Punjabi famous quotes
Famous Punjabi quotes — Guru Nanak, Bulleh Shah, Amrita Pritam
Iconic lines from Punjabi spiritual and literary tradition — Guru Nanak's bani in the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sufi kafis of Bulleh Shah, and Amrita Pritam's lament for Partition. Content generated with AI assistance and pending native-speaker review.
ੴ ਸਤਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਕਰਤਾ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰਭਉ ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ
ik oaṅkār sati nāmu kartā purakhu nirbhau nirvairu
One Creator; Truth is the Name; the Creative Being, without fear, without hate
Meaning: The opening of the Mool Mantar — the foundational statement of Sikh belief.
— Guru Nanak, Mool Mantar (Japji Sahib)
ਸੋ ਕਿਉ ਮੰਦਾ ਆਖੀਐ ਜਿਤੁ ਜੰਮਹਿ ਰਾਜਾਨ
so kiu mandā ākhīai jitu jammahi rājān
Why call her inferior, from whom kings are born?
Meaning: A 15th-century declaration of the dignity and equality of women.
— Guru Nanak, Asa di Var
ਬੁੱਲ੍ਹਾ ਕੀ ਜਾਣਾ ਮੈਂ ਕੌਣ
bullhā kī jāṇā maiṁ kauṇ
Bulleh, what do I know of who I am?
Meaning: The Sufi search for the self beyond religion, caste and name.
— Bulleh Shah
ਅੱਜ ਆਖਾਂ ਵਾਰਿਸ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਨੂੰ, ਕਿਤੋਂ ਕਬਰਾਂ ਵਿੱਚੋਂ ਬੋਲ
ajj ākhāṁ vāris śāh nūṁ, kitoṁ kabrāṁ vicoṁ bol
Today I call upon Waris Shah — speak from somewhere among the graves
Meaning: A cry of grief for Punjab during the violence of Partition in 1947.
— Amrita Pritam, "Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu"
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