Word Meaning
बे-कफ़नी
be-kafnī
hinoun, feminine
Meaning
State of lacking a burial shroud; dying or remaining unburied without a shroud.
Detailed Meaning
In classical Urdu poetry, 'be-kafnī' signifies the extreme destitution and tragic end of a lover whose dead body lacks even a shroud. In this couplet, the speaker’s madness and nakedness in life (uryānī) continue naturally past death, rendering the absence of a shroud an inevitable badge of being slain by the beloved.
Etymology
Persian prefix 'be-' (without) combined with Arabic 'kafan' (shroud) and the abstract noun suffix '-ī'.
Usage
A stock motif in ghazals symbolizing martyrdom in love, utter abandonment, and the preservation of earthly destitution beyond the grave.
Examples
Left in the desert with no shroud to cover
Grieving not for the lack of a shroud in love
Synonyms
बे-गोर-ओ-कफ़नीबे-लिबासीअनावृत्ति
Related Words
कफ़नउर्यानीकुश्तापस-अज़-मर्ग