Persian · phrase · Spirit & the Divine
Qatra-o-Dariya
क़तरा-ओ-दरिया
said qat-ra-o-dar-yaa
also written: qatra o dariya, qatrao dariya
Meaning
The drop and the ocean; the perennial image of the individual soul (drop) and the universal (ocean).
Literally: qatra (drop) + o (and) + dariya (sea, river)
See it in the verse
Qatra-o-Dariya in Iqbal’s couplets
Banaya ishq ne dariya-e-na-paida-karan mujh ko
Ye meri khud-nigah-dari mera sahil na ban jae
Ye meri khud-nigah-dari mera sahil na ban jae
Love has made me a river with no visible shore; I fear my own self-guarding may become the bank that hems me in.
Love · Restlessness · Freedom
Nigah paida kar ai ghafil tajalli ain-e-fitrat hai
Ki apni mauj se begana rah sakta nahin dariya
Ki apni mauj se begana rah sakta nahin dariya
Cultivate vision, O heedless one, for radiance is the very nature of things; a river cannot stay a stranger to its own wave.
Awakening · Self-Knowledge · Selfhood
Safina-e-barg-e-gul bana lega qafila mor-e-na-tawan ka
Hazar maujon ki ho kashakash magar ye dariya se par hoga
Hazar maujon ki ho kashakash magar ye dariya se par hoga
The caravan of feeble ants will make a boat of a rose petal; though a thousand waves clash against it, this boat will cross the river.
Hope · Courage · Unity