Persian · noun · The Tavern & the Cup

Jaam-e-jam

जाम-ए-जम

said jaam-e-JAM

also written: jam-e-jam, jaam e jam, jaam-e-jamshed

Meaning

The legendary cup of Jamshed in which the whole world could be seen; a mirror of all things.

Literally: the cup of Jamshed

How Iqbal uses it

The legendary cup of the ancient Persian king Jamshed was said to reveal the whole world within it — so it became the emblem of total mystical vision, the heart polished until it mirrors all reality. To possess the jaam-e-jam is to see by the light of love rather than the eye. Iqbal invokes it to say that such all-seeing insight is not a relic of kings but the birthright of the awakened self, the heart that has drunk the wine of love.

See it in the verse

Jaam-e-jam in Iqbal’s couplets

Utha na sheeshagaran-e-farang ke ehsaan
Sifaal-e-Hind se meena o jaam paida kar

Do not accept the favours of the West's glassmakers — from the humble clay of India, fashion your own goblet and cup.

Selfhood · Freedom · Action

Related words

PERSIAN

Jaam

A goblet or wine-cup; the fabled cup of Jamshed that showed the whole world within it.

PERSIAN

Aaina

A mirror; a favourite poetic emblem of the heart and of clear reflection.

PERSIAN

Mai

Wine; emblem of divine love, ecstasy, and the annihilation of the ego.

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