For word meanings and explanatory discussion in English click on the tabs marked “Roman” or “Notes”.

https://urdushahkar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/jmlr-qadr-daaN-mera-audio.mp3

Recitation

قدرداں  میرا  ۔  جگت  موہن  لعل  رواںؔ

۱

گُلِ  ویرانہ  ہوں  کوئی  نہیں  ہے  قدرداں  میرا

تو  ہی  دیکھ  اے  مرے  خلّاق  حُسنِ  رائیگاں  میرا

۲

یہ  کہہ  کر  روح  نکلی  ہے  تنِ  عاشق  سے  فرقت  میں

مجھے  عُجلت  ہے  بڑھ  جائے  نہ  آگے  کارواں  میرا

۳

ہَوا  اُس  کو  اُڑا  لے  جائے  اب  یا  پھونک  دے  بجلی

حفاظت  کر  نہیں  سکتا  مری  جب  آشیاں  میرا

۴

زمیں  پر  بار  ہوں  اور  آسمان  سے  دور  اے  مالک

نہیں  معلوم  کچھ  آخر  ٹھکانا  ہے  کہاں  میرا

۵

مجھے  نغمے  کا  لُطف  آتا  ہے  راتوں  کی  خموشی  میں

دلِ  بشکستہ  ہے  اک  سازِ  آہنگِ  فغاں  میرا

۶

وہیں  سے  ابتدائے  کوچۂ  دلدار  کی  حد  ہے

قدم  خود  چلتے  چلتے  آ  کے  رک  جائے  جہاں  میرا

۷

ذرا  دور  اور  ہے  اے  کشتئ  عمر  رواں  ساحل

کہ  اس  بحرِ  جہاں  میں  ہر  نفس  ہے  بادباں  میرا

۸

ہوئی  جاتی  ہے  تنہائی  میں  لذّت  روح  کی  ضائع

لٹا  جاتا  ہے  ویرانے  میں  گنجِ  شائگاں  میرا

۹

عناصر  ہنستے  ہیں  دنیا  کی  وسعت  مسکراتی  ہے

کسی  سے  پوچھتے  ہیں  اہلِ  بینش  جب  نشاں  میرا

۱۰

مرے  بعد  اور  پھر  کوئی  نظر  مجھ  سا  نہیں  آتا

بہت  دن  تک  رکھیں  گے  سوگ  اہلِ  خانداں  میرا

۱۱

غنیمت  ہے  نفس  دو  چار  جو  باقی  ہیں  اب  ورنہ

کبھی  کا  لُٹ  چکا  سرمایۂ  سُود  و  زیاں  میرا

۱۲

ابھی  تک  فصلِ  گل  میں  اک  صدائے  درد  آتی  ہے

وہاں  کی  خاک  سے  پہلے  جہاں  تھا  آشیاں  میرا

۱۳

رواںؔ  سچ  ہے  محبت  کا  اثر  ضائع  نہیں  ہوتا

وہ  رو  دیتے  ہیں  اب  بھی  ذکر  آتا  ہے  جہاں  میرا

क़द्र-दाँ मेरा – जगत मोहन लाल रवां

१

गुल-ए वीराना हूँ कोई नहीं है क़द्र-दाँ मेरा

तू ही देख अए मेरे ख़ल्लाक़ हुस्न-ए राएगाँ मेरा

२

ये कह कर रूह निकली है तन-ए आशेक़ से फ़ुर्क़त में

मुझे उज्लत है बढ़ जाए न आगे कारवाँ मेरा

३

हवा उस को उढा ले जाए अब या फूँक दे बिजली

हिफ़ाज़त कर नहीं सकता मेरी जब आशियाँ मेरा

४

ज़मीं पर बार हूँ और आसमान से दूर अए मालिक

नहीं मालूम कुछ आख़िर ठिकाना है कहाँ मेरा

५

मुझे नग़्मे का लुत्फ़ आता है रातों की ख़मोशी में

दिल-ए बशिकस्ता है एक साज़-ए आहंग-ए फ़ुग़ाँ मेरा

६

वहीं से इब्तेदा-ए कूचा-ए दिलदार की हद है

क़दम ख़ुद चलते चलते आ के रुक जाए जहाँ मेरा

७

ज़रा दूर और है अए कश्ती-ए उम्र-ए रवाँ साहिल

के इस बहर-ए जहाँ में हर नफ़स है बादबाँ मेरा

८

हुई जाती है तन्हाई में लज़्ज़त रूह की ज़ा’ए

लुटा जाता है वीराने में गंज-ए शाएगाँ मेरा

९

अनासिर हँसते हैं दुनिया की वुस’अत मुस्कुराती है

किसी से पूछते हैं अहल-ए बीनिश जब निशाँ मेरा

१०

मेरे बाद और फिर कोई नज़र मुझ सा नहीं आता

बहुत दिन तक रखेंगे सोग अहल-ए ख़ान्दाँ मेरा

११

ग़नीमत है नफ़स दो चार जो बाक़ी हैं अब वर्ना

कभी का लुट चुका सर्माया-ए सूद-ओ-ज़ियाँ मेरा

१२

अभी तक फ़स्ल-ए गुल में एक सदा-ए दर्द आती है

वहाँ की ख़ाक से पहले जहाँ था आशियाँ मेरा

१३

रवां सच है मोहब्बत का असर ज़ा’ए नहीं होता

वो रो देते हैं अब भी ज़िक्र आता है जहाँ मेरा

Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. jagat mohan lal ravaaN (1889-1934) learnt urdu, faarsi and arabi at a local maktab and went on to get an MA and and LLB. He practiced law and also left a reasonable collection of verse, given his short life span. He wrote a masnavi in praise of buddha. This Ghazal is in a similar zamin as Ghalib’s ‘ban gaya raqiib aaKhir thaa jo raazdaaN apna’ – just with meraa replacing apna.

jagat mohan lal ravaaN (1889-1934) learnt urdu, faarsi and arabi at a local maktab and went on to get an MA and and LLB.  He practiced law and also left a reasonable collection of verse, given his short life span.  He wrote a masnavi in praise of buddha.  This Ghazal is in a similar zamin as Ghalib’s ‘ban gaya raqiib aaKhir thaa jo raazdaaN apna’ – just with meraa replacing apna.

1.rose 2.wilderness 3. connoisseur, people who value 4.creator 5.skill, merit 6.wasted

I am a rose in the wilderness, there is no one to appreciate me.  You yourselves see, my creator, this wasted talent of mine.

1.soul 2.body 3.lover 4.separation 5.hurry 6.proceed, get further ahead

The lover is separated from the beloved and is dying of sorrow.  It is conventional for the beloved to visit him on his death bed.  But as usual, she is late and the soul does not want to wait.  As his soul leaves the body it declares that it is in a hurry because it is afraid that its caravaan would get further ahead and it would be left behind.  The soul had to undertake a journey, and a journey usually requires a caravan, which the soul does not want to miss.

1.wind 2.blow, burn, destroy 3.lightning 4.protection 5.nest

In urdu poetic tradition, the poet/protagonist is often portrayed a bird whose nest is always in danger of getting struck by lightning or blown away in a storm.  Here the poet/bird is frustrated that the nest is not able to protect it.  So, he expresses his anger … let the wind blow it away or lightning burn it up, I don’t care, says he.

1.burden 2.home, refuge

O lord, I am a burden on this earth and am far away from the sky.  I don’t know where I will find refuge.

1.song 2.pleasure 3.silence 4.broken 5.musical instrument, harp 6.melody 7.wailing

I get pleasure in singing during the silence of the night.  My broken heart is a harp of the melody of my wails.

1.beginning 2.street 3.beloved 4.boundary 5.step 6.itself 7.where

The poet/lover/seeker is on a journey, his destination, the beloved’s street.  His desire is so intense that even his feet know his goal.  When they get there, they will stop by themselves and he will know that that is the head/start of the beloved’s street.  Any number of refinements to the interpretation are possible.  This is not a physical journey, but an emotional one and it takes him into unknown territory, but the lover will know in his heart when he has reached his destination.  The beloved could be the romantic beloved, the divine beloved or even his literary creativity.

1.flowing/passing life 2.shore 3.ocean of the world, ocean of life 4.breath 5.sail of a boat

The poet’s life is like a boat sailing over the ocean of life.  It has just a little more distance to cover before it reaches the shore.  Every breath is like a wind blowing the sail of his boat a little further along.  The unstated feeling is a sense of peace and acceptance as the shore/end of life approaches.

1.solitude 2.pleasure 3.soul 4.wasted 5.wilderness 6.treasure 7.precious

It is customary/common for poets to feel or at least to claim that they feel that they are underappreciated.  Thus, ganj-e shaa’egaaN could be the rich treasure of his thought expressed in his verse.  It is this that gives pleasure to the soul but is going to waste in solitude, it is as if it is being plundered in the wilderness.

1.elements – air, water, fire, clay 2.expanse 3.smile 4.people of 5.insight, discernment 6.mark, impact

This can be interpreted either as a lament of underappreciation or a boast of excellence depending on the nature of the laugh and smile of the elements and the expanse of the world.  People of insight, of discerning tastes ask about the mark/impact of the poet.  The elements laugh and the expanse of creation smiles.  This could be a mocking laugh and derisive smile discounting the impact of the poet (lament of underappreciation) or it could be a knowing laughter and appreciative smile because the mark of the poet/his verse is synchronous with the beauty of creation (boast of high quality).

1.seen, recognized 2.short of jaisa-like, similar to 3.mourn 4.people of 5.family, tribe

Here the interpretation of KhaandaaN can be expansive, meaning the tribe of poets, people who understand/appreciate fine poetry.  Thus, the first misra declares – after me, there is no one that is obviously like me (implied is with poetic skills like mine).  Discerning people will mourn my loss for a long time.

1.at least this much, just enough 2.breath 3.a few 4.remain 5.otherwise 6.plundered 7.treasure 8.gains and losses

It may be a bit of a stretch but sarmaaya-e suud-o-ziyaaN should be interpreted as the treasure of gains and losses – successes and failures in composing verse that the poet is leaving behind.  It is good that he has a little more time to live (a few more breaths left) otherwise this treasure would have been plundered/lost/wasted.

1.season of flowers, spring 2.sound 3.pain 4.dust, ashes 5.where 6.nest, home

In urdu poetic tradition the poet is often portrayed as a bird whose nest is struck by lightning and burnt to ashes.  This happened to the poet’s nest sometime ago but even to this day – abhii tak – a sound of pain rises in the spring (a season of love, merriment and rejuvenation) from the ashes/dust of the place where once the nest was.

1.pen-name, taKhallus 2.true 3.effect 4.wasted 5.mention, narration 6.where, when

The poet is dead and gone (but he still observes what is going on and writes about it).  The vo in the second misra is the beloved.  She weeps whenever the poet/lover is mentioned.  That is enough for the dead poet to declare – O ravaaN, it is true, the effect of love does not go to waste.

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