Amir Khusrow - 3

Hindavi couplets

Khusro dariya prem ka, ulṭī vā kī dhār,

Jo utrā so ḍūb gayā, jo ḍūbā so pār.

Khusro! the river of love has a reverse flow

He who enters will drown; he who drowns will get across.

Sej vo sūnī dekh ke rovun main din rain,

Piyā piyā main karat hūn pahron, pal bhar sukh nā chain.

Seeing the empty bed I cry night and day

Calling for my beloved all day, not a moment's happiness or rest.

Hindavi poems

Chhāp tilak sab chīnī re mose nainā milāike

Bāt atham keh dīnī re mose nainā milāike

Prem bhaṭī kā madvā pilāike

Matvālī kar līnhī re mose nainā milāike

Gorī gorī baīyān, harī harī chuṛiyān

baīyān pakaṛ dhar līnhī re mose nainā milāike

Bal bal jāūn main tore rang rajvā

Apnī sī kar līnhī re mose nainā milāike

Khusro Nijām ke bal bal jaiye

Mohe suhāgan kīnhī re mose nainā milāike

Bāt atham keh dīnī re mose nainā milāike

You've taken away my looks, my identity, by just a glance.

By making me drink the wine from the distillery of love

You've intoxicated me by just a glance;

My fair, delicate wrists with green bangles in them,

Have been held tightly by you with just a glance.

I give my life to you, Oh my cloth-dyer,

You've dyed me in yourself, by just a glance.

I give my whole life to you Oh, Nijam,

You've made me your bride, by just a glance.

Hindavi riddles

 Nar naari kehlaati hai,

 aur bin warsha jal jati hai;

 Purkh say aaway purkh mein jaai,

 na di kisi nay boojh bataai.

Is known by both masculine and feminine names,

And lightens up (or burns up) without rain;

Originates from a man and goes into a man,

But no one has been able to guess what it is.

 Pawan chalat weh dehe badhavay

 Jal peevat weh jeev ganvavay

 Hai weh piyari sundar naar,

 Naar nahin par hai weh naar.

With the blow of wind she flares up,

And dies as soon as she drinks water;

Even though she is a pretty woman,

She’s not a woman, though she’s feminine.

Answers

1. Nadi (Stream) 2. Aag (Fire)

Unique Multi-lingual Poem

Zeehaal-e miskeen makun taghaful,

duraye naina banaye batiyan;

ki taab-e hijran nadaram ay jaan,

na leho kaahe lagaye chhatiyan.

Shaban-e hijran daraz chun zulf

wa roz-e waslat cho umr kotah;

Sakhi piya ko jo main na dekhun

to kaise kaatun andheri ratiyan.

Yakayak az dil do chashm-e jadoo

basad farebam baburd taskin;

Kise pari hai jo jaa sunaave

piyare pi ko hamaari batiyan.

Cho shama sozan cho zarra hairan

hamesha giryan be ishq aan meh;

Na neend naina na ang chaina

Na aap aaven na bhejen patiyan.

Bahaqq-e roz-e wisal-e dilbar

ki daad mara ghareeb Khusrau;

Sapet man ke waraaye raakhun

jo jaaye paaon piya ke khatiyan.

NOTES

The phrase "Zeehaal-e-miskeen" comes from a poem of Amir Khusrau. The unique thing about this poem is that it is a macaronic, written in Persian and Brij Bhasha. In the first verse, the first line is in Persian, the second in Brij Bhasha, the third in Persian again, and the fourth in Brij Bhasha. In the remaining verses, the first two lines are in Persian, the last two in Brij Bhasha. The poem showcases Amir Khusrau's mastery over both languages. The English translation is:

Do not overlook my misery

Blandishing your eyes, and weaving tales;

My patience has over-brimmed, O sweetheart,

Why do you not take me to your bosom?

The nights of separation are long like tresses,

The day of our union is short like life;

When I do not get to see my beloved friend,

How am I to pass the dark nights?

Suddenly, as if the heart, by two enchanting eyes

Is beset by a thousand deceptions and robbed of tranquility;

But who cares enough to go and report

To my darling my state of affairs?

The lamp is aflame; every atom excited

I roam, always, afire with love;

Neither sleep to my eyes, nor peace for my body,

neither comes himself, nor sends any messages

In honour of the day of union with the beloved

who has lured me so long, O Khusrau;

I shall keep my heart suppressed,

if ever I get a chance to get to his place

Works

• Tuhfa-tus-Sighr (Offering of a Minor) his first divan, contains poems composed between the age of 16 and 19

• Wastul-Hayat (The Middle of Life) his second divan, contains poems composed at the peak of his poetic career

• Ghurratul-Kamaal (The Prime of Perfection) poems composed between the age of 34 and 43

• Baqia-Naqia (The Rest/The Miscellany) compiled at the age of 64

• Qissa Chahar Darvesh The Tale of the Four Dervishes

• Nihayatul-Kamaal (The Height of Wonders) compiled probably a few weeks before his death.

• Qiran-us-Sa’dain (Meeting of the Two Auspicious Stars) Mathnavi about the historic meeting of Bughra Khan and his son Kyqbad after long enmity (1289)

• Miftah-ul-Futooh (Key to the Victories) in praise of the victories of Jalaluddin Firuz Khilji (1291)

• Ishqia/Mathnavi Duval Rani-Khizr Khan (Romance of Duval Rani and Khizr Khan) a tragic love poem about Gujarat’s princess Duval and Alauddin’s son Khizr (1316)

• Noh Sepehr Mathnavi. (Mathnavi of the Nine Skies) Khusrau’s perceptions of India and its culture (1318)

• Tarikh-i-Alai ('Times of Alai'- Alauddin Khilji)

• Tughluq Nama (Book of the Tughluqs) in prose (1320)

• Khamsa-e-Nizami (Khamsa-e-Khusrau) five classical romances: Hasht-Bahisht, Matlaul-Anwar, Sheerin-Khusrau, Majnun-Laila and Aaina-Sikandari

• Ejaaz-e-Khusrovi (The Miracles of Khusrau) an assortment of prose compiled by himself

• Khazain-ul-Futooh (The Treasures of Victories) one of his more controversial books, in prose (1311-12)

• Afzal-ul-Fawaid utterances of Nizamuddin Auliya

• Ḳhāliq Bārī a versified glossary of Persian, Arabic, and Hindawi words and phrases attributed to Amir Khusrau, but most probably written in 1622 in Gwalior by Ẓiyā ud-Dīn Ḳhusrau

• Jawahar-e- Khusrovi often dubbed as the Hindawi divan of Khusrau

• Laila Majnu

• Ayina-i-Sikandari

• Mulla-ul-Anwar

• Shrin-wa-Khusrau