Meaning
Vulture — the carrion-bird, foil to the falcon.
How Iqbal uses it
The shadow-self of the shaheen. Falcon and vulture share one sky; what divides them is only what each is willing to stoop for. A falcon raised among vultures, he warns, forgets the very ways of falconhood.
See it in the verse
Kargas in Iqbal’s couplets
Parwaz hai dono ki isi ek faza mein
Kargas ka jahan aur hai, shaheen ka jahan aur
Kargas ka jahan aur hai, shaheen ka jahan aur
Both take flight in this very same sky — yet the vulture's world is one thing, and the falcon's another.
The Falcon · Self-Knowledge
Wo fareb-khurda shahin ki pala ho kargason mein
Use kya khabar ki kya hai rah-o-rasm-e-shahbazi
Use kya khabar ki kya hai rah-o-rasm-e-shahbazi
That deceived falcon, raised among vultures, what would it know of the ways and customs of the royal hawk?
The Falcon · Selfhood · Awakening