Bullah Ki Jaana - lyrics and translation
An enduring poem by Bulleh Shah, the 18th century Punjabi Sufi mystic
I did not think that I would be learning and translating Punjabi anytime soon, yet here we are! I recently came across an adaptation of Bulleh Shah’s poem sung by Rabbi Shergill and released in 2004:
I was struck by both the grammatical simplicity and powerful message of the lyrics, so I decided to write them out with line-by-line translation. I’m following the lyrics as posted on Wikipedia, which I assume are the original (it seems like Shergill largely kept the same phrases, but rearranged them a bit). Obviously, I may not have understood everything properly, so take my translation (which differs slightly from that provided on Wikipedia) with a grain of salt. I’ve attached hyperlinks to some words that I looked up.
ਨਾ ਮੈਂ ਮੋਮਨ ਵਿਚ ਮਸੀਤਾਂ, ਨਾ ਮੈਂ ਵਿਚ ਕੁਫ਼ਰ ਦੀਆਂ ਰੀਤਾਂ,
nā maiṅ momaṇ vic masītāṅ, nā maiṅ vic kufar dīyāṅ rītāṅ,
I am not the believer inside the mosque, I am not the in the rituals of the nonbelievers,
ਨਾ ਮੈਂ ਪਾਕਾਂ ਵਿਚ ਪਲੀਤਾਂ, ਨਾ ਮੈਂ ਮੂਸਾ ਨਾ ਫਰਔਨ।
nā maiṅ pākāṅ vic palītāṅ, nā maiṅ mūsā nā farāuna.
I am not the pure in the impure, I am not Moses or the Pharaoh.
ਬੁੱਲ੍ਹਾ ਕੀ ਜਾਣਾ ਮੈਂ ਕੌਣ ?
bulhā kī jāṇā maiṅ kauṇ?
Do I, Bullah, know who I am?
—
ਨਾ ਮੈਂ ਅੰਦਰ ਬੇਦ ਕਿਤਾਬਾਂ, ਨਾ ਵਿਚ ਭੰਗਾਂ ਨਾ ਸ਼ਰਾਬਾਂ,
nā maiṅ aṅdar bed kitābāṅ, nā vic bhaṅgāṅ śarābāṅ,
I am not inside the Vedic scriptures, I am not inside cannabis or alcohol,
ਨਾ ਵਿਚ ਰਿੰਦਾਂ ਮਸਤ ਖਰਾਬਾਂ, ਨਾ ਵਿਚ ਜਾਗਣ ਨਾ ਵਿਚ ਸੌਣ।
nā vic riṅdāṅ mast kharābāṅ, nā vic jāgaṇ nā vic sauṇ.
Not an intoxicated rascal, not in wakefulness nor in sleep.
ਬੁੱਲ੍ਹਾ ਕੀ ਜਾਣਾ ਮੈਂ ਕੌਣ ?
bulhā kī jāṇā maiṅ kauṇ?
Do I, Bullah, know who I am?
—
ਨਾ ਵਿਚ ਸ਼ਾਦੀ ਨਾ ਗ਼ਮਨਾਕੀ, ਨਾ ਮੈਂ ਵਿਚ ਪਲੀਤੀ ਪਾਕੀ,
nā vic śādi nā xamanākī, nā maiṅ vic palītī pākī,
Not in the wedding, not sorrow, I am not the clean in the unclean,
ਨਾ ਮੈਂ ਆਬੀ ਨਾ ਮੈਂ ਖ਼ਾਕੀ, ਨਾ ਮੈਂ ਆਤਿਸ਼ ਨਾ ਮੈਂ ਪੌਣ।
nā maiṅ ābī nā maiṅ qākī, nā maiṅ ātiś nā maiṅ pauṇ.
I am not water, I am not soil, I am not fire, I am not wind.
ਬੁੱਲ੍ਹਾ ਕੀ ਜਾਣਾ ਮੈਂ ਕੌਣ ?
bulhā kī jāṇā maiṅ kauṇ?
Do I, Bullah, know who I am?
—
ਨਾ ਮੈਂ ਅਰਬੀ ਨਾ ਲਾਹੌਰੀ, ਨਾ ਮੈਂ ਹਿੰਦੀ ਸ਼ਹਿਰ ਨਗੌਰੀ,
nā maiṅ arabī nā lāhaurī, nā maiṅ hiṅdī śahir nagaurī,
I am not an Arab, not a Lahori, I am not from the Indian city of Nagauri,
ਨਾ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨਾ ਤੁਰਕ ਪਸ਼ੌਰੀ, ਨਾ ਮੈਂ ਰਹਿੰਦਾ ਵਿਚ ਨਦੌਣ।
nā hiṅdū nā turk paśaurī, nā maiṅ rahiṅdā vic nadauṇ.
Not a Hindu, not a Turk Peshawari, I do not live in Nadaun.
ਬੁੱਲ੍ਹਾ ਕੀ ਜਾਣਾ ਮੈਂ ਕੌਣ ?
bulhā kī jāṇā maiṅ kauṇ?
Do I, Bullah, know who I am?
—
ਨਾ ਮੈਂ ਭੇਤ ਮਜ਼ਹਬ ਦਾ ਪਾਇਆ, ਨਾ ਮੈਂ ਆਦਮ ਹਵਾ ਜਾਇਆ,
nā maiṅ bhet mazhab dā pāiā, nā maiṅ ādam havā jāiā,
I did not find the secret religion, I did not become Adam or Eve,
ਨਾ ਮੈਂ ਆਪਣਾ ਨਾਮ ਧਰਾਇਆ, ਨਾ ਵਿਚ ਬੈਠਣ ਨਾ ਵਿਚ ਭੌਣ।
nā maiṅ āpaṇā nām dharāiā, nā vic baiṭhaṇ nā vic bhauṇ.
I don’t keep my own name, not in sitting nor in whirling.
ਬੁੱਲ੍ਹਾ ਕੀ ਜਾਣਾ ਮੈਂ ਕੌਣ ?
bulhā kī jāṇā maiṅ kauṇ?
Do I, Bullah, know who I am?
—
ਅੱਵਲ ਆਖਰ ਆਪ ਨੂੰ ਜਾਣਾਂ, ਨਾ ਕੋਈ ਦੂਜਾ ਹੋਰ ਪਛਾਣਾਂ,
avval ākhar āp nū jāṇāṅ, nā koī dūjā hora pachāṇāṅ
First and last, let me know myself, and not anyone else,
ਮੈਥੋਂ ਹੋਰ ਨਾ ਕੋਈ ਸਿਆਣਾ, ਬੁਲ੍ਹਾ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਖੜ੍ਹਾ ਹੈ ਕੌਣ ?
maithoṅ hora nā koī siāṇā, bulhā śāh kaṛhā hai kauṇ?
There is no one wiser than me - who is standing, O Bulleh Shah?
ਬੁੱਲ੍ਹਾ ਕੀ ਜਾਣਾ ਮੈਂ ਕੌਣ ?
bulhā kī jāṇā maiṅ kauṇ?
Do I, Bullah, know who I am?
Some linguistic observations:
In Punjabi, there seem to be a lot of retroflex nasals where Hindi has dental nasal. Consider the following Punjabi-Hindi cognates from the song: jāṇā-jānā, kauṇ-kaun, and pauṇ-pavan.
The last example above also highlights my next observation, which is the tendency in Punjabi for ava to become a monophthongal au. Another instance of this phenomenon in the song is the word paśaurī, which in Hindi would be peśāvarī. This phenomenon is not limited to Punjabi, but is a general feature in modern Indo-Aryan languages. Take, for example, the modern Hindi pronoun kaun, which shows up in Tulsi’s older Awadhi as kavan. There’s also the question of whether au is pronounced as a diphthong or a monophthong (i.e. essentially ō). Western Hindi and Punjabi seem to have a tendency to realize this vowel as a monophthong, while eastern languages like Awadhi and Bhojpuri tend to maintain it as a diphthong.
As far as I know, all Indian languages use post-positions rather than pre-positions, and Punjabi is no exception. Thus, it is somewhat puzzling that this song seems to consistently put postpositions before the noun. Take the phrase nā maiṅ vic kufar dīyāṅ rītāṅ, where vic (“in”) is definitely not modifying maiṅ (“I”), because that would require maiṅ to take the genitive form mere to form the phrase mere vic (“in me”). Rather, vic must be modifying the next noun phrase, kufar-dīyāṅ-rītāṅ (“the rituals of the nonbelievers”). If you re-read the song lyrics closely, you’ll see this phenomenon again and again. Why is this happening? I can think of one prepositional language that was widely used in India during Bulleh’s lifetime - Persian. My working theory is putting postpositions before the noun was an acceptable practice (perhaps only in literary contexts) because Punjabi Muslim scholars like Bulleh would have known Persian pretty well. If any Punjabi speakers are reading this post, please comment if you know whether or not this is true!
Some literary observations:
The main theme of the song seems to be a philosophical questioning of the nature of the true Self, using the strategy of saying what the Self is not. This line of reasoning has a deep tradition in Indian philosophy. While it is possible that a similar motif developed independently in Islam, I would strongly suspect that Bulleh was at least aware of the Hindu concept. In quintessential Sufi style, Bulleh uses this framework to negate the dogmas of both Hinduism and Islam. While his essence is neither in the dīyāṅ rītāṅ (“meditation and rituals”) nor bed kitābāṅ (“Vedic texts”) of the Hindus, he is also not a moman vic masītāṅ (“believer inside the mosque”). The last stanza - First and last, let me know myself, and not anyone else/There is no one wiser than me - who is standing, O Bulleh Shah? - seems incredibly in line with the teachings of Advaita Vedanta.
To emphasize the last point, it’s interesting to compare specific verses of Bulleh’s poem to the Nirvāṇa Ṣaṭakam, a short poem traditionally attributed to Ādi Śankarācārya, the 8th century Advaita philosopher. Consider:
Bulleh: nā maiṅ ābī nā maiṅ qākī, nā maiṅ ātiś nā maiṅ pauṇ
(“I am neither the water, earth, fire, or wind”)Śankarācārya: na ca vyoma bhūmir na tejo na vāyuḥ
(“[I] am neither the sky, earth, splendor, or wind”)It’s hard for me to imagine that this is just a coincidence.
Bulleh goes on to adapt this spiritual message of oneness to the sociopolitical context of his time. Bulleh lived from 1680-1757, a period of political turmoil in Punjab due to conflicts between the Sikh community and the Mughal Empire. In 1675, the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb had executed Guru Tegh Bahadur, the 9th Sikh guru, for refusing to convert to Islam. His son, Guru Gobind Singh, fought several battles against the Mughals for the next three decades.1 In this environment, religious identity (Hindu, Sikh, Muslim) would have carried political connotations. Bulleh, despite being a Muslim, was apparently supportive of the Sikh cause. In this context, the lines follwing lines - I am not an Arab, not a Lahori, I am not from the Indian city of Nagauri / Not a Hindu, not a Turk Peshawari, I do not live in Nadaun - can be taken to emphasize the universal nature of the human soul over false divisions based on religion, ethnicity, and political affiliation.
Lastly, it’s interesting to compare this poem to Bidrohi (1921) by Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. Like Bulleh, Nazrul freely draws from both Hindu and Muslim traditions in an effort to explain the Self, with lines like - I am the thunderbolt, I am the Om-sound of Shiva's horn / I am the great roar of Israfil's trumpet. Notably, Nazrul’s whole poem is about identifying the Self positively with attributes, while Bulleh (and Śankarācārya, as discussed earlier) are negating any possible attributes of the Self. This reflects the concepts of saguṇa vs. nirguṇa Brahman in Hinduism - essentially, the idea that that the ultimate reality of the Universe can be simultaneously conceptualized as encompassing all possible attributes and also none at all.
After Aurangzeb’s death in 1707, the Mughal Empire began to fall apart. In 1748, the Sikhs united to form a confederacy. Fifty years later (so about 40 years after Bulleh’s death), this gave way to the Sikh Empire, which lasted for another five decades until succumbing to the British.