The invocation at the beginning
(The Legends of the Panjab by RC Temple, Rupa and Company, Volume two, page 606) Rag Hir Ranjha
“ Awal-akhir naam Allah da lena, duja dos Muhammad Miran
Tija naun mat pita da lena, unha da chunga dudh sariran
Chautha naun an pani da lena, jis khave man banhe dhiran
Panjman naun Dharti Mata da lena, jis par kadam takiman
Chhewan naun Khwaja Pir da lena, jhul pilave thande niran
Satwan naun Guru Gorakhnath de lena, patal puje bhojan
Athwan naun lalanwale da lena, bande bande de tabaq zanjiran
Translation
First and last, take the name of God; second, of the Great Muhammad, the prophet (of God)
Third, take the name of father and mother, on whose milk my body thrived
Fourth, take the name of bread and water, by eating which my heart is gladdened
Fifth, take the name of Mother Earth, on whom I place my feet.
Sixth, take the name of Khwaja (Khazir, the Saint), who gives me cold water to drink
Seventh, take the name of Guru Gorakh Nath who is worshiped with a platter of milk and rice
Eighth, take the name of Lalanwala who breaks the bonds and the chains of captives
Ranjha becomes Chuchaks Cowherd
So Heer pledged her faith and Ranjha trusting her, stood before Mihr Chuchak. Heer went into the presence of her father and made Ranjha stand beside her. Heer said, 'My father, hail. My father, I have found a servant who can tend our buffaloes.'
Chuchak said, 'He seems to be a mere lad, but he has wise eyes and a kindly disposition. You are championing his cause with zeal. We will see how the boy turns out. We accept what you say; the boy can be given charge of the buffaloes, but bid him take care, as it is no easy task to tend buffaloes in the Bar.'
Thus it came to pass that after a while Heer came to Ranjha and consoled him with sweet talk. Heer said, 'I will bring you butter and sugar and sweat bread. Go and drive the buffaloes into the forest and trust in God. I and my sixty maids will accompany you and together we will track the footprints of the lost cattle.'
Ranjha meets the Five Pirs in the forest.
Ranjha took upon himself the task of a herdsman. Good fortune however came to him and he met the Five Pirs on the way. Ranjha saw by their countenances that they were holy men and besought their help.
The Pirs replied, 'Child, eat your fill and drink grey buffaloes milk and live on fat of the land. Dismiss all sadness from your mind. God himself will set your affairs right.' Ranjha replied, 'Sirs, I am in great distress. I beseech you bestow the girl Heer upon me, for the fire of love is devouring me.'
The holy Pirs answered and said, 'Child, all your wishes will be fulfiled; your arrow will hit the target, and yourboat will reach the shore. Heer has been bestowed on you by the Darbar of God.' Thus by the grace fo God and the kindness of the Five Pirs, Heer, the Jatt girl, was bestowed on Ranjha.
Heer and Ranjha meet in the forest
Heer Jatti set out from the Jhang Sial. She came to fulfill the eagerness of her heart, for she was possessed with love for Ranjha. She brought him boile rice, sugar, butter and milk, and she said, with weeping eyes, 'I have been searching for you all over the forest.' Ranjha said, 'God himself hath said in the holy Koran, Verily your deceit is great. Satan is the lord of evil spirits and women. Women falsify the truth and feel no shame. Only if you intend to keep your word, Heer, can the son of Mauju endure the humiliation of being a servant.'
Heer comforted Ranjha with sweet words and poured out all her sould to him. She said, 'We shall be surrounded by enemies and you must confront all troubles with patience. But beware of Kaidu, my wicked uncle. The world will reproach us and those who are ignorant will cast taunts at us, but the true lover sacrifices his life for his beloved. Lovers have no support but God.
Thus everyday Heer used to take a bowl of rice and pudding to Ranjha in the forest, and she swore to be true to him. She gave up her spinning and no longer sat with her girl friends. She was with Ranjha all the day. She set aside the blanket of beholding her wantonness.
The news spread over the whole of Jhang that Heer had fallen in love with a shepherd and that she went to visit him every day in the forest.
Heer's mother is angry with her and Kaidu finds her in the forest with Ranjha
When Heer came back from the forest, her mother rebuked her, saying, 'The taunts of the village folk have consumed us utterly. If you cease not from wickedness your father Chuchak and your brother Sultan will cut you in pieces.'
Heer replied, 'Listen Milki, my mother, as long as breath remains in my body I will not leave Ranjha.' Heer would not listen to her mother and continued to visit Ranjha in the forest.
Meanwhile Kaidu the cripple, Heer's uncle, constantly urged Chuchak to Chastise Heer. He kept watch over her footsteps as a spy.
Heer had gone to the river to fetch water, and Ranjha was sitting alone, so Kaidu, in the guise of a mendicant faqir, came to him and begged for alms in the name of God, and retired towards the village.
When Heer came back from the river she asked Ranjha where the other half of the pastry was, and he told her that a crippled faqir had come and begged in God's name. Heer replied, 'Ranjha, where have your wits gone? That was no saintly faqir but my Satanic uncle Kaidu who goes about to destroy me.
The heart of Heer was scorched with anger against Kaidu. So she ran and overtook him in the way and fell upon him in her wrath like a tigress. Half of the pastry fell on the ground, and the other half Kaidu snatched from Heer, and having secured his prize, the cripple ran off as fast as his crooked legs would carry him to the village.
Kaidu came before the council of village elders and said, 'See, here are the pieces of pastry which Heer gave to Ranjha. Will you now believe when I tell you she is a shameless hussy?' The elders came and told Chuchak what Kaidu had been saying in the assembly of the elders. Chuchak was wroth and said, 'Kaidu is a talebearer and a liar; he chases moths all day.
Kaidu said to Milki, 'For god's sake get your daughter married.' Heer withstood her parents to their faces and refused to give up Ranjha.
Scandal Spreads in the village and Chuchak dismisses Ranjha and then recalls him
When Ranjha brought the cows back that night Chuchak was wroth, and he called Ranjha and in the presence of all his kinsfolk rebuked him saying, 'Friend, give up the buffaloes and go away.'
Thereupon Ranjha threw down his shepherds crook and blanket and quit Chuchak's herd of cattle, even as a thief leaves the hole in the wall when he hears the watchman's footsteps. And he spoke to Chuchak in his anger, 'For twelve years I have been grazing your buffaloes and now you turn me away without wages.' Ranjha in a rage shook the dust of the Sials off his feet and gave up the service of Chuchak.
Milki said to Chuchak, 'All the people curse us for having turned the cowherd out without paying him his wages. Go and beseech him to come back. Tell him Heer is disquieted by his absense.' Chuchak said to Milki, 'Go you and pacify him.'
Milki having found him, she entreated him saying, 'Do not fret over much about the quarrel you had with Chuchak. Parents and children often fall out in such small matters. Come back and milk our buffaloes and spread Heer's couch. Since you have gone she has been much displeased with us. Our cattle, our wealth, the Sials and heer are all yours.' So Ranjha Hearkened to the words of Heer's mother, and once more became Chuchak's herdsman.
No comments:
Post a Comment