Word Meaning
घबरा
ghabra
Meaning
To become anxious, perturbed, distressed, or restless.
Detailed Meaning
In classical Urdu verse, 'ghabra' conveys acute emotional vulnerability, apprehension, or distress caused by grief and circumstance. In this couplet by Ghalib, it expresses the natural fragility of the human heart, which inevitably panics and tires beneath the ceaseless revolving of fate, unlike a lifeless wine goblet that turns endlessly without emotion.
Etymology
Derived from Hindi/Hindustani root ghabrānā (with likely Indo-Aryan onomatopoeic/expressive origins of agitation and bewilderment).
Usage
Frequently combined with auxiliary verbs like 'जाना' (घबरा जाना) in ghazals to signify the human heart succumbing to grief or existential despair.
Examples
The heart faltered in the dark night of separation.
Do not panic before the trials of revolving time.