Classic Poem

Dost Mohammed said:
Allah, Thou art the protector of hundreds of thousands by Thy great might.
I shall fight the Sikhs with my fifty thousand wielders of snake-like swords.
Our fame will grow greatly.
But the reckoning of the Sikh cowards is yet to come. —
Dost Mohammed, the Ghazi, is a master of sword in battle.
He is a reckless man at sword time.
He is a keen gambler at sword-play.
He has girt on his Persian weapons.
Mounted on his chestnut stallion,
He is the devourer of his foes.

Dost Mohammed said:
— I am going to war. I am a martyr.
I am going on Crusade .
With clean heart I shall fight for the honor of Islam.
I shall drive Sher Singh to the lowlands.
I shall invade the lands of the English
And plunder Amritsar and all the Punjab. —
Came warriors from Amritsar, Lahore, and all the Punjab.
Here, everywhere, are now the heathen warriors.
May all the cursed Hindu unbelievers burn in hell fire in the hereafter!
From Kandahar came our young men, our handsome soldiers,
To chase them away .
Our young men came from Kandahar. At
Shaykhan they made camp .
But they lost their chance .
They did not attack the Sikhs .
Allah's curse on all the Sirdars!
May they be homeless, driven like beggars from door to door,
Until the Day of Resurrection!

May their faces be black until the Day of
Resurrection!
Lying Sirdars!
Without fighting, you abandoned your land to the Sikhs, O Sultan Mohammed!
Your shroud is your armor, O Sirdar!
Why, O dog, did you not defend the
Kaibar Pass?

I am speaking the truth about the Sirdars from my own mind.
They are pigs, stealing grain from the horse's nose bag.
They are cowards .
The arrows of war pierce them from the back
In the fatter spots of their hind parts.

The Sirdars deserted, forcing Dost Mohammed, the Ghazi, to retreat before
The enemy .

The Barukzai, Sultan Mohammed, has denied God.
Sayyid Mohammed, Pir Mohammed and his son Hassan have disappeared.
O Khan, why did you not send out swift riders mounted on camels
And commanded by Mohammed Akbar to guard against treachery

The Sirdars deserted, and Dost Mohammed
Khan's great army was helpless.
Akbar Khan was clad in shining silver armor.
The Khan Jamah Khan defended the rear.
Came famous Fath Khan, the man of noble heart, to lend his help.

Fath Khan came from Panjtar.
Great was his courage .
There were also the Khan Hajji Khan and Jamah Khan, handsome as a flower,
And all the beautiful, black-haired young nobles of the Duranis.
Yar Khan came, the bright lamp of sorrowful eyes,
And Abdullah Khan, the reliever of oppression.
Allah bless all the Duranis!
They are of the Prophet's seed!

They came to go on Crusade, all the young warriors of Bunir,
And the Eusufzyes, the Mohmandzyes, and the men from the eight towns.
They struck with the bright swords.
But the Sirdars deserted.
They spoke falsely to chiefs and generous lords,
To gentlemen and rulers of forts.

There was great steel clash when Eusufzyes and Mohmandzyes rushed into fight.
Ranjit Singh trembled and said:
— This is the song of the sword of the Sahib of Sowatt! —
But Sultan Singh was a traitor to Dost Mohammed.
One by one the Ghazis died on the field of battle.