Couplets › The Falcon
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 — 'Shaheen' · originally composed in Urdu
kar
ka hai ek
ka hai ek
“To swoop, to wheel away, and to swoop once more — it is only a pretext for keeping the blood warm.”
Romanहिन्दीاردو
पलट कर
लहू रखने का है इक
लहू रखने का है इक
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
جھپٹنا، پلٹنا، پلٹ کر جھپٹنا
لہو گرم رکھنے کا ہے اک بہانہ
لہو گرم رکھنے کا ہے اک بہانہ
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
Iqbal watches the falcon's restless hunting and reads its real purpose. The endless swooping is not only about the prey; it is how the falcon keeps its own blood hot, its spirit alive. Activity, for Iqbal, is partly an end in itself — the body and will stay vital only by being used.
For You, Today
Some of your striving is not about the prize at all — it is how you stay alive inside. Iqbal would not call restless effort a problem; he would call it the heat that keeps you from going cold.
In the same spirit
Sitaron se aage jahan aur bhi hain
Abhi ishq ke imtihan aur bhi hain
Abhi ishq ke imtihan aur bhi hain
Beyond the stars there are worlds yet — there are still more trials of love to come.
Aspiration · Love · Restlessness
Nahin tera nasheman qasr-e-sultani ke gumbad par
Tu shaheen hai, basera kar paharon ki chattanon mein
Tu shaheen hai, basera kar paharon ki chattanon mein
Your nest is not on the dome of a royal palace. You are a falcon — make your dwelling on the rocks of the mountains.
The Falcon · Freedom · Courage
Ho mere dam se yunhi mere watan ki zeenat
Jis tarah phool se hoti hai chaman ki zeenat
Jis tarah phool se hoti hai chaman ki zeenat
Let my country be adorned by me, as a garden is adorned by its flowers.
Aspiration · Youth · Action