I found your reflections on the parwana deeply moving, particularly the contrast between literature’s portrayal of moths and the newer scientific findings.
It’s fascinating how we often become so entrenched in the analogies we use to describe something—love, sacrifice, desire—that we forget they are just that: analogies. They serve to convey meaning, but sometimes we end up mistaking them for the full truth.
Your thoughts reminded me of another metaphor in Urdu poetry, one where it’s not the flame that kills the moth, but rather something more indirect and unintentional. Consider this couplet:
مگس کو باغ میں جانے نہ دیجیو
کہ ناحق خون ہو گا پروانے کا
Mags ko bagh mein janay na dijiyo
Ke nahq khoon ho ga parwane ka
Translation:
Do not let the bee enter the garden,
For the moth’s blood will be spilled unjustly.
By preventing the مگس (bee) from entering the garden, the poet is warning that the seemingly harmless act of the bee gathering nutrients will eventually lead to a chain of events—producing honey, wax, and ultimately a candle—whose flame will cause the death of the پروانہ (moth).
Here, it’s not the flame that burns the moth, but the bee’s presence in the garden that sets off a chain of events leading to the moth’s death. It highlights how causality can be complex, even when unintentional. Just like the moth isn’t “attracted” to the flame for warmth in the scientific sense, but rather orients itself towards light as a survival mechanism, the bee in this couplet doesn’t actively intend to harm the moth. Yet, its very existence in that space contributes to the moth’s demise.
The interplay of these unintended actions makes us question: how many times do we, like the bee or the moth, find ourselves caught up in events we didn’t foresee, with outcomes far beyond our control? Perhaps both the moth and the bee are trapped in cycles beyond their own desires.
It’s a powerful reminder that our understanding—whether scientific or poetic—of behavior is often incomplete. As you pointed out, both literature and science have their role: one gives us the metaphors we live by, and the other helps us question and refine those metaphors. Maybe the balance lies in knowing when to let go of the analogy and accept the deeper, often more elusive, meaning beneath it.
For commenting your thoughts so beautifully. I haven't heard of that metaphor, thank you for sharing it, going to keep it in my notes of parwana. You are so right that our understanding is always incomplete and honestly you explained what i wanted to say in better words. Thank you for reading and commenting, love learning more and more like this
I loved the scientific exploration of the moth being drawn to light really interesting consideration that perhaps they are misunderstood. Perhaps future literature will surround this concept of the moth being misunderstood. Great read!
I found your reflections on the parwana deeply moving, particularly the contrast between literature’s portrayal of moths and the newer scientific findings.
It’s fascinating how we often become so entrenched in the analogies we use to describe something—love, sacrifice, desire—that we forget they are just that: analogies. They serve to convey meaning, but sometimes we end up mistaking them for the full truth.
Your thoughts reminded me of another metaphor in Urdu poetry, one where it’s not the flame that kills the moth, but rather something more indirect and unintentional. Consider this couplet:
مگس کو باغ میں جانے نہ دیجیو
کہ ناحق خون ہو گا پروانے کا
Mags ko bagh mein janay na dijiyo
Ke nahq khoon ho ga parwane ka
Translation:
Do not let the bee enter the garden,
For the moth’s blood will be spilled unjustly.
By preventing the مگس (bee) from entering the garden, the poet is warning that the seemingly harmless act of the bee gathering nutrients will eventually lead to a chain of events—producing honey, wax, and ultimately a candle—whose flame will cause the death of the پروانہ (moth).
Here, it’s not the flame that burns the moth, but the bee’s presence in the garden that sets off a chain of events leading to the moth’s death. It highlights how causality can be complex, even when unintentional. Just like the moth isn’t “attracted” to the flame for warmth in the scientific sense, but rather orients itself towards light as a survival mechanism, the bee in this couplet doesn’t actively intend to harm the moth. Yet, its very existence in that space contributes to the moth’s demise.
The interplay of these unintended actions makes us question: how many times do we, like the bee or the moth, find ourselves caught up in events we didn’t foresee, with outcomes far beyond our control? Perhaps both the moth and the bee are trapped in cycles beyond their own desires.
It’s a powerful reminder that our understanding—whether scientific or poetic—of behavior is often incomplete. As you pointed out, both literature and science have their role: one gives us the metaphors we live by, and the other helps us question and refine those metaphors. Maybe the balance lies in knowing when to let go of the analogy and accept the deeper, often more elusive, meaning beneath it.
جزاک اللہ خیر
For commenting your thoughts so beautifully. I haven't heard of that metaphor, thank you for sharing it, going to keep it in my notes of parwana. You are so right that our understanding is always incomplete and honestly you explained what i wanted to say in better words. Thank you for reading and commenting, love learning more and more like this
I loved the scientific exploration of the moth being drawn to light really interesting consideration that perhaps they are misunderstood. Perhaps future literature will surround this concept of the moth being misunderstood. Great read!
thank you!!!
Understanding and knowing changes perception and belief, now I cannot think of it in the same way 👽
Mhm interesting 💭