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काले परे कोस चलि चलि थक गए पाय

Kale Pare Kos Chali Chali Thak Gae Pay

1 min read 1 versesSeparation Love Philosophy

1 verses · ~1 min

काल परे कोस चलि चलि थक गए पाय, सुख के कसाले परे ताले परे नस के। रोय रोय नैनन में हाले परे जाले परे, मदन के पाले परे प्रान पर-बस के। 'हरिचंद' अंगहू हवाले परे रोगन के, सोगन के भाले परे तन बल खसके। पगन छाले परे लांघिबे को नाले परे, तऊ लाल लाले परे रावरे दरस के।

इति

Rasa: Shringara
Stanzas: 1
Lines: 8
Reading time: ~1 min
Form: Savaiya
Metre: savaiya
Rhyme: AABBCCDD

The poem evokes a visceral, aching landscape of longing, where the speaker’s physical exhaustion manifests in a scene of frayed nerves, weeping eyes, and blistered feet navigating a treacherous, impassable terrain. This tragic yet deeply romantic imagery depicts a weary traveler halted by the phantom obstacles of grief and desire, emphasizing a heart held captive by the relentless arrows of a cruel, unyielding Cupid. The atmosphere is one of profound vulnerability and spiritual paralysis, framing the beloved’s sight as an unreachable oasis that remains perpetually out of grasp despite the speaker's total bodily surrender to the pangs of separation.

काले परे कोस चलि चलि थक गए पाय (Kale Pare Kos Chali Chali Thak Gae Pay), by Bharatendu Harishchandra runs to 8 lines, set as Single eight-line stanza (Kavitta/Savaiya style). Its governing rasa is Shringara, shaded by Karuna. The metre is savaiya. Rhyme falls as AABBCCDD.

It belongs to the 1850 · 1885 span of Bharatendu Harishchandra's working life, and keeps the plain, spoken register that period is known for.

Read it for प्रियतम के दर्शन की तीव्र व्याकुलता and विरह वेदना और शारीरिक शिथिलता. 4 words in it carry older or regional senses, so the poem rewards a second pass.

The verse is hung beside Arjuna and Urvashi: The chromolithograph evokes a palpable emotional tension of unrequited desire and steadfast virtue, set within a quiet, charged atmosphere of divine longing. It depicts the celestial apsara Urvashi, adorned in an ornate…

Words worth pausing on

कसाले: कष्ट या दुःख
मदन: कामदेव
सोगन: शोक या दुःख
दरस: दर्शन

Threads

Separation Love Philosophy

The Poet

भारतेंदु हरिश्चंद्र

Bharatendu Harishchandra

1850 · 1885

Bharatendu Harishchandra stands at the exact crossroads where classical Indian tradition met the fierce urgency of modern national consciousness. Born in Varanasi in 1850 and living a brief but meteorically impactful life until 1885, he is universally acknowledged as the father of modern Hindi literature. Before Harishchandra, Hindi poetry was largely confined to the courtly and devotional aesthetics of Braj Bhasha. He bravely shifted the literary medium to Khari Boli, standardizing the language and making it a powerful vehicle for public discourse, social reform, and anticolonial resistance. Through literary journals like Kavi Vachan Sudha and groundbreaking plays like Andher Nagari, he documented the economic exploitation of India under British rule while simultaneously critiquing orthodoxies within his own society. He wrote with sharp satirical wit, deep patriotism, and an unwavering commitment to cultural awakening. To read his work is to witness the exact moment when the Hindi language found its modern voice.