ايک گائے اور بکري
Aik Gaen aur bakri
English title: A COW AND A GOAT
There was a verdant pasture somewhere, whose land was the very picture of beauty.
How can the beauty of that elegance be described? Brooks of sparkling water were running on every side.
Many were the pomegranate trees and so were the shady papal* trees.
Cool breeze flowed everywhere; Birds were singing everywhere.
A goat arrived at a brook's bank from somewhere. It came browsing from somewhere in the nearby land.
As she stopped and looked around, she noticed a cow standing by.
The goat first presented her compliments to the cow, then respectfully started this conversation.
How are you! Madam Cow’? The cow replied, ‘Not too well.
My life is a mere existence. My life is a complete agony.
My life is in danger, what can I say? My luck is bad, what can I say?
I am surprised at the state of affairs. I am cursing the evil people.
The poor ones like us are powerless; misfortunes surround the ones like us.
None should nicely deal with Man. May God protect us from Man!
He murmurs if my milk declines; he sells me if my weight declines.
He subdues us with cleverness! Alluring, he always subjugates us!
I nurse his children with milk. I give them new life with milk.
My goodness is repaid with evil. My prayer to God is for mercy!’
Having heard the cow's story like this, the goat replied: ‘This complaint is unjust.
Though truth is always bitter; I shall speak what is fair.
This pasture and this cool breeze; this green grass and this shade.
Such comforts were beyond our lot! They were a far cry for us speechless poor!
We owe these pleasures to Man. We owe all our happiness to Man.
We derive all our prosperity from him. What is better for us, freedom or bondage to him?
Hundreds of dangers lurk in the wilderness. May God protect us from the wilderness!
We are heavily indebted to him; unjust is our complaint against him.
If you appreciate the life's comforts; you would never complain against Man.
Hearing all this the cow felt embarrassed. She was sorry for complaining against Man.
She mused over the good and the bad and thoughtfully she said this:
‘Small though is the body of the goat; convincing is the advice of the goat!’
Sources and translator credits
- Original text transcription: Bang-e-Dara — ايک گائے اور بکري — 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 — A Cow And A Goat — 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