Word Meaning
ख़ुद-काम
khud-kām
Meaning
Self-willed, wilful, arbitrary, or following one's own desires.
Detailed Meaning
In classical Persian and Urdu poetry, 'khud-kām' describes someone who acts entirely according to their own will, whim, or desire without yielding to outside authority. In the context of this couplet, it evokes an unyielding, self-willed, or delightfully independent beloved (or self-directed inner passion) to whom the lover readily offers heart and faith. It denotes an attitude unbound by societal expectations or pious conventions.
Etymology
Persian: compound of 'khud' (self) + 'kām' (desire, wish, intent).
Usage
Frequently applied to an indifferent or capricious beloved whose actions conform only to their own autonomous whims.
Examples
The self-willed idol paid no heed to my entreaties.
He surrendered his soul before that whimsical and wilful beauty.