Bulleh Shah

Bulleh Shah (1680-1758): Leading light of Punjab
By Safir Rammah

Bulleh Shah (1680-1758) and Mir Taqi Mir (1723-1810) shared the same time and space - eighteenth century Northern India - and were amongst the major poets of their respective languages. They had both lived during the time just before the proliferation of the printing press, state-sponsored educational institutions and standardized textbooks. Today, it is hard to find an educated Pakistani with any level of interest in literature who doesn't have some appreciation of Mir Taqi Mir's poetry. It is equally hard to find someone in that privileged group who knows much about Bulleh Shah.

The literary fortunes of Mir Taqi Mir and Bulleh Shah symbolize the far-reaching consequences of the British Government's educational policies in Punjab. There Urdu was chosen to become, and in Pakistan's Punjab of today still continues to be, the medium of instructions in government schools.

Mir Taqi Mir's poetry, riding the wave of mass literacy, not only became a household name among the Urdu speaking populace but also crossed the linguistic boundaries over to the Punjab. In this province too school and college students for the last 150 years have been learning to appreciate the exquisite compositions of his ghazals. Bulleh Shah's poetry, on the other hand, was almost forgotten. It was never introduced in the classrooms and hence missed the opportunity to reach and touch the minds and souls of generations of Punjab's educated elite.

Most of what we know about Bulleh Shah's life has come to us through unreliable anecdotes and folklore. The limited authentic historical record, based on sporadic references to events of his life in his poetry and in the writings of his contemporaries, is barely enough for a brief sketch of his life.

He belonged to a Syed family and was born in 1680, in a small village, Uch Gilania, in Bahawalpur. His father's name was Sain Mohammad Darvesh and his own real name was Abdullah. When he was six years old, his family moved to Kasur where he got his formal education from Maulvi Ghulam Murtaza, who was the Imam of the main mosque in Kasur.

For a while after completing his education, Bulleh Shah taught at the same mosque. He then became a murid of Inayat Shah Qadri, a famous saint of Qadirya school of sufis in Lahore, who belonged to the Arain caste. Bulleh Shah had to face the resentment and taunts of his family and other Syed friends for accepting the spiritual guidance of a non-Syed. The poetic response from Bulleh Shah rejected his critics' false concept of inherent superiority and nobility of any caste and set the pattern of his lifelong challenge to accepted norms:

Those who call me Syed
Are destined to hell made for them.
Those who call me Arain
Have the swings of heaven laid for them.
The low-caste and the high-caste,
Are created by God who is all-powerful;
He casts away the fair ones,
And clasps to His heart the meritless ones.

In 1729 when Shah Inayat died, Bulleh Shah succeeded him as the head of his monastery at Lahore. Bulleh Shah died in 1758. He never married.

Even with the recent upsurge in Bulleh Shah scholarship, credible critical works highlighting some of the most important aspects of his poetry are lacking. The initial scholarship was focused on collecting, editing and authentication of the earlier written records and folk memory of his poetry. Critical appreciation of his poetry has not yet gone beyond expositions of its religious aspects.

Bulleh Shah's poetry can be divided into three broadly distinct periods reflecting the progression of his thoughts throughout his life.

In the first period, the love and devotion of his murshid is the main theme. A minor turbulence in this relationship would cause a great anguish for him and the poetry of this early period reflects the whole vista of emotions from unbearable pain and dejection to the extremes of delight and exuberance:

Your love has made me dance to a fast beat!
Your love has taken abode within my heart!
This cup of poison I drank all by myself.
Come, come, O physician, or else I breathe my last!
Your love has made me dance to a fast beat!

In the second phase, poetic expressions of Bulleh Shah's mystic experience are prominent:

You alone exist; I do not, O Beloved!
You alone exist, I do not!Like the shadow of a house in ruins,
I revolve in my own mind.
If I speak, you speak with me:
If I am silent, you are in my mind.
If I sleep, you sleep with me:
If I walk, you are along my path.
Oh Bulleh, the spouse has come to my house:
My life is a sacrifice unto Him.
You alone exist; I do not, O Beloved!

Most of Bulleh Shah's critics tend to focus on the first two phases of his poetry. Generally, the writings on Bulleh Shah are little more than explanations of the mystic content of his poetry in the context of different sufi schools of thought. Some of his more enlightened, progressive and humanist compositions are said to be written under the influence of Bhagti ideas. His poetry is considered to be mainly concerned with the eternal life. This ignores the fact that the most significant part of Bulleh Shah's poetry is his fierce denunciation of all forms of oppression, especially the oppression of freedom of thought and other obstacles towards peaceful human coexistence.

It is this third phase of Bulleh Shah's poetry, apparently written after reaching the heights of his spiritual quest and gaining a unique wisdom and insight into human affairs, that has made him one of the most popular Punjabi poets.

He advocated the pre-eminence of truth, love, and compassion over religious scholarship, external formalities and blind faith. His outright rejection of any formal authority of religious institutions in regulating the affairs of society, in particular the role of the mullahs and religious scholars, became the subject of many of his famous poems. He sharply criticized the rigid beliefs and intolerance of mullahs and preachers that in his opinion were the main source of communal hatred.

The mullah and the torch-bearer
Hail from the same stock;
They give light to others,
And themselves are in the dark.

He believed that human beings equally deserve the right to live a life of peace and dignity regardless of their colour, creed or status:

There is only one thread of all cotton.
The warp, the woof, the quill of the weaver's shuttle,
The shuttle, the texture of cloths, the cotton shoes and hanks of yarn,
All are known by their respective names,And they all belong to their respective places
But there is only one thread of yarn.

Bulleh Shah never cared to mince words in his bold and courageous challenge to the forces of darkness of his time. He was a liberal and progressive thinker in the most modern sense. His outspoken and blunt style struck a chord with all segments of Punjabis who have kept his memory alive without the help of state institutions.

He was the leading light of a rich sufi tradition of Punjabi poetry that for many centuries had spread the message of religious tolerance, communal harmony, liberalism, humanism and love. Set to the tunes of folk and classical music, compositions of Bulleh Shah and other Punjabi sufi poets are remarkable pieces of literary art that synthesize highly complex ideas, emotions and experiences in the homely and deceptively simple idioms and metaphors of rural Punjab. The intention is not just to charm but also engage and enlighten the hearts and minds of the audience. By all critical accounts, the classical Punjabi sufi poetry reached its pinnacle in Bulleh Shah.

Loved by Punjabis of all faiths and creeds, Bulleh Shah could have easily claimed the title of a national poet of all Punjabis if such a title was ever considered to be politically correct

Baba Buleh Shah Sufi, Poems Translation in ENglish

Apna Das Tikaana: Punjabi Poem by Baba Bulleh Shah with English Translation


Let me know my native place

Now let me know my native place.
From where I came, wherein solace;
The piles of wealth that fatten pride, Will not accompany you when die;
Ye take to plunder robbing mass With cruelty you men harass.
Let ye enjoy for couple of days;
Ye have to die and leave the place.
Let us proceed towards graveyard. Where is consumed the whole of world; Ferocious Izrael shall tax.
Loadful of souls acroos Styx.
And more than all the people here. Bullah is the time-worn sinner.



Apna Das Tikaana

Apna Das Tikaana, Kidharon Aya, Kidhar Jaana
Jiss Thaane Daman Karein Too
Ohney Tere Naal Na Jaana
Zulm Karein Te Lok Sitaawan
Kasb Phirr Yoo Lutt Khana
Karle Chawar Chaar Diyaaray
Aurak Toon Uth Jaana
Shehr Khamoshaan De Chal Wasiye
Jithe Mulk Samaana
Bhar Bhar Langhaway Daahda
Mulk ul Maut
muhaana Aihnaa subhanaa thein hai Bulleh
O ‘Gunahgaar purana
Apna Das Tikaana, Kidharon Aya, Kidhar Jaana

Amma Babe di Bhulyai – Punjabi Kalam by Bulleh Shah with English Translation


Adam, Eve committed fault,
But their son’s applause in vault;
For tiny grain such havoc played, Squabbles in every house have swayed.
Wars and fighting we have nourished,
As they all with wheat flourished;
The people when this wheat consume. Wriggling and wrangling they resume.
Mother! Due to Adam’s actions, We are reaping consequences.



Amaa Babe di Bhulyai

Amaa babe di bhulyai
Oh hun kam asade aai

Amaa baba chor dhuran de, putar di wadiyai
Dane uton gat bagti, ghar gharii laraii
Assan qaziye tadahin jale, jad kank ohna natrkaii
Khaye khiar ute phatye jumma, ulti dastak laii
Bullah tote maar baghen ra kheni ullo

Amaa babe di bhulyai
Oh hun kam asade aai

Bullah Keh Janaa Main Kon – Kalam Bulleh Shah with Translation


Bullah! I know not who I am

I am not Maumin, bird ol mosque, Nor infidelity is my task

Nor I am righteous, soaked in sin; Nor I am Moses, nor Pharaoh

Bullah! I know not, who I am

Nor am I filthy, pious, saint

Live not in pleasure, anguish-lainl, Neither aquatic, nor of earth

Not of the fire, nor airy birth

Bullah! I know not, who I am

Secret of religion can’t perceive

I am not born of Adam- Eve

To myself I did give no name

Dwell I not in palace, or fame


Bullah! I know not, who I am

The beginning and the last I know

I have no second that I know

In wit and wisdom none surpass, Bullah! Who is He that persists


Bullah! I know not. who I am.





Bullah Keh Janaa Main Kon

Na main momin wich maseet aan
Na main wich kufr dian rit aan
Na main pakan wich paleet aan
Na main moosa na main firon

Bullah keh janaa main kon

Na main ander baid kitabaan
Na main bhangaan, na main sharabaan
Na main randaa mast kharabaan
Na wich jagan, na sowan

Bullah keh janaa main kon

Na main shadi na ghamnaki
Na main wich paleti paki Naabi
aabi na main khaki
Na main aatish na main poon

Bullah keh janaa main kon

Na main arbi, na lahori
na main hindi shehr nagori
na hindu na turk pashori
na main rehnda wich nadon

Bullah keh janaa main kon

Na main bhait mazhab da paya
Na main aadam hawwa jaya
Na main apna naam dharaya
Na main baithan, na wich bhon

Bullah keh janaa main kon

awal aakhir aap noo janaa
na koii duja hor pichanaa
methon hor na koii siyana
Bullah oh khara he kon

Bullah keh janaa main kon

Recite Alif it is release of all pains – Kalam Bulleh Shah with English Translations
by TheSufi · Published 15th June 2020 · Updated 20th June 2020


Recite Alif, it is release of all pains

Recite Alif, it is release.

From one there are two, three and four, Then lac, ten million-thousand more;

From there onward would reckon steer, The secret of this ‘one’ is clear.

Why have ye turned executioner?

Why read you so much, books, literature? On head you carry load of sins,

The path ahead difficulties spins.

You learn Quran to make a ring,

Reciting it you tame the tongue;

But, be careful of the blessing,

The greedy self in frenzy wandering.

Recite Alif, it is release.




Ik alif parho chutkara he

Ik alifon do tan char hoye
Phir lakh karor hazar hoye
Phir othon bajh shumaar hoye
Hik alif da nukta niara he

Ik alif parho chutkara he

Kiun parhnain gadd kitabaan di
Sir chana en pind azabaan di
Kiun hoyian shakal jladaan di
Agge pinda mushkal bhara he


Ik alif parho chutkara he

Hun hafiz hifz quran karain
Parh parh ke saaf zubaan karain
Per nemat wich dhian karain
Mann phirda jion halkara he

Ik alif parho chutkara he

Bullah bhi borh da hoya si
Oh burjh wada ja hoya si
Jad barch oh fani hoya si
Phir reh gia bi akara he

Ik Nukte Wich Gal Mukdi He – A Point decides the Whole Problem – Punjabi Kalam by Bulleh Shah




A Point decides the Whole Problem

You catch the point, leave off the slave.
Heed not of Hell, torments ol grave;
Close the books and infidelity;
And cleanse the heart from impurity;
This task is useful for a man.
A point decides the whole problem.
In vain forehead is rubbed on earth;
And forehead sign they show for mirth;
Uttered are goodly words for fun.
Which can never heart enliven.
Would ever truth be forsaken?
A point decides the whole problem.



Some wander in the wilderness.
Some fill their bellies with the grass
The work work to tiresome,
They reach their houses tire-worn.
Strenuous labour convulsion
A point decides the whole problem.
Performing Hajj become pilgrims.
And they put on blue garments,
They sell their Hajj for coins few.
Confession but they can’t
Can the real truth be hid by men?
A point decides the whole problem.



Pharr nukta chor hisabaan noon
Kar door kufr diaa babaan noon
Chad dozakh gor azabaa noon
Kar saaf dille diaan khuwaban noon
Gal aise ghar wich dhakdi ay

Ik nukte wich gal mukdi he

Ainwein matha zameen ghasaaida
Palma mehrab dikhaida
Parh kalma lok hasaida
Kadi baat sachi bhi lukdi he

Ik nukte wich gal mukdi he

Sab Ikko Rang Kappaa Da Ae [Everything is a reflection of true Creator] – Punjabi Kalam by Bulleh Shah


The whole of cotton has one colour.
The warp and threads longitudinal,
The threads of breath and the shuttle; Seed and reed, and roles of cotton,
Prior to weaving that is spun;
They of themselves their names declare, One is distinct from the other.
The whole of cotton has one colour;
If different kinds of cloth prepares,
Some cloth of finer threads appears. Course and thick, and fine muslin,
But all of them with similar spin;
From roll of cotton comes out fibre, Disguisely curiously Creator.
The whole of cotton has one colour



Girls are wearing gem-studded rings,
To catch peculiar name now clings;
But all of you would call it silver,
May it be bracelet, bangles queer.
Out of one metal ornaments.
Each of them touches sentiments.
The whole of cotton has one colour

Aapay Paiyaan Kundiaayn – You have entangled me in hooks, so I cannot flee – Punjabi Kalam by Bulleh Shah
This you yourself entangled me,
With sharper hooks. I dare not flee.
And, towards you yourself now pull,
The hooks are thrusted in me full.
But you show me not your (ace,
Be merciful, and shower grace.
Above all Heavens, near the Throne,
Applauses to their pitch are grown;
In Makkah echoes too queer noise,
Descends Muhammad, Choicest Choice.
0 Bullah Shah! I will not die,
Let death may search some other hive.
With all benevolence, shower grace,
And show me dear your lovely face.
This you yourself entangled me,
With Sharper hooks. I dare not flee.

Ilmoon Bas Karin o Yaar – Leave all Knowledge, All you need is Alif – Punjabi Kalam by Bulleh Shah


Ilmoon bas karin o yaar
Iko alif tere darkaar

Ilm na aawe wich shumar
Iko alif tere darkar
jandi umar nahin aitbaar
Ilmon bas karin o yaar

Parh parh lakh lakh lawin dhair
Dhair kitaban chaar chophir
Garde chanan, wich anhir
Pucho rah te khabar na saar

Ilmon bas karin o yaar
parh parh shaikh mushaikh hoya
bhar bhar pait ninder bhar soya
jandi war nin bhar roya
Duba wich, urar na paar

Ilmon bas karin o yaar
Parh parh shekh mushaikh kahawin
Ulte masle gharon banawin
Be ilmaan noon lut lut khawin
Jhote sache karin aqrar

Ilmon bas karin o yaar
Parh parh nafal namaz guzarin
Uchian bangan changan marin
Manber te charh waaz pukarin
Keta tenoon ilm khuwar

Ilmon bas karin o yaar
Parh parh mullan hoye qazi
allah ilmaan bajhon razi
Howe hiras dinon din tazi
Tenoon keta hiras khuwar

Ilmon bas karin o yaar
Parh parh masle roz sunawin
khana shak shubhe da khawin
Dasin hor, te hor kamawin
Ander khot, bahar suchiar

Ilmon bas karin o yaar
Parh parh ilm najum wichare
ganda rasan burj sitare
parhe azemtaan mantar jhare
Abjad gine taawez shumaar

Ilmon bas karin o yaar
Ilmon pae hazaran phaste
rahi atak rahe wich raste
maria hijjar hoye dil khaste
Pia wichore da sir bhar

Ilmon bas karin o yaar
Ilmon miyaan ji kahawin
tamba chuk chuk mandi jawin
dhila le ke chari chalawin
Naal qasaaiyan bohta piaar

Ilmon bas karin o yaar
Bohta ilm Ezrael ne parhia
Jhaga jhaha os da saria
Aakhir gia oh bazi haar


Ilmon bas karin o yaar
Jad main sabaq ishaq da parhia
Daria wekh wahdat da waria
Ghuman ghiraan de wich arria
Shah aanayat laya paar

Ilmon bas karin o yaar
Bullah rafzi na he sunni
Aalam fazal na aamal janni
Iko parhia ilm ludni
Wahad alif meem darkar

Ilmon bas karin o yaar

Ranjha Ranjha Kar Di Ni Main Aape Ranjha Hoyi – I have become Ranjha myself, calling Ranjha Ranjha – Punjabi Kalam by Bulleh Shah


Repeating my beloved Ranjha, Ranjha.
I have become mysell Ranjha;
Call me now as ‘Dhido Ranjha ,
Not by the name of Heer but Ranjha.
Ranjha in me, I in his heart,
None else is there on lines! chart;
I am not T, he all in all,
And he himself would come, console.
Whatsoever is seen in me,
My caste and creed is not of me,
For I, with whom, knitted in love,
Transmuted me into his Love.
Now put aside the sheet in white.
Put on the beggar’s gown ablight;
Whitish garments would be stained,
No stain can stick to gown restrained.



Sado ni menoon dhedo ranjha, heer na aakho koii
Ranjha main wich, main ranjhe wich, hor khial na koii
Main nahin oh aap he, apni aap kare diljoii
Jo koii sade ander wasse, zaat asadi so ee
Hath khondi mere agge mango, modhe bhora loii
Bullah heer slati wekho, kitte ja khaloi
Jis de naal main nionh lagaya, oho jehi hoyi
Takhat hazare le chal bullah, sialin mile na dhoii

Tu Nahin Hain, Main Nahin Ve Sajna – You are the existence, I am non-existent – Punjabi Kalam by Bulleh Shah


Existence is of you, not mine.
Like the shadow of the cruise,
In the dilapidated house,
My mind is wandering recklessly, Impatiently, not aimlessly;
As I may talk, you also talk.
And I can never cease my talk;
When I sleep, with me you sleep.
And when I walk, you closer creep.
Bullah! Love has come to my house.
This time to make all sacrifice.
Existence is of you not mine.

Tu nahin hain, main nahin we sajna
Tu nahin hain, main nahin

Khole de parchawin wangon, ghum rahia man manhin
Jaan bolaan toon nale bolain, chup rehwaan man nahin
Jaan sowan toon nale sowein, jaan taraan toon rahin
Bullah shoh ghar aaya sade, jindri ghol ghumayin

Tu nahin hain, main nahin we sajna
Tu nahin hain, main nahin

Uth Chalay Guwandhon Yaar – My Neighbour is breathing his last – Punjabi Kalam by Bulleh Shah

My Neighbour is breathing his last
What should I do, O’ God! Aghast!
He is to leave, now cant remain, Companions
Ready catch the train.
What should I do, O’ God! Aghast!
On every side decamping talk.
At every place are shrieks in stock.
What should I do, O’ God! Aghast!
Rare up flames in heart to height, for.
Visible is not charming sight
What should I do. O’ God! Aghast!
Without his Love. Bullah in loss,
Can hardly dwell here or across.
What should I do. 0 God! Aghast!

Tere Ishq Nachaya – Your Love has made me dance romance – Full Punjabi Text with English Translation


Your Love has made me dance romance

Your love has made me dance romance.
Your love within me made scroll,
I drank poison of brimming bowl.
Rush my Saviour, lest 1 should die,
(The flames of love are leaping high).
Your love has made me dance, romance.
The Sun is set, crimsoned is rear,
Me sacrificed. You re-appear;
0 my master. I did forget.
With you I did not go, ablest.
Your love has made me dance, romance.
0 Mother! Prevent me not from love,
!s there some one bring back my love.
1 have lost intelligence, wisdom,
S have been lost in sailor’s arm.
Your love has made me dance, romance.
. ‘^eacock sings in but of love, ove appears as Ka’ba love;
•lids lie wounds and does not care,
Such is beloved, he is fair.
Your love has made me dance, romance.
Buliah! Brought at Inayat’s threshold.
Who made me put on green and red.
And when I had the flight to get My love; love made me thoroughly wet.
Your love has made me dance, romance.



Tere ishaq nachaya kar ke thia thia

Tere ishaq ne dira mere ander kita
Bhar ke zehar piala, main taan aape pita
jhabde bohrin we tabiba, nahin taan main mar gai aa

Tere ishaq nachaya kar ke thia thia

Jhab gia we sooraj, bahar reh gai aa lali
we main sadqe howaan, dewin murje wikhali
pira main bhul gai aan, tere naal na gai aa

Tere ishaq nachaya kar ke thia thia

Ais ishaqe di jhangi wich mor bolinda
Sanun qibla te kaaba sohna yaar dasinda
Sanun ghail kar ke phir khabar na lai aa

Tere ishaq nachaya kar ke thia thia

Bullah shoh ne aanda, minun aanayat de bohe
Jis ne menoon pawae chole sawe te sohe
Jaan main mari he addi, mil pia he wahia

Tere ishaq nachaya kar ke thia thia

 

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