ये देखते हो जो कासा-ए-सर ग़ुरूर-ए-ग़फ़लत से कल था ममलू यही बदन नाज़ से पला था जो आज मिट्टी में गल रहा है
— Akbar Allahabadi
Meaning

This skull that you see was filled with heedless pride just yesterday, and this very body, once nurtured with immense pampering, is now rotting away in the dust.

Explanation

This couplet presents a haunting yet tender reminder of the transience of life and the futility of worldly vanity. The poet gazes upon a hollow skull—once brimmed with careless pride and pampered in the lap of extreme luxury—that is now quietly dissolving into common soil. It serves as a gentle wake-up call to the soul, showing how death strips away all arrogance and reduces every human privilege back to the dust.

Interpretation note: meanings and explanations may be AI-assisted and should not replace a primary text or scholarly edition. See the editorial policy.

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