S. R. Faruqi:

Until the heart has the inclination-- that is, until the heart itself would be ready to accept the experience of passion-- the blessings of passion cannot be vouchsafed. That is, for passion there must be a heart that would be able to perform passion. And if the heart would even beforehand be sympathetic, then-- what more can be said! For this reason the venerable [Sufi] elders used to give instruction about passion: that by means of passion a person's temperament comes to have 'meltedness', and in this way it can pass over from mortal [majaazii] to divine [;haqiiqii] love.

In the first line there are two meanings for sau rang : (1) sau rang se -- that is, became manifest in a hundred manners/styles; and (2) that Presence that has a hundred colors/styles-- that is, s/he is multicolored, is the master of many kinds of color.

Similarly, ko))ii nah jaagah se gayaa also has two meanings: (1) no one was transported outside himself, no one became unconscious and fell out of his place; and (2) no one rose and welcomed that one.

Since the speaker was heart-wounded already, his heart at once accepted the effect of the hundred-splendored beloved. But why was he heart-wounded already? Several answers are possible: (1) he was wounded by mortal love, thus the color/style of divine love could easily overtake him; (2) the grief of the world had wounded his heart; (3) he had been wounded by the beloved of Poetry; (4) Nature itself had bestowed on him a sympathetic heart.

Mir composed this theme again and again, but nowhere else with such a prophetic and mystical tone and mood. If some of the verses are good, then others are commonplace. In the third divan [{1194,6}]:

hushyaar the sab daam me;N aa))e nah ham-aavaaz
thii raftagii sii mujh ko giriftaar hu))aa mai;N

[all were alert, the fellow-singers didn't come into the net
I was in a carried-away-ish state-- I was captured]

In the third divan [{1271,3}]:

jii khi;Nch gayaa asiir-e qafas kii fu;Gaa;N kii or
thii cho;T apne dil ko giriftaar ham hu))e

[our inner-self was drawn toward the sigh of the prisoner of the cage
there was a wound in our heart-- we were captured]

In the fifth divan [{1552,5}]:

ham-daam the so chhu;T ga))e sab daam se u;The
thii dil ko mere cho;T giriftaar ho gayaa

[those who were netted together with me got out, they all arose from the net
there was a wound in my heart-- I became captured]

In the sixth divan [{1839,5}]:

ham-daam bahut va;hshii-:tabii((at the u;The sab
thii cho;T jo dil par so giriftaar hu))e ham

[the net-fellows were very wild in temperament, they all arose/flew
since we had a wound on the heart, we were captured]

Maulana-e Rum, in the Masnavi (sixth section) has well said [in Persian],

'Fire likes burnt things because burnt things
At the first touch of fire, soften up.'

In the verses noted above, Mir has expressed the theme with reference to birds being hunted as prey, but it's possible that the present verse might show a gleam of Maulana-e Rum's verse. The theme is in any case common, but Mir has bestowed on it an uncommon intensity and 'mood'.

[See also {1882,4}.]

FWP:

SETS
MOTIFS
NAMES
TERMS == THEME

On the meter and general structure of this ghazal, see {897,1}.

When the speaker found or 'brought' no strength, what was he unable to do? Perhaps he was unable to remain in his 'place' and in his senses; perhaps he fainted and fell to the floor, unlike his poised or indifferent companions. Or perhaps he was physically unable to rise and humbly greet the hundred-colored newcomer, unlike his discourteous companions who had the ability but not the desire. It's also not clear whether his lack of strength preceded the coming of 'that one', or was caused by it.

In any case, perhaps the speaker in his weakness was unable to go on living at all; perhaps his wounded heart was simply overwhelmed, and he collapsed to the ground in an immediate death. Instead of being like a captured bird, in this verse the lover is like a moth heading straight for the candle-flame.

Note for meter fans: The spelling jaagah is a permissible variant form of jagah , and enables the proper scansion.