Word Meaning
ज़ुल्मत-गुस्तरी
zulmat-gustarī
Meaning
The spreading or scattering of darkness; pervasive gloom or obscurity.
Detailed Meaning
This compound noun signifies the active dissemination or pervasive reach of deep darkness. In this couplet, it hyperbolically portrays the overwhelming, desolate gloom that envelops the lover's bedchamber (shabistān). The obscurity is so immense that sealing the wall vents on a moonlit night plunges the entire space into impenetrable blackness.
Etymology
A Persianate compound formed from Arabic 'zulmat' (darkness, gloom) and the Persian nominal derivative 'gustarī' (from 'gustardan', meaning to spread or scatter).
Usage
In classical Urdu ghazal, the compound is employed as an elevated poetic device to intensify the interior desolation and existential gloom of the separated lover.
Examples
the vast gloom-spreading silence of the bedchamber
a night marked by the sorrowful scattering of darkness