Ghazal 103, Verse 3x

{103,3x}

baa))i;s-e ii;zaa hai bar-ham-;xvurdan-e bazm-e suruur
la;xt la;xt-e shiishah-e bashkastah juz nashtar nahii;N

1) it is a cause of injury, the overthrowing/'collision' of the gathering of joy
2) every fragment of a broken glass is not other than a lancet

Notes:

ii;zaa : 'Annoyance, molestation, vexation, pain, trouble, distress, harm, hurt, injury'. (Platts p.112)

 

bar-ham : 'Confused, jumbled together, turned upside down or topsy-turvy, entangled, spoiled; offended, angry, vexed, enraged, sullen'. (Platts p.150)

 

bar-ham ;xvurdan : 'To clash, collide, dash against each other'. (Steingass p.181)

 

suruur : ''Making glad'; pleasure, delight, joy, cheerfulness; exhilaration (caused by wine, &c.)'. (Platts p.657)

 

bashkastah seems to be a form of bah + shikastah , meaning 'broken'. (Platts p.730)

*Platts Dictionary Online*

Asi:

The overthrowing of the gathering of joy is a cause of injury. Those glasses that, after the drinking of wine, are broken-- their every fragment seems to be a lancet, and is as pain-causing as a lancet.

== Asi, p. 186

Zamin:

That is, the overthrowing of the gathering of joy is a cause of injury, for when glasses broke, their every fragment became a lancet. The repetition of la;xt gives the advantage of detail.

== Zamin, p. 265

Gyan Chand:

From the dispersal of the gathering of pleasure, pain results. Take one part of the gathering of joy, the glass of wine. If the wine-glass breaks and its fragments would be scattered, then they will become lancets for hands and feet. On this basis, consider other parts of the gathering of joy to be similar.

== Gyan Chand, p. 299

FWP:

SETS == A,B
GATHERINGS: {6,3}

For background see S. R. Faruqi's choices. For more on Ghalib's unpublished verses, see the discussion in {4,8x}.

Here's a classic 'A,B' verse: the two lines are entirely separate and autonomous. Here are some ways of putting them together:

=A is primary, B an illustration of it: When the gathering breaks up, what once produced joy instead produces pain and suffering (just as when a wine-glass breaks and its fragments become like daggers).

=B is primary, A an illustration of it: Being broken up is a bad thing: for example, when wine-glasses are intact, they are a source of joy, but when broken up, they become harmful razor-like shards (just as when a party is broken up, and suffering results).

=A and B describe the same situation: The final stages of a joyous gathering are often accompanied by the breaking (in drunkenness) of a few of the wine-glasses used in the gathering; this breaking up of the party results in both emotional and physical suffering.

=A and B describe similar situations: The breaking-up of a joyous gathering, and the breaking of a wine-glass, are similar-- in both cases a thing which when intact produces joy, when broken up produces pain

=A and B describe contrasted situations: The breaking up of a joyous party is no doubt a cause of harm, annoyance, vexation, injury; but by contrast the sharp fragments of a (literal or metaphorical) broken-up wine-glass are beneficial: they act as lancets, which are used for medical treatments (on this see {166,2}); thus they may perhaps teach one to distrust joyous parties, as in the famous {169,6-12}.

Nice, huh? Once we've teased out the possibilities, we're of course entitled to have our favorites among them (the richest in meaning, the most plausible, the most striking, or whichever). But who can fail to enjoy the complex possibilities, and the ways in which we ourselves help make the meaning?

 

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