Couplet Vl

I will take up the sixth couplet of the ghazal 'Dard minnat kashey dawa na hua' today, which is as given below:-

                                       'Kya woh namrood ki khudaayee thi ?
                                        Bandagi me tera bhala na hua.'

Namrood was a Quranic tyrant who claimed himself to be God who had the false notion that on his orders men were put to death or set free. He was a contemporary of Hazrat Ibrahim.

Ghalib in this sher refers to Namrood and expresses his dissatisfaction at the outcome of his prayers as these prayers went in vain.

Interpreters have diverse opinions on the question as to whom was he praying. However, in any case, the point is that Ghalib's devotion or servitude had gone in vain as what he expected or longed for did not take place. He seems to be questioning the divinity of God himself.

The same is the case if we assume that Ghalib's servitude was directed towards his beloved as she also failed him and his devotion to her.

In Sufi parlance God is either the lover or the beloved. Here it will be quite appropriate to assume that the Power Ghalib had served with devotion is God himself and he seems to be accusing Him of not heeding to his prayers. As such God's divinity is likened to the divinity of Namrood.