92. Sitamgar kyah Chey Loguth : Rusul Mir

رُسُل میر

This is one of the most beautiful poems of Rusul Mir. It's blend of Kashmiri, Persian & Urdu language. In couplet 5, Punjabi word تازی چمکدی has also been used. A little change: I have mentioned vocabulary at last this time.

۱.

سِتمگر کیاہ ژ ٚے لوگُتھ نازنِین ظٲلم نگارا

حلب آینہ اوسُے سینہ، دل چُھوی سنگِ خارا

IPA:
/sɨtəmɡar kyaːh tsəː loːɡɨtʰ naːzɨniːn zəlɨm niɡaːraː/
/halab aːnɨh osɨ seːnɨh, dɨl chuːj saŋɡɨ khaːraː/

Romansation:
Sitəmgar kyāh tsə logɨth nāzinīn zəlɨm nigārā,
Halab ānɨh osɨ sīnah, dil chhūy sangɨ khārā.

Translation:
O tyrant, why did you act the cruel graceful beloved’s part?
Your bosom shone like mirror of Allepo, yet stone remains your heart.

Explanation:
The poet laments the beloved’s cruelty, calling them a tyrant whose beauty is both graceful and merciless. Though the beloved’s bosom gleams like the famed mirror of Aleppo, clear, radiant, and perfect, the heart within remains stone, cold and unfeeling. This verse contrasts outward beauty with inner hardness, capturing the timeless sorrow of love that shines on the surface but wounds at its core. Those who have watched the drama Diriliş: Ertuğrul might recall that Ertuğrul gifts an Aleppo mirror to Halima.

۲.
نتہِ ما یارٕ چھولمت روے چھوئی قُمرۍ رتہ ما
نتہ ما سرو نازس تازہ پھۄلمِٕت گُلِ انارا

IPA:
/natɨ maː jaːrɨ t͡ʃʰoːlmʊt rɔy t͡ʃʰuːyi qumrɨ ratɨ maː/
/natɨ maː sorʋɨ naːzas taːzɨ pʰolɪmɨt̚ gʊlɨ anaːra/

Romanisation:
Natih maa yaar chholmut roy chhuy qumri ratih maa
Natih maa sarveh naazas taazih pholim’it guli anaara

Translation:
Or have you washed your face in the dove's crimson flood,
Or has your cedar stature bloomed with pomegranate’s blood?

Commentary:
In this stanza the turtle dove symbolises the devoted lover, while the cedar or cypress represents the beloved, tall, proud, and eternally fresh. The dove circles the beloved tree, shedding its lifeblood in love, giving colour and life to the beloved’s beauty. The image of the cypress blooming with red pomegranate blossoms is a metaphor for radiant and lively beauty, the beloved’s graceful form infused with the passion and vitality drawn from the lover’s sacrifice. The beloved’s splendour thus owes its glow to the lover’s suffering, for it is the lover’s blood that gives the beloved bloom and life.

۳.
زُلف بر روے چھی یِتھہ لأل نکھہ أس مجلونس
نتہ زن زوٗنہ گردنہ نألۍ گومت شاہ مارا

IPA:
/zulɨf bar rɔy t͡ʃʰi jɨtʰɐh laːl nakʰɐh œs mad͡ʒlunas/
/natɨ zan zoːnɨ gardɨni naːlɨ gomʊt ʃaːh maːra/

Romanisation:
Zulif bar roy chhi yithah laal nakhah aes majlunas
Natih zan zooni gardini naali gomut shaah maara

Translation:
A tress cling to your face as Laila to Majnun’s side,
Or like royal serpent that from the moon-neck glide.

Commentary:
The couplet weaves together the tenderness of human love and the grandeur of divine beauty. When the poet says, “Your tresse cling to your face as Laila to Majnun’s side,” he draws on the famous tale of Laila and Majnun, whose love was so consuming that separation could not break their bond. The beloved’s hair, clinging softly to her face, mirrors that same devotion and intimacy. The next image, “like royal serpent that from the moon-neck glide,” transforms the scene into one of majesty and allure. The tresses now gleam like regal serpent gracefully descending from the beloved’s luminous neck, which glows like the moon. The two images together express a beauty that is both tender and commanding. In Kashmiri, Majnūn is also pronounced as Majlūn.

۴.
پریشان سنبل چین شد ز رشک چین زلفت
جگر خون گر شود ون کیاہ خطا مشک ختا را

IPA:
/pæɾeˈʃɒːn somˈbol-e t͡ʃiːn ʃod ze ɾæʃk-e t͡ʃiːn zolˈfæt/
/d͡ʒeˈgæɾ xʊn gær ʃæˈvæd wan kɪˈjɒː xæˈtɒː moʃk-e xeˈtɒː ɾɒː/

Romanisation:
Parešān sunbul-e Chīn shud ze rašk-e Chīn zulfat
Jigar khun gar shavad wan kiyā khatā mushk-e Khatā rā

Translation:
The hyacinth grew wild in envy of the curl of your hair,
If my heart has bled to crimson, what fault has musk of Khotan to bear?

Commentary:
The musk of Khotan” (مشکِ ختا ) refers to a famous and precious perfume that came from the region of Khotan, an ancient kingdom on the southern rim of the Taklamakan Desert (in what is now Xinjiang, western China).
In this couplet, the poet entwines natural beauty with the pain of love to reveal how suffering itself can become divine fragrance. The hyacinth (sunbul), long a symbol of beautiful, curling hair in Persian poetry, becomes dishevelled with envy at the sight of the beloved’s curls, showing that even nature’s most elegant form cannot rival such beauty. The second line turns from beauty to pain: the poet’s heart has bled to crimson, yet he asks, “What fault has musk of Khotan to bear?” The musk of Khotan was believed to come from the wounded musk deer whose blood yielded its precious scent. By this analogy, the poet suggests that his own wound of love, like the deer’s, produces fragrance, that true beauty and purity are born from the heart’s suffering.

۵.
ترے ماہ رخ اوپر سیاہی تازی چمکدی
منظر حیران ہے مت آینے سے اڈ جاوے پارا

IPA:
/t̪əˈɾeː maːɦ ɾʊx ˈuːpəɾ sɪˈjɑːɦi t̪ɑːˈziː t͡ʃəˈməkdiː/
/ˈmənzəɾ ɦɛːˈɾaːn ɦɛ mət̪ ˈaːiːne se ʊɽ ˈd͡ʒaːve ˈpaːɾaː/

Romanisation:
Tere māh-rukh ūpar siyāhī tāzī chamakdī
Manzar ḥairān hai, mat āīne se uṛ jāve pārā

Translation:
Upon your moon-bright face the dark fresh tresses gleam,
The scene stands amazed, lest mirror's silver should flee the beam.

Commentary:
The couplet celebrates the harmony of light and darkness that defines the beloved’s beauty. Upon the beloved’s moon-bright face, the dark fresh tresses gleam with a quiet radiance, their shadowy sheen only heightening the face’s luminous glow. The image recalls the classical ideal of beauty, where light and shade exist in perfect balance. In the next line, the mirror, symbol of reflection and truth, is struck with awe, fearing that its own silver might lose its brightness before such radiance. The beloved’s face shines with a brilliance so pure that even the mirror, made to capture light, stands humbled. It is a vision of beauty so divine that it silences even its own reflection.

۶.
ژہ چُھکھ نا ژوٗر شِلُک نوٗر دِلُک چشمِ بد دوٗر
ژہ چُھکھ نا یار کَنُک دوٗر، ہٹیوک موختہ ہارا

IPA:
/ʦɨ t͡ʃʰukh na ʦuːr ʃɨlʊk nuːr dɨlʊk t͡ʃeʃmɨ bad duːr/
/ʦɨ t͡ʃʰukh na jaːr kʌnʊk duːr | hʌtiuk moːkʰtʌ haːra/

Romanisation:
tse chhukh na tsūr shiluk nūr diluk cheshm-e bad dūr
tse chhukh na yār kanuk dūr, hatyuk mokhta hārā

Translation:
You thief of hearts, you radiant one, may no evil eye pursue,
My beloved, gem of the ear, adornment of the throat are you.

Commentary:
The couplet expresses tender admiration and love. When the poet calls the beloved a thief of hearts and a radiant one, it is a playful confession of surrender to a beauty that steals affection effortlessly. The prayer that no evil eye pursue the beloved shows a wish for protection from envy or harm. The beloved is likened to jewels, the gem of the ear and the adornment of the throat, symbols of beauty and closeness. The verse unites affection, devotion, and care, portraying love as both adoration and protection.

۷.
زألۍ کم عشقہ نارن کألۍ شیخن یام دیونٹھوئی
کنن وألۍ، زألۍ وانکن، نألۍ پأروون زنارا

IPA:
/zalɨ kʌm aʃqɨ naran kʌlɨ ʃeːkʰan jaːm dʲʊnʈʰui/
/kʌnʌn walɨ | zalɨ waːnkan | nalɨ pɐrʋun zʊnnaːra/

Romanisation:
Zalɨ kam ashqɨ nāran kalɨ sheikhan yām dyunṭhuy
Kanan walɨ, zalɨ wānkan, nalɨ paervun zunnaraa

Translation:
Many burned in Love’s fierce flame, when the Sheikh beheld its grace,
With earrings, little braids, and sacred thread adorned his body’s space.

Commentary:
Many were consumed by the fire of love; when Sheikh San'an beheld its grace, he too was overtaken and, in that burning, left all, even his faith and even donned symbols of another faith.

۸.
شمع ڈیشتھ دماہ پروانہ دود پرواہ نہ کور تٔم
سپن تس نور نارس یار ڈیونٹھن آشکارا

IPA:
/ʃamʕa ɖeːʃtʰ damah pɨɾwaːna dud pɨɾwaːh na koːɾ tʔem/
/saːpun tɨs nuːr naːɾɨs jaːr ɖʲʊnʈun aːʃkaːra/

Romanisation:
Shama deeshith damah parvaana dud parwaah na kor tem,
Sapun tas nur nāras yār dyonṭun aashkaara

Translation:
The moth beheld the candle’s flame and burned without a care,
The fire became his light, his Beloved was revealed there.

Commentary:
The couplet uses the moth and candle as symbols of the Lover and the Beloved. Drawn to the flame, the moth burns without fear, showing the lover’s total surrender in love. The fire that destroys also reveals, what consumes the self also reveals the Beloved’s true light.

۹.
رُسلس دلفریبا گو کنن زیبا نگارا
ونُن لٲزِم انُن اوسُئی ژہ نۆن پرودگارا

IPA:
/ru.sɨ.lɨs dɨl.fɨ.ɾiː.baː ɡo kɨ.nan ziː.baː ni.ɡaː.ɾaː/
/wa.nʊn lɔː.zɨm a.nʊn o.suɨ.i ʦɨ non pɨr.wɨr.dɨ.ɡaː.ɾaː/

Romanisation:
Ruslis dilfarebā go kanan zebā nigāra
Wanun laezim anun osui tsi non parwardigārā

Translation:
Rasul’s ear was charmed by you, O beautiful frame,
Announcing you was necessary, God willed to reveal your name.

Commentary:
Here, the poet confesses that his very being his “ear,” the seat of inspiration, was enchanted by the beauty of the Beloved. The announcement thus becomes the act of poetic utterance: it was necessary that he speak, for such beauty could not remain concealed. The poet suggests that his song was not a matter of choice but of divine decree, the God willed that the hidden splendour be revealed through his voice. In this way, this poem portrays poetry itself as revelation, compelled by love and sanctioned by God.

Vocabulary:
Nigār: نگار : Picture or portrait. Also used for beloved.
Halb Aaenih: حلب آینہ : The mirror of Allepo(Syria)
Sang e Khāra: سنگِ خارا : Hard Stone, Flint.
Qumiyur: قُمیُر : Turtle Dove/Ring Dove
Sarv: سرو : Cedar/Cypress
Shah-Maar: شاہ مار : Regal Serpent
Sumbul: سنُبل : Hyacinth. Equated to hair of beloved.
Chiin: چین : Fold, Wrinkle.
Mushk e Khata: مشک ختا : Musk of Khotan
Paara: پارا : Silver or mercury of a mirror.
Shil: شِل : Heart
Zael wankeh: زألۍ وانکہ : Small little braids of hair.
Zunnar: زُنّار : Sacred thread worn by Hindus
Aashkaar: آشکارا : Reveal
Dilfareb : دلفریب : Charming