Word Meaning
बोता
botā
Meaning
Sows, plants seeds; metaphorically instills or cultivates feelings or desires.
Detailed Meaning
'Botā' is the masculine singular present imperfective participle of the verb 'bonā' (to sow). In this couplet, it describes the futile act of planting the metaphorical seeds of longing ('tukhm-e-khwāhish') in an unyielding heart or barren ground that refuses to bloom. It emphasizes the pain of nursing hopeless desires in an unresponsive realm.
Etymology
From Sanskrit 'वपति' (vapati, sows), which passed into Prakrit as 'ववइ' (vavaï) and developed into Hindi/Urdu 'बोना' (bonā).
Usage
In ghazal poetry, 'bonā' is frequently used in agricultural metaphors where the speaker sows seeds of grief, desire, or thorns in the fertile or desolate ground of the heart.
Examples
Why sow seeds of hope in a heart of stone?
One who sows thorns cannot expect to harvest flowers.