Word Meaning
पा-ब-हिना
pā-ba-hinā
Meaning
Having henna-dyed feet; restrained or moving slowly due to wet henna.
Detailed Meaning
Literally denoting someone whose feet are dyed with fresh henna, this idiom describes a person who is unable to move briskly or forced to stay still. In Persian and Urdu poetic convention, fresh henna acts as a decorative shackle requiring careful immobility. In the couplet, even lightning—the ultimate symbol of speed—is imagined as sluggish and henna-shackled in comparison to the fleeting shortness of human life.
Etymology
Persian compound formed from 'pā' (foot), preposition 'ba' (with), and 'hinā' (henna, via Arabic).
Usage
Commonly used in classical ghazal as an aesthetic conceit to express reluctance, helplessness, or paradoxically sluggish movement.
Examples
Even the wind became henna-footed in your lane.
Restrained by modesty, she stood henna-footed.