=== |
![]() |
kaun yūñ ai turk-e raʿnā zīnat-e fitrāk thā
ḳhūñ se gul-kārī ʿajab ik zīn ke dāman pah hai
1) who casually/'like this', oh graceful/'two-colored' Turk, was an adornment of the saddle-straps?
2) from blood, an extraordinary single/particular/unique/excellent 'rose-work' is on the saddle-cloth
raʿnā : 'Moving gracefully; graceful, lovely, beautiful, adorned; delicate, tender'. (Platts p.595)
zīnat : 'Ornament, decoration, ornature, embellishment, dress; grace, beauty, elegance'. (Platts p.620)
fitrāk : 'Saddle-straps; cords fixed to a saddle for hanging game to'. (Platts p.776)
gul-kārī : 'Flowering; flower-painting; —figured work, embroidery'. (Platts p.911)
zīn : 'Saddle'. (Platts p.620)
zain : 'Adorning, decking; an ornament, a grace, a beauty'. (Platts p.620)
FWP:
SETS == EK
MOTIFS == SCRIPT EFFECTS
NAMES == TURK
TERMS == DRAMATICNESSThe gul-kārī , 'rose-work', is a form of floral painting or embroidery (see the definition above). When the speaker sees a pattern of blood spots on the beloved's saddle-blanket, he at once wonders not 'what' or 'how', but 'who' has contributed the blood for them; and he admires them as an extraordinary and 'single' or 'particular' or 'unique' or 'excellent' (how well the ek works here!) piece of fancy embroidery. Just as the prey had formerly 'adorned' the saddle-straps, the blood spots that dripped from his wounds now form an elegant ornament for the saddle-cloth.
There's also a clever little script effect in the verse. In the second line zīn definitely means 'saddle', because otherwise the 'saddle-blanket' couldn't exist. But exactly the same spelling could also be read as zain , which comes from the same Arabic root as zīnat , and has almost the same range of meanings (see the definitions above). So zain hovers enjoyably in the air halfway between zīnat and zīn . If you are reading, rather than hearing, the verse, you might initially misread the word; Mir would surely consider such iham-like effects to be a fine tribute to his artistry in wordplay.