S. R. Faruqi:

By 'tree' can be meant his stature, and also his individuality. The affinity with 'tree of life' is obvious. In the second line, how eloquent [badii((] and interesting is the image! For the growth of a tree, water and earth are both required. Here, through taking advantage of the simile of the 'whirlwind' he's established for the growth and development of his tree, the 'dust of the road'.

This implication is very fine, for the lover not only keeps wandering like a whirlwind, but even remains dust-covered like a tree growing by the road. In the verse there's also a pride. A whirlwind is, among the manifestations of nature, a powerful and stupefying manifestation. Having declared this to be a simile for his growth and development, he's bestowed on his own individuality the grandeur and uniqueness of a manifestation of nature.

Mir has borrowed this theme directly from Khan-e Arzu, and the truth is that Khan-e Arzu's [Persian] verse outranks Mir's verse:

'Lying prostrate and lowly on the ground was the origin of my growth and development;
Like the whirlwind, my tree too finds wateredness from the dust.'

Khan-e Arzu's verse has, in uftaadagii and maayah , uncommonly powerful and meaningful wordplay. In Mir's verse there are no such words. On the contrary: in his verse the word anokhii , although it's not inappropriate, is devoid of power. Although in Mir's verse baaliidah and ;xaak-e rah are fine indeed. For baaliidah , one meaning is 'high-headed, arrogant', and in ;xaak-e rah is the implication of prostration and being trodden under foot.

For more, see:

{1040,4}.

FWP:

SETS
MOTIFS == ROAD
NAMES
TERMS == IMPLICATION

As SRF observes, anokhii does feel like a weak word here, a noncommittal space-filler like 'remarkable' or (worst of all) 'interesting'. It seems too lightweight for the powerful punch of the second line. With the space of short-long-long(-short) available, and no rhyming elements to contend with, couldn't Mir have done better?

Here's a chance for us backseat drivers to practice the craft-- what could he, what should he, have done instead? A more forceful word would have worked to reshape the whole verse, and bind the two lines more powerfully together. To replace anokhii isn't as easy as you might at first think, but then, the stakes are low. Especially you meter fans, who know how to 'seat' [bi;Thaanaa] words in a line-- why not have a go?

Another, and more powerful, use of the whirlwind, also from the first divan:

{74,11}.