ابر کوہسار
Abr-i-Kohsar
English title: THE CLOUD ON THE MOUNTAIN
Elevation bestows the sky's nearness to my abode; I am the mountain's cloud, my skirt sprinkles roses.
Now the wilderness, now the rose garden is my abode, city and wilderness are mine, ocean is mine, forest is mine.
If I want to return to some valley for the night; the mountain's verdure is my carpet of velvet.
Nature has taught me to be a pearl spreader’ to chant the camel song for the camel of the Beloved of Mercy.
To be the comforter of the dispirited farmer's heart; to be the elegance of the assembly of the garden's trees.
I spread out over the face of the earth like the locks; I get arranged and adorned by the breeze's.
I tantalize the expecting eye from a distance as I pass silently over some habitation.
As I approach strolling towards a brook's bank; I endow the brook with ear rings of whirlpools.
I am the hope of the freshly grown field's verdure; I am the ocean's offspring, I am nourished by the sun.
I gave ocean's tumult to the mountain spring; I charmed the birds into thrilling chants.
I pronounced ‘Rise’* standing by the verdure's head; I conferred the taste for smile to the rose-bud.
By my benevolence farmers' huts on the mountain side are converted into bed chambers of the opulent.
Sources and translator credits
- Original text transcription: Bang-e-Dara — ابر کوہسار — Digital transcription file at commit 39d44fc0c2b8ca25769c4b36e6eac4d90cb42b35; the source dataset does not identify the underlying print edition.Verified against this pinned digital transcription file; not checked against a print edition.Source
- Iqbal Demystified source list: Bang-e-Dara — Pinned digital dataset commit 39d44fc0c2b8ca25769c4b36e6eac4d90cb42b35; the underlying print edition is not identified by the dataset.Community dataset list; not reconciled against a print edition.Source
- Iqbal Academy Pakistan Bang-i-Dara Audio Table of Contents — Official audio contents list; cited only for the displayed Urdu and Romanized title pairsPrimary source used to document this poem’s language or title.Source
- Pinned digital source list 001 (Bang-e-Dara section headings) — Pinned repository commit 39d44fc0c2b8ca25769c4b36e6eac4d90cb42b35; digital transcription, not a selected print edition.Verified against this pinned digital transcription file; not checked against a print edition.Source
- Bang-e-Dara English translation at allama-iqbal.com — The Cloud On The Mountain — Public digital poem page, retrieved 2026-10-05; pinned to allama-iqbal.com commit 82547635bb6b758c45082084b2f152fc453a8056.Translation by Dr M.A.K. Khalil; English Translation by: Dr M.A.K. KhalilSource
