10_05

{10,5}*

kiyaa aa))iinah-;xaane kaa vuh naqshah tere jalve ne
kare jo partav-e ;xvurshiid ((aalam shabnamistaa;N kaa

1) your glory/appearance made of the mirror-chamber that aspect
2) that a ray of the sun would make of a field/scene of dew

Notes:

naqshah : 'A delineation; a portrait; a picture; --a design; a plan; a model, pattern, an exemplar;--a map, chart'. (Platts p.1145)

jalvah : 'Manifestation, publicity, conspicuousness; splendour, lustre, effulgence'. (Platts p.387)

((aalam : 'The world, the universe; ...state, condition, case, circumstances; a state of beauty; a beautiful sight or scene'. (Platts p.757)

*Platts Dictionary Online*

Nazm:

That is, the way dew cannot endure before the sun, the mirror cannot endure your glory. (11)

Baqir:

[The commentator Asi aasii says:] From a ray of the sun, every drop of dew glitters. In the same way, the mirror-chamber shone from your glory. (34)

Faruqi:

There are only two points toward which attention has not been directed. One is verbal: that is, the wordplay between naqshah and ((aalam ; and the second pertains to meaning: that is, that every drop of dew reflects the sun, and in that way itself becomes the sun. The glory of the beloved was reflected in this way in every mirror, so that in unity the aspect of variety began to show itself. (1989: 34) [2006: 44-45]

FWP:

JALVAH: {7,4}
MIRROR: {8,3}
SUN verses: {3,14x}; {10,5}; {24,3}; {38,2}: {61,1}; {67,1}; {68,4}; {78,5}; {81,7x}; {95,3}

The sun striking a field full of dewdrops makes every single drop sparkle; the dazzle of your glory would light up a roomful of mirrors. Then instantly the sun vaporizes the dewdrops into mere moisture; your radiance would cause the mirrors themselves to melt with shame at their own inability to capture and display such beauty.

The word for 'dew', shabnam , literally means 'night-moisture'. A concise evocation of exactly the two conditions always banished by the the sun.

A 'mirror-chamber' is one of those mostly windowless 'Shish Mahal' [shiish-mahal] rooms that exist in many Mughal and Rajput palaces, with walls and ceilings tiled with small variously angled inlaid mirror fragments, or mirror or shiny glass tiles, so that a torch or even a candle carried into the room creates a series of shifting, dancing, endlessly self-reflecting flashes of radiance. Other evocations of a 'mirror-chamber': {12,4x}; {16,6x}; {82,2x}; {190,4}; {217,3}.

Here's a recent visitor's view of the Agra Fort's shish-mahal, helpfully lighted by a guide (from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinz/2052808430/):