Word Meaning
ख़ार-ख़ार
khār-khār
Meaning
Continuous pricking, anxious longing, or persistent uneasiness.
Detailed Meaning
In Persian and classical Urdu poetry, 'khār-khār' denotes an agonizing prickle, persistent irritation, or an anxious, unresolved restlessness. In this verse, it evokes the stinging constraint of decorum (takalluf) that pierces through a lover's plea born of inner turmoil. It connects the physical prick of needles and thorns with the psychological torment of formality hindering emotional release.
Etymology
Persian (خار + خار, reduplication of 'khār' meaning thorn or prickle).
Usage
Commonly used in ghazals to signify nagging emotional irritation or the acute prickle of suppressed desire.
Examples
A continuous prickling of unfulfilled longing remained in the heart.
Formality became a thorn in the expression of love.