Word Meaning
ख़बतों
khabton
Meaning
Mad persons, eccentrics; obsessions or crazed states.
Detailed Meaning
In Urdu, 'khabt' denotes madness, an eccentric fixation, or an irrational craze. In this couplet, 'khabton' functions as an oblique plural referring to hopelessly crazed individuals or shameless lovers who have discarded societal decorum. Mir cautions the orthodox preacher (Sheikh) against wasting his pious admonitions on such irredeemably mad devotees of passion.
Etymology
Arabic root 'kh-b-t' (خبط), meaning to strike blindly or fall into mental disorder, adapted into Urdu with the plural oblique suffix '-on'.
Usage
In classical Urdu poetry, it is employed to portray the unyielding and socially defiant irrationality of the passionate lover against the rigid moralizing of the preacher.
Examples
Pious counsel is utterly lost on these crazed ones.
Driven by their mad obsessions, they wander aimlessly.