Damodar Gulati

Damodar Gulati (Punjabi: ਦਮੋਦਰ ਦਾਸ ਅਰੋੜਾ, دمودر داس اروڑا) also known as Damodar Das Arora (1605-1656), was a Punjabi poet. He hailed from Jhang. He lived during the reign of Mughal king Akbar. He wrote the qissa Heer and Ranjha (ہیر رانجھے دا قصہ), adapted from a legend.^[1]^[2] .He claims to be the eye witness of this tale. His Qissa/story is deemed the oldest and the first Heer in Punjabi literature . He states in the poem that he is from Jhang—the home of Heer, one of the poem's two main characters.^[3] He wrote this Heer in the dialect of Sandal Bar , despite this fact after the lapse of five hundred years the language used in the story is nearer to modern Majhai /Majhil dialect. He does have also a peculiar style ,at the end of a quaternary he repeats Aakkh Damodar means Say Damodar ,

آکھ دمودر میں اکھی ڈٹھا لگی ہون لڑائی

Aakkh Damodar mein Akkhi ditha laggi hon Ladai

(Say Damodar I witnessed with my eyes the battle started )

نک تے کن تنہاں دا وڈھیئے جو چوری یاری کریندے

دوجا نک تنہاں دا وڈھیئےجو حق پرایا لیندے

تیجا نک تنہاں دا وڈھیئے جو کوئی وڈھی کھاندے

آکھ دمودر جنہاں سچ سنجھاتے سے بہشتی جاندے

Nak tey kan tinhan da wadhaiy jo chori, yari karaindey

Doja nak tinhan da wadhaiy jo haq pariaya lendey

Teja nak tinhan da wadhaiy jo koi wadhi khandey

Aakkh Damodar jinha sach sanjhatey sey bhashti jandey

(Amputate the ears and nose of those who commit theft and have extra marital affairs,

Second chop off the nose of those who usurp the right of others,

Third hack off the nose of those who accept bribe,

Say Damodar only those will go to paradise who recognize the truth)

توں کیوں زوری کرناں ایں قاضی ڈرے خدا توں ناہیں

میرا حق رانجھیٹا ایہو سنیاں سبھ لوکائی

لے کے وڈھی حق گنوائیں کڈھ کتاب وکھائی

آکھ دمودر ہیر آکھے قاضی سبھ شرع تکائی

Toun keyoun zori karna ain qazi dery Khuda tu naheen

Mera haq Ranjheeta ay,ho suneya subh lokai

ley key wadhi haq ganvain kadh kitab vakkhai

Aakkh Damodar Heer Akkhey qazi subh Sharah (shariah) takai.

(Why do you compel me, O,qazi don't you have fear of God,

Ranjheeta is mine, all the people know

You (qazi) have accepted bribe, infringed my right,showing the book (shariah)

Say Damodar, Heer tells qazi showed her the whole Shariah. According to the Encyclopædia of Indian Literature, Gulati's work had Sikh influences.^[4] Waris Shah later adapted Heer and Ranjha.^[5]

References

^ Ray, Bharati (2009). Different Types of History. Pearson Education India. p. 204. ISBN 978-81-317-1818-6.
^ Gaur, I. D. (2008). Martyr as Bridegroom: A Folk Representation of Bhagat Singh. Anthem Press. p. 29. ISBN 978-81-905835-0-3.
^ Davis, Geoffrey V. (2017-07-05). Performing Identities: Celebrating Indigeneity in the Arts. Routledge. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-351-55462-6.
^ Datta, Amaresh, ed. (1949). Encyclopædia of Indian Literature. Vol. 3. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. p. 2418.
^ Shah, Waris (1959). "Heer-Ranjha". Medieval Indian Literature: An Anthology. Vol. 3. Translated by Kanda, K. C. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. p. 1090.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)

References

Further reading