sijdah : 'Prostration (in prayer, &c.); bowing so as to touch the ground with the forehead in adoration (esp. to God)'. (Platts p.643)
mi;hraab : 'The station of the Imam in a mosque, the principal place in a mosque where the priest prays before the people with his face turned towards Mecca; the niche (which shows the direction of the qibla ) of a mosque; — a niche; a shelf; an arch'. (Platts p.1008)
Asad, my longing is that the Rival would be slain, and I would make a prostration of gratitude. Rather than this prayer's being made beneath the niche of a mosque, it's better that it would be made beneath the niche of the curve of a sword-- that is, that the sword would finish off the Rival.
SETS
ISLAMIC: {10,2}
SWORD: {1,3}
For more on Ghalib's unpublished verses, see the discussion in {4,8x}. See also the overview index.
Well, there we have it: two commentators, and two exactly opposite interpretations. Zamin thinks the verse endorses the martyrdom of the lover, while Gyan Chand envisions the lover's slaying of the Rival. Zamin's reading is more typically Ghalibian; it's hard to think of a single verse by him that actively imagines the lover himself as slaying the Rival.
But what the ambiguity really shows is how much more concerned Ghalib was not with the meaning, but with the imagery of the curve. In the first line, the 'prostration' will form a curve, as the lover bends or bows down in gratitude. The curve of the scimitar is well established (for a picture of such a shamshiir , see {17,5}). Then this shape is further echoed in the curve of the prayer-niche (for an illustration of a mi;hraab , see {100,10x}). The way pious prayers offered beneath the 'prayer-niche' of a mosque, might be considered especially commendable or effective, in the same way bloodthirsty prayers should be offered beneath the curving 'niche' of a scimitar.
Zamin:
That is, Asad's longing is that when the Rival would be slain, then he would make a prostration of gratitude. For the fulfilment of this longing, he needs to pray for it while standing within the niche of the curve of the sword (that is, to be martyred himself).
== Zamin, p. 441