Rahim on Radha Krishna

Some scholars claim that Rahim was a devotee of Lord Krishna, despite being a follower of Islam. His love for Krishna resulted into some articulate piece of writings dedicated to Krishna.

Krishna, the eighth son of Devaki and Vasudev is said to be the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu or rather a complete manifestation of Lord Vishnu. Radha, considered as an incarnation of goddess Lakshmi, was the wife of Ayana-Ghosha, a cowherd in Vrindavana where Krishna stayed as a Gopala for some period of his life.

Radha Krishna
Radha-Krishna

As I gathered from my research, it is interesting to see Radha’s love for Krishna. I had always come across poets that expressed that rains play magic on lovers making them yearn for each other. Rahim does it too depicting vivid scenes in detail as to how Radha is craving for her lover Krishna. Read on to experience the pleasure of falling in love like Radha did. The playful yet innocent tone of these dohas is exceptional as he writes about love in the purest form that ever existed in Hindu mythological history – the love of Radha-Krishna.

Jhumi jhumi chahun orun, barsat megha.
Tyon tyon piya bin sajni, tadapat deha..

झुमि झुमि चाहुं अोर बरसत मेघा । त्यों त्यों पीया बिन सजनी तढ़पत देहा ।।

Translation: In this couplet, Radha is telling her friends, look mate the weather is so beautiful. Look at the surroundings; they are making me long for my lover Krishna. My desire for him knows no bounds with the dancing clouds and pouring drops of love.

Kablaun rahihe sajni, mann mein dheer.
saawan hun nahi aawan, kith balbeer..

कब लाऊं राहिए सजनी, मन में धीर । सावन हू नही अावन, किथ बलबीर ।।

Translation: In this couplet, Radha tells her friend, that for how long should I have patience my friend. The monsoons have arrived but Balbeer (elder son of Balraam i.e. Krishna) has not arrived yet. He should have been here, where is he?
In this couplet, Rahim like many other poets, describes the monsoons as a season of love and longing.

Aho sudhaakar pyaare, neh nichor.
Dekhan hi ko tarsain, nain chakor..

अहो सुधाकर प्यारे, नेह निचोड़ । देखन ही को तरसें, नैन चकोर ।।

Translation: In this couplet, Radha assumes Krishna to be her moon and asks him to bestow all his love like the moon shines all over the world. She says, My Lord, my eyes only want to see you like the nightingale wants to only see the moon and it will sing only for the moon.

yadapi basat hai sajni, laakhan log.
Hari bin kit yah chit ko, sukh sanjog..

यद्यपि बसत है सजनी, लाख़ों लिग । हरी बिन किथ यह चित्त को, सुख़ संजोग ।।

Translation: In this couplet Radha tells her friend, Oh mate, I am surrounded by a lot of people; but still my heart is not happy because I can’t see my sweet Krishna around.

Hari Rahim aisee kari, jyon kamaan sar poor.
Khainchi apni or ko, daari diyo puni door..

Translation: In this couplet, an angry Radha summons Krishna and says, Oh Lord you are playing with my emotions; you drew me close to your heart and then threw me away. I feel like an arrow that had been pulled close to the bow and then was shot away.

Note from the author:I am grateful for the support and motivation that I received in the form of your comments for my previous article on Rahim. Please feel free to offer comments and corrections below. Thank you!

The author is doing her graduation in Mass Communication and aspires to become a journalist. This blog is her first step in the journey towards her destination.

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