ढली

Meaning

Cast, molded, or shaped into a form (feminine past tense).

Detailed Meaning

In this couplet, 'dhalī' describes being cast or fashioned inside a mold ('qālib'). Ghalib uses it to illustrate supreme delicacy, imagining that the bricks of the garden walls are cast in the mold of a delicate flower. Beyond casting, the root verb can also denote the waning or passing of time.

Etymology

From Prakrit 'ḍhallaï', ultimately traced to Sanskrit root 'ḍhal' (to slip, slope, or pour).

Usage

In ghazal poetry, it is employed either for sculptural, ideal beauty ('साँचे में ढली') or for the sorrowful fading of daylight and youth ('शाम ढली', 'उम्र ढली').

Examples

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Related Words