Word · from the archive
ਕਿੱਸਾ
قصہ
qissā
The great verse romances of Punjab — Heer-Ranjha, Sassi-Punnun, Mirza-Sahiban — sung narratives where love, honour, and fate collide.
noun (masculine) · verse romance, legend
Literal sense
Story, tale.
Pronunciation
/kɪsːaː/ — “kis-saa”
Etymology
From Arabic qiṣṣa (قصة), “narrative,” through Persian.
Etymological stream: Perso-Arabic
Cultural context
The qissā is Punjab’s epic form. Waris Shah’s Heer (1766) is its summit — memorised, sung, and quoted for two and a half centuries.
In a sentence
ਹੀਰ ਦਾ ਕਿੱਸਾ ਵਾਰਿਸ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਨੇ ਲਿਖਿਆ।ہیر دا قصہ وارث شاہ نے لکھیا۔hīr dā qissā vāris shāh ne likhiā“Waris Shah wrote the qissa of Heer.”