===
0263,
7
===
 

{263,7}

chalii jaatii hai ;hasb-e qadr buland
duur tak us pahaa;R kii hai ;Daa;Ng

1) it moves away/along, according to how lofty/high [it is / we are]
2) far away is the summit of that mountain

 

Notes:

;hasb : 'Agreeably (to), conformably (to), according (to), in conformity (with)'. (Platts p.477)

 

qadr : 'Greatness, dignity, honour, rank, power; importance, consequence; worth, merit; estimation, appreciation, account; value, price; —measure; degree; quantity; magnitude; bulk, size; portion, part'. (Platts p.788)

 

buland : 'High, lofty, tall; elevated, exalted, sublime'. (Platts p.165)

 

;Daa;Ng : 'Ridge or summit of a hill or mountain'. (Platts p.563)

*Platts Dictionary Online*

S. R. Faruqi:

;Daa;Ng = top of a mountain; peak

Among the editions of the Kulliyat of Mir that I have seen, these two verses [the present one and the next one, {263,8}] have never been shown as a verse-set [qi:tah-band]. But my view is that if they're read as a verse-set, then the 'seating' of the meaning will seem better.

In the present verse, the mountain that is mentioned can be some real mountain, and it can also be metaphorical. If it's assumed to be metaphorical, then the mountain can be a metaphor for some difficult task (for example, success in love), or some difficult undertaking.

Mir sometimes brings in such themes, based on real events, that are not found in Urdu or Persian poetry. In this verse, the kind of perspective (that if the mountain would be tall and high, then however far one might climb, it still would seem as far away again) that's used-- if it's considered to be based on reality (such that the mountain is an actual mountain), then there's no harm.

[For further commentary see {263,8}.]

FWP:

SETS
MOTIFS
NAMES
TERMS == FRESH WORD; VERSE-SET

One thing that makes SRF want to frame a verse-set is surely the vagueness and abstractness of this verse. The only way to imagine the speaker's role in it at all is to read not 'how high it is' but 'how high we are'-- and even that is a reading we're really only led to make after we've encountered {263,8}.

Unlike the neutral English constructions 'according to' or 'in proportion to', the Urdu ;hasb-e qadr is full of overtones of greatness and dignity (see the definitions above). Similarly, the choice of buland adds a tone of loftiness to the verse. But only, it should be noted, once we have seen {236,8}. For only then do we see the use that Mir is making of this loftiness, and the poetic desirability of our choosing a reading that enhances it.

So in short, it's easy to agree with SRF that the two verses are best read together as at least an unofficial verse-set.

The present verse surely deserves 'fresh word' credit, for the highly unusual ;Draa;Ng .