Word Meaning
सुर्मा
surma
Meaning
Kohl or fine powder applied around the eyes to enhance beauty.
Detailed Meaning
A fine mineral powder traditionally applied to the rim of the eyelids for cosmetic and medicinal purposes. In this couplet, it represents the dark line in the beloved's eyes, portrayed imaginatively as a wave of smoke rising from a flaming voice. In classical Urdu poetry, it frequently symbolizes beauty, insight, or something utterly crushed and pulverized.
Etymology
Persian 'surmah' (سرمه), denoting collyrium or pulverized mineral used for eye makeup.
Usage
In ghazal poetry, it is celebrated both as a cosmetic that amplifies the lethal gaze of the beloved and as an idiom ('surma hona') for being ground into fine dust.
Examples
The dust of the beloved's street became kohl for the lover's sight.
His heart was pulverized like kohl under grief.