Word Meaning
खाल
khāl
Meaning
Skin, hide; bodily pelt, often invoked in references to flaying alive.
Detailed Meaning
Literally denoting the external skin or hide of a human or animal. In classical Urdu poetry, it most famously appears in the gruesome idiom 'khāl khīñchnā' (to peel off the skin or flay alive), evoking historical and mystical martyrs of love such as Sarmad Shahid or Shams Tabrizi. In this couplet, it exemplifies the arbitrary and horrific cruelties suffered by devoted lovers in the tyrannical realm of love.
Etymology
Sanskrit (खल्ल / khalla), inherited through Prakrit into modern Indo-Aryan languages (Hindi and Urdu).
Usage
In ghazal traditions, it is most frequently used with verbs of tearing or pulling to symbolize extreme agony and sublime martyrdom.
Examples
Flaying the skin of those who spoke truth in love.
The tyrant ordered his hide to be pulled alive.