میں ہے
۷
کیا کہیں خونِ دو عالم سے بھی اب بجھتی ہے پیاس
خونِ بسمل کی حرارت خنجرِ قاتل میں ہے
۸
میں ہوا جب سے غریقِ موجِ طوفاں خیزِ عشق
ڈوب مرنے کی تمنّا سینہ ساحل میں ہے
۹
دیکھئے کرتی ہے کیا کیا اُن کی نظروں میں حقیر
یہ جو ظالم اک لہو کی بوند اب تک دِل میں ہے
۱۰
بیخودی منزل سے بھی کوسوں نکل آئی جگرؔ
جستجو آوارہ اب تک جادۂ منزل میں ہے
वुस’अत-ए कौनैन मेरे दिल में है – जिगर मुरादाबादी
१
कौन ये जान-ए तमन्ना इश्क़ की मंज़िल में है
जो तमन्ना दिल से निकली फिर वो देखा दिल में है
२
वो कुछ इस सूरत से आए जल्वा दिखलाते हुए
मैं ये समझा वुस’अत-ए कौनैन मेरे दिल में है
३
शा’एद उठने ही को है परदा रुख़-ए मक़्सूद से
आज हासिल की सि लज़्ज़त सई-ए ला-हासिल में है
४
अए मैं क़ुर्बां वाह क्या कहना तेरा एजाज़-ए इश्क़
एक सुकून-ए मुस्तक़िल भी इज़्तेराब-ए दिल में है
५
उस शहीद-ए नाज़ के क्या ख़ूं-बहा का पूछना
जिस की रूदाद-ए मुकम्मल दामन-ए क़ातिल में है
६
उठ गया आख़िर मोहब्बत का भी परदा उठ गया
अब न मेरे दिल में हसरत है न उन के दिल में है
७
क्या कहीं ख़ून-ए दो-आलम से भी अब बुझती है प्यास
ख़ून-ए बिस्मिल की हरारत ख़ंजर-ए क़ातिल में है
८
मैं हुआ जब से ग़रीक़-ए मौज-ए तुफ़ां-ख़ेज़-ए इश्क़
डूब मरने की तमन्ना सीना-ए साहिल में है
९
देखिये करती है क्या क्या उन की नज़्रौं में हक़ीर
ये जो ज़ालिम एक लहू की बूंद अब तक दिल में है
१०
बेख़ुदी मंज़िल से भी कोसौं निकल आई जिगर
जुस्तजू आवारा अब तक जादा-ए मंज़िल में है
Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. jigar muradabadi (1890-1961) was a profilic poet of sufiyaana, romantic and musical Ghazal. Many of his compositions have been put to music and sung by great singers. This is one of his several Ghazal in the zamin of Ghalib and is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam. I wish to acknowledge the help I received in interpreting some ash’aar in this Ghazal. Thanks mahmood.
1
kaun ye jaan-e-tamanna1 ishq ki manzil2 meN hai
jo tamanna dil se nikli3 phir vo dekha dil meN hai 1.soul of desire 2.goal 3.tamanna nikalna can mean desire fulfilled
Who is this ‘soul of desire’ who is the goal of my love? The beloved is the soul of desire and the question implies a wonder/amazement at her ability to generate desires. As soon as one desire is fulfilled, when he looks into his heart, he finds another desire lurking there. Said Ghalib …
hazaaroN KhwaahisheN aise keh har Khwaahish pe dam nikle
bahut nikle mere armaan laikin phir bhi kam nikle
2
vo kuchh is soorat1 se aaye jalva2 dikhlaate hue
maiN ye samjha vus’at3-e kaunain4 meray dil meN hai 1.way, style 2.image, beauty, glory 3.expanse 4.both worlds, here and hereafter
She arrived displaying her beauty with such glory that I thought the whole expanse of both worlds was gathered in my heart.
3
shaa’ed1 uThne hii ko hai parda ruKh2-e maqsood3 se
aaj haasil4 ki si lazzat5 saii6-e laa-haasil7 meN hai 1.perhaps 2.face 3.purpose, goal (of desire) 4.gain, outcome 5.pleasure 6.effort, endeavour 7.without result, ineffective, fruitless
The poet/lover constantly tries to catch a glimpse of the beloved with no success. But for some reason, this day he feels the pleasure of achievement in an otherwise fruitless endeavour. He muses, perhaps the veil is about to come off the face of the object of his desire.
4
aye maiN qurbaaN1 vaah kya kahna tera e’jaaz2-e ishq
ek sukoon3-e mustaqil4 bhi izteraab5-e dil meN hai 1.offering of devotion/tribute 2.miracle 3.tranquility 4.permanent 5.restlessness
The poet/lover’s heart is restless for union with the beloved. Juxtaposed with this restlessness he feels a lasting tranquility and considers this to be a miracle of the sincerity of his love. Thus, he offers tribute to his own feelings. But then ‘t era e’jaaz-e ishq’ can mean that the poet is addressing himself and the miracle of the sincerity of his own love or he may be addressing the beloved and saying that love for her is so sublime that it performs miracles. In the latter interpretation, he is offering tribute to the beloved. The beloved may be the divine.
5
us shahiid1-e naaz2 ke kya KhooN-baha3 ka poochhna
jis ki roodaad4-e mukammal5 daaman6-e qaatil7 meN hai 1.martyr 2.coquetry 3.blood money, compensation 4.story 5.complete 6.hem of the robe 7.killer, beloved
The poet/lover is ‘shahiid-e naaz’ – martyred by the coquetry of the beloved. How can you ask for blood money for this martyr. His complete story is gathered in the hem of the robe of the killer/beloved. To have something gathered in the hem of the robe is to have complete possession of it. Thus, if the killer/beloved herself owns the story, who can bear witness to the killing/martyrdom and how can you ask for blood-money in compensation. Said sudarshan faakir ….
mera qaatil hi mera munsif hai
kya meray haq meN faisla dega
6
uTh gaya aaKhir1 mohabbat ka bhi parda uTh gaya
ab na mere dil meN hasrat2 hai na un ke dil meN hai 1.at last 2.longing
At last, the veil has been lifted from love. Now there is no longing left in my heart nor in hers. There is so much ambiguity here that many or even no interpretation is possible. ‘parda uTh jaana’ is to lay bare – to reveal the truth. Thus, at last the truth about love has been revealed. Is he talking about the insincerity of the beloved’s feelings towards him or of general declarations of love. But it seems that the picture that emerged from behind the veil is not very encouraging. He has lost all longing. This could be because of hopelessness. ‘na un ke dil meN hai’ – who is the ‘un’ – the beloved, or all other lovers, because the beloved’s insincerity has been revealed.
7
kya kahiiN Khoon-e do-aalam1 se bhi ab bujhti hai pyaas
Khoon-e bismil2 ki haraarat3 Khanjar4-e qaatil5 meN hai 1.two worlds, universe 2.sacrificial animal 3.warmth, enthusiasm, ardour 4.dagger, knife 5.killer, beloved
In poetic convention the beloved is known to be cruel and to slaughter her lovers (who in turn consider it an honour to be slaughtered at her hands). Is the thirst of her dagger ever slaked by the blood of all creatures in the worlds. The implication is that it is not. That is because ‘Khoon-e bismil ki haraarat Khanjar-e qaatil meN hai’. ‘Khoon-e bismil’ – the blood of the prey (lover) is warm with ardour/passion. This passion is transferred to the ‘Khanjar-e qaatil’. This passion is so strong that it is not going to stop at anything. Even slaughtering all creatures of both worlds is not going to slake its thirst.
8
maiN hua jab se Ghariiq1-e mauj2-e toofaaN-Khez3-e ishq
Doob marne ki tamanna4 siina-e-saahil5 meN hai 1.drowned 2.wave 3.storm-raising 4.desire 5.bosom of the shore
Ever since the poet has been drowned in the waves of storm-raising love, he has created an envy in the ‘siina-e saahil’. Now it too has the desire to drown itself, because it also, like the poet wants to be drowned in the ‘mauj-e toofaaN-Khez-e ishq’. Thus, the poet’s love is so perfect that the saahil wants to emulate it. That is why waves keep crashing on the shore.
9
dekhiye karti hai kya kya un ki nazroN1 meN haqiir2
ye jo zaalim3 ek lahu4 ki boond5 ab tak dil meN hai 1.eyes 2.base, contemptible, rejected 3.torturer, beloved 4.blood 5.drop
The lover cries tears of blood until all blood is drained out of his heart. This is considered to be a mark of honour. If you fail this criterion you are considered not to be a true/sincere lover. There is this one little drop of blood still left in his heart. If the beloved were to find this out, she might consider him contemptible and base.
10
beKhudi1 manzil2 se bhi kosoN3 nikal4 aaii jigar5
justaju6 aavaara7 ab tak jaada8-e manzil2 meN hai 1.trance, unaware of self by merging the self in the universal 2.destination 3.miles 4.nikal aaii is an expression meaning gone past 5.pen-name of the poet 6.search for knowledge 7.wander 8.path
beKhudi here is a sufiyaana concept where one forgets/becomes unaware of one’s own identity/ego and merge it with that of the universal. Thus, O jigar, beKhudi has not only reached its goal it has gone miles past the goal and ‘search of knowledge’ is still wandering in the path towards its goal. This is akin to iqbal …
be-Khatar kood paRa aatish-e namrood meN ishq
aql hai mahv-e tamaasha-e lab-e baam abhi
jigar muradabadi (1890-1961) was a profilic poet of sufiyaana, romantic and musical Ghazal. Many of his compositions have been put to music and sung by great singers. This is one of his several Ghazal in the zamin of Ghalib and is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam. I wish to acknowledge the help I received in interpreting some ash’aar in this Ghazal. Thanks mahmood.
1
kaun ye jaan-e-tamanna1 ishq ki manzil2 meN hai
jo tamanna dil se nikli3 phir vo dekha dil meN hai
1.soul of desire 2.goal 3.tamanna nikalna can mean desire fulfilled
Who is this ‘soul of desire’ who is the goal of my love? The beloved is the soul of desire and the question implies a wonder/amazement at her ability to generate desires. As soon as one desire is fulfilled, when he looks into his heart, he finds another desire lurking there. Said Ghalib …
hazaaroN KhwaahisheN aise keh har Khwaahish pe dam nikle
bahut nikle mere armaan laikin phir bhi kam nikle
2
vo kuchh is soorat1 se aaye jalva2 dikhlaate hue
maiN ye samjha vus’at3-e kaunain4 meray dil meN hai
1.way, style 2.image, beauty, glory 3.expanse 4.both worlds, here and hereafter
She arrived displaying her beauty with such glory that I thought the whole expanse of both worlds was gathered in my heart.
3
shaa’ed1 uThne hii ko hai parda ruKh2-e maqsood3 se
aaj haasil4 ki si lazzat5 saii6-e laa-haasil7 meN hai
1.perhaps 2.face 3.purpose, goal (of desire) 4.gain, outcome 5.pleasure 6.effort, endeavour 7.without result, ineffective, fruitless
The poet/lover constantly tries to catch a glimpse of the beloved with no success. But for some reason, this day he feels the pleasure of achievement in an otherwise fruitless endeavour. He muses, perhaps the veil is about to come off the face of the object of his desire.
4
aye maiN qurbaaN1 vaah kya kahna tera e’jaaz2-e ishq
ek sukoon3-e mustaqil4 bhi izteraab5-e dil meN hai
1.offering of devotion/tribute 2.miracle 3.tranquility 4.permanent 5.restlessness
The poet/lover’s heart is restless for union with the beloved. Juxtaposed with this restlessness he feels a lasting tranquility and considers this to be a miracle of the sincerity of his love. Thus, he offers tribute to his own feelings. But then ‘t era e’jaaz-e ishq’ can mean that the poet is addressing himself and the miracle of the sincerity of his own love or he may be addressing the beloved and saying that love for her is so sublime that it performs miracles. In the latter interpretation, he is offering tribute to the beloved. The beloved may be the divine.
5
us shahiid1-e naaz2 ke kya KhooN-baha3 ka poochhna
jis ki roodaad4-e mukammal5 daaman6-e qaatil7 meN hai
1.martyr 2.coquetry 3.blood money, compensation 4.story 5.complete 6.hem of the robe 7.killer, beloved
The poet/lover is ‘shahiid-e naaz’ – martyred by the coquetry of the beloved. How can you ask for blood money for this martyr. His complete story is gathered in the hem of the robe of the killer/beloved. To have something gathered in the hem of the robe is to have complete possession of it. Thus, if the killer/beloved herself owns the story, who can bear witness to the killing/martyrdom and how can you ask for blood-money in compensation. Said sudarshan faakir ….
mera qaatil hi mera munsif hai
kya meray haq meN faisla dega
6
uTh gaya aaKhir1 mohabbat ka bhi parda uTh gaya
ab na mere dil meN hasrat2 hai na un ke dil meN hai
1.at last 2.longing
At last, the veil has been lifted from love. Now there is no longing left in my heart nor in hers. There is so much ambiguity here that many or even no interpretation is possible. ‘parda uTh jaana’ is to lay bare – to reveal the truth. Thus, at last the truth about love has been revealed. Is he talking about the insincerity of the beloved’s feelings towards him or of general declarations of love. But it seems that the picture that emerged from behind the veil is not very encouraging. He has lost all longing. This could be because of hopelessness. ‘na un ke dil meN hai’ – who is the ‘un’ – the beloved, or all other lovers, because the beloved’s insincerity has been revealed.
7
kya kahiiN Khoon-e do-aalam1 se bhi ab bujhti hai pyaas
Khoon-e bismil2 ki haraarat3 Khanjar4-e qaatil5 meN hai
1.two worlds, universe 2.sacrificial animal 3.warmth, enthusiasm, ardour 4.dagger, knife 5.killer, beloved
In poetic convention the beloved is known to be cruel and to slaughter her lovers (who in turn consider it an honour to be slaughtered at her hands). Is the thirst of her dagger ever slaked by the blood of all creatures in the worlds. The implication is that it is not. That is because ‘Khoon-e bismil ki haraarat Khanjar-e qaatil meN hai’. ‘Khoon-e bismil’ – the blood of the prey (lover) is warm with ardour/passion. This passion is transferred to the ‘Khanjar-e qaatil’. This passion is so strong that it is not going to stop at anything. Even slaughtering all creatures of both worlds is not going to slake its thirst.
8
maiN hua jab se Ghariiq1-e mauj2-e toofaaN-Khez3-e ishq
Doob marne ki tamanna4 siina-e-saahil5 meN hai
1.drowned 2.wave 3.storm-raising 4.desire 5.bosom of the shore
Ever since the poet has been drowned in the waves of storm-raising love, he has created an envy in the ‘siina-e saahil’. Now it too has the desire to drown itself, because it also, like the poet wants to be drowned in the ‘mauj-e toofaaN-Khez-e ishq’. Thus, the poet’s love is so perfect that the saahil wants to emulate it. That is why waves keep crashing on the shore.
9
dekhiye karti hai kya kya un ki nazroN1 meN haqiir2
ye jo zaalim3 ek lahu4 ki boond5 ab tak dil meN hai
1.eyes 2.base, contemptible, rejected 3.torturer, beloved 4.blood 5.drop
The lover cries tears of blood until all blood is drained out of his heart. This is considered to be a mark of honour. If you fail this criterion you are considered not to be a true/sincere lover. There is this one little drop of blood still left in his heart. If the beloved were to find this out, she might consider him contemptible and base.
10
beKhudi1 manzil2 se bhi kosoN3 nikal4 aaii jigar5
justaju6 aavaara7 ab tak jaada8-e manzil2 meN hai
1.trance, unaware of self by merging the self in the universal 2.destination 3.miles 4.nikal aaii is an expression meaning gone past 5.pen-name of the poet 6.search for knowledge 7.wander 8.path
beKhudi here is a sufiyaana concept where one forgets/becomes unaware of one’s own identity/ego and merge it with that of the universal. Thus, O jigar, beKhudi has not only reached its goal it has gone miles past the goal and ‘search of knowledge’ is still wandering in the path towards its goal. This is akin to iqbal …
be-Khatar kood paRa aatish-e namrood meN ishq
aql hai mahv-e tamaasha-e lab-e baam abhi
