Word Meaning
जाँ-सोज़
jāñ-soz
Meaning
Soul-burning, heart-rending, intensely agonizing or tormenting.
Detailed Meaning
In classical Urdu poetry, 'jāñ-soz' describes an agony, sigh, or passion so intense that it metaphorically consumes or burns the soul. In this couplet, it qualifies sighs and lamentations (āh-o-nāla) as excruciating, yet the speaker dismisses such intellectualized descriptions as lesser compared to the sudden, literal flame of love that burned his heart. It conveys extreme emotional devastation and destructive passion.
Etymology
Persian compound formed from 'jān' (life, soul) and 'sōz' (present stem of sōkhtan, to burn).
Usage
Commonly paired in the ghazal with words like 'āh' (sigh), 'nāla' (wail), or 'dard' (pain) to evoke the absolute limits of mortal suffering.
Examples
A soul-burning sigh that set the quiet night ablaze.
His heart-rending cry moved even the stone-hearted to tears.