mai;N jo garduu;N ko bah miizaan-e :tabii((at tolaa
thaa yih kam-vazn kih ham-sang-e kaf-e ;xaak cha;Rhaa
1) when I weighed the sphere/heavens with the balance-scale of the temperament
2) it was of short of weight-- since it mounted [the scale] with the same weight/'stone' as a handful of dust
garduun : 'A wheel; the heavens, the firmament, the celestial globe or sphere; chance, fortune (and her revolving wheel)'. (Platts p.903)
:tabii((at : 'Nature, disposition, constitution, temperament ... ; mind; temper; natural constituent, intrinsic property, essence'. (Platts p.751)
kam-vazn : 'Short of weight'. (Platts p.846)
sang : 'A stone; weight'. (Platts p.686)
cha;Rhnaa : 'To go up, ascend, mount, climb; ... to be put (on, or in, as colour; or a weight, &c. in a scale, &c.)'. (Platts p.433)
For more on Ghalib's unpublished verses, see the discussion in {4,8x}. See also the overview index.
For another 'balance-scale' verse, with an illustration of a balance-scale, see {129,5x}.
This verse offers truly elegant wordplay-- and meaning-play to go with it. The idea of a even a very small 'stone' as a measuring-weight for either a handful of dust or a whole sphere-ful of air is intriguing in itself. How could that work? How are we to envision the process? And who would be able even to imagine-- much less to perform-- such a balancing act? Why, the 'grandiose' lover, of course. He not only does it, but then authoritatively reports the results.
It seems that the celestial sphere is 'short of weight' (see the definition above), which seems to mean not just 'light' but something decidedly more pejorative. 'Short weight' means, according to Merriam-Webster, 'weight less than the stated weight or less than one is charged for'. This is a wonderful expression, because it conveys not merely disdain for the celestial sphere (the whole thing is no heavier than a handful of dust), but also a sense of grievance: the speaker now realizes that he has been demonstrably shortchanged.
But best of all, the balance-scale is that of the lover's own 'temperament' (see the definition above). So his conclusion may simply reflect his own individual judgment. If you yourself should weigh the celestial sphere in the balance-scale of your own temperament, you might get different results. But the disillusioned lover is doing his best to warn us.
Gyan Chand:
ham-sang = of the same weight. By 'stone' [sang] is meant the weights [baa;N;T] that would be used for comparison in scales. When I weighed the sky on the scale of my temperament, then it turned out to be lighter than a single handful of dust. The sky, which is the summit of loftiness, to my faqir's temperament has no more rank than dust.
== Gyan Chand, p. 529