خودی ہو زندہ تو ہے فقر بھی شہنشاہی
نہیں ہے سَنجر و طغرل سے کم شکوہِ فقیر
Khudi ho zinda to hai faqr bhi shahanshahi
Nahin hai Sanjar o Tughral se kam shukoh-e-faqir
خودی ہو زندہ تو دریائے بے کراں پایاب
خودی ہو زندہ تو کُہسار پرنیان و حریر
Khudi ho zinda to darya-e-be-karan payab
Khudi ho zinda to kohsar parniyan o harir
نِہنگِ زندہ ہے اپنے مُحیط میں آزاد
نِہنگِ مُردہ کو موجِ سراب بھی زنجیر!
Nihang-e-zinda hai apne muhit mein azad
Nihang-e-murda ko mauj-e-sarab bhi zanjir!
Source: Zarb-e-Kalim (1936) — section Taleem-o-Tarbiyat, nazm
Spotted a mistake in the text? Tell us — every poem is checked against its source. Rights holder? Request removal.
Three couplets on what a living self makes possible. When the self is alive, even poverty is kingship and a faqir's dignity matches that of great sultans; a boundless river becomes shallow and mountains turn to silk. A living crocodile is free in its ocean, while for a dead one even a mirage's wave is a chain.
Short quotes only (up to characters): the book stays the author’s. Line breaks are kept — good for couplets.
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