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चकित चकता चौंकि चौंकि उठै बार बार

Chakit Chakata Chaunki Chaunki Uthai Bar Bar

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1 verses · ~1 min

चकित चकत्ता चौंकि चौंकि उठै बार बार, दिल्ली दहसति चितै चाहि करषति है. बिलखि बदन बिलखत बिजैपुर पति, फिरत फिरंगिन की नारी फरकति है. थर थर काँपत क़ुतुब साहि गोलकुंडा, हहरि हवस भूप भीर भरकति है. राजा सिवराज के नगारन की धाक सुनि, केते बादसाहन की छाती धरकति है.

इति

Rasa: Veera
Stanzas: 1
Lines: 8
Reading time: ~1 min
Form: Kavitta
Metre: kavitta
Rhyme: AABACADA

The atmosphere is one of frantic, high-stakes anxiety, capturing the visceral terror of mighty monarchs recoiling at the distant, rhythmic thunder of Shivaji’s war drums. The scene is a fractured composition of trembling figures—the Mughal emperor startled from his seat, the dejected Sultan of Bijapur, and the shuddering Qutub Shah of Golconda—all depicted amidst the chaotic tension of crumbling authority. Through this martial lens, the relentless beat of the drums acts as a symbol of inevitable conquest, transforming the opulent, claustrophobic interiors of royal courts into spaces of pervasive, haunting dread. The poem maintains a sharp, dramatic tone that shifts from regal grandeur to the pathetic instability of those who fear their own sunset, framing the Maratha King as an unstoppable force of nature whose presence alone destabilizes empires.

चकित चकता चौंकि चौंकि उठै बार बार (Chakit Chakata Chaunki Chaunki Uthai Bar Bar), by Kavi Bhushan runs to 8 lines, set as Eight-line Kavitta stanza. Its governing rasa is Veera, shaded by Bhayanaka. The metre is kavitta. Rhyme falls as AABACADA.

शिवाजी के बढ़ते प्रभाव से बीजापुर, गोलकुंडा और दिल्ली के मुगल दरबार में व्याप्त भय का चित्रण।

Read it for शिवाजी के नगाड़ों की गूंज से सुल्तानों में खौफ and मुगल और दक्कन के शासकों की घबराहट. 3 words in it carry older or regional senses, so the poem rewards a second pass.

The verse is hung beside Shivaji Maharaj at Agra: Bathed in a warm, amber-toned glow, the painting exudes an atmosphere of tense vigilance and quiet dignity, capturing a breath held on the edge of historical upheaval. Within the ornate, confined chambers of the Agra…

Words worth pausing on

दहसति: दहशत या भय
बिजैपुर पति: बीजापुर का सुल्तान
हहरि: काँपकर या घबराकर

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The Poet

भूषण

Kavi Bhushan

1613 · 1715

Kavi Bhushan stands as a monumental figure in classical Hindi literature who fundamentally redirected the trajectory of courtly poetry. Born in 1613, he chose not to write conventional verses of romantic indulgence. Instead, he dedicated his pen to Veer Rasa (heroic poetry) during a highly turbulent period in Indian history. Bhushan served as an honored poet in the courts of the Maratha king Shivaji and the Bundeli king Chhatrasal. His most celebrated works, such as 'Shiva Bavani' and 'Chhatrasal Dashak', are electric chronicles of martial valor and political resistance. Writing in a robust form of Brajbhasha interspersed with Sanskrit, Arabic, and Persian, he commanded a mastery over complex poetic meters and figures of speech like Shlesh Alankar. Bhushan did not merely flatter his patrons; he immortalized them as defenders of cultural dignity, making his verses echo like war drums across the centuries.