Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilün

Devr kılgil dem-be-dem ey mug şarâb-ender-şarâb
Lutf kıl zîrâ ki bağrımdır kebâb-ender-kebâb
‘Âşık-ı dil-teşne[y]em yandım ki biryân ‘aşkına
Sun bir Allâh ‘aşkına ey büt şarâb-ender-şarâb
Teşne-gân-ı Kerbelâ ‘aşkına bir devr it tamâm
Kâse-i ser-şârıla ger cânın ister bin sevâb
Çekmegil bî-câ emek ey dil hüveydâdur bu kim
Sâf olmaz kalb bî-peymâne vü bî-bâde-nâb
Sohbet-i agyârlar ‘âşıklara düşvârdır
Eylesem ma‘zûram er ehl-i vera‘dan ictinâb
Rind ü rüsvâlıkla olmaz ehl-i sevdâ muztarib
Eylemez bed-nâmlıkdan ‘âşık-ı Leylâ hicâb
Hüsn-i hâlindir didi ey nîk-baht ol vakt kim
Tîg-i ‘aşkınla suâl itdim şehîdem me'l-cevâb
Seyr kıl Mîr Nigârî bî-tereddüd dem-be-dem
Şîr-i sevdâ yâverindir sanma kendin bî-sıhâb

In English

1. O Magian, pass round wine upon wine every moment; be kind, for my breast is kebab upon kebab.

2. I am a lover with a thirsting heart, burned as the kebab of your love; O idol, for the love of God serve wine upon wine.

3. If your soul desires a thousand merits, pass the brimming bowl once fully round for the love of the thirsty ones of Karbala.

4. O heart, do not labour in vain; this much is plain, that the heart is not purified without the cup and pure wine.

5. The company of strangers weighs on lovers; if I keep away from the over-scrupulous, I am to be excused.

6. The people of passion are not troubled by being rinds and being disgraced; the lover of Leylâ is not ashamed of an ill name.

7. When, a martyr of the sword of your love, I asked "what is the answer", (the beloved) said "O fortunate one, this is your good state". (The couplet has been understood approximately.)

8. Mîr Nigârî, walk on without hesitation every moment; the lion of passion is your helper, do not think yourself without companions.

Literary and Historical Commentary

The third couplet ties the language of the tavern to a memory of mourning. The poet asks the cupbearer to pass the brimming bowl once fully round for the love of the "teşne-gân-ı Kerbelâ", the thirsty ones of Karbala, and says it will bring a thousand merits. It is well known that at Karbala Husayn and those with him were martyred after being kept from water on the bank of the Euphrates; remembering them while drinking or giving out water is a custom of love for the Prophet's family that lives among the people. Nigârî carries this custom to the wine cup: the cup passed round becomes an offering in memory of those who went thirsty.

The first two couplets of the ghazal use the "-ender-" pattern twice: "şarâb-ender-şarâb" and "kebâb-ender-kebâb", wine upon wine and kebab upon kebab. Wine and kebab side by side come from the gathering scene of divan poetry; the lover's burned breast becomes a relish for the wine. The fourth couplet states the meaning of this gathering: without cup and pure wine the heart is not purified. Wine here is the name of the love that cleanses the heart.

The rind's two enemies are named in couplets five and six: the company of strangers and the "ehl-i vera‘", those who scrupulously avoid anything doubtful. If the lover keeps away from them he is excused; the lover of Leylâ is not ashamed of an ill name either. The seventh couplet is a short scene of conversation: the lover martyred by the sword of love asks for the outcome, and the beloved says that this is his "hüsn-i hâl", his good state. The "şîr-i sevdâ", lion of passion, in the last couplet is the lover's companion; it may call to mind Ali, known by the epithet "Şîr-i Hudâ", the Lion of God, but the couplet gives no name. The "-âb" rhyme set up by şarâb and kebâb in the opening couplet continues with sevâb, nâb, ictinâb, hicâb, cevâb and sıhâb.

Bibliography

Online sources