Word Meaning
फ़रबही
farbahī
Meaning
Fatness, corpulence, stoutness, or obesity.
Detailed Meaning
In Persian and Urdu, 'farbahi' denotes corpulence, plumpness, or bodily fatness. In the given couplet, it humorously explains why the preacher stays wallowing in the water tank like a crocodile—suggesting that excessive body fat causes him uncomfortable bodily heat. It serves a satirical purpose, contrasting the ascetic piety expected of a preacher with worldly indulgence and physical bulk.
Etymology
Persian (فربہی farbahī), derived from 'farbah' (fat, corpulent) with the abstract noun suffix '-ī'.
Usage
In classical Urdu satire, farbahi is frequently attributed to the orthodox preacher (wa'iz) or ascetic (zahid) to puncture their claims of self-denial and expose their comfortable gluttony.
Examples
His increasing corpulence made any swift movement impossible.
The poet mocked the preacher's fatness as a sign of hypocrisy.