Word Meaning
बे-गुनह-कुश
be-gunah-kush
Meaning
A slayer of the innocent or blameless.
Detailed Meaning
A compound adjective referring to someone who destroys or slays the guiltless without justification. In the couplet, the speaker questions if celestial bodies like the sun and moon also mercilessly kill the innocent, contrasting their elevated cosmic status with the beloved's unsparing cruelty. It highlights the traditional ghazal motif of the beloved slaying devoted lovers who have committed no crime other than loving.
Etymology
Persian compound of 'be' (without) + 'gunah' (sin/guilt) + 'kush' (killer, present stem of 'kushtan', to kill).
Usage
In classical Urdu poetry, it is employed as a bitter reproach against the beloved's habitual, unprovoked cruelty toward blameless admirers.
Examples
The indifferent tyrant proved to be a slayer of the innocent.
He lamented that his beloved had turned into a killer of the guiltless.