Word Meaning
कारी
kaari
Meaning
Fatal, mortal, deep, or penetrating (especially describing a wound).
Detailed Meaning
In Persian and classical Urdu poetry, 'kārī' signifies something penetrating, effective, or lethal, most famously occurring in the compound 'zakhm-e-kārī' (a mortal wound). In this couplet, the poet laments that the executioner's hand grew exhausted too soon, leaving the lover without the fatal blow to the heart that he so desired. It highlights an unfulfilled yearning for absolute, decisive ruin at the hands of the beloved.
Etymology
Persian (کاری - kārī), derived from 'kār' (work, action, effect) with the adjectival suffix '-ī', signifying effective, piercing, or fatal.
Usage
In classical ghazal, it is almost exclusively paired with 'ज़ख़्म' (wound) or 'ज़रब' (blow) to describe an incurable, lethal injury inflicted by the beloved or by fate.
Examples
A mortal wound struck deep into the chest
No cure remains for this penetrating blow