Verse 61 - Love at first sight

An angry and aggressive Heer, ready to beat Ranjha with a switch locks eyes with him and everything changes in an instant. Ranjha, enamored, address her as his beloved and Heer, as she gazes upon his beauty is enraptured. The poet digs into Biblical and Quranic lore and describes the moment when Zulaikha, Potipher’s wife is so enamored of Joseph that she loses herself and attempts to seduce him. In a reversal of gender roles, Heer is the one who dwells on Ranjha’s beauty, taking in his flute and his locks that frame his face in disarray. Ranjha’s brothers exiling him is compared to Joseph’s being thrown into the well by his jealous brothers, and his beauty with Joseph’s, which prompts Luddan’s wives to protect him and rescue him, just as the trader Maalik bin Azar caused Joseph to be rescued. The poet concludes that now that the lovers’ eyes are locked, there is no time to waste; there is no distance any more between Heer and Ranjha. Their great love has been born and it is ready to blossom.