19th Century (Mughal Era)

Mirza Ghalib

Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan Ghalib is the most widely quoted and celebrated classical Urdu and Persian poet. His ghazals are renowned for their philosophical depth, questioning of religious dogmas, and intense exploration of love and existential sorrow.

The poet who made doubt beautiful

Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan was born in Agra on 27 December 1797 and settled in Delhi as a young man, where he spent most of his life in rented rooms in Ballimaran. He lost his father early, married at thirteen and carried financial worry through decades of a pension dispute with the British East India Company.

He wrote in both Persian and Urdu, and was prouder of his Persian. History disagrees: it is his Urdu diwan — compact, difficult and endlessly quotable — that made him immortal. Bahadur Shah Zafar appointed him court historian and gave him the titles Dabir-ul-Mulk and Najm-ud-Daula.

Ghalib also reshaped Urdu prose. His personal letters, written in a chatty and witty style, introduced a conversational tone that Urdu prose had rarely used before. He died in Delhi on 15 February 1869, after witnessing the 1857 uprising and the fall of the Mughal court.

Recurring themes

Insatiable desire
Religious irony
Self-mockery
Philosophical doubt
The dignity of suffering

Where to start

Read the ghazals that begin 'Hazaaron khwaishein aisi' and 'Dil-e-nadaan tujhe hua kya hai' first; then try the letters for a very different, humorous Ghalib.

Worth knowing

He once said that his Persian poetry was 'a garden of colours' compared with his Urdu 'collection of sparse flowers' — and posterity decided exactly the opposite.

शास्त्रीय शेर — Mirza Ghalib

Hazaaron khwaishein aisi ke har khwaish pe dam nikle,

Bohat niklay mere armaan, lekin phir bhi kam nikle.

— Mirza Ghalib

Dil-e-nadaan tujhe hua kya hai,

Aakhir iss dard ki dawa kya hai?

— Mirza Ghalib

Ishq ne Ghalib nikamma kar diya,

Warna hum bhi aadmi the kaam ke.

— Mirza Ghalib

Hum ne maana ke tagaful na karoge lekin,

Khak ho jayenge hum tum ko khabar hone tak.

— Mirza Ghalib

Rekhta ke tumhi ustad nahi ho Ghalib,

Kahte hain agle zamane mein koi Mir bhi tha.

— Mirza Ghalib

Kaaba kis munh se jaoge Ghalib,

Sharm tum ko magar nahi aati.

— Mirza Ghalib

Mohabbat mein nahi hai farq jeene aur marne ka,

Usi ko dekh kar jeete hain jis kaafir pe dam nikle.

— Mirza Ghalib

Bas-ki dushwar hai har kaam ka aasan hona,

Aadmi ko bhi mayassar nahi insan hona.

— Mirza Ghalib

Dard minnat-kash-e-dawa na hua,

Main na achha hua, bura na hua.

— Mirza Ghalib

#10

Hum ko maaloom hai jannat ki haqeeqat lekin,

Dil ke khush rakhne ko Ghalib ye khayaal achha hai.

— Mirza Ghalib

#11

Na tha kuch to khuda tha, kuch na hota to khuda hota,

Duboya mujh ko hone ne, na hota main to kya hota?

— Mirza Ghalib

#12

Aah ko chahiye ek umr asar hone tak,

Kaun jeeta hai teri zulf ke sar hone tak.

— Mirza Ghalib

#13

Ronde mein hai sharafat par rona nahi aata,

Dil mein hai jo baat wo chehre pe laana nahi aata.

— Mirza Ghalib

#14

Jee dhoondta hai phir wahi fursat ke raat din,

Baithe rahein tasawwur-e-jaana kiye hue.

— Mirza Ghalib

#15

Qarz ki peete the mai lekin samajhte the ke haan,

Rang laaye gi humari faqa-masti ek din.

— Mirza Ghalib

#16

Maine kaha ki bazm-e-naaz mein ghairon ka kya guzar,

Usne kaha ki dastaan aage badhao baat kya.

— Mirza Ghalib

#17

Nukta-cheen hai gham-e-dil usko sunaye na bane,

Kya bane baat jahan baat banaye na bane.

— Mirza Ghalib

#18

Rahiye ab aisi jagah chal kar jahan koi na ho,

Hamsukhan koi na ho aur hamzabaan koi na ho.

— Mirza Ghalib

#19

Ugte hain kal saaye mere har diwaar-o-dar se,

Fursat-e-nazaara de aey gham mujhe har safar se.

— Mirza Ghalib

#20

Ghalib bura na maan jo waiz bura kahe,

Aisa bhi koi hai ke sabhi jis ko achha kahein.

— Mirza Ghalib

stars

Want custom couplets in Mirza Ghalib's style?

Our high-performance mobile application lets you query the AI to compose new poetry in the exact meter and vocabulary of your favorite shayars.

Download ShayariAI App