sirf ashkon se to roya hi nahin jaa sakta
“Keep blood in your eyes as well — for in the grief of love, weeping with mere tears is not enough.”
सिर्फ़ अश्कों से तो रोया ही नहीं जा सकता
The verse in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
Love's sorrow is held to a higher standard than ordinary grief. Plain tears, the couplet says, will not do it justice; the eyes must be ready to weep blood. It is the classical image of the lover whose suffering exceeds what water can express — but put as practical advice, almost a warning, to anyone about to take love lightly.
Real grief sometimes asks more of you than ordinary sadness does. Do not be surprised when a deep loss demands more than the usual tears — that cost is the measure of what it meant.
The heart of this site stays with Iqbal: explore his couplets → Or browse the whole Other Voices shelf →