Word Meaning
ख़ानमाँ-बर्बाद
khānamañ-barbād
Meaning
Homeless, ruined, or destitute; one whose household and hearth are entirely destroyed.
Detailed Meaning
In classical Urdu poetry, 'khānamañ-barbād' refers to a wanderer or lover whose worldly home, possessions, and familial ties have been utterly ruined. In the cited couplet, it evokes the paradoxical ecstasy and spiritual freedom found in renouncing domestic security and burning one's own nest. Rather than denoting mere misery, it signifies a deliberate, consumed surrender to love and homelessness.
Etymology
Persian compound of 'khān-o-mān' (house, household goods, family) and 'barbād' (given to the wind, ruined).
Usage
In the ghazal tradition, it is frequently employed as an epithet of pride for the passionate lover who gladly destroys his own home for the freedom of wilderness.
Examples
living like a ruined vagrant in love's domain
a heart devastated and left homeless by grief
