Dharanidhar Koirala
Nepal! Bright is your countenance
Will I see it, or die beforehand?
This worry pricks my heart always
And waves between hope and despair!
Mother I call, as the heart leaps up
No other land ever seems so dear
I came here, drawn by my land and stock
And got rewards of different sorts
Bearing this in my heart, I came to this land
And immersed the soul in joy divine
I shall serve you with all my strength
This was what in heart I retained.
I went seeking support everywhere
But neither got a friend, nor any resort
Oh my Nepal, grand is your name,
I recall it, and sing time and again.
I wish I could brighten your face
I long to see it without ado
My heart beats in worry and concern
Even as I chant your name, Nepal!
How I served you? How shall I serve now?
Or, would I die in vain without doing so?
Fie! I wasted my life in vain
Without serving Nepal in ways I can
My heart laments seeing life wasted
And becomes forlorn and greatly restless
Those with some love for Nepal!
Those willing to serve our country!
Where are you all? Come; join your hearts
Do not delay more; come one and all.
Let’s promote Nepal’s fame and art
And sing in praise of hers, together
Come one; come all without ado
Let’s sing in love for land together —
Nepal is the store of all our wealth
Nepal is the resource of our strength
Mind it, Nepal is the source of our honor!
Mind it, Nepal is the source of all our wisdom!
Mind it, Nepal is our ultimate liberator!
Come with whatever you have in hand
And offer it on the feet of Nepal.
Translated by Mahesh Paudyal From Bishal Nepal (Great Nepal)
[The famous poet who wrote these beautiful lines in Nepali language was none other than Dharanidhar Koirala. He was born at Dumja village of Sindhuli District on 4 Feb 1893. Later, he moved to Benaras in India. During his stay in Benaras, a weekly newspaper The Gorkhali used to be published from there. He worked for that newspaper and got his patriotic poems published. After some time, the Ranas put a ban on the publication of the newspaper. His numerous poems were also published in the monthly Nepali newspaper Chandrika was published from Kharsang, India. His publishes works are 1) Naibedhya (Food Offerings) 2) Spandan (Heartbeat) and 3) Translation of Shreemad Bhagawatgita. Recognizing his love for his country and language, affection and belief in countrymen, and his social work, Royal Nepal Academy honored him with Tribhuvan Puraskar for his long service to Nepali literature. He also became an honorary member of the Academy. He expired on 9 February 1980 in Kathmandu. Dharanidhar was one among three people Suryabikram Gyawali, Dharanidhar Koirala, and Paras Mani Pradhan, renowned by the acronym ‘Sudhapa’, who contributed to the development of Nepali language and literature abroad, i.e. in Darjeeling.]