Poet
Khwaja Mir Dard
Pen Name(s)
Dard
Translation in Rhyme
In heaven and earth so far and so wide,
Your essence so vast, only my heart can abide.
Unity, untouched by dual strife,
No mirror reflects You larger than life.
In prostration’s immortal embrace,
I’m lifted not by worldly trace.
Oh courier, this task not thine,
The heart alone can bear His sign.
Oblivious soul, remember the Lord,
Forget if you must, your own accord.
Oh Lord, what magic is that the comprehension,
Runs away from itself in without extension.
Debate may win, yet what’s the gain,
This fire quenched not by water’s rain.
Intoxicated in love, comes forth on doomsday,
Dard driven by desire, and no other way.
Translation in Prose
The heavens and the earth could not encompass Your Being,
It is only in my heart, wherein You can find abode.1
Your Unity cannot be subjected to criticism of duality,
How dare any mirror show Your countenance.2
I am in such immortal state of prostration,
None can lift me akin to footsteps on track.3
Courier, this is not your duty, go your own way,
No one can deliver His message other than the heart itself.4
Oblivious one, do not forget to remember the Merciful Lord,
Forget your own self if you must.5
Oh Lord, what magic is this that comprehension and wisdom herein,
Run from themselves a thousand times but cannot escape.6
Even if you win the argument through debate, what do you gain,
This is not the fire that can be extinguished through water.7
One intoxicated with love is a drunkard who on doomsday,
Oh Dard desire brings, the self cannot bring.8
Transliteration
arz-o-samā kahāṇ terī vus.at ko pā sake,
merā hī dil hai vo ki jahāṇ tū samā sake.
vahdat meṇ terī harf duī kā na ā sake,
ā.īna kyā majāl tujhe muṇ dikhā sake.
maiṇ vo fatāda hūṇ ke baġhair-az-fanā mujhe,
naqsh-e-qadam kī tarah na koī uthā sake.
qāsid nahīṇ ye kām terā apnī rāh le,
us kā payām dil ke sivā kaun lā sake.
ghāfil ḳhudā kī yād pe mat bhūl zīnhār,
apne ta.īṇ bhulā de agar tū bhulā sake.
yā rab ye kyā talism hai idrāk-o-fahm yaaṇ,
dauḍe hazār aap se bāhar na jā sake.
go bahs kar ke baat bhi Thā.ī bhī kyā husūl,
dil se uThā ġhilāf agar thū uThā sake.
itfā-e-nār-e-ishq na ho āb-e-ashk se,
ye aag vo nahīñ jise pānī bujhā sake.
mast-e-sharāb-e-ishq vo be-khud hai jis ko hashr,
ai ‘dard’ chāhe lā.e ba-ḳhud par na lā sake.