Bahadur Shah II

Epitaph

Zafar was an accomplished Urdu poet and calligrapher. While he was denied paper and pen in captivity, he was known to have written on the walls of his room with a burnt stick. He wrote the following Ghazal (Video search) as his own epitaph.

Original Urdu	Devanagari transliteration	Roman transliteration	English Translation
لگتا نہیں ہے جی مِرا اُجڑے دیار میں کس کی بنی ہے عالمِ ناپائیدار میں بُلبُل کو پاسباں سے نہ صیاد سے گلہ قسمت میں قید لکھی تھی فصلِ بہار میں کہہ دو اِن حسرتوں سے کہیں اور جا بسیں اتنی جگہ کہاں ہے دلِ داغدار میں اِک شاخِ گل پہ بیٹھ کے بُلبُل ہے شادماں کانٹے بِچھا دیتے ہیں دلِ لالہ زار میں عمرِ دراز مانگ کے لائے تھے چار دِن دو آرزو میں کٹ گئے، دو اِنتظار میں دِن زندگی کے ختم ہوئے شام ہوگئی پھیلا کے پائوں سوئیں گے کنج مزار میں کتنا ہے بدنصیب ظفر دفن کے لئے دو گز زمین بھی نہ ملی کوئے یار میں	लगता नहीं है जी मेरा उजड़े दयार में किसकी बनी है अालम-ए-नापायेदार में बुलबुल को पासबाँ से न सैयाद से गिला क़िस्मत में क़ैद लिखी थी फ़स्ल-ए-बहार में इन हसरतों से कह दो कहीं और जा बसें इतनी जगह कहाँ है दिल-ए-दाग़दार में इक शाख़-ए-गुल पे बैठ के बुलबुल है शादमाँ काँटे बिछा दिये हैं दिल-ए-लालाज़ार में उम्र-ए-दराज़ माँगके लाए थे चार दिन दो अारज़ू में कट गए, दो इन्तज़ार में दिन ज़िन्दगी के ख़त्म हुए शाम हो गई फैला के पाँव सोएँगे कुंज-ए-मज़ार में कितना है बदनसीब “ज़फ़र″ दफ़्न के लिए दो गज़ ज़मीन भी न मिली कू-ए-यार में	lagtā nahīń hé jī mérā ūjař'é dayār méń kiskī banī hé ālam-e-nā-pāyedār méń būlbūl ko pāsbāń se na saiyyād se gilā qismet méń qaid likhī tthī fasl-e-bahār méń kaeh do in hassretoń se kahīń aur jā bas'éń itnī jageh kahāń hé dil-e-dāGhdār méń ik shāKh-e-gūl pe baiTh ke būlbūl hé shādmāń kānTe bichā diye héń dil-e-lālāzār méń umr-e-darāz māńg ke lāye tthe chār din do ārzū méń kaT gayé do intezār méń din zindagī ke Khatm hué shām ho gayī p'hailā ke pāoń soyeń-ge kūńj-e-mazaar méń kitnā hé bad-naseeb zafar dafn ke liye do gaz zamīn bhī na milī kū-e-yār méń	My heart has no repose in this despoiled land Who has ever felt fulfilled in this futile world? The nightingale complains about neither the sentinel nor the hunter Fate had decreed imprisonment during the harvest of spring Tell these longings to go dwell elsewhere What space is there for them in this besmirched heart? Sitting on a branch of flowers, the nightingale rejoices It has strewn thorns in the garden of my heart I asked for a long life, I received four days Two passed in desire, two in waiting. The days of life are over, evening has fallen I shall sleep, legs outstretched, in my tomb How unfortunate is Zafar! For his burial Not even two yards of land were to be had, in the land of his beloved.

In his book, The Last Mughal, William Dalrymple states that, according to Lahore scholar Imran Khan, the verse beginning umr-e-darāz māńg ke ("I asked for a long life") is probably not by Zafar, and does not appear in any of the works published during Zafar's lifetime. The verse appears to be by Simab Akbarabadi.

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Bahadur Shah II - Epitaph

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