Persian · noun/adjective, masculine · People & Roles
Parsa
पारसा
said paar-saa
also written: Paarsa
Meaning
A chaste, pious, and abstinent person; the outwardly virtuous one of the ghazal world.
Literally: pious, chaste, abstemious
Usage & notes
The parsa's outward purity is set in the ghazal against the lover's honest passion, and Iqbal favours sincerity over show. He questions a chastity that is mere reputation rather than the fruit of a tested, loving heart.
Related words
ARABIC
Zaahid
The ascetic or abstinent pietist who shuns worldly pleasure; in the ghazal a figure of dry, often self-righteous renunciation.
PERSIAN
Parhezgaar
An abstinent, scrupulously pious person who avoids all that is forbidden.
ARABIC
Aabid
A devout worshipper given to constant prayer and ritual devotion.