जीवन की ही जय हो (Let life alone be victorious) by Maithili Sharan Gupt
जीवन की ही जय हो / डॉ. मैथिली शरण गुप्त
jeevan kee hee jay hai / Dr. Maithili Sharan Gupt
Poem by Maithili Sharan Gupt*
Translation: Dimitrios Vassiliadis
मृषा मृत्यु का भय है
The fear of death is in vain
जीवन की ही जय है ।
Victory is only for Life.
जीव की जड़ जमा रहा है
Setting the roots of all beings
नित नव वैभव कमा रहा है
Acquires new radiance eternally
यह आत्मा अक्षय है
This spirit is imperishable
जीवन की ही जय है।
Victory is only for Life.
नया जन्म ही जग पाता है
The world receives only the new birth
मरण मूढ़-सा रह जाता है
Death stays like a lethargy
एक बीज सौ उपजाता है
From one seed a hundred are born
सृष्टा बड़ा सदय है
The creator is very merciful
जीवन की ही जय है।
Victory is only for Life.
जीवन पर सौ बार मरूँ मैं
And if I die a hundred times in life
क्या इस धन कोगाड़ धरूँ मैं
Can I keep this wealth?
यदि न उचित उपयोग करूँ मैं
If I don’t use it properly
तो फिर महाप्रलय है
Then comes the great disaster again
जीवन की ही जय है।
Victory is only for Life.
*Maithili Sharan Gupt (3 August 1886 – 12 December 1964) is one of the most important modern Hindi poets. He wrote poetry and drama in Khari Boli (plain dialect). In 1854, he was awarded the second-highest at his time Indian civilian honor of Padma Bhushan. Mahatma Gandhi gave him the title of the National Poet (Rashtra Kavi) for his book Bharat-Bharati (1912), which was widely circulated during India’s struggle for independence and served as an inspiration to the freedom fighters.
Maithili Sharan Gupt began his literary career by writing poems in popular Hindi magazines. The main subject of his poems and the plots for most of his plays were inspired by the great Indian epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata. He also wrote about the lives of religious personalities. His famous works ‘Saket’ and ‘Yashodhara’ deal with the story of Urmila, Lakshmana’s wife in Ramayana, and Yashodhara, the wife of Gautama Buddha respectively. He also translated a couple of popular Sanskrit works into the Hindi language.
