Word Meaning
नाक
nāk
Meaning
Nose; the facial sensory organ, also metaphorically honour or dignity.
Detailed Meaning
In its primary physiological sense, the word denotes the nose or nasal canal through which breath and bodily secretions pass. In this satirical couplet, it refers literally to the passage of a common cold ('नाक की राह') as part of a mock-medical ridicule directed at the ascetic. Beyond the literal organ, it frequently serves in South Asian culture and verse as an idiom for reputation and social standing.
Etymology
From Sanskrit 'nāsikā' (नासिका) through Prakrit 'nakka' (णक्क).
Usage
In classical and satirical verse, it is used either literally for bodily humor or idiomatically in expressions of prestige and shame.
Examples
the flow from the passage of the nose
to safeguard one's honour before the world