hujuum-e rezish-e ;xuu;N ke sabab rang u;R nahii;N saktaa
;hinaa-e panjah-e .sayyaad mur;G-e rishtah bar-paa hai
1) because of the onrush/impetuosity of the scattering of blood, the color could not fade/'fly'
2) the henna of the Hunter's hand/clutch/grasp is a bird with a string on its foot
hujuum : 'Rushing (upon, or at, - par ); attacking; crowding, swarming (round, or about, - par ); —assault, attack; effort; impetuosity; —crowd, throng, concourse, mob; a swarm'. (Platts p.1221)
panjah : 'The hand with the fingers extended; claw, paw (of a tiger, &c.); clutch, grasp, possession, power'. (Platts p.271)
SETS == WORDPLAY
BONDAGE: {1,5}
Raza p. 199. S. R. Faruqi's choices. This verse is from a different, unpublished, ham-:tar;h ghazal from the same year, and is included for comparison. In the unpublished ghazal, this was the fifth verse.
On ordinary women's hands, the brilliant red designs made with henna lighten and eventually fade away. (For more on henna, see {18,4}.) But the beloved is no ordinary woman! She's so constantly and effectively murderous that ever-fresh sprays of blood keep her hands perpetually patterned with henna-red. Thus the color doesn't have a chance to fade.
And since the verb for the fading of color is u;Rnaa , literally 'to fly', the henna becomes a small winged bird-like creature in the 'hand' (or 'claw', or clutch) of a ruthless captor. Because it can't 'fly' away, it must obviously have a string on its leg. Without the wordplay of u;Rnaa , could this verse even exist at all?
For another verse about color and its 'taking flight', see {7,2}.
To turn blood into henna doesn't at all tax the powers of the beloved-- we see in {230,2} that she can easily turn a solid metal mirror into henna.
Gyan Chand:
The beautiful Hunter shed the blood of many birds. Because of this, the color of the henna [mih;Ndii] of her hands could not 'fly'/fade. It keeps on remaining red from blood, since the color of henna cannot 'fly'. The meaning of this is that henna itself is like a captured bird. A mur;G-e rishtah bar paa is a bird on whose foot a cord would have been tied, and who would be unable to fly. (368)