ShringaraIntermediate

बाँध दिए क्यों प्राण

Bandh Diye Kyon Pran

3 verses · ~1 min

बाँध दिए क्यों प्राण प्राणों से तुमने चिर अनजान प्राणों से

गोपन रह न सकेगी अब यह मर्म कथा प्राणों की न रुकेगी बढ़ती विरह व्यथा विवश फूटते गान प्राणों से

यह विदेह प्राणों का बंधन अंतर्ज्वाला में तपता तन मुग्ध हृदय सौन्दर्य ज्योति को दग्ध कामना करता अर्पण नहीं चाहता जो कुछ भी आदान प्राणों से

इति

Rasa: Shringara
Stanzas: 3
Lines: 12
Reading time: ~1 min
Form: Geet (lyric song)
Metre: geet
Rhyme: irregular

The poem breathes an atmosphere of intense shringara fueled by the sharp ache of separation, where the physical form feels burdened by an invisible, soul-deep tether to an absent beloved. A painting of this scene would depict a solitary figure amidst a darkening landscape, their body rendered as if smoldering from within, casting a faint, inner light against the surrounding shadows to symbolize the burning, uncontainable intensity of suppressed longing. This viraha narrative suggests a tragic surrender, where the heart acts as an altar, consuming itself in the flames of desire and poetic expression, ultimately portraying love not as a union but as a poignant, transcendent suffering that seeks no earthly recompense.

बाँध दिए क्यों प्राण (Bandh Diye Kyon Pran), by Sumitranandan Pant runs to 12 lines across 3 stanzas, set as Three stanzas of varying lengths with a lyrical, song-like flow. Its governing rasa is Shringara, shaded by Shanta. The metre is geet. Rhyme falls as irregular.

It belongs to the 1900 · 1977 span of Sumitranandan Pant's working life, and keeps the plain, spoken register that period is known for.

Read it for अनजान प्राणों के बीच गहरे आत्मिक बंधन की व्यथा and विरह की पीड़ा और प्रेम का समर्पण. 2 words in it carry older or regional senses, so the poem rewards a second pass.

The verse is hung beside Urvashi Abandons Pururavas: Bathed in a warm, dramatic interplay of deep crimson and dusky shadow, the scene evokes a heavy, melancholic atmosphere of irreversible loss and divine longing. The portrait depicts the celestial nymph Urvashi ascending…

Words worth pausing on

गोपन: गुप्त या छिपा हुआ
विदेह: शरीर रहित या आत्मिक

Threads

Soul Separation Love Pain

The Poet

सुमित्रानंदन पंत

Sumitranandan Pant

1900 · 1977

Sumitranandan Pant was the absolute master of lyrical aestheticism in modern Hindi literature. Born in 1900 in the lush Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand, he drew his earliest and most profound inspiration from the pristine beauty of the Himalayas. He became one of the four foundational pillars of Chhayavaad, the Hindi neo romantic movement. However, his literary journey did not stagnate in romantic nature worship. Over a career spanning more than five decades, his poetry evolved through distinct phases, absorbing progressive ideologies and eventually culminating in the deep philosophical spiritualism of Sri Aurobindo. Works like Pallav showcased his unmatched ability to weave delicate, musical imagery, while his later masterpiece Chidambara earned him the Jnanpith Award in 1968, the very first time this prestigious honor was given to a Hindi writer. Pant was also recognized with the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Padma Bhushan. He passed away in 1977, leaving behind a poetic vocabulary that taught the Hindi language how to capture the exact softness of falling dew and the quiet grandeur of the mountains.