Heer Waris Shah

Verse 80 - Heer reassures Ranjha

Realizing that Ranjha, who hails from a proud and affluent clan, is not likely to take to servitude well, Heer tries to reassure him. Fearing that the village lads will mock him for being a servant and taunt him saying that he would have to subsit on nothing other than a small bowl of milk, Heer assures him that he will be fed delicacies such as butter, sugar and fried parathas, which are the food of honored guests or pampered sons-in-law. She asks Ranjha to put his faith in God and reminds him that his real purpose for being in Chuchak’s service is to be near her and that he should not worry too much about tending to the herd.

Verse 81 - Ranjha meets the five Pirs

Ranjha enters the woods with Chuchak’s herd on a hot day and encounters five saints, who bless him by saying that he will feast on fine food and will drink rich milk. When they tell him that he should not be gloomy, Ranjha boldly petitions them, asking them to bequeath a beautiful lass upon him. The five saints respond by declaring that Heer is his divinel ordained companion and direct him to petition them in times of trouble.

Verse 82 - The Pirs bless Ranjha

Waris Shah has his hero encounter the five most storied Sufi saints familiar to the people in his time. Khawja Khizr, the immortal patron sant of mariners, who had drunk from the fountain of life, Sheikh Farid, the first great poet of the Punjabi language, whose shrine at Pak Pattan is considered a portal to heaven, Bahauddin Zakriya, perhaps the most widely revered Sufi Saint in Punjab, Syed Jajal Bukharia, who was said to have traveld the world and who had received instruction form three hundred masters, and Lal Shabaz Qalandar, the beloved Pir of Punjab and Sind, who in lore, had resisted the charms of a maiden of paradise who had been sent to him. Ranjha’s meeting with the Pirs, empowers him, shrouds him in spiritual glory, and most importantly confers divine saction upon his relationship with Hir, which is about to begin. Their gifts are also richly symbolic, investing him with both status and piety.

Verse 83 - Heer brings food to Ranjha

The narrative moves forward rapidly; even as the poet paints an idyllic picture of Ranjha grazing the herd and Heer bringing him a lavish meal, a new character, Kaido is introduced. The lame Kaido is presented as a malevolent presence as he roots around trying to find the source of the pleasant smell of food that has been wafting to his keen nose.

Verse 84 - Kaido approaches Ranjha

Kaido approaches Ranjha and begs for food, claiming to be hungry and the lad gives him a fistful of the choori that Heer has brought him. When Heer returns from the river, where she had gone to fetch water, Ranjha tells her about the disabled man who approached him, wondering if he was a mendicant, unaware of the storm that is about to burst.

Verse 85 - Heer is distressed

Heer, realizing that the person who approached Ranjha was Kaido is, distraught. She declares that Kaido is a trouble maker who will surely go to her parents and tell them about their daughter’s meeting the new herdsman in the woods.

Verse 86 - Heer and Ranjha confer

In dismay Heer tells Ranjha that he should have bene more careful, who responds that he did not know Kaido was spying on them; he had just seen a disabled beggar begging for food, not realizing that he had ill intentions. Interestingly, rather than chasing Kaido himself, Ranjha asks Heer to do so, suggesting that she first reason with him and then use force if necessary to keep him quiet. Once again the poet is emphasizing his heroine’s proud and forceful mein.

Verse 87 - Heer catches up with Kaido

Heer races to catch up with Kaido and descends upon him like one of the Furies, throwing him to the ground and thrashing him.

Verse 88 - Heer threatens Kaido

Heer threatens Kaido with dire consequences and demands that he return the choori he took from Ranjha, fearful that it would be evidence of her doting on the cowherd.

Vers 89 - Kaido at the village council

Kaido manages to salvage some of the churi and rushes to the village council. There he declares that he has evidence that Chuchak’s daughter is brazenly roaming the woods with the new herdsman.