Word Meaning
ख़ुद-निगह-दारी
khud-nigah-dārī
Meaning
Self-vigilance, self-restraint, or self-preservation.
Detailed Meaning
In classical poetry, the compound refers to guardedness, self-consciousness, or the instinct to protect one's own ego. In the quoted verse, it represents the lover's lingering caution that risks becoming a confining boundary (shore) to the otherwise limitless ocean of love. Total surrender in love demands the dissolution of this very self-watchfulness.
Etymology
Persian compound formed from 'khud' (self) + 'nigah' (sight/care) + 'dari' (holding/keeping).
Usage
Commonly used in Sufi and philosophical ghazals as an emblem of ego-consciousness that opposes mystical self-annihilation.
Examples
In the tempest of passion, all self-vigilance was swept away.
His self-restraint kept him from revealing the secret of his heart.