Ghazal 423x, Verse 5

Asi:

In this verse too, instead of meaning he has mostly made use of wordplay. The meaning of the verse is clear.

== Asi, p. 273

Zamin:

That is, we are benefitted by the poetry of Bedil, but the benefit is not easy to obtain from it.

== Zamin, p. 402

Gyan Chand:

lu:tf-o-jaur-e bedil [this is how Gyan Chand's text has it] = that elegance/favor and tyranny that would be exercised upon the heart-less lover. By bedil is meant not the poet Bedil, but rather the lover. That coquetry with which beautiful people exercise at once both elegance/favor and tyranny-- Asad would become a sacrifice to it. They inquire about the lover, and this elegance/favor and kindness is sincere [pur-dil], but they don't inquire about the privacy of the heart, and this is tyranny. Here the poet has used be-dilii with the meaning of bad-dilii ['suspicion, evil-mindedness' (Platts)].

== Gyan Chand, p. 398

FWP:

SETS == POETRY

For more on Ghalib's unpublished verses, see the discussion in {4,8x}. See also the overview index.

What does it mean to be 'heart-less'? There's a general discussion in {8,2}, but since the present verse plays with both be-dil and be-dilii , it will be useful to line up all the possibilities very clearly:

(1) A 'heart-less' person might be one like the ideal lover in the ghazal world-- who is literally 'heart-less', because he has given away his heart, or lost it, or turned it to blood and wept it away in bloody tears. This sense of the word is evoked in the pen-name of the Indo-Persian poet 'Bedil', who was immensely admired by the young Ghalib (for discussion, see {8,5x}).

(2) A 'heart-less' person might be one whose heart is disengaged or disaffected-- one who is 'dissatisfied, displeased, discontented' (like the beloved); this sense is endorsed by Platts (see the definitions above).

(3) A 'heart-less' person might be one who lacks 'heart' or spirit-- one who is 'downhearted' or 'disheartened', or 'dispirited, dejected, sad' (like the lover); this sense too is endorsed by Platts (see the definitions above).

[(4)] A 'heartless' person might be one who is cruel, cold, unfeeling, inhumane; this is the modern English usage. But it does not seem to be operative in the ghazal world.

The be-dil in the first line is-- surely deliberately-- ambiguous. This verse is a closing-verse, and Ghalib was very fond of including a reference (a shout-out, in effect) to an admired predecessor in the closing-verse, in the traditional Persian style; almost always this reference was to Bedil (a list of examples will be found at 'Bedil'). The lu:tf might readily apply to Bedil; the jaur not so readily (see the definitions above), but if Bedil is thought of as a kind of poetic 'beloved', then it might be managed. Alternatively, the 'heart-less one' might of course be the beloved.

The second line then tilts the balance in favor of the beloved, for ;xabar lenaa is an active process (see the definition above), and Bedil had been dead for a century. The beloved does offer attention and care to the lover-- but only out of 'discontent, dissatisfaction', to reproach or chastise him. Still, her tyranny is exercised with such style, such lu:tf -- how could he fail to sacrifice himself for such an irresistible mixture of pain and pleasure?