Word Meaning
जल्लाद
jallaad
Meaning
An executioner; a merciless person or tormentor who inflicts fatal punishment.
Detailed Meaning
Literally, a jallaad is an executioner or headsman appointed by royal or legal authority. In classical Urdu poetry, it metaphorically signifies extreme cruelty, heartlessness, or fate that brings destruction to the lover. In this couplet, it represents the ultimate physical terror of punishment, which the enlightened mystic does not fear.
Etymology
Arabic root j-l-d (جلد, meaning skin or whip), traditionally referring to one who flogs or executes.
Usage
In the ghazal tradition, the jallaad is commonly evoked alongside motifs of martyrdom, blades, and execution grounds to portray either worldly tyrants or the ruthless beloved.
Examples
smiling even beneath the sword of the executioner
the heartless tormentor who shows no pity