Word Meaning
मस्तबा
mastaba
Meaning
A tavern, inn, or gathering place for wine drinkers.
Detailed Meaning
In classical poetry, 'mastaba' signifies a tavern, inn, or gathering place akin to 'kharabat' or 'maikhana'. In this couplet, it designates the drinking house where even the sanctimonious preacher (waiz) is seduced and lured away by a single cup of pure wine. It acts as an emblem of authentic intoxicated freedom positioned against pious hypocrisy.
Etymology
Arabic (مصطبة / miṣṭabah), originally meaning a stone bench or raised platform, later borrowed into Persian and Urdu to mean an inn or tavern.
Usage
Used in the ghazal as an equivalent of 'maikhana' or 'kharabat' to playfully subvert orthodox piety by entrapping the preacher.
Examples
entering the mastaba with unbridled ecstasy
the pious ascetic lost inside the mastaba