Ghazal 435x, Verse 8

{435x,8}

hai ;xaamah fai.z-e bai((at-e bedil bah kaf asad
yak-naistaa;N qalam ruu-e i((jaaz hai mujhe

1) the pen is, through the grace of the {allegiance to / initiation by} Bedil, in the hand, Asad
2) a 'whole-reed-thicket' reed-pen is the aspect/cause of a wonder/miracle, to me

Notes:

bai((at : 'The act of promising or swearing allegiance and obedience; submission, obedience, allegiance, homage, fealty; initiation as a disciple of a saint or religious guide'. (Platts p.210)

 

bai((at : 'Inauguration, salutation, or acknowledging the authority of a great man; swearing allegiance; homage, fealty; [baiʻat bastan (raftan), (in the language of the Sufis) To become one's pupil; — baiʻat dādan, To stipulate, to give the hand upon making an agreement; to administer the oath of loyalty or fealty'. (Steingass p.222)

 

qalam : 'A reed; reed-pen, pen; a pencil; a painter's brush; — an engraving tool; — a mode of writing, character, handwriting'. (Platts p.794)

 

ruu : 'Face, countenance; appearance, aspect; surface (of the earth, &c.); sake; cause, reason; colour, pretence'. (Platts p.602)

 

i((jaaz : 'Wonder, astonishment, amazement, surprise, a miracle'. (Platts p.60)

Asi:

Oh Asad, the pen in my hand, through the grace of the allegiance to Bedil, has become the miracle of a 'whole-reed-thicket' of authority/sainthood [valaayat].

== Asi, p. 283

Zamin:

That is, I have dominion over the reed-thicket of the wonder/miracle of poetry/speech, because my pen has obtained grace through allegiance to Bedil. That is, since I am a follower of Bedil, my poetry is entirely a wonder/miracle. A 'whole-reed-thicket' is the measure of the aspect of the pen; he has brought it in for the wordplay with 'pen'.

== Zamin, p. 415

Gyan Chand:

Allegiance/initiation is given upon someone's hand. A 'whole-reed-thicket' is a construction for expressing the greatness of the amount. The pen that is in my hand is the sign of my taking allegiance to Bedil. It is for me the banner-carrying of a world of wonder. That is, with the pen I will create realms of wonder.

== Gyan Chand, p. 418

FWP:

SETS == POETRY
WRITING: {7,3}

For more on Ghalib's unpublished verses, see the discussion in {4,8x}. See also the overview index.

This is the last of many such closing-verses in which the young Ghalib expressed his extravagant admiration for Bedil; most of these he omitted from the published divan. For discussion of the issues involved, see {8,5x}.

Here Bedil seems to be envisioned as a Sufi pir, to whom Ghalib would swear allegiance and from whom he might even receive a formal 'initiation' (see the definitions above). Thus through Bedil's favor Ghalib's reed-pen is entirely an aspect or cause of wonder, or even a 'miracle'. To express the intensity of the reed-pen's wondrousness he describes it as a 'whole-reed-thicket' pen; on such highly Persianized expressions compounded with yak , see {11,1}.