Couplets › Freedom
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 · originally composed in Urdu
Tere azad bandon ki na ye duniya na wo duniya
yahan marne ki pabandi wahan jeene ki pabandi
yahan marne ki pabandi wahan jeene ki pabandi
“Neither this world nor that one truly belongs to your free spirits — here there are restrictions on dying, there restrictions on living.”
Romanहिन्दी
तेरे आज़ाद बंदों की न ये दुनिया न वो दुनिया
यहाँ मरने की पाबंदी वहाँ जीने की पाबंदी
यहाँ मरने की पाबंदी वहाँ जीने की पाबंदी
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
Iqbal protests a condition in which freedom is denied at both ends. A genuinely free spirit finds neither realm hospitable, because every realm hedges life and death with rules. It is a sharp lament for how rarely real liberty is permitted anywhere.
For You, Today
Freedom is constrained so routinely that we stop noticing the constraints. Iqbal's verse keeps the protest alive — refusing to accept that hemmed-in living is simply how things are. The free spirit should be uneasy with both cages.
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
Ai tair-e-lahooti us rizq se maut achhi
Jis rizq se aati ho parvaaz mein kotahi
Jis rizq se aati ho parvaaz mein kotahi
O celestial bird, better death than the sustenance that brings any shortfall to your flight.
Freedom · The Falcon