The river of sins dried up due to a scarcity of water, even before the hem of my robe had become wet.

Ghalib brings his trademark wit and delightful audacity to this couplet, playfully boasting about his boundless capacity for living and sinning. He remarks that the entire river of sins dried up from a mere lack of water before even the hem of his robe could be properly soaked. Beneath this charming exaggeration lies a poignant thought: the human spirit has an insatiable appetite for experience, far larger than the world's humble boundaries can ever satisfy.