Heer Ranjha - Waris Shah

Hello to seekers of the Heer Ranjha translation. Just to make you aware... this blog will be translating only a part of the Waris Shah version, the one which has been popularly sung in folk Punjabi music.

There are several poetic narrations of the story, the most famous being Heer by Waris Shah written in 1766, it tells the story of the love of Heer and her lover Ranjha, whos first name was Deedo. Other well known poetic narrations have been written by Damodar Das Arora, Mukbaz and Ahmed Gujjar amongst others.

This blog was born out of a need to have an authoritative translation of one of the versions of Heer which has been sung for many years. There is a link to a video below of Heer sung by Jasbir Jassi whose modern day version inspired me to attempt to sing Heer. In order for me to complete this task not only did I have to learn the raag (music scale) and the words, I needed to understand the meaning of the words in order to sing the song with true expression. In doing so I realised there was no, one, website or blog dedicated to this. I hope this blog will serve as a resource for others who aspire to develop their knowledge and learn about Heer Ranjha.

Heer as sung by Jasbir Jassi

Link: https://youtu.be/ssJRpi-OQqs

Original Music Video: https://youtu.be/pGUH7QyFREk

The Story of Heer Ranjha

Heer is an extremely beautiful woman, born into a wealthy Jatt family of the Sayyal clan in Jhang, Punjab (Pakistan)). Ranjha (whose first name is Dheedo), also a Jat of the Ranjha clan, is the youngest of four brothers and lives in the village 'Takht Hazara' by the river Chenab. Being his father's favorite son, unlike his brothers who had to toil in the lands, he led a life of ease spending his time playing the flute. After a quarrel with his brothers over land, Ranjha leaves home. In Waris Shah's version of the epic, it is said that Ranjha left his home because his brothers' wives refused to give him food. Eventually he arrives in Heer's village and falls in love with her. Heer offers Ranjha a job as caretaker of her father's cattle. She becomes mesmerised by the way Ranjha plays his flute and eventually falls in love with him. They meet each other secretly for many years until they are caught by Heer's jealous uncle, Kaido, and her parents Chuchak and Malki. Heer is forced by her family and the local priest or 'mullah' to marry another man called Saida Khera.

Ranjha is heartbroken. He wanders the countrtyside alone, until eventually he meets a 'jogi' (ascetic). After meeting Baba Gorakhnath, the founder of the "Kanphata"(pierced ear) sect of jogis, at 'Tilla Jogian' (the 'Hill of Ascetics', located 50 miles north of the historic town of Bhera, Sargodha District, Punjab), Ranjha becomes a jogi himself, piercing his ears and renouncing the material world. Reciting the name of the Lord, "Alakh Niranjan", he wanders all over the Punjab, eventually finding the village where Heer now lives.

Eventually the two return to Heer's village, where Heer's parents agree to their marriage. However, on the wedding day, Heer's jealous uncle Kaido poisons her food so that the wedding will not take place. Hearing this news, Ranjha rushes to aid Heer, but he is too late, as she has already eaten the poison and died. Brokenhearted once again, Ranjha takes the poisoned Laddu (sweet) which Heer has eaten and dies by her side.

Heer and Ranjha are buried in Heer's hometown, Jhang. Lovers and others often pay visits to their mausoleum.

It is believed that the poem of Heer and Ranjha had a happy ending but Waris Shah gave it the sad ending as described above, thereby giving it the legendary status it now enjoys.

So here's the lyrics for the track...

Heer

1

heer aakhdi jogiya ve jhoot bolle

ve kaun ruthade yaar manavanda eee

aisa koi na milya ve main dhoond thaki haaa

jehda gayan nu mohd layavanda eee

2

sade cham diyaan jutiyaan kare koi eee

jehda jeu da rog gavavanda eee

bhala das kha chiree vichania nu

kado rabb sacha ghar leyavanda eee

3

sada jeuja maan jehda aan mele

sir sadka osde naamda ee

bhala moye te vichade kaun mele

aevein jiuda log val-lavanda eee

4

ek jatt de khet nu agg lagi

vekhan aaike kado bhujhavanda eee

ek baaj toh kau ne koonjh khoi haaa

vekhaan chup hai ke kurlavanda eee

devaan chooriyan keyo de baal dive 

waris shah je suna main aavanda eee

Translation: I feel I must mention that as the original text is hundreds of years old and was written in a language and way that is very hard to understand in todays time, this simplistic translation does not give the passage true justice as there are metaphors in play here that won't make sense to the reader unless they are adept in the writings of Waris Shah. My quest to translate this into English has ended up taking me many years since I originally posted this blog back in June 2010, it is now 2016 and to date I have not been able to find one person who could translate the whole text. The result below is from many peoples input and me having to work out the context of the translation. I thank all those that have helped me over the years and would like to extend my thanks to those who have waited patiently for me to complete my translation. Even now there are some blanks and I will endeavour to keep updating the translation below as I become more knowledgable.   

1

Heer says, jogi you tell a lie 

parted friends cannot be reunited 

I have searched far and wide but have found no one 

who can return those that have parted

2

He may make shoes of my flesh

the one who can cause the loss of the disease of this existence

tell me, those that have been estranged so long

when does god bring them back to their true home

3

To he who matches the robe of my existence

I sacrifice my head to his name

who can unite the the dead and the parted

these things are twisted by the living 

4

A jat's field is alight

let me see how quick he puts it out

...

...

I will offer sweet cakes and light my lamps with rich butter for oil

oh poet Waris Shah, if I hear that my lover is returning

Note

It was common practice for the poet to write his name in the the poem / song itself. This tradition is carried on to this day but usually the lyricist will include his name only once, typically in the last verse of the song