ہنروران ہند
English title: INDIA’S ARTISTS
عشق و مستي کا جنازہ ہے تخيل ان کاان کے انديشہ تاريک ميں قوموں کے مزار
Their fancy tolls the knell of love and rapture sweet; their dark and dismal thoughts with nations' tombs replete.
موت کي نقش گري ان کے صنم خانوں ميںزندگي سے ہنر ان برہمنوں کا بيزار
Their idol halls arc full with prints of gloomy death. The art of these Brahmans seems tired of life and breath.
چشم آدم سے چھپاتے ہيں مقامات بلندکرتے ہيں روح کو خوابيدہ ، بدن کو بيدار
They hide from eyes of man his state and noble name: They fill the soul with sleep, incite the lust in frame.
ہند کے شاعر و صورت گر و افسانہ نويس!آہ ! بيچاروں کے اعصاب پہ عورت ہے سوار
Alas! In Hind sex rules the bards and painters too: Those, who write romantic tales, talk of sex through and through.
Sources and translator credits
- Original text transcription: Zarb-e-Kalim — ہنروران ہند — 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: Zarb-e-Kalim — 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
- Zarb-e-Kalim English translation at allama-iqbal.com — The Artisans of India — Public digital poem page, retrieved 2026-10-06; pinned to allama-iqbal.com commit 82547635bb6b758c45082084b2f152fc453a8056.Translation by Syed Akbar Ali Shah; English Translation by: Syed Akbar Ali ShahSource