Word Meaning
ख़यालात
Khayālāt
Meaning
Thoughts, reflections, ideas, or illusions.
Detailed Meaning
'Khayalat' is the plural of 'khayal', denoting thoughts, notions, or the faculties of imagination. In classical Urdu poetry, it frequently connotes mental preoccupations, subjective fancies, or illusions. In this couplet, compounded as 'khayalat-e-batil' (false thoughts/vanities), it conveys that the speaker has become a slave to their own unfounded delusions.
Etymology
Arabic, from the root kh-y-l (خ-ي-ل) meaning to imagine or fancy, forming 'khayāl', pluralized with the regular Arabic suffix '-āt'.
Usage
In classical Urdu poetry, 'khayalat' often serves as a thematic vehicle to contrast human illusions and mental vanity with ultimate spiritual reality.
Examples
Lost in the labyrinth of one's own thoughts
Tormented by false illusions of the mind