Word Meaning
बचने
bachne
Meaning
To escape, avoid, elude, or be saved from harm or influence.
Detailed Meaning
The oblique infinitive of the verb 'bachna', denoting the act of evading, guarding oneself against, or escaping. In the context of the couplet, it describes the lover's lifelong, futile effort to guard himself from the piercing and fatal gaze of the beloved. Despite constant vigilance and evasion, love's lancet inevitably penetrates the soul.
Etymology
Sanskrit 'वञ्च्यते' (vañcyate, avoids/evades) or Prakrit 'वच्चइ' (vattai), evolving into Old Hindi/Urdu 'बचना' (bachnā).
Usage
In ghazal poetry, 'bachna' is often used paradoxically to show that escaping the perils of love or the beloved's glance is ultimately futile.
Examples
Dil bachne ki soorat na dekhi (Could find no way for the heart to be spared)
Nigahon se bachne ki tadbeer (The strategy to escape from piercing eyes)