Persian · noun, feminine · The Tavern & the Cup
Durd
दुर्द
said durd
also written: Durd-e-mai
Meaning
The dregs or lees at the bottom of the wine-cup; in mystic humility, the very draught the lowly lover treasures.
Literally: dregs, sediment
How Iqbal uses it
The dregs, scorned by the proud, are prized by the humble lover who finds even the lees of divine love precious. In the ghazal tradition durd marks the abasement that mysticism turns into honour.
See it in the verse
Durd in Iqbal’s couplets
Kya dabdaba-e-nadir kya shaukat-e-taimuri
Ho jaate hain sab daftar gharq-e-mai-e-naab aakhir
Ho jaate hain sab daftar gharq-e-mai-e-naab aakhir
What of Nadir's dread power, what of Timur's splendour? In the end every such record is drowned in the pure wine of time.
Humility · Self-Knowledge · Adversity
Main shakh-e-tak hun meri ghazal hai mera samar
Mere samar se mai-e-lala-fam paida kar
Mere samar se mai-e-lala-fam paida kar
I am a branch of the vine, my song is my fruit; from that fruit press out the tulip-red wine.
Action · Aspiration · Youth
Related words
ARABIC
Saaf
Clear, pure, clarified; of wine, the limpid draught drawn off from the dregs, the pure top of the cup (contrasted with durd, the lees).
PERSIAN
Tah-e-jaam
The bottom of the cup; the last dregs left in the goblet, often a figure for the end of the feast or the lover's final share.
PERSIAN
Mai-e-naab
Pure, unmixed wine; the unadulterated draught of mystical love.