Verse 52 - The news of Ranjha's arrival spreads

The cowherds, who have witnessed Ranjha’s arrival at the wharf, now hasten to their villages and spread the word. A mysterious singer approaches on the boat whose singing is so beautiful that it seems that petals are falling from his lips. He effortlessly and poignantly sings the sorrows of thousands and he lies on Heer Sial’s bed with both of Luddan’s wives. In this verse Waris Shah reintroduces the seductive image of Ranjha presented earlier in the epic, where both his beauty and the power of his music are emphasized. There is a suggestion that Ranjha, in keeping with that image, gets amorous with Luddan’s wives. The poet concludes with a play on words, which is a foreshadowing of things to come. The coming of Ranjha is described as the arrival of new or virginal calamaties and there is a foreshadowing of the derangement that often accompanies young love. The reference here is to the innocence of Heer and the misery that will descend on her after she falls in love with Ranjha.