لائوں وہ تنکے کہيں سے آشيانے کے ليے
English title: I SHOULD PROCURE SUCH STRAWS FOR MY NEST FROM SOMEWHERE
I should procure such straws for my nest from somewhere for burning which the lightning may be restless.
Alas! O despair! The sky broke it down intently; whichever branch I selected for my nest.
You are contending with the seventy two nations; one goblet of yours suits the whole world best.*
I should create some such longing in my heart; so the sky may turn around to annihilate me best.
Collect your harvest first by picking it grain by grain; some thunderbolt will surely come out to annihilate it.
I had regard for the failure of the hunter, O friend; otherwise, why could I come over flying for one grain?
The heart should not sing freedom's song in this garden. Ah! This garden is not suitable for such odes!
Sources and translator credits
- Original text transcription: Bang-e-Dara — لائوں وہ تنکے کہيں سے آشيانے کے ليے — 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
- Bang-e-Dara English translation at allama-iqbal.com — — 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