Diwali Shayari in Punjabi: 12 Original Lines, Gurmukhi to English

Diwali Shayari in Punjabi: 12 Original Lines, Gurmukhi to English

Diwali shayari in Punjabi works best as a short rhymed couplet in Gurmukhi, with a Roman line for relatives who never learned the script. It has to fit one screen: 48.3% of pages shared on SubhSandesh are opened on a phone (27,725 of 57,456 views). It also gets written late: on Raksha Bandhan 2026, the nearest festival we hold data for (n = 89 pages, a rough analogue), 49.4% of greetings were built on the day itself.

Below are 12 original lines for Friday 29 October 2027, two for Bandi Chhor Divas. Key words were checked in Maya Singh's 1895 Panjabi Dictionary.

What counts as Punjabi Diwali shayari: boli, couplet or sher?

Punjabi Diwali shayari is a short rhymed verse, usually two lines, carrying a festival greeting. Online it borrows the Urdu sher's shape, but Punjabi has its own sung form, the boli.

Ann R. David's peer-reviewed 2015 study of giddha in Southall calls boliyan "an umbrella term for sung couplets": one woman sings and the rest reply like a chorus. So ten lines below are couplets to paste, and two are boliyan to sing.

12 original Diwali shayari in Punjabi, by who receives them

Every line was written for this page. Each gives Gurmukhi, Roman, then English.

1. For Bapu and Bebe

For parents, before the lamps are lit. A daughter changes ਸਮਝਾਂਗਾ (samjhanga) to ਸਮਝਾਂਗੀ (samjhangi).

ਬਾਪੂ, ਤੇਰੀ ਝਿੜਕ ਵੀ ਦੀਵੇ ਦੀ ਲਾਟ ਜਿਹੀ ਸੀ,
ਸੇਕ ਵੀ ਦਿੰਦੀ ਸੀ, ਤੇ ਹਨੇਰੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਵਾਟ ਵੀ ਦੱਸਦੀ ਸੀ।
Bapu, teri jhirak vi deeve di laat jihi si, sek vi dindi si, te hanere vich vaat vi dassdi si.
Father, even your scolding was a lamp's flame: it gave heat, and in the dark it showed the road.

ਬੇਬੇ, ਤੇਰੀਆਂ ਪਿੰਨੀਆਂ ਵਰਗੀ ਮਿਠਾਸ ਕਿਸੇ ਹੱਟੀ ਨਾ ਪਾਈ,
ਡੱਬੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਮੇਰਾ ਹਿੱਸਾ ਰੱਖੀਂ, ਸਮਝਾਂਗਾ ਘਰ ਦੀਵਾਲੀ ਆਈ।
Bebe, teriyan pinniyan vargi mithaas kise hatti na paayi, dabbe vich mera hissa rakhin, samjhanga ghar Diwali aayi.
Mother, no sweet shop ever matched your pinnis; keep my share in the tin, and I will know Diwali has come home.

2. For a husband or wife

These use the intimate ਤੂੰ (toon). The second plays on ਚੰਨ (chann), which Wiktionary lists as "moon" and, in poetry, "beloved".

ਤੂੰ ਬਨੇਰੇ 'ਤੇ ਦੀਵੇ ਧਰੇਂ, ਮੈਂ ਹਰ ਦੀਵੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਤੇਲ ਪਾਵਾਂ,
ਉਮਰਾਂ ਦੀਆਂ ਦੀਵਾਲੀਆਂ ਤੇਰੇ ਨਾਲ ਇੰਜ ਹੀ ਮਨਾਵਾਂ।
Toon banere 'te deeve dharen, main har deeve vich tel paavaan, umraan diyan Diwaliyan tere naal inj hi manaavaan.
You set the lamps on the parapet, I pour the oil; let me keep a lifetime of Diwalis with you like this.

ਮੱਸਿਆ ਦੀ ਰਾਤ ਨੂੰ ਚੰਨ ਨੇ ਛੁੱਟੀ ਲੈ ਲਈ ਏ,
ਤਾਂ ਹੀ ਰੱਬ ਨੇ ਤੇਰੇ ਹਾਸੇ ਨੂੰ ਡਿਊਟੀ ਦੇ ਦਿੱਤੀ ਏ।
Massiya di raat nu chann ne chhutti lai layi e, taan hi Rabb ne tere haase nu duty de ditti e.
On the new-moon night the moon has taken leave, so God has put your laugh on duty instead.

3. For friends and yaar

For the friend you grew up with. Roman reads best on a group chat.

ਯਾਰਾ, ਇਸ ਵਾਰ ਪਟਾਕੇ ਨਹੀਂ, ਕੋਠੇ 'ਤੇ ਗੱਲਾਂ ਚਲਾਵਾਂਗੇ,
ਪੁਰਾਣੇ ਸਾਲ ਦੇ ਜਿੰਨੇ ਗਿਲੇ, ਸਾਰੇ ਅੱਜ ਮੁਕਾਵਾਂਗੇ।
Yaara, is vaar pataake nahin, kothe 'te gallan chalaavange, puraane saal de jinne gile, saare ajj mukaavange.
Friend, no crackers this time: we set off stories on the roof and finish every old grudge tonight.

ਮਿਠਾਈ ਦਾ ਡੱਬਾ ਸ਼ਾਮ ਤੱਕ ਤੇਰੇ ਬੂਹੇ ਆ ਗਿਆ,
ਕਾਜੂ ਕਤਲੀ ਘੱਟ ਲੱਗੇ ਤਾਂ ਸਮਝੀਂ ਯਾਰ ਰਾਹ ਵਿੱਚ ਖਾ ਗਿਆ।
Mithai da dabba shaam tak tere boohe aa gya, kaju katli ghatt lagge taan samjhin yaar raah vich kha gya.
The sweet box reached your door by evening; if the kaju katli looks short, your friend ate it on the way.

4. For family in Canada, the UK or Australia

For a sibling or child abroad. Brampton is 9.5 hours behind India on 29 October 2027.

ਬਰੈਂਪਟਨ ਦੀ ਠੰਢ ਵਿੱਚ ਵੀ ਇੱਕ ਦੀਵਾ ਬੂਹੇ ਧਰ ਦੇਵੀਂ,
ਸਾਡੀ ਰਾਤ ਤੇਰੀ ਸਵੇਰ ਸਹੀ, ਵੀਡੀਓ ਕਾਲ ਕਰ ਦੇਵੀਂ।
Brampton di thandh vich vi ikk deeva boohe dhar devin, saadi raat teri saver sahi, video call kar devin.
Even in the Brampton cold, set one lamp at the door; our night is your morning, but make the video call.

ਜਿਹੜਾ ਹਵਾਈ ਅੱਡੇ ਤੋਂ ਹੱਥ ਹਿਲਾਉਂਦਾ ਤੁਰ ਗਿਆ,
ਬੇਬੇ ਦਾ ਪਹਿਲਾ ਦੀਵਾ ਅੱਜ ਉਹਦੇ ਨਾਂ ਬਲ ਗਿਆ।
Jihra havaai adde ton hatth hilaunda tur gya, Bebe da pehla deeva ajj ohde naan bal gya.
The one who waved from the airport and left: Mother's first lamp tonight was lit in his name.

5. For Sikh friends on Bandi Chhor Divas

These name the Sikh observance, not Lakshmi Puja. Send them on 29 October 2027.

ਛੇਵੇਂ ਪਾਤਸ਼ਾਹ ਗਵਾਲੀਅਰ ਤੋਂ ਇਕੱਲੇ ਨਹੀਂ, ਬਵੰਜਾ ਨਾਲ ਲਿਆਏ,
ਤਾਂ ਹੀ ਉਸ ਰਾਤ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ ਦੇ ਦੀਵੇ ਦੂਣੇ ਜਗਮਗਾਏ।
Chhevein Paatshah Gwalior ton ikalle nahin, bavanja naal liaye, taan hi us raat Amritsar de deeve doone jagmagaye.
The Sixth Guru came back from Gwalior not alone but with fifty-two, and that night Amritsar's lamps shone twice as bright.

ਦਾਤਾ ਬੰਦੀ ਛੋੜ ਦਾ ਦਿਹਾੜਾ ਏ, ਤੇਰੀ ਚੜ੍ਹਦੀ ਕਲਾ ਰਹੇ,
ਜਿਹੜਾ ਵੀ ਕਿਸੇ ਕੈਦ ਵਿੱਚ ਏ, ਉਹਦਾ ਵੀ ਰਾਹ ਖੁੱਲ੍ਹਾ ਰਹੇ।
Data Bandi Chhor da dihaara e, teri chardi kala rahe, jihra vi kise qaid vich e, ohda vi raah khulla rahe.
It is the day of the Giver who freed the captives: may your spirit keep rising, and may anyone in any prison find the road open.

6. Two boliyan to sing in a giddha circle

For a women's gathering. One voice sings the first line, and the circle answers.

ਸੱਠ ਦੀਵੇ ਬਾਲੇ ਬਨੇਰੇ 'ਤੇ, ਸੱਸ ਗਿਣਦੀ ਫਿਰਦੀ ਸਾਰੇ,
ਮੈਂ ਕਿਹਾ ਬੇਬੇ ਬਹਿ ਜਾ ਹੁਣ, ਤੇਰੀ ਨੂੰਹ ਨੇ ਚੰਨ ਉਤਾਰੇ!
Satth deeve baale banere 'te, sass gindi phirdi saare, main keha Bebe beh ja hun, teri nooh ne chann utaare!
Sixty lamps on the parapet, and mother-in-law counts every one; I said sit down, Bebe, your daughter-in-law has brought the moons down.

ਕੋਠੇ ਚੜ੍ਹ ਕੇ ਵੇਖਿਆ ਮੈਂ, ਸਾਰਾ ਪਿੰਡ ਜਗਮਗ ਕਰਦਾ,
ਸਭ ਤੋਂ ਉੱਚਾ ਮਾਹੀ ਦਾ ਦੀਵਾ, ਜਿਹੜਾ ਹਵਾ ਤੋਂ ਨਾ ਡਰਦਾ।
Kothe chadh ke vekhya main, saara pind jagmag karda, sabh ton uccha Maahi da deeva, jihra hava ton na darda.
From the roof the whole village glittered; highest was my Maahi's lamp, unafraid of the wind.

Bandi Chhor Divas: why Sikhs light lamps on 29 October 2027

Bandi Chhor Divas is the Sikh observance kept on Diwali night, marking Guru Hargobind's release from Gwalior Fort. In the BBC's schools assembly on the festival, Emperor Jahangir holds the sixth Guru there, and the Guru refuses to leave unless 52 princes held with him go free too.

The BBC dates the release to 1619 and says the Guru then reached Amritsar while Diwali was being celebrated. Accounts differ on the year, so treat 1619 as the BBC's dating. It gives 8 November for 2026, Diwali's own date, so expect 29 October in 2027; confirm with your gurdwara.

Maya Singh defines ਬੰਦੀ (bandi) as "a prisoner, a captive", and chhor is the one who sets free. The day belongs to the releaser of prisoners, which the second line in section 5 carries.

Five Punjabi Diwali words, checked in an 1895 dictionary

Maya Singh's Panjabi Dictionary (Lahore, 1895) is searchable through the University of Chicago. It holds a few surprises.

• ਦਿਵਾਲੀ (divali): spelt with a short i and defined as "a Sikh or Hindu festival of lamps". Today ਦੀਵਾਲੀ is usual.
• ਵਧਾਈਆਂ (vadhaiyan): the plural is "a form of congratulation", hence greetings use it.
• ਮਿਠਾਈ (mithai): in 1895 it meant only "sweetness", not a box of sweets.
• ਰੰਗੋਲੀ (rangoli): recorded only as a wild Jhelum-basin plant; floor rangoli came later.
• ਬਨੇਰਾ (banera): the wall "a foot or so above the level of the roof", where diyas go.

When to send a Punjabi Diwali line abroad: five cities on 29 October 2027

Britain leaves summer time on Sunday 31 October 2027 and Canada on Sunday 7 November. On Friday 29 October both still run it.

Melbourne lights its lamps 5.5 hours before Amritsar. Message it at lunchtime.

Gurmukhi, Roman or a voice note: which version to send

Send Gurmukhi to elders who read it and Roman to cousins abroad who cannot. When in doubt send both; four short lines fit one phone screen.

A boli is meant to be heard. David cites sociologist Nirmal Puwar: audiotapes of boliyan were recorded among female relatives and "sent as parcels" when weddings could not be attended across continents. A voice note is the same parcel, and to have your voice introduce a song for one person, SubhSandesh's Dedication page, where they tune in to your voice introducing a song, builds that out.

For the main greeting, SubhSandesh's Happy Diwali page lets you put a different line on each wish diya, seal a longer letter in a red-and-gold shagun liffafa and add up to six photos to the sky lanterns. It takes about five minutes and opens in any browser without an app; the average page on the platform records 11.1 views, so a line there gets seen more than once. It is built for one person, though; for a family group of forty, a plain text line works better.

When a Punjabi shayari is the wrong Diwali message

A clever line is not always kind. In these 3 cases, something plainer serves better.

• At the gurdwara: a congregation is for kirtan and ardas, not shayari; no line here imitates Gurbani.
• For a grieving family: in the first Diwali after a death, a phone call says more than a rhyme.
• For an elder who reads only Shahmukhi: a Gurmukhi line is unreadable; send the Roman line or record it.

Sources

• David, Traditiones 44(2), 2015.
• BBC Teach, Bandi Chhor Divas.
• Maya Singh, Panjabi Dictionary (1895): ਬੰਦੀ, ਦਿਵਾਲੀ, ਵਧਾਈ.