Who gave such a firm bow to that tender arm?

By hamed @hamed | poet: Saadi Shirazi | 17 0

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Description:

This ghazal by Saadi Shirazi reflects on the irresistible allure of a beloved whose beauty is both captivating and disarming. Through imagery of bows, arrows, and fortresses, Saadi conveys how profoundly love has overwhelmed him, making even the smallest gestures of the beloved as powerful as armor in battle. The poem explores the transformative power of love and beauty, likening the beloved's features to treasures and marvels that eclipse worldly riches and powers. In the final verses, Saadi underscores that true love requires resilience, as it means embracing both beauty and flaws—a virtue he prizes above all.


English Translation for Ghazal

 

Who gave such a firm bow to that tender arm?
The arrows of your glances fully captivate the deer’s heart.

A thousand hearts willingly fall before your arrows,
With the beauty you hold, in the arc of your brows.

You need no armor, no shield for defense,
For in battle, even your hair could serve as chainmail.

Both the realms of India and the lands of the Turks surrender
When they see your Turkish gaze and your Indian curls.

The magi who worship idols haven’t seen
Beauties with idol-like faces such as yours.

Do not use the siege catapult on a garden’s fortress;
Instead, raise the rope of your hair to its palace roof.

I who lived my whole life in seclusion like the rare phoenix,
Have been captured by you, as a partridge by a falcon.

When I saw your lips, my ruby lost its worth,
And when you spoke, pearls lost their value.

The radiance of your face shatters the trade of the moon and sun,
Just as Moses’ miracle destroyed the sorcerers’ spells.

One cannot find treasure through idle struggle;
Good fortune, not brute strength, grants virtue.

Saadi’s heart is given to the beauty who, for love,
Can endure both the fine and the coarse in another.

متن غزل

کمان سختْ که داد آن لطیف بازو را؟

که تیر غمزه تمامست صید آهو را

 

هزار صید دلت پیش تیر باز آید

بدین صفت که تو داری کمان ابرو را

 

تو خود به جوشن و برگستوان نه محتاجی

که روز معرکه بر خود زره کنی مو را

 

دیار هند و اقالیم ترک بسپارند

چو چشم ترک تو بینند و زلف هندو را

 

مغان که خدمت بت می‌کنند در فرخار

ندیده‌اند مگر دلبران بت‌رو را

 

حصار قلعهٔ باغی به منجنیق مده

به بام قصر برافکن کمند گیسو را

 

مرا که عزلت عنقا گرفتمی همه عمر

چنان اسیر گرفتی که باز تیهو را

 

لبت بدیدم و لعلم بیوفتاد از چشم

سخن بگفتی و قیمت برفت لؤلؤ را

 

بهای روی تو بازار ماه و خور بشکست

چنان که معجز موسی طلسم جادو را

 

به رنج بردن بیهوده گنج نتوان برد

که بخت راست فضیلت، نه زور بازو را

 

به عشق روی نکو دل کسی دهد سعدی

که احتمال کند خوی زشت نیکو را