Word Meaning
जाँ-काही
jaan-kaahi
Meaning
Soul-exhaustion, vitality-draining torment, or life-consuming agony.
Detailed Meaning
'Jaan-kaahi' denotes the process or state of spiritual and physical depletion caused by persistent, severe suffering. In this couplet, it refers to the exhausting, life-sapping quality of a chronic illness that slowly consumes the patient's vitality. In Urdu poetics, it portrays a slow, excruciating drain on life rather than a sudden demise.
Etymology
Persian compound formed from 'jān' (life, soul) and 'kāhī' (abstract noun from the verb 'kāhīdan', meaning to diminish, waste away, or consume).
Usage
In classical Urdu poetry, 'jaan-kaahi' is typically invoked in contexts of relentless love-grief or fatal illness to emphasize an agonizing, gradual wasting away of the spirit.
Examples
The soul-draining sorrow of separation
enduring the agonizing weariness of disease