Amir Khosrow
Early Hindi/Urdu poet

Some famous riddles by Khusro. He was one of the earliest poets of khadi boli dialect, which is the basis of both modern standard Urdu and Hindi.


raajaa pyaasaa kyo.n?
gadahaa udaasaa kyo.n?

uttar: loTaa na thaa.


Why was the king thirsty?
Why was the donkey sad?

Answer: "loTaa na thaa" = had no cup for water OR had not rolled on the ground.

ghuum ghumelaa laha.Ngaa pahine,
ek paa.Nv se rahe kha.Dii.
aaTh haath hai.n us naarii ke,
suurat usakii lage parii.
sab koii us kii chaah kare hai,
musalamaan hinduu chhatrii.
"khusaro" ne yah kahii pahelii,
dil me.n apane soch jarii..

uttar: chatarii


She wears a round skirt, stands on one leg,
That lady has eight legs,
and looks like a fairy.
Everyone wants her,
Muslim, Hindu, Chhatri (of warrior caste).
Khosrow asks this riddle,
just think about it.

Answer: an umbrella. Note the answer occurs in several of the riddles, in this case "chhatri" which has two meanings.

baalaa thaa jab man ko bhaayaa, ba.Daa huaa kuchh kaam na aayaa, "khusaro" kah diyaa us kaa naa.Nv, buujhe nahii.n to chho.De gaa.Nv..

uttara: diyaa


Was lovable when little (or lit),
but was worthless when grown up (or extinguished)
Khusro has told you his name,
solve this riddle or get out of town.

Answer: A "diya" light. Note that the words "baalaa" and "ba.Daa" have two meanings.


Contributed by David Windsor (David.Windsor@anu.edu.au). From Shujaat Ali Sandilvi, "Amir Khusro aur Unki Hindi Kavita" (Lucknow: MudraN Kala Bhawan, 1986).

Back to Hindi Poets

Also see Amir Khusro by Yousuf Saeed.