Word Meaning
ख़ुद-आराई
khud-ārā'ī
Meaning
Self-adornment, vanity, or decorating oneself.
Detailed Meaning
The term literally denotes self-adornment or preoccupation with decorating one's own appearance. In classical poetry, it often signifies the beloved's careless vanity or the universe's ceaseless display of its own beauty. In this couplet, it represents the myriad ways existence embellishes itself before the mirror, leaving the onlooker only with a hand of regret.
Etymology
Persian compound formed from 'khud' (self) and 'ārā' (stem of ārāstan, to adorn) with the abstract noun suffix '-ī'.
Usage
In Urdu ghazals, this term typically characterizes the beloved's vanity or aloof self-absorption in front of a mirror, indifferent to the suffering admirer.
Examples
lost in self-adornment before the looking glass
the illusion of endless self-embellishment