yahi hai azmana to satana kis ko kahte hain adu ke ho liye jab tum to mera imtihan kyuun ho

if this a trial, test, then pray what is torment? please explain you've chosen my rival now, what need to test and cause me pain the speaker accuses the beloved of disguising cruelty as a mere “test.” by joining the rival, the beloved has already taken a hostile position, so continuing to demand proofs of love becomes unjust and ironic. the core emotion is wounded dignity: a protest against needless pain inflicted under the name of evaluation.

adu ko chhod do phir jaan bhi mango to hazir hai tum aisa kar nahin sakte to aisa ho nahin sakta

go aap ne javab bura hi diya vale mujh se bayan na kiije adu ke payam ko

though you may have replied to him as rudely as you claim don't tell me what was in my rival's message, just the same the speaker accepts the beloved’s bitter response, but draws a boundary: he won’t tolerate hearing an adversary’s “message” delivered through the beloved. “adu” (enemy/rival) hints at a rival in love; repeating his words would feel like humiliation and a betrayal of intimacy. the couplet turns on self-respect—pain from the beloved is endurable, but disgrace via the rival is not.

yaan tak adu ka paas hai un ko ki bazm men vo baithte bhi hain to mire ham-nashin se duur

the speaker laments that the beloved gives such importance to the enemy’s “consideration” that social etiquette outweighs intimacy. the gathering (bazm) becomes a stage where distance is performed deliberately. the metaphor of seating turns emotional alienation into a visible, public gesture. the core pain is humiliation: the beloved’s loyalty seems redirected toward the rival, not the lover.

mere dushman to puchh sakte hain dosto tum mizaj mat puchho

avval ahl-e-qabila ne parcham banaya use aur phir pesh-e-dushman bhi tavan men sirf meri rida le gae

main aap apni mukhalif thi apni dushman thi mujhe hi mujh se ye achchha kiya juda kar ke

tum to sun paae na avaz-e-shikast-e-dil bhi kuchh hamin the ki harif-e-ghham-e-duniya bhi hue

yahi hai azmana to satana kis ko kahte hain adu ke ho liye jab tum to mera imtihan kyuun ho

if this a trial, test, then pray what is torment? please explain you've chosen my rival now, what need to test and cause me pain the speaker accuses the beloved of disguising cruelty as a mere “test.” by joining the rival, the beloved has already taken a hostile position, so continuing to demand proofs of love becomes unjust and ironic. the core emotion is wounded dignity: a protest against needless pain inflicted under the name of evaluation.

jis zakhm ki ho sakti ho tadbir rafu ki likh dijiyo ya rab use qismat men adu ki

ghalib offers a paradoxical prayer where he asks god to give his enemy wounds that can be cured. this implies that the poet reserves the fatal, unhealable wounds of love for himself, considering them a badge of honor that the rival is unworthy of bearing.

main jis ko apni gavahi men le ke aaya huun ajab nahin ki vahi aadmi adu ka bhi ho

go aap ne javab bura hi diya vale mujh se bayan na kiije adu ke payam ko

though you may have replied to him as rudely as you claim don't tell me what was in my rival's message, just the same the speaker accepts the beloved’s bitter response, but draws a boundary: he won’t tolerate hearing an adversary’s “message” delivered through the beloved. “adu” (enemy/rival) hints at a rival in love; repeating his words would feel like humiliation and a betrayal of intimacy. the couplet turns on self-respect—pain from the beloved is endurable, but disgrace via the rival is not.

sahal ho garche adu ko magar us ka milna itna main khuub samajhta huun ki asan to nahin

mere dushman to puchh sakte hain dosto tum mizaj mat puchho

mujh par ba-taur-e-khas thi us ki nigah-e-lutf kahta main kis tarah mire dushman men kuchh na tha

main aap apni mukhalif thi apni dushman thi mujhe hi mujh se ye achchha kiya juda kar ke