Word Meaning
ब-ख़रे
ba-khare
Meaning
To an ass or donkey; to an ignorant fool.
Detailed Meaning
A Persian prepositional phrase composed of 'ba' (to, unto) and 'khar' (donkey or ass), suffixed with the enclitic 'e' of indefiniteness. In classical poetry, it is used metaphorically for an unworthy, foolish, or boorish person. In this couplet, it underscores fate's perverse irony: the wise are denied even a blade of grass while bountiful gardens are squandered on ignorant fools.
Etymology
Persian: preposition 'ba' (به, to/unto) + noun 'khar' (خر, donkey/fool) + indefinite suffix '-e' (ی).
Usage
Commonly employed in didactic and satirical Persian and Urdu verse to lament the mistreatment of scholars and artists by an undiscriminating patron or age.
Examples
A garden of rare blooms was squandered unto an ass.
Destiny bestowed its crown upon an ignorant fool.