Word Meaning
बे-दाद-फ़न
be-dad-fan
Meaning
Skilled in cruelty or injustice; an artist in tormenting lovers.
Detailed Meaning
A compound adjective combining 'be-dad' (injustice, oppression) and 'fan' (art, craft), signifying one who practices cruelty with artistic mastery. In Ghalib's couplet, it describes the beloved ('but-e-be-dad-fan') whose appetite for inflicting torment remains unquenched even when the lover's heart is entirely drained. It highlights how cruelty is transformed into refined aesthetic play by the beloved.
Etymology
Persian (be-dād, injustice/cruelty) + Arabic (fann, art/craft).
Usage
In classical Urdu poetry, it is employed as an exquisite compound epithet for the beloved who treats cruelty not as malice, but as an art form.
Examples
The wondrous whims of that idol skilled in cruelty.
We fell victim to a tormentor adept in the craft of tyranny.