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 MEMORIAL VOLUME

AMIR KHUSRAU
 MEMORIAL VOLUME

AMIR KHUSRAU

PUBLICATIONS DIVISION
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
First Edition: October 1975 (Kartika 1897 Saka)
Reprint Edition: 2006 (Saka 1928)

© Publications Division

ISBN : 81-230-1398-1
Price: Rs. 150.00
A&C-ENG-REP-071-2006-07

Published by:
Director, Publications Division
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India
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Typeset at: Print-O-World, 2579, Mandir Lane, Shadipur, New Delhi-110 008
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 The Contributors*

Dr. S.B.P. Nigam, Reader in History, Kumkshetra University.

Dr. M. Rahman, Head of the Department of Persian, Maulana Azad

College, Calcutta.

Dr. Shujaat Ali Sandilvi, Head of the Department of Urdu, Lucknow

University.

Shahab Sarmadee, Professor, Centre of Advanced Study, Department of

History, Aligarh Muslim University.

Dr. S.A.H. Abidi, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Delhi University.

A. A. Ansari, Professor, Department of English, Aligarh Muslim University.

Dr. Prabhakar Machwe, Former Secretary, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi.

Nazir Ahmed, Professor and Head of the Department of Persian, Aligarh

Muslim University.

Syed Sabahuddin Abdur Rahman, Joint Secretary, Darul Musanaffin

Shibli Academy, Azamgarh.

S.H. Askari, Retd. Professor and Head of the Department of History,

Patna University.

Abdul Aziz "Ameeq" Hanfee, Programme Executive, Urdu Service of

External Services Division, A.I.R., New Delhi.

Dr. Ziauddin Sajjadi, Professor, Tehran University, Iran.

*First Edition, October, 1975

 *

'

•
 Contents

Foreword to the First Edition vu

Importance of Amir Khusrau.1

Amir Khusrau and India.3
A Harbinger of Hindu-Muslim Culture.11
A Great Indian Patriot.21
Musical Genius of Amir Khusrau.33
A Persian Poet Par Excellence.65
Persian Love Poetry of Amir Khusrau.79
Amir Khusrau’s Hindi Poetry.99
An Accomplished Critic. Ill
Affectionate Response to the Indian Environment.129
Khusrau’s Works As Sources of Social History.155
The Historian in Khusrau.175
Khusrau—From Iranian Angle.199
 -iW'-i"’

A page from an illustrated work of Amir Khusrau

 Foreword to the First Edition

Indian history is replete with names of great men and women

who have given new dimensions to the life and thought of the
people and an impetus to the process of welding into one unified
whole a multi-racial and multi-lingual society. Amir Khusrau's is
one such illustrious name. There is hardly an Indian who has not
heard of him. For the man with sophistication as well as for the
common man, Khusrau's sayings and lyrics are a thing of beauty
and a joy for ever.
To assess this great Indian's multi-faceted personality is indeed
a difficult task. Khusrau is so many persons rolled into one—
poet, musician, historian, linguist, and above all, a messenger of
secularism and national unity.
This book makes a modest attempt to bring to the reader some
aspects of Khusrau's personality from the pen of scholars who
have specialised in the subject. Some overlapping has been
unavoidable in this work with scripts from different authors.
However, whichever way one turns, the charming many-splendoured
personality of Amir Khusrau always comes to the fore.
In compiling this volume, the Publications Division has received,
from time to time, help from Shn Hasanuddin Ahmad, General
Secretary of Amir Khusrau Seventh Centenary National Celebration
Committee which is gratefully acknowledged.
 Importance of Amir Khusrau

A bul hasan Yaminuddin Khusrau or Amir Khusrau was bom

in Patiali in the district of Etah, Uttar Pradesh, in Shavval
651 A.H. (1253 A.D.)

His father Amir Saifuddin Mahmood migrated to India from the

city of Kush, presently Shehr-e-Sabz, in Central Asia, on the
borders of the Tajik and Uzbek Republics of USSR, and married
the daughter of an Indian nobleman, Imad-ul-Mulk. Amir Khusrau
was proud of his lineage as a "Turk-e-Hindustani", and tradition
credits him with knowledge of Turkish, Arabic, Persian and the
vernaculars of northern India, the Khari Boli, (Urdu and Hindi both
being developed forms of it), Brij Bhasha and Avadhi. It was during
his stay in Awadh, Delhi and Punjab that he learned these northern
languages. He also learned Sanskrit which he placed before all
other languages, except Arabic, the language of his religion.
He was a bom poet and started his poetic activity when only
nine. He also knew and practised the music of Central Asia,
and mastered the art of Indian music as well. He inherited from
his father not only an honourable place in the society of the
day and a high status at the royal court but also the tradition
of respect for Sufis and men of piety. This explains his unbounded
love and devotion for Hazrat Nizamuddin of Delhi. Both lived
in a period of turmoil and intolerance; both represented and taught
a humanism which rose above the conflicts of the age; both
sought and found a spirituality above the confines of narrow
orthodoxy. While Hazrat Nizamuddin brought to bear on his thought
and expression a philosophical profundity, Amir Khusrau brought
to bear on his the graces of devotional poetry and music. Both
were mystics of a high order, the one rising to saintliness, the
other following him.
2 AMIR KHUSRAU

Amir Khusrau symbolises a link between the peoples of

Afghanistan, Iran, Central Asia, Pakistan and India. In India, he
represented a confluence of the two predominant cultures, enriching
their music, in song and instrument, with innovations such as the
qavvali, qaul, tarana and the sitar. His Persian ghazals are still sung
and memorised in Russian Turkistan, Iran and our sub-continent,
while his verses in Hindavi-Hindustani, combining the rhythm and
rhyme of the classics with the charm and cadence of folksongs,
have become a part of the Indian heritage, recited and sung by
men, women and children all over the north as part of the lore
of the people.
His devotional verse and song also inspired the thoughts and
words of some of the great spiritual leaders of India who followed,
like Guru Nanak, Kabir, Sant Nam Dev, Waris Shah and Abdul
Latif, who in turn have inspired generations of Indians and brought
people of different faiths closer to each other in the embrace of
a spiritual unity.
The writings of Amir Khusrau are of immense value to us
historically as well. Living in the capital of the Sultanate, Delhi,
and associated since his youth with the reigning kings and princes,
Khusrau witnessed historic events and was himself present in
some of the military campaigns. There are many works in which
he has described these and the contemporary political events and
social life of the times. These writings form a valuable source of
authentic history of the period in which he lived.
He died in Delhi in Zeeqad 725 AH (1325 A.D.). The precise
dates are not known for certain.
 Amir Khusrau and India
S.B.P. NIGAM

T he versatile and varied nature of Amir Khusrau's prose and

poetical compositions has always fascinated scholars devoted
to the history and culture of the Delhi Sultanate. Although at
present we do not have more than a dozen works of Amir Khusrau,
many contemporary and later biographers of the poet testify
unequivocally that he was a voluminous writer. Zia-ud-dm Bami,
a friend of Amir Khusrau, has pointed out that the poet had written
a whole library of works. Another reliable authority, Amir Khurd,
the author of the Siyaru'l-Auliya, says that Amir Khusrau wrote
about ninetynine works but he did not list them. Bulk of his books
have apparently been lost. Some of his works mentioned in the
introduction to his diwan Ghurratu'l-Kamal were very popular in
the lifetime of the poet, according to his own testimony, but so far
no trace of these has come to light nor there appears any likelihood
of their discovery.
Although by descent the great poet belonged to a family of
Turks who had migrated to India from the west during the reign
of Sultan Shams-ud-din Iltutmish 607-34 A.H. (1210-36 A.D.) and
was brought up in the traditional style of Muslim education prevalent
in the thirteenth century, the poet was a great patriot and lover
of India. In the introduction to his famous masnawi Nuh-Sipihr,
he calls India his birthplace and motherland:

The poet is never tired of praising this land. He argues that

patriotism has been described in a Hadis of Prophet Muhammad
as an essential ingredient of religion:
4 AMIR KHUSRAU

In one of the verses of the above masnawi, he calls India as

a virtual paradise on earth and gives seven reasons for his claim:

He goes on to account these reasons in the third chapter of the

Nuh-Sipihr. First, man having been discarded from paradise by
God descended in this country. Second, the peacock, which according
to Islamic mythology was a bird belonging to paradise, was found
in this country. Third, it is related that although the snake also
descended form paradise on earth along with the peacock but it
was not allotted this land because it was his nature to bite living
beings. Fourth, when Adam left India the days were near for Eve
to deliver a child but he could not get medicines for her to relieve
her of the great ordeal. Fifth, although the city of Damascus is
famous for its vegetation and good climate yet Adam chose India
as his country because here he found suitable atmosphere and
climate which was very much like that in paradise. Sixth, although
the country is inhabited by adherents of another faith, it has all
the charms and happiness of paradise. This is not so, as far as
the inhabitants of other regions of the world are concerned. And
last, being virtually a paradise on earth a good Muslim can enjoy
paradise during his lifetime, rather than after death.
In fact, the poet was never tired of showering praises on his
motherland whenever he got an opportunity to write about it. In
a letter which he wrote from Awadh (modem Ayodhya) to one
of his friends in Delhi, Taj-ud-din Zahid, he praises the climate and
the city of Awadh. He says, ’’The city of Awadh is undoubtedly
a lovely country but in your absence I do not like anything. The
city is in fact a garden where people live in great peace and
tranquility. Its land is an ornament to the world and pleasure
abounds in the surrounding country. The river Sarayu flows by it,
the sight of which quenches the thirst of beholders. All necessary
requisites ot happiness are present here in abundance. Flowers
and wine are available in profusion. In gardens, the branches of
trees abound with fruits. Grapes, sour apples, oranges and scores
AMIR KHUSRAU AND INDIA 5

of varieties of fruit trees bearing Indian names, sweet and tasteful,

e.g. bananas and mangoes, are elixir to human mind.
Evergreen flowers blossom in the gardens and the atmosphere
is full of the sweet or melancholy sounds of singing birds.1
A unique feature of Amir Khusrau's writings about India is that
he does not suffer from the customary prejudice of Muslim authors
of the time. Although he does not agree with the mam tenets of
Hindu religion and customs, he shows a deep sense of appreciation
of this ancient culture. About the inhabitants of Awadh, the bulk
of whom belonged to Hindu religion, he says, "All the residents
of this place are renowned for their hospitality, pleasant manners,
good and amicable nature, faithfulness and breadth of vision. The
rich and the poor alike are happy and satisfied and remain busy
in their occupations."2
In connection with 'Ala-ud-dm’s conquest of Warangal, the poet
praises the great and historic city of Devagiri (modem Daulatabad).
He says, "When the royal forces reached Devagiri they beheld
a lofty city which in freshness and bounty was greater than the
fort of Shaddad. Every marketplace looked like a garden where
goldsmiths and sellers of Achchus (copper com then current in the
south), silver and gold coins. Cloth of every variety which was not
available anywhere in India from Bihar to Khurasan, were piled
up in shops. They were in a variety of gorgeous colours like
flowers of roses and jasmine in a garden. Sweet fragrant fruits
of all sorts and varieties were lying stalked in shops. The soldiers
of the army could buy commodities of varied nature like clothes
of cotton, wool and leather and wearing armours made up of iron
and brass."3 In a long poem contained in the Nihayatu'l-Kamal the
poet praises the city of Devagiri, its fruits, cloth and musicians.4
That is apparently no exaggeration for the poet had heard many
lofty stories about the city and personally knew many distinguished
persons of the region.
Any account of Amir Khusrau's patriotism will be incomplete
if it did not take any notice of his love for the capital city of Delhi.
At that time, it was not only the capital of the Turkish empire in
India but also a place of learning where scholars from India and
6 AMIR KHUSRAU

abroad flocked together and composed works of everlasting interest

on a bewildering variety of subjects. Amir Khusrau was a great
literary luminary of the age and was associated with the kings and
nobles since the prime of his life. He had passed a major period
of his life there and naturally he was full of praise for this city.
In the introduction to his first historical masnawi, the Qiranu's-Sa-
'dain, he gives a graphic description of this great city of which the
poet was justifiably proud. He says, "Delhi is famous the world
over for being the centre of Islam and its justice. It is like a paradise
in the world. It can very well be compared to the garden of Aram
in Paradise. Even the holy city of Mecca becomes its eulogist
when it hears the greatness of Delhi. On account of its grandeur
it has become the centre of Islam. It is situated in a hilly country.
Gardens surround it for two miles and the river Yamuna flows
nearby. There are three cities of Delhi. Two were old and the third
one is new. By old Delhi is meant the old fort and the boundary
wall to the city and New Delhi is the newly founded city of
Kilokhari near the river Yamuna."5 After giving this short
geographical description the poet goes on to describe the inhabitants
of Delhi, the Jam'i Mosque, the Qutb Minar, Hauzi-i-Shamsi,
climate and vegetation, and the newly constructed fort of Kilokhari
by Sultan Mu'iz-ud-din Kaiqubar.6
After Qiranii's-Sa'dain, Khusrau's next work was his famous
collection of poems known as the Ghurratu'l-Damal. This collection
composed in 693 A.H. (1293 A.D.) during the reign of Sultan Jalal-
ud-din Khalji (689-95 A.H.) (1290-95 AD.), contains about ninety
qasidas, nine masnawis and many ruba'is. But its greatest value
lies in the autobiographical notices which Khusrau has left to
posterity. Since he was a great linguist and knew Arabic, Hindi
and Sanskrit, besides Persian, he has left a very useful account
which is of considerable philological interest. He says in the
introduction to this diwan that he was well versed in the Hindi
language and that he had also composed a diwan in that language
which was very popular. Unfortunately this collection is now lost
and we cannot form a fair idea of his Hindi poetry.
The intellectual superiority of the people of India in general and
those of Delhi in particular is clearly brought out in the following
AMIR KHUSRAU AND INDIA 7

passage of his brilliant introduction to the Ghurratu'l-Kamal. He

says, "The learned people of India and particularly those of Delhi
are much superior to their counterparts in other countries. When
the natives of Arabia, Khurasan and Turkistan come to this country
they speak their own languages and are able to compose poetry
in their own mother tongue. But when the people of India and
specially those resident in Delhi go to foreign countries they are
able to recite poems in the language of those places. Although the
people of this country have not been to Arabia they recite Arabic
poems so successfully that such clarity is wanting even among the
Arabians. Many Tajiks and Turks of India have been educated m
this country but they speak Persian with such ease that even the
people belonging to Khurasan stand aghast." Amir Khusrau goes
on to add that although Persian is the native language of Iran, in
that country clarity of diction is confined to the region of Mawara'un-
nahr, but elsewhere Persian is spoken in the same way as it is
in India. In fact the Khurasana cannot pronounce many words of
the Persian language correctly e.g. they call g as (£ and as
jf Persian is the lingua franca of India which is understood from
Sindh to South India.
Amir Khusrau is most eloquent and zealous in proving the
greatness of India in the third chapter of the Nuh-Sipihr, which
he composed in 718 A.H. (1318 A.D.) and dedicated to the then
ruling monarch, Sultan Qutb-ud-din Mubarak Shah 716-720 A.H.
(1316-1320 A.D.) The poet justifies his love for India in the
following words: "I have praised India for two reasons. Firstly,
because it is my birthplace and my county. Patriotism itself is a
great religion. Secondly, because Sultan Qutb-ud-din Mubarak
Shah is the king of this country. India is like a paradise. The people
do not suffer much if the winter season is severe. If the people
of Khurasan criticise the hot season of this country, then I would
reply that the hot season harms the people very little but the winter
season takes away a heavy toll of life. Plere people can pass the
nights with a blanket or sheet of cloth. The Brahmins conveniently
take a dip in the river at the end of the night. Many pass on their
nights under a tree or in a small room. Greenery of nature thrives
8 AMIR KHUSRAU

throughout the year and flowers blossom in every season. The

guavas and grapes of this country are matchless. Mangoes, bananas,
pepper, camphor, cardamom grow in abundance. India is specially
famous for many dry fruits which are not found in any other
country. The betal leaf cultivated here has no comparison of its
sort elsewhere in the world.”7
In the contemporary hagiological and historical works of the
Sultanate period there is a lamentable lack of objectivity and
fairness in describing the inhabitants of the land. Uncomplimentary
references to them abound in books written at the time such as
Taj a j-Maathir. Tabaqat-i-Nasiri, Ta’rikh-i-Kahru'd-din
Mubarak Shah and Ta'rikh-i-Firuzshahi. Court poets and
panegyrists of the Sultans often used odious epithets for the people.
But Amir Khusrau stands apart from them when he engages in
describing achievements of the people of India in the realm of
science or literature. By long association with them and a study
of their literature he had developed great respect for their culture.
For example, Amir Khusrau says: "Except jurisprudence, books on
all branches of this country are like Aristotle in learning. In logic,
astrology, mathematics and physical sciences the scholars of India
are much advanced. Very learned Brahmins are found here but
nobody has taken any advantage of their deep knowledge with the
result that they are very little known in other countries. I have tried
to learn something from them and therefore I understand their
importance. In spiritual science the Hindus have given up the right
path but except for Muslims other races are also like them.
Although they do not follow our religion yet many principles of their
religion are akin to ours. They believe in one supreme God. They
think that God is capable of creating anything out of nothing i.e.
zero. They consider God as the supreme lord of all articles and
living beings—man or animal. They think that all good and bad acts
originate from God. He is the knower of all things. Thus the
Brahmins are far superior to the sceptics, Christians, fire-
worshippers and unbelievers. Although they worship stones, sun,
animals and trees, they believe that all these objects have been
created by God. They regard it only as a symbol of God. They
do not consider themselves as subordinate to these animate
AMIR KHUSRAU AND INDIA 9

objects. They say that this mode of worship has been prevalent
among them since hoary antiquity which they are unable to
discard.”8
The second half of the third chapter of Nuh-Sipihr is however
most informative and, therefore, most important for it is here that
Amir Khusrau is at his best in praising India. He points out ten
reasons for the superiority of this country over others. Firstly,
learning and education is found in every part of this country. People
of other countries are not even aware of the vast ocean of
knowledge present here. Secondly, the people of India can speak
all languages very correctly and fluently whereas people of other
countries cannot speak the languages of India with fluency and
correctness. The natives of Khita like Mongols, Turks and Arabians
cannot converse in the Hindi language but Indians can easily do
so in foreign languages. This is a clear proof of the ability of the
Indians and the drawback of the foreigners. Thirdly, foreigners
constantly come to India in search of learning and knowledge but
no Brahmin ever went to learn in a foreign country. This fact is
well known to everybody that Abu Ma'ashar who was a great
astrologer came to India and having lived in the ancient city of
Varanasi he learnt that science for ten years. Whatever he has
written, he has written after learning it from the Hindus. Fourthly,
the science of numbers which is called hindsa ( ) in Arabic
was bom here. The knowledge of zero was first known to the
Hindus. No branch of mathematics can be complete without zero.
The word hindsa itself is composed of two words ’Hmd' i.e. India
and 'Asa* which was the name of the Brahmin who introduced
the digits. The Greeks also leamt this science from the Hindus.
All philosophers are thus disciples of this Hindu but he is not a
disciple of others. Fifthly, the great book of knowledge viz. Kali la
wa Dimna was composed in India. It was translated into other
languages of the West like Arabic, Turkish, Persian, etc. Sixthly,
the game of chess was also invented in India. Nobody can play
chess better than the Indians. Seventhly, hindsa, Kalila wa Dimna
and chess was leamt by foreigners from the Hindus. Eightly, the
music of this country is unbeaten throughout the world. Ninthly,
the Indian music not only moves the hearts of men but it has effect
10 AMIR KHUSRAU

on animals also. And, lastly, the greatness of India is testified by

the fact that Amir Khusrau, the greatest poet of the court of Sultan
Qutb-ud-din Mubarak Shah, hails from India.
Although some of the arguments advanced by Amir Khusrau
to prove the superiority of this country over others may not hold
good today, they certainly point to his deep patriotism and love for
this country. His father, Amir Saif-ud-din Mahmud, had migrated
to India during the reign of Sultan Shams-ud-din Iltutmish but the
poet completely forgot his foreign affiliations and antecedents and
considered India as his true motherland. Such an attitude can only
develop from a correct and deep understanding of the spirit of
Indian culture and the comprehension of the great values it stood
for.
Although Amir Khusrau was the court poet of many political
giants of his age, he never remained away from the man in the
street. It will be more appropriate to call him the poet of the people.
He has fired the imagination of the people of India since generations
but in the present age his secular ideas and tolerant attitude need
to be emulated by all Indians irrespective of caste and creed.
(Courtesy: Indo-Iranica)

REFERENCES

E The Ijazi-i-Khusnawi, (Nawal Kishore Press), Vol. V, p.40 onwards.

2. Ibid.
3. Amir Khusrau : Khazainu'l-Futuli, edited by M. Wahid Mirza (Calcutta,
1953), pp. 78-79.
4. Amir Khusrau : Nihaytul-Kamal (Delhi, 1913), pp. 50-52.
5. Amir Khusrau : Qiranu's Sa'dain, (Aligarh, 1918) pp. 28-29.
6. Ibid., pp. 29-34.
7. M. Wahid Mirza, Nuh-Sipihr, (Aligarh, 1950), pp. 149-61.
8. M. Wahid Mirza, Nuh-Sipilir, (Aligarh, 1950), pp. 161-65.
A Harbinger of Hindu-Muslim Culture
M. RAHMAN

I t is possible to dislike a poet. Men have been found able to do

so. But it is impossible to do so in the case of a saint, a poet
royal, a sufi who consecrates himself to the service of the highest
Muses, who takes labour and intent study as his portion, and
aspires himself to be a noble man. If ever an orphan rose to the
pinnacle of glory as a sufi and poet royal, it was Amir Khusrau
of Delhi. Amir Saif-ud-din Mahmud Shamsi, who was a noble of
Lachin tribe of Turkey and a daring warrior in the court of Sultan
Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, could hardly dream that his son, being
stripped of his paternal canopy at the age of eight,1 would one day
shine like pleiades amongst the galaxy of literary stars on the
firmament of heaven. But as we know, God never takes away a
blessing without compensating it with another. Providence provided
for him "Nature to be his tutor." His maternal grandfather, 'Imadu'l-
Mulk, was the Defence Minister under Sultan Balban. He taught
him Arabic and Persian and the art of calligraphy, no doubt, but
the Nine Muses bestowed upon him the super quality of poetic
genius from the age of 12 that went to make him a prolific writer
of outstanding merit. College or university would have been surely
a smaller place for such an excellent intellectual of expanding
character who had distinction stamped upon his brow. University,
however, proves a disappointing place to the young and ingenuous
soul, who goes there hoping that lectures will, by some occult
process, initiate him into the mysteries of taste and store house
of culture—these are merely hoped for but hardly found. Khusrau
12 AMIR KHUSRAU

was always determined, whatever he was to be, he was to be his

own man. He had friends, patrons and admirers, amongst high and
low, to occupy his hours of relaxation due to the purity and
daintiness of his life and conversation.
Followed by pomp and pageantry, Khusrau drove his chariot of
spectacular glory, through songs and sonnets, hymn and ballad, to
the royal chancellery of the Sultanate of Delhi. Once he was sitting
in the court of Bughra Khan, the son of Ghiyas-ud-din Balban, and
a literary discourse was going on. Khusrau recited his poem in such
a melodious tune and rhythm of his own that the prince stood up
in admiration and ordered a large tray-full of money to be handed
over to the poet. This incurred the displeasure of Chajju Khan
(Katlu Khan), a patron of Khusrau. Thus he was forced to join
the court of Bughra Khan. Some years after, he was invited by
Sultan Muhammad Qa'an, the eldest son of Balban, to join his
gallery of the illuminaries. When Tahore was attacked by Taimur
Khan at the behest of Arghun Khan, a descendant of Hilaku Khan,
and the devastation and pillage advanced upto Multan, Sultan
Muhammad Qa'an fought bravely but a spear proved fatal and he
died. Amir Khusrau and his friend Hasan Dehlavi were taken
prisoners to Balkh by the Tartar. There Khusrau composed a
heart-rending graphic elegy on the Sultan's death which, after his
release two years later, when read out by him to Balban at Delhi,
the entire court was plunged into mourning scene. King Balban
wept so bitterly that he was down with fever which ultimately led
to his demise in 685 A.H. (1286 A.D.).
After him, Kaiqubad 686-89 A.H. (1287-90 A.D.), son of
Bughra Khan, ascended the throne contrary to the royal wishes
of Balban. This king indulged in luxuries and bower of concubines.
Bughra Khan marched from Bengal and faced his own son at
Delhi. At last a treaty of reconciliation was concluded and Kaiqubad
returned to Delhi in peace. On the request of the king, Khusrau
composed a masnavi called Quirani's-Sa'dain which means
conjunction of two auspicious towering personalities (adverting to
Bughra Khan and Kaiqubad).
Kaiqubad was succeeded by his minor son Kai-Kaus (689
A.H.) (1290 A.D.) but Malik Firuzshah made him captive and
A HARBINGER OF HINDU-MUSLIM CULTURE 13

declared himself King of Delhi under the title of Jalal-ud-din Khalji

689-96 A.H. (1290-96 A.D.). Amir Khusrau, who was given an
honoured place in his court, recorded his conquest and achievements
in another masnavi named, Taju'l-Futuh2. Jalal-ud-din was killed
by his nephew, 'Ala-ud-din Khalji who in spite of stiff-heartedness,
proved himself very soft towards men of letters, and Khusrau
received special favour. It was during this period that he wrote
his famour Panj-Ganf after the style of Khamsah-i-Nizami:
(1) Matla-ul-Anwar 698 A.H. (1298 A.D.) against Makhzanu'l-
Asrar.
(2) Shirin wa Khusrau 698 A.H. (1298 A.D.) comprising 4124
couplets against Khusrau wa Shirin of Nizami.
(3) Majunun-wa-Laila, comprising 2660 couplets, against Laila-
wa-Majnun of Nizami.
(4) Ainah-i-Sikandari 699 A.H. (1299 A.D.) comprising 4450
couplets, against Sikandar-Namah of Nizami.
(5) Hasht-Bihisht 701 A.H. (1301 A.D.) comprising 3382 couplets,
against Haft-Paikar of Nizami.
In short, the Khalji rulers of India proved favourably suitable
to his imagination of appreciation. Khusrau embodied the qualities
of Qutb-ud-dm Mubarak Shah Khalji's bravery in his famous work
Nuh-Sipihr. The king rewarded to him a sum equal to an elephant
in weight. Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq 720-26 A.H. (1320-25 A.D.),
who followed the Khalji dynasty, tried to excel in patronising the
poet. Khusrau was so pleased that he wrote Tughlaq Namah for
him containing the detailed account of his colourful reign.
Besides, he versified the romance of Prince Khizr Khan, son
of 'Alaud-din with Dawaldi Rani of Gujarat, their matrimonial
alliance and the tragedy comprising 4200 warm lovely distiches of
rare quality. The book entitled Dawal Rani wa Khizr Khan 715
A.H. (1315 A.D.) consists of 42 verses of Khizr Khan himself,
according to the author of Sanadid-i-Ajam. Afzalu’l-Fawaid is
another book of Khusrau containing the letters of Nizam-ud-dm
Auliya. Yet another book Fjaz-i-Khusravi on rhetoric was written
by him in 719 A.H. (1319 A.D.)
14 AMIR KHUSRAU

It is interesting to note that the poet himself arranged and divided

the volumes of his diwan with names during his life time. They
are as follows:
(a) Tuhfata-al-Sighr (verses composed during 6-19
years of his age.
(b) Wast-al-Hayat verses composed during 20-24
years of his age.
(c) Ghurraru'l-Kamal verses composed during 34-44
years of his age.
(d) Baqiyyci-Naqiyya verses composed upto 715 A.H.
(1315 A.D.).
(e) Nihayatul-Kamal (jrf'k \y) composed upto 725 A.H. (1325
A.D.) the year when the poet died.
Thus we see that his labour, his fame, and his enjoyment
continued till the end of his life. He was an exception to what
Johnson had written years before:
"But mark what ills the Scholar's life assail:
Toil, envy, want, the patron and the jail."
Poetry, at first, was an occupation of simple and pious people
of saintly character. Patronage and reward degenerated the art
to its lowest ebb. Writers in verse sprang up like mushrooms. The
ephemerals harboured ill will, envy and greed against one another.
This created the "Merry-Andrews," the Satirists. Anwari, Khaqani,
Suzam, Watwat and Abu'l'ula indulged, intermittently, in throwing
mud on one another. Satirical compositions became so common
that the society became full of lampoon. Even the sobers, who pass
at large as moral preceptor, could not keep themselves within the
bound. The Gullistan, Chapter V, and some anecdotes in the
Masnavi-i-Rumi as well tended to become slum in a blissful bower
of a rose garden. Thanks to God that sufi poetry came into being
at this critical juncture, and the filth was cleared by the joint efforts
of Awhadi Maraghi, Awhadi Kirmani, Maghrabi and Amir Khusrau
to make the vehicle of thought and expression decorous, polite and
pious.
A HARBINGER OF HINDU-MUSLIM CULTURE 15

Although Persian poetry in India began from the Ghuri period,

yet its systematic history is established from the time of the Khaljis,
and Amir Khusrau is the first Indian who started writing prose and
verse in Persian and paved the way for the massive literary works,
termed by our Iranian friends as "Indian Persian." Khusrau asserts
in his diwan, Ghurratu'l Kamal that the purity of Persian had been
lost in Iran, but not in India. This directly goes to prick the selfmade
bubble of vanity of the Iranian purists, who are reluctant to admire
the Persian writers of Indian origin. In his Nuh-Sipihr, Khusrau
records the literary superiority of India in respect of the Kalila-
wa-Dimna, compiled in India, which, when translated by an Arab
scholar and presented to Ja'gar Barmaki, the minister of Harun-
al-Rashid, earned for the scholar one lakh of dirhams. It was the
Arabic version of the Kalila that was introduced to the entire
world through translations in various languages.
The Persian world should realise that time and geography go
to play a great part in moulding the growth and development of
a language. For example, go through the works of Ma'sud-i-Sad-
i-Salman of the Punjab or Minhaj-i-Saraj, the author of Tabaquat-
i-Nasiri 558 A.H. (1162 A.D.), you will find the vivid signs of local
influence, in respect of language, thought, culture, manners and
religious terms in most appropriate form, and this is natural. English
literature of America is quite different from that of England or for
that matter England, Scotland and Ireland are at daggers drawn
even today. A critical scholar is desired to weigh and examine
materials of one place or country irrespective of the other, of the
same period. Because with the lapse of time, taste and trend
undergo changes. The language of the Qabus Namah and Safar
Namah is not the same as that of Bist Maqala or Chahar
Maqala; or the language and style of Faizi is not alike that of
Zuhuri. Sa'ib mocks at TJrfi, and Naziri laughs at them both.
Anyway, Amir Khusrau was a bom genius and a great harbinger
of Hindu-Muslim culture. The crowning glory of his character is
unstinted affection and devotion to the various aspects of Indian
life, people, religion, learning, arts and beauties of its myriad-sided
lives. But as a connoisseur of the art of music, he is regarded to
have enjoyed a greater position than the celebrated Mian Tansen
16 AMIR KHUSRAU

of Akbar's days. As a linguist he had no parallel in Arabic, Persian,

Sanskrit and Bhasha; as a poet his fame crossed the frontiers of
India and Iran; as an artist he is the pioneer of classical music.
Shibli NuTnani, in his She'ruVAjam Vol. II, declares that Khusrau,
while improving the old tunes and metres, invented many new ones
by blending Persian and Hindi rhyme and rhythm in such a fine
way that they revolutionised the entire world of music. The art
reached such a height of perfection that even after the lapse of
seven hundred years, it could not be excelled by any luxuriant
brain.

He invented Sitar, combining the Indian Vina and Iranian Tambura;

Mndang was modified into Tabla; Khusrau felt jubilant in proclaiming
that Indian music is unsurpassable. It enkindles the heart, enlivens
the soul and hypnotises the world. His remark on Indian music
merits attentive consideration, for he is an acknowledged contributor
to this art. He introduced a new melody, Sazgari by combining
Purvi Gauri, Kangli and a Persian rag; an intermixture of
Khatrag and Shah-Naz gave birth to Zilaf and ’Ushshaq, Muwafiq
came into being when Turi, Malwa, Dugah and Husaini were
intermixed.5 Ustad Amir Khan, the well known musician, observed
that Khusrau invented various forms and patterns of songs in music
called talbana, qaul, naash gul, tarana and khayal.

His versatile scholarship and vernal intelligence visualised that

a language, to serve the purpose, must go to touch the masses.
In a country like India where each province has a different
language and peculiar dialect of its own, a common and easy
medium for communication was the crying need to preserve unity.
With this objective in view, he composed a large number of
couplets, quibbles, enigmas, punning verses with mixed vocabularies
of Persian and Hindi Brijbhasha. Many "dohas" and songs
generally sung by women folk in sonorous voices, directly come
trom Khusrau. It was he who popularised the "use of Persian
rhymes in Hindi poetry and showed the way for a synthesis of
Persian and Hindi." His efforts in this direction tended to liberate
Hindi from the influence of Prakrit and Aphransa, making Hindi
simple that led ultimately to the birth of a new language called
A HARBINGER OF HINDU-MUSLIM CULTURE 17

Urdu. Eminent scholars and Hindi writers appreciated this move

and Guru Ramanand, his disciple Kabirdas, Surdas, Guru Nank
Sahib, Malik Muhammad Ja'isi, Baba Tulsidas—all accommodated
Arabic and Persian words in their productions of high ethical and
literary value.
Persian and Brijbhasha were blended in ghazals by Khusrau,
basically, in pursuance of his mission to bring the two great
communities of India closer by promoting linguistic and cultural
relations. Relish the admixture of the two languages in Khusrawi
style:

Mr-* pV Ujg *
&£**&>'* J»J MUfJbj OtfuL*

Afiri Ok&fup&Jt dis eft

Muff* U’jL'i UC4S1 - U
bt jb /yj

Do not be unmindful for my misery while weaving tales by

blandishing your eyes; my patience has overbrimmed, O my
sweetheart! Why do you not take me to your bosom?

Long like curls is the night of separation, and short like life is
the day of our union. My dear! How can I pass the dark dungeon
night without your face before me.

By a sudden slide, with thousand tricks, the enchanting eyes

robbed me of the peace of mind; who shall bother to report this
matter to my darling thither?

Tossed and bewildered, like a flickering candle, I roam about

in fire of love; sleepless sights, restless life, neither personal
contact nor any message!
18 AMIR KHUSRAU

In honour of the day of access to my beloved who lured me

so long, O Khusrau! I shall keep my feeling suppressed if ever
I get a chance to get at her trick.
Khusrau's Masnavi Khaliq-Bari is an admixture of^Persian and
Hindi containing enigmas, puns and quibbles specially meant for
the commoners to enjoy. The riddle on mirror deserves special
attention.

• 7

1SjS^ *Lj' &j>t

Mark the word ;>f (mirror) which, in speaking, sounds like
ft' (did not come); when read together it becomes . Read
attentively and enjoy the construction. Similarly the riddle on "nail,"
if it is read together it sounds as and when separated it
becomes y/ + (♦. It leads to confusion if read in hurry, and the main
point is missed.

l/c*> r u f
Another important invention of Khusrau is a/ that needs deep
bram-exercise before hitting at the meaning. As for example, on
"lamp," he gives out the following:

Awaken he was with me whole night,

At dawn, at last, set out to part.
My heart groans in his separation,
It may be the husband, no dear "light."
Once Khusrau saw a beautiful Brahmin lad, in Gujarat, chewing
"pan" (betel) and the red spittle was oozing out. The poet’s
imaginative mind at once caught the lyrical cord of striking character:
A HARBINGER OF HINDU-MUSLIM CULTURE 19

Paradise smiles on the ruby lips,

Flowers out-blooms on angelic face,
His wanton talk or blushful cheeks,
Are nothing but a heavenly grace,
"Let me caress your lips," I said,
"My God! the creed will harm," he said.
Thus toiling and traversing the dreary path of a reformer through
his mass-appealing literary composition, Khusrau tried his best, and
perhaps successfully, to bring mankind of diverse creed and clime
closer. He believed in Pantheism (All is He) and did not
fail to appreciate the brighter aspects of any religion. Throughout
his chequered career, he tried and worked for the people of the
land he lived in. So he gave a great lesson to us. Like a devoted
Muslim, he stuck to his religious belief and never sneered at others'
religious convictions. Yet he was admired and held in great esteem
by all, irrespective of caste and erred. Centuries have elapsed
since he died, but the memory of this great disciple of Khwaja
Nizamuddin Auliya, is annually cherished by thousands of his
devotees at his shrine in Delhi where he lies buried at the feet
of his great religious preceptor:

J*J L>JJ

/ yf'J?
Precious pearls and hidden gems.
Float amid the skillful theme.
Ode on the, when sits to pen,
Khusrau's heart leaps unseen,
Zephyr's hive of hoarded sweets,
Flows through his pen to meet.
(Courtesy: Indo-Iranica)

REFERENCES

1. Diwan-i-Amir Khusrau, Introduction, Nawal Kishore, 1967 7 years.

2. A'inah-i-Hind in its 8th year issue. No. II (Tir Mah 1350) names it
Miftahul-Futuh. So does Diwan-i-Khusrau. But Sanadid Ajani mentions it
as Taju'l Futuh.
20 AMIR KHUSRAU

3. Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. II p. 980 and Mahdi Husain Ndisxn-Sanadid-

i-Ajam.
4. Shir-ul-Ajam, IV, p. 140.
5. Rag-Darpan by Faqirullah Ms. Preserved in Shibli Academy, Articles of
S.A. Rahman in Indo-Iranica.
 A Great Indian Patriot
SHUJAAT ALI SANDILVI

F rom time immemorial India, the epitome of the world, produced

rishis and munis, spiritual heads and saints, savants and thinkers,
teachers and philosophers, and literary figures and poets of high
repute. This sacred soil raised original thinkers who reached the
pinnacle of glory in individuality and matchlessness. Iqbal has truly
expressed this:
The very eyes of the moon and stars find
Light from the soil, such a soil it is
That every particle is a pearl of purity of this land
This land has raised such diverse into
The ocean of wisdom that find stormy ocean easy to
cross.
Amir Khusrau was remarkable in originality as well as in the
depth of his thoughts. He dived so deep that he has been placed
among those who occupy the front rank, in ability and original
production. He was an embodiment of knowledge and originality.
His universal and attractive personality won the hearts of the
common people as well as that of chiefs of high social order, of
the low and high, of the poor and oppulent, of libertines and men
of piety and of Hindus and Muslims alike. Kings and rulers wielding
power and rank bowed before him in respect and took pride in
his person. His lasting melodies, musical words and luscious ballads
produce ecstatic effect upon hearers. His poetry is a treasure-
house of mysticism and inspiration. His Hindi expression is the
"alluring idol of love" and spiritual excellence. Hundreds of years
have passed, still its freshness continues and it loses not its charm.
This worthy son of the Indian soil was bom in the 13th century
A.D. at Mominpura (Patiali) in Etah district, Uttar Pradesh. It is
22 AMIR KHUSRAU

related that his father Amir Saifuddin Mahmood took the infant,
wrapped in a cloth, to a Sufi of high spiritual standing. The Sufi
cast his eyes upon the child and remarked "This child will be
God-inspired and unique in his age. His name will last till
doomsday and surpass Khaqani." Thus he blessed the child to grow
up a popular and a loving figure. The prophesy of the saint
came true. The child grew and turned to be God-knowing, not only
an unique one but was a master of the sword as well as of the
pen. His sweet poesy and warbling notes have earned him the
title of "Tuti-i-Hmd"—a warbling finch of India. Amir
Saifuddin Mahmood took him after four years to Delhi from Patiali
and made the best arrangements for his education and moral
training.
He was only nine when his loving father died. At his sad event
whatever filled his heart, found spontaneous expression in this
couplet:
My river flowed on, the door was left half open
Sword passed over my head, and sadness overtook my
heart.
After the demise of his father, Khusrau's maternal grandfather
took charge of the boy. Nawab Imadul Mulkpaid special attention
towards his education and training. He was an Amir of great
respect and influence. Great scholars and Ulemas were attached
to his person. Fortunately the great saint Hazrat Nizamuddin
Auliya, Mehboob Ilahi, was staying at the Amir's residence. He
had the good fortune to live and move in such a pious and inspiring
atmosphere. The grandfather's attitude and the pure surroundings
heightened Khusrau's innate faculties and God-given natural
aptitudes. At an early age he became a youth of many parts
obtaining high efficiency in the prevalent arts and literature and
other branches of learning such as Fiqh, astronomy, grammar,
philosophy, logic, religion, mysticism, history and literature. Music
also formed part of his learning and he improved the then prevalent
art of music by his original contributions. In short, not a single art
was left that he did not learn to its highest excellence. As regards
languages, he was master of the Turkish, Persian and Arabic
A GREAT INDIAN PATRIOT 23

languages. To add to these he learnt various Indian dialects,

especially Hindi that he loved most and was proud of.
A Turkish Indian, speaking Hmdavi am I.
No lump of sugar or Arabic in expression
Another couplet says:
Rightly speaking I am an Indian finch
Ask of me Hindavi' that I may sing in it.
He had a natural aptitude for poetry and adorned it from his
very early tender age. Poetical expressions flowed from his tongue.
The atmosphere of learning and knowledge added glimmer to his
natural inclination. His contact with Hazrat Nizamuddin Auha
produced in him inner cravings and spiritual ecstasy .
He lived long enough to see the reign of some 11 kings who
ruled and passed away, from Ghiyasuddin Balban to Ghiyasuddm
Tughlaq. He witnessed the rise and fall of each king and each
dynasty. Every ruler favoured him, respected him and honoured
him and took pride in him for his scholarly achievements, intelligence
and wisdom and above all, for his piety and purity of heart. He
was an unique personality of his age, crowned with spiritual
attainments, and was above all politics. He never accepted any
job. Rather he avoided jobs.
The personality of Khusrau was like an octogonal diamond or
jewel, rare in having come into existence and was unmatched in
his time, earlier to that and after, as well. The remarkable feature
of his personality was his patriotism, based on noble sentiments
and vast vision. He loved India. The atmosphere in which he was
brought up and the social structure he moved in, joined hands in
producing in him a vast love and faith in India, so to say, "the very
land was more splendid than the Kingdom of Solomon; even the
thorn was deemed better than the fragrant petals ofscented flowers
like narcissus-jasimes." He surpassed all other poets in praise of
India. He loved every particle and every comer of India. He placed
India above the rest of the world, and looked upon her rivers and
rivulets, hills and mountains, meadows and pastures, fields and
orchards, gardens and valleys, fruits and flowers, birds and animals,
24 AMIR KHUSRAU

buildings and cottages, men and religion, rites and customs, dialects
and languages of the motherland far better and sacred than others
in the rest of the world.
This attitude of mind can be found only in a man who loves
the land, who thinks of the betterment of the soil, who wants to
see the land pretty and alluring, who is desirous of finding every
comer of the land developing and progressing, and prosperous and
flourishing.
When we look upon Khusrau from this angle and study his life
and achievements we see that he was the first son of the soil who
sang of the blessings of God which He had showered upon India.
He proved that India stood par excellence in all respects above
the creation of this universe.
Generally, Khusrau lived in Delhi but being in touch with the
rulers of India, he had to travel through many parts of the country.
He thus gathered an intimate knowledge of these places and
people. It was but natural that he entertained a staunch love for
Delhi and its people. His pen appears zealous, sentimental and
inspiring in praise of Delhi. He writes in Qiranu's Sadain about
Delhi saying that it is paradise and garden of Eden in all its beauty
and features. He goes far ahead and speaks of its sanctity above
the sanctity of the Ka'ba that might go round it even on hearing
of its beautiful gardens. Then follows his praise of Delhi, its
congenial climate, its fruit gardens, its orchards and the buildings
and people that inhabit it.
Delhi, the centre of religion and justice
Is the Garden of Eden, and so populous.
If the splendour of this garden falls upon the ear
Mecca itself might go round it in reverence.
Its people are like angels, happy in heart, in habits
Many are men of letters and knowledge, poets in numbers
Pass on from poesy to music, so melodious and so alluring1
He has praised, in the same strain, the climate, fruits and flowers
of India.
He also finds reason for his love of India and speaks how India
is superior to Iraq, Khurasan and Khata. His first reason is that
A GREAT INDIAN PATRIOT 25

India is his heaven of peace and pivot of life, being his motherland.
The second reason he puts forward is the holy tradition of the
Prophet (Peace be on Him) that "love of the country forms part
of the Faith."
My rival comes forward with the taunt,
Why is this superiority of Hind over all?
Two reasons came to my help,
These had found ground for my stand,
One is that this land in time
Turned to be my heaven and motherland,
This comes from the Tradition of the Prophet
"Love of country", believe it, a part of Faith"
Secondly this land due to the Qutub of the age
Is superior to all lands of the world.
Though this superiority does not find favour,
But poetic necessity made it proper.
I come with open excuse.2
But see the charming and alluring way of expression.
Khusrau maintains that India is in itself a world and puts forward
seven reasons:
(1) Adam after the fall from paradise first set his foot on the
land of India.
(2) India has the peacock, a bird of paradise.
(3) Even the snake came down from paradise.
(4) When Adam left India he found himself deprived of all its
choicest things.
(5) India abounds in things for luxury and the life of ease, here
is found abundance of scents and fragrance while Rum and
Ray have scanty flourishing flowers.
(6) India is the Garden of Eden (paradise) for all its blessed
things and luxuries.
(7) Muslims regard India a paradise while the rest of the world
mere prison.3
These are the arguments that no one can refute. The first four
reasons are religious and traditional, the fifth and sixth enumerate
26 AMIR KHUSRAU

India's natural blessings and the last one speaks of the Muslims'
attachment to India.
The fertility of the land, its greenness and verdure and its varied
features depend upon the nature of soil, climate and weather.
Khusrau made an intimate acquaintance with these characteristics
and enumerated ten chief features. Thus he proved that India's
congenial climate is better than that of Khurasan and is so health-
givmg.
He writes:
I made India a paradise by my discourse
Now I come to relate its climate
Ten reasons coult I that are unrefutable
To claim it better than Khurasan, from all sides4.
1. The first ground, he points out, is that India's winter is not
so severe.
"The first is that the people in India face no harm from
its winter."
2. The Indian summer season is better than the winter in
Khurasan where people meet death due to severe cold.
The second reason is that the inhabitants of Khurasan face
irksome winter
Such a thing is not said of this garden though
Its summer is flaming hot
Only hot weather makes a little uneasy, but in Khurasan
Everyone meets death in winter.
3. No one is hurt by cold wind or cold season in India.
Thirdly no poor one is smitten by winter wind here.
4. India knows no autumn for its blooming gardens keep on
flowering all the year round.
Fourthly the verdant and flowering land keeps on blooming
all the year round.
5. Indian flowers are of pretty colour like 'Babuna'.
Fifthly its roses are pretty coloured like the blooming
'Babuna' (wild-ivy).
A GREAT INDIAN PATRIOT 27

6. Even dry petals of Indian flowers remain fragrant.

Sixthly if the petals get dry, its fragrance leaves it not.
This flower, if turns dry, the inner part changes into musk.
7. India abounds in fresh luscious fruits.
Seventhly Khurasan fails to produce such fresh fruits as
guava and grapes.
Other fruits abound too, nothing can rival cardamoms,
pepper, olive, camphor.
8. India produces many of the Khurasani fruits but not a single
kind of Indian fruit is found in Khurasan.
Eighthly many of the fruits of that land are found in India
but it is not vice versa.
9. Two things are rare gifts in India—banana and betel leaf.
Ninthly in this happy land of India, are two gifts so rare,
a fruit that is not found in the world, another is a leaf that
the guest is so fond to chew.
Look at the fruit and see the betel-leaf.
10. Betel-leaf is not found anywhere in the world
Tenthly there is betel-leaf, not found in any comer of the
world.5
He had lauded betel-leaf much in Masnavi Qiranu's-Sadain.
It is one of the choicest things of India. It is mere grassy-leaf
but is so useful. Its chewer never falls a prey to leprosy (skin-
vims). It produces pure blood, it removes bad smell of the mouth
and tightens the teech. The chewers that enjoy it to the full, find
their appetite increased, while the hunger strieken get their hunger
lessened. In short, kings and paupers are so fond of it.
A rare leaf, like the petals in the garden, is Indian variety.
Swift in effect and fast as stallion
In form and meaning so sharp.
Its effectiveness cuts sharp the melody of leprosy
The tradition of the Prophet goes as such.
So strange a leaf that turns in the mouth blood-red that
28 AMIR KHUSRAU

Flows out from the animal's body.

Its chewing removes bad-smell of the mouth,
And teeth gain strength from it.
Hunger increases of a man who chews it to the full
While it lessens hunger of the hungry one.
It is respected in presence and absence both
And is equally loved by kings and the poor.6
It may be argued that Khusrau gave an unnecessary lengthy
description of the seasons of India, rather took advantage in
exaggerating them. It might have been briefly dealt with. But when
a thing is so appealing to the heart it flows into minute descriptions
and insatiety creeps in. When the story is so dear to the heart,
it knows no ending. Such was the attitude of Khusrau towards
India. Everything Indian was far better to him than the world, and
he tries to prove it so from every angle of vision as if he is saying:
"Friends, my country abounds in everything".
To Khusrau India is not a garden of paradise for being blessed
by Nature abundantly, rather he takes pride in her vast storehouse
of knowledge and the arts that served as a nucleus from which
the world derived knowledge and light. Khusrau gives ten reasons
to prove that India is superior to all the world in respect of
knowledge and learning and arts and crafts:
1. Firstly it is her own vast knowledge that surpasses all estimation.
Other places know not of vast learning and arts that have
spread in every nook and comer of India.
2. Indians are capable of learning the languages of other nations
easily while others are hardly able to learn Indian languages
and speak them.
Secondly, the people of India can speak languages eloquently.
But people of other lands are unable to speak Indian ones.
3. India played a great role in imparting learning and knowledge
for centuries. People thronged here for learning but no Indian
needed to go out in search of it anywhere else.
Thirdly, listen to me with open mind for intellect accepts
it, and shuns not. Men of parts from all over the world
A GREAT INDIAN PATRIOT 29

gathered here in search of knowledge and skill. But a

Brahmin left not India seeking knowledge elsewhere for
power and reverence.
4. India rightly takes pride in her originality and creation of
figures, mathematics and the function of zero.
Fourthly, people of the world came not across such a skill
in figure work,
With one Zero, a figure empty, what a strange
Result comes out when added,
Maths that pleases understanding, branched out into
practical work and Euclid.
Wise people (scholars) who seek help of it.
Are all disciples of Brahmins.
5. Kalila wa Dimna, a most popular work, was written in India.
It played an important role in the world as a respository of
worldly knowledge and an instructive work.
Fifthly, I describe clearly and refute all the rivals wisely
Dimna and Kalila spread its net all over, is a work of yore
Nothing vies it in wisdom, for prudent ones find wisdom in it.
6. Chess, the most intellectual game, originated in India. It is
an excellent past-time for a sad heart.
Sixthly it is the game of chess that lightens hearts. It
orginated in India at the hands of men of understanding
that has been acknowledged by others as something supenor.
They bow down their heads before it.
7. The world has derived benefit from India's figure work,
Kalila Wa Dimna and the game of chess.
Seventhly these three productions, arithmatic, Dimna,
chess, all the world finds light and wisdom in emanated
from India alone.
8. The "Indian Sarod" has no rival in the world.
Eighthly the happy Sarod (poesy) of mine that bums the
heart and soul, knows everyone that it has no rival and
it is a fact.
9. The Indian melody strikes the very heart; men and beasts
are affected by it alike.
30 AMIR KHUSRAU

Ninthly the music and melody strikes the very heart of a

wild stag
Warbling notes find a target without bow and arrow, its
strike gives life and fluency to the tongue.
Khusrau added to Indian music, 'Hindi' Sarod (Hindi song) and
Hindi fresh music that the world of music takes pride in.
10. Khusrau, the monarch of the poetic world, and the most
charming singer was bom and bred in India. It is hard to find
an equal of him all over the world.
Tenthly like Khusrau no poet exists under the old blue sky.
If Atarad ("Mercury") comes down from the heaven, it
bows before him. In it lies no doubt or suspicion.7
India has been a land of languages and Khusrau finds the main
reason in it for India's greatness and glory. So many and various
dialects are spoken here, that are not found anywhere else. He
has enumerated them and described their merits, specially of
Hindavi, Persian, Arabic, Sindhi, Lahon, Kashmiri, Kabari, Dhoor
Samundan, Telingi, Gojar, Ma'bari, Gouri, Bengali, Oudhi, Sanskrit.
He confines Sanskrit to the few ones amongst the Brahmins but
acknowledges its sweetness.
India observes this rule that Hindavi has been the language
of yore.
Ghori and Turk came and Persian was introduced, open
and hidden
In short it is foolish to enjoy Persian, Turkish and Arabic,
I, being an Indian, breathe in, an expedient one, Sindhi, Lahori,
Kashmiri, Kabari, Dhoor Samundari, Telingi and Gojar,
Ma'bari, Gouri, Bengali and Oudhi, prevalent in its own circle
These have been used from time ancient and spoken by
commoners
But there is another language that is so august among the
Brahmins
It is called Sanskrit from time immemorial;
Commoners know it not
And are unaware of its beauty.8
To him Sanskrit has a second place to Arbic but is better than
Persian.
A GREAT INDIAN PATRIOT 31

It is a language with all its beauty, is second to Arabic but

superior to Persian (Dari)9
He speaks of the peoples of India that they are able to learn and
speak any language and dialect. He also finds such qualities in
animals that are absent in other lands. He proves India superior to
others in the field of animals and beasts, for example such birds and
animals as the parrot, falcon, crow, sparrow, peacock, heron,
waterbird, horse, goat, monkey, elephant exist in India. He also
describes the qualities of such an animal that is like a deer and
howls too.
Khusrau is a believer in peace and amity. He has faith in
humanity and human greatness. He loves every created being. He
finds no distinction between friend and foe. His heart is above pride
and prejudice, rather it is filled with universal love and sincerity.
He establishes India's greatness by enumerating the virtues of
men, women, young and old; their fidelity, their moral virtues, their
heroism, beauty, generosity and benevolence. He says that unity
of Godhead forms part of the Hindu faith.
It acknowledges Unity, Existence and Infinity. Nature
brought them out from nonentity. Even crude one is
sustainer, every animal lives on. The actor, real and supposed
one, is in action. The whole kingdom containing parts and
whole, is from beginning of Time (eternity).10
He prefers it to other sects and creeds:
'Shomarra maintains dualism, a Hindoo derives it not
Christians place together the Soul and the Son, a Hindoo
is not allied with it.
The Magi finds the body final, but a Hindoo has no faith
in it: Star-Worshippers have faith in Seven Gods, but a
Hindoo keeps the Unity of Godhead and denies it.
Element-worshippers treat four elements as deity, a Hindoo
shares it not,
Symbol worshippers find symbols as deity, the Hindoo is
far from it
The Godhead of a Brahmin is matchless and is all Truth.11
Khusrau's universal religion, his humanitarian approach, if viewed
32 AMIR KHUSRAU

truly, is based on patriotic sentiments. This attitude of mind he

derived from Islam. The teachings of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya
brightened his life and vision. His love of India was so staunch
and strong that each and everything concerning India was full of
excellence. ’Look at Laila with the eyes of Majnoo'. is so true of
him and India must be looked at with the eyes of Khusrau. His
works are full of praise of India in some form or the other.
I count Khusrau as the great Indian patriot because no single
person or a group has enumerated so many points of merit and
of excellence of India, separately or collectively, and proved India
superior and par excellence over the whole world. Many have
spoken of India as a garden of paradise, but it is Khusrau who
came forward first with proof and clear evidence to say so.
This sentiment finds expression from the "tongue" of a person
whose heart is filled with love of the country, whose knowledge
and observation is deep and vast, whose experience knows no
bounds, who is the standard bearer of the human race and spirituality
and who has all human qualities in him. Such a perfect person
comes into being after a lapse of centuries.
Narcissus keeps on shedding tears for thousands of years at
its sightlessness
A seeing one is hard to find in the garden but rarely.* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
The melodious notes of this most observant poet still touch the
"very" heart and fill it with a sense of patriotism.

REFERENCES

1. Qiranu's Sadain pp. 28-34.

2. Nuh Sipihr pp. 149-50.
3. Nuh Sipihr pp. 151-57.
4. Ibid pp. 158-61.
5. Null Sipihr—pages 158-61.
6. Qiranu's-Sadain pages 185-86.
7. Nuh Sipihr pages 166-72.
8. Nuh Sipihr pages 178-81.
9. Nuh Sipihr pages 178-81.
10. Null Sipihr page 103.
11. Null Sipihr page 103.
 Musical Genius of Amir Khusrau
SHAHAB SARMADEE

B y no means a by-product of his poetic versatility, it was in the

case of Amir Khusrau a precious gift of that rare creative
impulse which remained always more at ease with every nuance
of sound and sense, whether it be the lilt of a catching tune, the
spontaneity of a rhythmic phrase or the glamour of a measured
utterance. He could express himself in ringing words and singing
notes at an age when children still suffer from a lisp or use their
vocal organs to shout out at their friends than to croon and hum,
and that too their own improvisations.
He was trained by none and taught by nobody in the conventional
manner but was left to foster his genius through self-training:
"I had learnt the science to such an extent that I could
understand birds and beasts. I have also experienced how
the gods tell us news about one through them."1
In this way he could keep himself abreast of the times in matters
not only of language, poetry and music but also what the Indian
understanding had to offer. His intellect thus cut across traditions
and conventions—in particular those set up by the Muslim nobility
of medieval India. In this his friend and philosopher happened to
be his own mother's father, the Arid-i-Rawat 'Imad-ul-Mulk, "of
the colour of the stone of Ka'ba," as Khusrau wanted to confide
to us. This eminent 'Rawat' had a retinue of 200 Turkish slaves
and about 2,000 Indian attendants. He threw sumptuous feasts and
convened magnificent assemblies where came great scholars,
mightly nobles—the Maliks and Amirs as well as the Rais and
Rawats. Khusrau had naturally to play the host to all and listen
eagerly to all. He could inculcate a love for languages, particularly
for those spoken and understood in the big Rawat's cosmopolitan
34 AMIR KHUSRAU

household. And as every language has its own words and the
words quite often their pleasing form called 'song', his capable
memory could very well retain all these soft and sweet imprints
of his early days for ever. He testifies:
"I have traversed through (most) people's languages with
a discerning mind; have enquired, learnt and spoken quite
a few and.2
This enabled Khusrau to shed most of the prejudices peculiar
to that age and develop a mind and soul which could register direct
responses to the land and its climate, its flowers and fruits, its birds
and animals, its languages and their songs.
Imad-ul-Mulk passed away in 671 A.H. (1277 A.D.).
Khusrau was then just out of his teens and had already compiled
his first diwan called by him THE GIFT OF EARFY AGE.
Nearabout this time "his public career starts with his joining the
entourage" of Balban's illustrious nephew, Alauddin Kishli Khan,
a munificent patron of poetry and music. "For full two years I sang
his praises in some of the most ornate odes," Khusrau tells us. This
singing ought to have been literal because he possessed a natural
urge for it. Even as a small boy, on an occasion:
"I recited each verse in a tremulous and modulated accent
so that my melodious recital rendered all eyes tearful, and
astonishment surged on all sides..."3
The case of the poet-composer Shams Moin is also there.4
Balban who aspired to re-live Iran in Hindustan may have
encouraged this convention. Kishli Khan most certainly did. And
Khusrau must have outshone others.
He had next to shift his allegiance to Balban's second son,
Bughra Khan, whom Bami considered to be notable connoisseur
of music. This took him first to Samana and thence to Eakhnauti,
as Gauda was then called by Persian chroniclers. From there he
could come back in 680 A.H. (1281 A.D.) only to be picked up
by Balban's favourite son, Malit Qa'an, who invited him to Multan.
If we run through his eventful life from now on he is found
moving with set purpose and determined aim between Delhi,
MUSICAL GENIUS OF AMIR KHUSRAU 35

Samana, Lakhnauti, Multan, Awadh, Devagiri, Khanbayet, Chittor,

Telanga, Dwarasamudra, Ma'bar, Madurai, Chidambaram and also
probably Tanjore. At most of these places he stays, or at least
lingers on, for such time so as to be able to breathe its culture
with natural ease.
Those were the days when regions, known as 'Desh' were in
a way independent cultural entities. Gandahara and Kamboja
beyond the western borders, Multan and Delhi in the west, Mithila
and Gauda in the east, Ujjain and Malava on the road to south,
Gurjar Desh by the sea, Simhala Desh and Kamata in the south—
all these held their own in matters of culture. The regional tunes,
most prominent and enduring among them being, Gandahari, Kamboji,
Multani Gauda, Malava Pancam, Gurjari, Simhali and Kamata
were already working under sastric sanction when Khusrau came
to listen to them and in almost all cases leam them.5
Lakhnauti he visited twice at a time when Gauda, up-graded
as Grama-raga, was spreading its tonal shoots far and wide.6
Among its varieties—Kamata Gauda, Dravida Gauda and Chaya
Gauda (all sampuma)—there was also Turuska Gauda, a melody
only of five notes. This particular Gauda, mixed with a Turkish folk
tune, is for the first time heard of about 1250 A.D.7 It should have
been of almost the same age as Khusrau. So it is manifest that
Indian music had already come in very close contact with Turkish
music.
Multan then included the Punjab and the whole of Sind. "For
five years I watered the five rivers of Multan with the seas of
my delectable verses," says Khusrau. He had moved here on
invitation from Prince Mohammad Qa'an, the eldest son and heir-
apparent of Balban. With him had come the young lyricist, better
known as Amir Hasan Dehlavi. Both of these poets vied with each
other in bringing out their best. The Prince himself being a sober
critic and his court being a haven of shelter and reverence, also
to those great men of talent from Central Asia and Khurasan who
were driven by the savage Mongols, the Delhi-duo found it difficult
to impress and easy to be impressed. But they benefited either
way. Much more than this was the long-distance spell cast over
36 AMIR KHUSRAU

both by Sa'di of Shiraz and their falling in love with ghazal, in a

new way.
These eventful five years in Multan were intrinsically inspiring
to Khusrau. Here he was amidst an ever-changing pattern of
people from 'farud-u-bala'8— people fresh from the lands of
Dwazdah Maqamat,Shash Abreisham, and Chahar Usui, people
from Yemen and Iraq, Ispahan and Khurasan, Neishapur and
Nihavand, Bakharz and Farghana—speaking their languages,
specialising in their own popular-most tunes of the same name.
Khusrau could speak their language; he would have certainly found
it, therefore, interesting to pick up their songs. Similarly he must
have been deeply touched by the Kafi songs9 of Kacch, Multan
and Punjab and with the Mahias of the Sohmi-Mahiwal episode.
Multan had long served as the seat of the Arab governors of
Sind. Besides it was the hallowed abode of the Suhrawardi saints,
of whom Sheikh Bahauddin Zakana Multani (ob. 624 A.H.) (1226
A.D.) had just preceded Khusrau as a music wizard. Tradition
ascribes the formalisation of the initially pentatonic Multani melody
to him. His 'khanqaah' was a meeting as well as training ground
for the outstanding qaul singers of Baghdad, Trans-Oxus and other
places. Malik Qa'an highly prized the rendering of Arabic qauls
by the qawwals of this 'khanqaah' and created a precedence by
standing in respectful silence with eyes full of deep tears on one
such occasion. Khusrau, as the boon-companion of the Prince,
must have been moved more than others.
In 685 A.H. (1286 A.D.), when the handsome Kaiqubad
ascended the throne of Delhi, we find Khusrau in Avadh with the
magnificent Khan-i-Jehan Hatim Khan. Here he stayed for more
than two years and was 'loaded with so much riches as to make
him 'financially self-sufficient and secure for at least two
generations'. Here he found 'rich and poor... content and happy
with their work, art or trade'. Writing to a friend from here he called
out: "It is a city (Ayodhya), "nay, a garden." In this garden some
beautiful bird must have sung to him the tuneful Purbi10—the Purbi
which evoked the memorable utterance from Sheikh Nizamuddin
Auliya:
MUSICAL GENIUS OF AMIR KHUSRAU 37

itjj J"S, C~Jl jp jj

"The" divine voice calling out on the day of testament: ’Am I

not your Lord’ reached my ears in the tune of Purbi melody."
There is not much to doubt that this immortalised tune must have
teen the aptly top-dressed gift of Khusrau to his spiritual mentor,
and thereby to posterity.
Back to Delhi, Khusrau received the first royal assignment and
became Kaiqubad's poet-laureate. Young in age and made to live
an austere life, and suppressed, Kaiqubad now inaugurated an age
of relentless revelries. Yet, though a profligate, he was an
exceptionally accomplished person. In his service, Khusrau found
himself amongst the best practitioners of the musical art—both
Indian and foreign. And since he could make his own contributions
towards both, he embarked upon a career which was to win him
laurels in the immediate future.
The Mu'izzi Era, as Bami terms it, has gone down in history
for its exuberance and abandon in the sphere of musical activity.
Of paramount relevance here is the circumstance that professional
song and dance masters, in particular the highly gifted ones from
among the Natt tribes (whom Barm calls Gada-Ghazi), gamed
proficiency in Persian and artistic grace in handling Rabab and
rendering of ghazal.12 With this came an upsurge. The popular and
most ancient folk art of dance-drama in India came to the fore
with ghazal also as its song medium.13 The processes of modal
blending and procedural synthesis, thus activised, could not have
escaped the notice of Khusrau. In point of fact he must have been
at the back of it all, if not in the lead. His own masnavi Qiranu's-
Sadain, read with the chronicled data, tells as much. After all most
of the righly-called true ghazals appended to this masnavi have
been primarily pieces of composed music.
This is most interesting. It shows that ghazal as a folk-form of
music preceded its literary form. Khusrau himself testifies to this.
Mark his words:
"I have composed many a fresh ghazal but I did not include
them (in his diwan), as a ghazal is but of seven or nine
38 AMIR KHUSRAU

verses and anyone who can scrawl seven or nine verses

would strut like a refractory camel and try to compete or
vie with me."
So he was never averse to ghazal but considered it a thing of
common versification. Then since when the change? Of course
not since Multan, else Hasan could not have said:

"My poetry14 is unlike Khusrau's; Poetry is that which I create"

and his (Khusrau's) Multan-based 'diwan', Wasat-ul-Hayat would
not have shunned the company of ghazals in this way.
A reasonable surmise would, therefore, be that the musical
potentialities of this most popular form recommended themselves
to Khusrau who after all realised their worth and vitalised them
with fresh blood of his composing qualities and musical genius. For
verily the career of ghazal henceforth in this country is Khusrau's
own.
A change in people's ideas about the expression of thought had
much earlier set in and Khusrau was its precursor too. He tells
us how he recited one of his quatrians ft, composed in that style15
before Maulana Ghanfi and how "Afterwards whatever my youthful
imagination produced was eagerly sought and appreciated by the
knowing persons of the time and was quoted from mouth to mouth;
musicians sang it to the music of their Chang )—the harp-
type instrument, exclusively that which was developed in Central
Asia and prospered in India—and even bent old men flew into
ecstacies on hearing these melodies.'"6
It is known that Arabic qaul had been co-existent with Sufi
practices; that it was given shape and form in Iraq—the land of
birth of Sufism and that the quatrain was its counterpart in Persian.
Khusrau gave new lyrical contents to this counterpart and crowned
it afterwards, as he says, with similar outpourings of a spontaneous
nature in a form of musical poetry described by him again as
"flowing magic." This is ghazal. But not the sensuous type meant
for the convivial parties of Kaiqubad and the like; instead the one
for the 'knowing persons of the time'. He says:
MUSICAL GENIUS OF AMIR KHUSRAU 39

("I manifested ghazal to everyone’s desire in such a way

as to overpower the wild deers of wilderness, even".)
His invoking Todi melody here matters, and the way he completes
his statement is also significant. His ghazal bewitched everybody,
because it suited all tastes.
Thus there were two distinctly marked phases of his ghazal-
writing: the one in which he sang to the court, the other in which
he sang to his own soul; the one invoking 'spring' (bahar) with
its green mantle bedecked with myriads of blossoms and flowers,
the other singing essentially of 'love' (Ishq) with its pangs and
pathos; the one talking of the blood-tinged red wine served by the
ruby-lipped 'cup-bearer' (Saqi), the other of the red-hot flame that
bums the body and brightens the heart; the one primarily for the
Sultan and his predominantly Turkish nobility and the other for
every one-even for the neo-Muslims and the non-Muslims.

The First Phase

Tagore once said that his Gitis brought their own tunes with
them. Khusrau had almost a similar thing to say about his ghazal:
"I improvise so swiftly that ere
one can utter the name of a 'Bait' (^.)
I finish a and in the assembly of kings mostly I have
been content to extemporise and to dispense with the
services of the pen."
This is so intimate, so true: "...every day Amir Khusrau brought
new ghazals to that Majlis and Sultan (Jalaluddin) who was simply
in love with them rewarded lavishly.'"7 Appropriate care was taken
by the poet to choose a particular sentiment for an evening as a
continuing theme. It is remarkable that of such ghazals almost all
are homogeneous and thematic. The metre allotted to each
corresponds with the theme and the prevailing sentiment; the tune
and the rhythmic time too must have harmonised.18 Then the
presentation was not only to please but also to stimulate. Khusrau
is, therefore, there with his under-studies Amir Khasah (?) and
40 AMIR KHUSRAU

Hamid Raja with the superb Changi, Mohammad Shah, playing,

the silver-voiced Futuha and Nusrat Khatun singing; the graceful
Nusrat Bibi and Mihr Afruz dancing and the 'peerless performers'
in the orchestra beating time and boosting the tune.
Think of the dew-drenched moments of the young night and the
frothing cups filled by the rose-cheeked 'turk-lads' with the
marvellous Yalduz in the lead—the melodies employed in the main
could have been as a little later vouchsafed by Badr-i-Chach, viz.
Sipahan (ensuing night), Mukhalifak (full-night), Nihavant (middle
of the night) and Hussami (closing hours of the night).19 To weave
the fantasies further the Sho'bas such as Muhayyir and Do-Gah
(Hussaini), or Nishapur and Nayiriz (Sipahan) or kindred Turko-
Iraman "Awaazas" may have been made to intervene with their
golden threads. Indian ragas or ragangas or at least their 'congenial
concoctions' such as for instance Bahar and Shahana or even
Devagin, Khusrau's latest love,20 must have had access too to
sprinkle the colour of variety but duff being there to pulsate the
rhythm and the performing artists all being such who "even after
a stay of thirty or forty years in India could not play a single Indian
tune correctly"21 nothing beyond this may have been feasible.
The Turko-Persians found their 'Tarab' secure in the hand of
the 'Mutrib' rather than with the 'Goyindah' or 'Khwanindah'. This
more than anything else had made their music instrument-based.
And thus so much of dedicated talk in honour of 'Ud-u-Barbat and
Chang-u-Rabab' and thus also so much of stress on the consonance
of the 'fifth' (Kharaj-Pancham Bhava) which came out brightest
on a stringed instrument. But Khusrau being there both as a
Goymdah' and 'Khwanindah' every instrument had to play the
accompaniment. Thus he brought ghazal to the fore and let the
mtrumentahst adhere to his tonal aesthetics. Hear him saying this
himself:

jjJJ OlSjy- Jj (J

"Whatever 'Sur'-assortment the musician made the ghazal-singer

soared into the skies."
i
MUSICAL GENIUS OF AMIR KHUSRAU 41

This clinches. He fell in with the Persians as far as ceremonial

ghazal-singing was concerned. His self-training had helped him
imbibe their art. But the art of India was his own. According to
it the Svara emanated from the core of the Being and was best
represented by human voice. He may or may not have been aware
of this 'sastric niyam' but he gave priority to human voice and took
pride in being an outstanding vocalist of his time.22 Thus, be it the
plucked or bowed and plectrum-played or mouth-blown, he reduced
all into instruments of accompaniment. Only he made the voice
inculcate all their foreign mannerisms, the vocal art inherit all their
strange embellishments: the Shakes, the Trills, the Glides, the
Swings, the Tahrir and Zamzama — in short all the graces of the
'non-gamak' type. He made them all mix and move about with
gamakas in their appropriation of vamas and alamkaras. An Indo-
Iranian gayaki was thus bom. Khusrau's soul be blessed. He was
one of its godfathers.

The Second Phase

The Second Phase, both of Khusrau's ghazal and ghazal-singing,
en-route as our researches are so far, synchronises with the almost
sudden shift towards Sama music. Rather it may have been the
other way round, viz. ghazal invigorating Sama and thereby attaining
new dimensions with new intents.
So far the traditional qaul in Arabic, to sustain its sanctified halo,
with an occasional rubay'i23 or lively extracts from qasidah, had
to suffice. A melodic rendering of the lines running smoothly on
sombre rhythms could alone lend some colour to otherwise staccato
proceedings. With the coming in of Alauddin Khalji and his
enforcement of prohibition, in and around Delhi, on the one side,
and on the other his personal indifference to a sweet tune or a
line of well-strung words, effectively out-balanced by his devoutly
bowing to the spiritual suzerainty of the Sultan-ul-Masha'ikh, created
conditions which sucked bloodless the Mahafil-i-Mai reminiscent
of the days of Kaiqubad and Jalaluddin Khalji thereby bringing
about a politico-cultural climate suited for an un-inhibited sublimation
of Sama.
42 AMIR KHUSRAU

Khusrau was now spiritually young by about 25 years in the

service of the revered saint. In 698 A.H. (1298 A.D.) he lost his
mother and brother Qutlugh within a space of seven days. His grief
was beyond words. Thus the joy of being a servant of his pir and
the sorrow of separation from his dearest ones awakened his heart
anew. His imagination was tinged all over and his ghazal was now
aflame with love. Believe us, KHUSRAU BROUGHT THIS
GHAZAL TO THE PRECINCTS OF SAMA. Sa'di and Humam
had already reached there. The Sadi-i-Hind, Hasan, was also
there. With them had come ghazal. But let this be pointed out that
Khusrau was Tuti-i-Hind not because of any royal conferment, or
any token gesture of elite appreciation but because the intelligent
majority to whom his person and his poetry appealed most honestly
believed that he was much better a tuti than a sadi. And that made
all the difference.
So the cause of ghazal was sponsored by him and solemnised
by the great Sheikh in an atmosphere super-charged with great
expectations. We now find him composing with a changed fervour.
We often see him participating openly and personally. Whenever
the interest lagged or the standard slackened he rose and he
sang, but the slightest 'hang' quickened him to silence with the
result that "the best and always the best" came to be associated
with him.
This is on the testimony of Mir Khurd: Saiyar-ul-Auliya
"Once my father threw a feast. Hazrat Sultan-ul-Masha'ikh
and several other eminent Sufis of the town came. Bahlol
qawwal began with the ghazal of Amir Hasan:

jyfL J-+

("Bravo! the Turk, the arch of whose eye brows, openly

draws the bow and covertly shoots the arrow. How can
the fault-finder hear the devised extent within the devices.)
"Amir Khusrau followed but instantaneously checked
himself after going through only the of his ghazal.
MUSICAL GENIUS OF AMIR KHUSRAU 43

People asked how is it that whenever you start with your

own ghazal you break off after a line or two? He replied:
'What to do.the mysteries come crowding and leave
me bewildered!.Thereupon he struck a ghazal of
Sa'di, which opened:

cs/\

(The one who taught you made you learn all that is pert
and saucy, heart-ravishing and captivating. He initiated
you in heartless blandishments and wanton cruelty.)
In another Majlis: "...in the house of my own uncle, Saiyyid-
i-Khamosh, Sama was in progress, Hasan Bedi was
presenting a ghazal of Auhad Kirmani. When he came to
these lines:

(You say Auhad has gone over to others but as long as

your love is there how can that be?)
"Sultan-ul-Masha'ikh was moved; tears bubbled down his
eyes and ecstasy set in. His limbs danced in rhythmic
trance. Profoundly touched, Amir Khusrau let his ghazal
open on this line and began:

(He showed his face to everyone, telling me not to look.

I am beyond me with blissful delight of it, not knowing
what he said.)
"The moment this was uttered, Sultan-ul-Masha'ikh
cast his well known, love-laden, glance towards Amir
Khusrau and passed into ecstasy. Amir Khusrau poured
out his soul and repeated the ^ . Hasan Bedi, realising
that Sultan-ul-Masha'ikh was now under the divine grace
of Sama took up again and brought round the assembly
to the same lines of Sheikh Auhad."34
44 AMIR KHUSRAU

From the above some of the moments of Sama may be re¬

constructed. In particular it may be realised how the musician in
Khusrau vied with the poet in him and how did the genius of a
court-poet blossomed forth into that of a saint-musician of maturer
da vs.
In this connection a singular fact more: Khusrau while giving
a preface to his last collection of works, Baqiyya-Naqiyya makes
out a crucial point as regards the aesthetic appeal of ghazal as
a song-piece. He says:
"These days ghazal appeals to most.... From the day it
created a furore in Fars, the reciters sing from it to put
a flame into the hearts of the assembled listeners. I too
considered it desirable to let the fountam-like fluency of
my pen How in to ghazal, which taking analogy from the
four elements, l place into four categories:
(i) those like cold clod;
(ii) those as water;
(iii) those half-baked;
(iv) those all fire.
It was 'the ghazal all fire'25 which Khusrau chose for his
personal offerings on the altar of Sama and set it to Sur and Tala—
the Sur holding up the sentiment, the Tala coinciding with the mood
and the whole melodic piece making the emotional flames rise thick
and high. In these melodic moulds were poured tonal ingredients
from Iranian airs and Hindi tunes to give final shape and fastest
colour to the finished pieces, all of which have served as 'written
music' for the qawwal gharanas thence uptil now.
Analyse any of these and it will be found that since the whole
ethos had changed the technique and the procedure of presentation
too had to. Now every line was meant to be put forth before the
choicest gathering of the lovers of song and poetry. Every line had,
therefore, to be perfect from the point of view of sound, sense,
thought, and emotion, feeling and pathos, message and ideology....
Not a single wrong move from anyone in the audience or the
performers. No word wasted, no gesture hazarded...
MUSICAL GENIUS OF AMIR KHUSRAU 45

There are three qaul-singers, with the sir (leader) in the middle...
no instruments. Only an average size Duhul,26 in place of duff
abandoned in favour of the former, to mark the time and the dastak
(hand-clap)27 to accentuate or criss-cross it.After all it was the
Sirkar of the Sultan-ul-Auliya and not the Darbar of the Delhi
Sultan. And who could know and abide by it better than Khusrau....
And so the Sama commences; A qaul is to come first, therefore
why not the qaul foremost28 in Chishtiya order:

c-j rtr or ()fi

m u

This qaul is believed to be the Prophet's own; is therefore as

old as Islam itself. But the musical setting of it though very much
subsequent seems to be, in better part of it, a very early Sufi
composition.Tom, Nom happen to echo hey-days of Greco-
Arab music. Similarly Yalali may be traced back to an inscription
of Ashurbanipal (7th Century B.C.) when "Arab prisoners toiling
for their Assyrian masters (tried to) while away their hours in
singing Alili and Ninguti."29
Tradition, whatever its weight, ascribes this qaul to Khusrau.
It may be his to the extent that the mnemonics tana-tan, tana-na
or tanana re have been proverbial with him.30 And if its present-
day most authentic rendering is any sure indication of its relevant
past, the technique being that of orthodox and now obsolete tarana—
with Ajami base and prabandha superstructure—Khusrau's hand
in its re-conditioning becomes probable. Going still further, the
absence of tanas or the sort of tonal variance peculiar to later
gayaki together with an out of the ordinary quick tempo parcelling
of rhythmic phrases all speak most convincingly of the pre-dhrupad
singing traits which so well correspond with Khusrau's time.
A classical Chishti Sama closed with a qalbanah, again in
Arabic. The prolegomena31 records:
46 AMIR KHUSRAU

c^l
The test beyond this depends on what the Persian writers of
India call ta na tilli.32 These tonal paddings and rhythmic fillings
together with the event of its coming on the crest of the climax
make the qalbanah move on a pace more brisk than qaul. The folk
measures of Nakta-dadra or Nakta-kaherwa are natural choices
along with Mughlayi (Rupaka) and Pashtu and the like—all adapted
for the purpose and termed later on as qawwali Theka. This helps
to make out the individuality of Tarana which again is an adaptation
of the erstwhile Irani Tarana to prevailing urges.
Tarana as a form of music and a concomitant of ghazal was
already established in the Iran of Amir ’Unsur-ulma Ali who wrote
his Qabus-Namah at least a century and three quarters earlier33
than Khusrau. The latter weaned it out of its literary habits,
substituting words by a multitude of mono-syllabic to tri-syllabic
sounds borrowed from the Perso-Arabic system or designed anew.
The contemporary art of India too had tena as one of the limbs of
rupaka-gita. A young scholar of Khusrau's old days explains it34 as:
"thetananaand similar meaningless words used in singing. "Khusrau
himself identifies words such as tana tan to be string-sounds. Some
of the others can as well be traced back to the musical instruments
yielding them—tom-tom, for instance, to be that of a plucked
instrument or tara-tan-tara (Arabic) of a mouth-blown war-instrument
called Qama, and so on. The vocables to hum a nebulous tune and
Khusrau's ingenuity in reducing all melodic or rhythmic sounds to
their equables—such as those produced by the cotton-dresser’s
bow—may also be added to these.
In any case tarana was first thought of primarily to overcome
the language difficulty by Khusrau—the linguist that he was. It
was developed by him for supplementing the fiqras of qaul and
qalbanah with some of the bols of Indian origin.
However, what made it prove the biggest potential of Sama
music and qualify for an independent status in days to come was,
firstly, its supplanting the text of some of the most palatable songs
sung those days in the classical style of Rupaka and Prabandha,
and dove-tailing them with Sama items alongwith Persian couplets
MUSICAL GENIUS OF AMIR KHUSRAU 47

to heighten the effect;35 secondly, resurrecting the soul-stirring

sounds of Mazamir, tobooed out of Sama, in the shape of the
sound-syllables of Tarana replete with the same tonal values.
In between qaul and qalbana, Sama attained its ethereal heights
on the wings of ghazal. The history of the time has luckily preserved
for us quite a few details of direct relevance in this direction. It
can be said with a ring of certainty, therefore, that Khusrau was
the greatest ghazal singer who ever lived. In their best part most
of his ghazals were not to be read but to be sung. This is to be
rightly appreciated before coming to any harsh judgment as regards
their literary worth36:
"...If it fails to become a part of people's memory, it is still
unborn although given birth to"37
This is what Khusrau lays down as the criterion. He therefore
sang his words; sang them well aware of their tonal assets and
liabilities. Take any or a few of his most sung ghazals and examine.
The sparing use of and the liberal use of in a way that
the long and the short of the vowel and the semi-vowel sounds
make the consonants run along in the best interests of musicality
will be found to be remarkably unique. And as known ^ and
have ever been the worst of handicaps the musical rendering
of ghazal had to encounter. Similar un-sympathetic elements have
been the yVi, and the 'compounds' which, howsoever well-figured
or crisp, stand in the way of tonal variations. Khusrau's musical
instinct turned these to advantage. Moreover these were much
more than off-set by his immaculate choice of the 'labials' and
{ and the dentals ,tr and ji;. They combine to make their own
contributions to the clarity of musical sounds they are best suited
to do and also tone down the loudness or boost up the sibilance
or counteract the retard put up by the palatals, the sibilants, the
aspirates and the rest:

(How can I know how far I had gone whereto I had been last night).
Mark the way he arranges sounds to make the sense the way
he wants to and, alongwith, take note of the skilful manner he, so
48 AMIR KHUSRAU

to say, milks out music from the nasal endings of his mono-or tri¬
syllabic words such as uu and (jC etc. To top all this, his aesthetic
sensibility made his Persian envy and imbibe the evenly accented,
dominantly bi-syllabic structure of India's song-language, the Braj
Bhasha, and emulate it with so much ease and grace for his Sama
lyrics:

I in you, you in me, I, the corporate body and you the soul
so that none may say hence that we are two.
and

Khusrau passed the night of love awake in the arms of

the beloved. Myself and his soul mingled their colours to
become one.
Who can deny that, Persian or Braj Bhasha, the above not only*
share their author and the theme of talk, but also all that is there
to please the ear and colour the mind.38
This is in very brief "the ingrained musicality" of Khusrau's
ghazals. His prosodiac finesse in succeeding to avoid even
is added to it. Then his adherence to the Indian concept of cadence,
i.e. of bringing the sound and sense in a song to a climax of feeling
and allowing it to taper down to a smooth finish, was so consummate
that all which preceded became a means towards that end.
So the Sama' progressed. As Khusrau also says about the
sequence: from the to the c//-40 The qawwals may
have been from among those named by Bami and others, or by
Khusrau himself. But as ghazal-khwan almost all the them—
whether <Jjor should have felt privileged
to be known as Khusrau's disciples. He had trained his own son
Rukn-ud-din, better known as Amir Haji in this art and raised him
to a status of eminence. The great virtuoso Samit and Tatar or
MUSICAL GENIUS OF AMIR KHUSRAU 49

Niyaz41 were also his trainees. As he himself assures "all the

singing birds of Delhi belonged to the flock of Amir-ut-Tuyur and
this Amir-ut-Tuyur was none else but himself.
As regards the art of ghazal singing one thing is certain that
it was not pure or even popular Raga Dari, nor scrupulously based
on Arabi Maqams and Ajami Pardahs. It was not even an amalgam
of these. On Khusrau's own evidence:

The qawwal's art remained sometimes true to tradition and

sometimes not so true to it, because it relished to rely on the art
of meaning manipulating a novel tune. Khusrau revelled in
this art. He says:
"We can silk-stitch into one two tunes
howsoever apart they might be."43
To quote a single instance, it was this art of 44 which gave
him his Sazgir,45 a hepta-tonic admixture of purya and the purbi46
folk tune. Incidentally it so much suited the occasion. The audience
was intellectually much better integrated. Moreover, most of them
were sons of the soil and almost all were neo-converts to the creed
of love. Thus new tunes, new words and a new art of song touched
all the chords, and Khusrau knew how to do it. He sings:

The word excites some, but the word ignites every

heart. Khusrau is confessing for himself and for everyone assembled
there:
"A love-worshipper! I am a Kafir,
having nothing much to do with being a Muslamaan".
The line rang and echoed. There is a hushed silence. No 'twang'
and no 'jingle'; even no 'hum' or 'drone' of any instrument. Only
the highly disciplined voices of the qawwals initiated by Khusrau.
They stress each word, by quickening the tempo, to spring up fresh
combinations, or by just holding up a single word or phrase tonically,
50 AMIR KHUSRAU

so as to let the flowing rhythm do the rest. Thus the tune47 abets
and the tala18 aids and the voice glides in high-pitch, repeating the
line towards a climax (Antara). The second line follows:

"Every vein in the body is a sacred

thread and that is all which is needed."
The edge does not cut; it heals; the Sufi scores, the assembly
sways and Khusrau succeeds—technically too, because the tune
toned by the sharp madhyam as that of Yeman49 is there to suggest
that the night is still young and the morning though far off must
follow. Similarly, the Do-Zarbi petit Dadra Tala projects the Persian
compounds, with their poetic accent, in a manner that the sound
charms, the sense mystifies....
And then, ghazal's own uniqueness! Each in it is a two-piece
song, therefore the whole lyric in a series of songs yielding fresh
climaxes in succession, and sustaining them. These two pieces are
the two lines: the one a Sthayi, the other an Antara—both dynamic;
both changing places in the course of the singer's spontaneous
improvisations. Thus they keep on moving with the mood, inviting
embellishments; that by mixing colours, this by the voice-effects.
Compare:

"Cheers to the high-pitch singing; the voice rode high and

came down in broken particles."
This is Khusrau talking about not only his own voice but also
about a style of singing—the historic throat-throb,50 the fore-runner
of tana-palta gayalci as we know it today...
Khusrau's age could never initiate khyal but it could make the
above-mentioned style prevail. It could formalise and popularise
the use of most intricate graces later on to serve as the super¬
structure of khyal. These graces known as (beauties) in
Arabo-Persian music were infused by Khusrau with aethetic stability.
His artistic sensibility, intellectual alacrity and social stature could
alone do it...
MUSICAL GENIUS OF AMIR KHUSRAU 51

He also held the position to lead the way and his capable
colleagues possessed the pioneering qualities. Between them,
therefore, they could bequeath to posterity a voice culture. It was
itself a refinement unbounded—nurtured by the cultural synthesis
of the various concerned races drawn together by religion and
politics. Bami tells us about such folk-forms as Kitab-Khwani,
Hubb and Gilani. Go further and in the interior listen to Kafi,
Mahiya, Sohila, Baul, Bhatiyali, Jhakari (Chhakari?) and you reach
almost at the fountain-head of this voice culture. All these had
something or other to contribute. Kitab-Khwam and above all
Quran-Khwani had much more than others. Think of the vocal
mannerisms which mark out the recitation of Maulana Rums'
masnavi or of the enthralling art of Qir'at and you are on the right
track to know what ghazal imbibed and what has really been the
contribution of Khusrau and his compatriots to the cause of medieval
Indian music.
And now to sum up:
Khusrau possessed a naturally melodious, highly modulated and
powerful voice. This is now ascertainable:
"My voice, which in ascendance, surpasses the
plectrum-play of Venus, (even)."
—this is no vain boast, nor a conventional statement but a candid
expression of known facts. It, moreover, represents his musical
optimum and is in full accord with the aesthetic best of the time
he lived in. It was an age when—Razm or Bazm—physical
prowess ruled; vigour and speed mattered; sounds loudest in colour
appealed to everybody: movements in quicker tempn attracted all.
That is why the "accentuated tension" of the 'string' had a better
say than that of the vocal chord, and why the voice had most to
travel in the Upper Octave. Also why faster cycles of rhythm
sustained the interests better. That is how Uttaranga Ki Gayaki
has a word of special favour to say about that age and how melodic
movements in 'torrential rhythm' grew into so much of an urge
since then. "He sang and the mountains cried aloud' or "the throat-
thrust of the nightingale on earth shot down the skying bird or "the
honey-dipped fingers played on the Barbiton like the rolling clouds
52 AMIR KHUSRAU

with dripping rain" or "the Iranian airs which flowed into the dry
veins of the stringed lute in roaring rhythms of the seas" or (the
Chang-play progressed) "transposing the treble-beat into double
like magical waters falling wave after wave"—all these are
Khusrau's own owrds pen-portraying what he and the society he
lived in considered to be the best in melody and rhythm.
In the end, a word about the innovations traditionally ascribed
to him. In this regard, the foremost fact to be taken into account
is that Khusrau considered music to be a Majlisi hunar—a source
of amusement: like flower-decoration, wine-bibbing, chewing paan
or playing chess.51 The art of verse, on the other hand, was
categorised by him as 'Ilm—music being subservient to it:
"Poetry can thrive without balanced notes but Music is all
meaningless without measured words...."52
That was the crux of his argument. The Concept of Absolute
Music had no appeal for him. He hooted it down as 'pure nonsense';
a mere U\ and oytusi?1 As such what he refers to as Jtj
is to be taken to be the music he composed evening after evening
for his patrons and admirers during the span of about half a
century. It is yet to be discovered if within this period any melodic
mode beside Sazgiri received that much of attention from him.
The popular belief that Sitar and even Tabla are his creations
poses a still bigger problem because we have first to give full
weight to the probability of it. We have to agree with what has
been written not with what has not been; at least we have to accept
his own words in the matter—accept the one great single reality
that just as he could not interest himself in the theory of music,
he preferred to remain content with his god-gifted voice and the
role of a poet-singer. A Mutrib he never was and never aspired
to be. In this particular respect he was all-Indian—making others
accompany him rather than providing accompaniment to others or
playing a second fiddle even to his own voice:
MUSICAL GENIUS OF AMIR KHUSRAU 53

("On this side Khusrau, with other companions, singing

praises of the Sultan Jalaluddin—and on the other side the
fluent-fingered Mohammad Shah making the mind tipsy
with his string-play.")
—this has been the uniform procedure; the art-habit of all the
amateurs and even the leading professionals, too.
Khusrau had thus no impelling reason to attend to the mechanical
devices of sound and rhythm. Even if he had he could not. A
devout Sufi, so near and dear to the great Saint, how could he?
Moreover, the actuality lies in saying that as Sitar — name and
frame, both—has been known to mankind since biblical times,54
Tabla is nowhere seen or heard of even centuries after Khusrau.
The Persian work, Ghunyat-ul-Munya,55 dealing also with his
times gives the pride of place to Pakhawaj which is on record to
have done much to inspire the art of Dholak-playmg, a Qawwali
associate.
What is, however, worth better fundamental interest is to gam
a clear understanding of his sense of rhythm. We know he delighted
in the Mula Laya of Indian perception—now called teen tala.
Remember his playful effort: and mark the time-pattern
he has, may be unwittingly, articulated. The Farsi Paran, as it ought
to be known, runs like this:

'/• O'* uClfiJsi

The sequence in which the syllables alternate and the sub¬

divisions combine equate this flawlessly with what has been identified
as Farsi Ti-Tala, with the metrical schemes 5 4 4 3. To examine
further:
AZ PAYI JA NAN JAN HAM RAFT
1 2/3 4 5 6/7 8 9

TA DHIN DHA DHA DHIN DHA DHA

JAN HAM RAFT RAFT RAFT56

10/11 12 13 14/15 16

DHIN DHA DHA TIN TA

54 AMIR KHUSRAU

Khusrau's verse as a Paran (drum-variants) with the drum-

phrases.
It will be found that so much like Mughlayi Tala the climax-
stroke (Sam) falls on a Khali and not very much like the Indian
scheme the stress on 2/3,6/7, 10/11 and 14/15 makes the movement
accentual alongwith its being quantitative. This has been a case
of music asserting itself independent of mathematics, in a way. In
Pushtu tala, too, the stress on Dhm is likewise.
And to the extent Tin-tala has been natural to Khusrau as an
Indian, its compatibles Kaherwa and Dadra also should have been.
The former as well preserved for us, in verse-form, speaks for
itself. Please take note:
NAN KI KHUR-DI KHA-NA BI-RAU57
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

DHA GE NA TI NA KE DHI NA
—not only that the 'exact time value of syllables in the verse'
measure exact with the rhythmic time-units but that his very theka
continues to remain exclusive for quawwali and geet; this is what
matters most as it shows how with pure instinct could Khusrau
feel the pulse beat of Indian music and procure recognition and
respectability for some of its most promising though sadly neglected
folk-forms.
His proud appreciation of the 'Ravish' in making the Usul-i-Seh
Zarbi and Do Zarbi flow into one another like "the oceans sharing
their waves and their depths"58 comes out in the open to endorse
what has been surmised above.
In the same strain something must be said about the terms
denoting technique. He had to design these having no patience for
their sastric identity. Also because he took delight in doing so.59
That may have been one of the reasons why most of these have
been taken to mean what Khusrau never meant. For instance:—
(i) BASIT—a rhythmic division; one of the Dayira constituents;
a part of a rhythmic cycle. In no way a melodic form as later
Persian writers purport to say:60
MUSICAL GENIUS OF AMIR KHUSRAU 55

(ii) NAQSH—What we call Bandish today. Bami down to

Budayuni the technical idioms presumably
taken from painting, hold good. Naziri consummates its sense
thus:

According to him Naqsh was composition of melodic verse

as Paran was of rhythmic verse;
(iii) NIGAR—Khusrau's ingenuity for alap. Naqsh-u-Nigar is the
popular compound in common talks also;
(iv) GUL—For the 'floral designs' woven in the shape of tan
(Zava'id of Arabic). It was formalised and popularised by
Khusrau for the sake of the ghazal art, to begin with.
(v) SOHILA—Same as sohil (Avadhi) sung even today on the
occasion of child birth. At the time Khusrau lived it was a
form of folksong exclusively prevalent among Musalmaan
women who sang it "not so much observant of raga and
tala."61
Like the above there are several others innovations assigned
to the musical genius of Amir Khusrau. Of these almost all have
been recognised as melodic modes compounded of Indian and alien
airs. Our knowledge as far as it could go in this direction enables
us to say that:—
ZIL AF — may be believed to have originated as Zir-
Afgand, same as Kuchak, of the Perso-
Arabic system; was transported to India
dunng the Ghaznavid period; re-christened
here as Bhinna Sadja then consecrated as
Bhairava.62
The author of Ghunyat-ul-Munyo writing
of Khusrau's days informs that Bhairava
then sung omitted Rikhab (Rasabha). How
interesting that this is exactly what is done
to distinguish ZILAF from
BHAIRAVA.63
56 AMIR KHUSRAU

MUHAIYIR incorrectly read as Mujir, etc; must have

accompanied Arabic qaul as Khusrau has
tried to make this specific. In its future
course, it combined Nawa with Multani,
the later an adaptation no doubt of the
Suhrawardi Saint, Sheikh Bahauddin
Zakaria Multani, preceding Khusrau by
about 27 years.64
GHUNM Commonly read as Ghanam, is another
name for the gem of a tune discovered
by Khusrau in Purab 'des\ Its original
name—Purbi—had better vitality to
survive in spite of lack of timely recognition
by the sastras...65
BAKHARZ is one of the select pardas of Amir
Vashmgir writing his Qabus-Nama
between 462-475 A.H. (1069-1082 A.D.).
FARGHANA Both of these (Bakharz & Farghana)
happened to be the popular-most modes
of the region from where a few top-
ranking musicians—imaginary or real—
came to hold a tournament with
Khusrau—66
FARODAST Ibn-i-Ghaibi writing a few decades later
than Khusrau gives the four limbs (qif a)
of the Nauba (Naubat) as: qaul, ghazal,
tarana and furudasht. On this side, Locan
Kavi who lived and worked about the
same time as Ibn-i-Ghaibi writes about
'Phirodasf not as a form but as a melodic
compound with Purbi, Gauri, Syama,
Varadi and Vanga as its colourful
components.
The apparent conflict may be reduced on
the basis of a form being associated with
MUSICAL GENIUS OF AMIR KHUSRAU 57

a mode—melodic or rhythmic (Dadra, for

instance) but what provides a clue so vital
is that all these four forms—qaul, ghazal,
tarana and furudasht travelled west so
early and so gloriously.
We prefer to read it as furudasht as it
explains better. Furudasht literally means
a 'dying away of sound' which it was as
the concluding item of naubat-playing 67
SARPARDA so called because it had to be regarded
as the leading Parda for more than one
reason.
According to the Sanskrit musicologist
Vithala (of Raga-manjari), a protege of
Akbar's General, Raja Man Singh
Kachwaha, Sarparda is another name for
Bilaval which is saying almost the same
thing in favour of the Persian Maqam,
Raast.
This hepta-tonic melody was given a smart
touch of the hexta-tonic, (making it thus
imbibe the spirit of Sarang.) near about
the time Khusrau lived as after him the
tendency to use Sanskrit/Prakrit names
for elephants and ragas started asserting
itself; moreover Khusrau himself found it
worthwhile to record that "the strmg-
maestros of his days experimented on
Raast right and left"...68
GHARA - came from the land of Ghor, in the wake
of Kamboji (Khammaj/Khammach); this
is certain. Could find no place in Granthas
or even in Khusrau's writings but its
singular feature of being a "seedhey saroop
ka raga" and the few Tasneefat the text
of which is still intact tend to prove it to
58 AMIR KHUSRAU

be one of the contributions of Muslmaan

gayaks of pre-Akbar era—may be of the
very period we have under view...69
YEMAN Sanskritised as Iman; first welcomed in
Kalyan or by Kalyan, on arrival from the
Arab land, and made to accept the
congenial company of Shoba-i-Nayiriz
from Persia. All this must have happened
during Khusrau's life-time for we first
come across it and that too as a basic
melody nearabout 777 A.H. (1375 A.D.)
in Locan Kavi's Raga Tarangini....10
The melodic blend known as Eman Basant
goes back to him. Nawab Saif Khan
believes it to be Khusrau's.71
USHSHAQ is the very first Maqam talked about by
Khusrau's predecessor, so reverently
remembered by him, the illustrious
Safiuddin Abul Momin.72
Ibn-i-Sina also spoke about it, fixing it
appropriate time in relation to the noon¬
day prayer;
MUWAFIQ we are yet on its trail.
These are almost all the main melodies allotted by convention
to Khusrau's inventive genius. But how strange, not a word from
any audible quarter about zavul and ghazal which have a better
claim on him than many others.73 Similarly, we have to trace back
the cases of say pilu, suha, sughrayi and sarang to their initial
benefactor. Khusrau is sure to figure out somewhere in this quest,
too.
And this had to be said with all vehemence because, in the last
analysis, his musical genius is at its best seen not while tinkering
with a foreign air here or a mixed melody there but at the helm of
the dichotomy which emerges with Multan and Sind going Arab,
Lahore to Delhi and their dependencies going Turk and the vast
MUSICAL GENIUS OF AMIR KHUSRAU 59

country called India going more or less its own way. In those days
of cultural confrontation he has been the first, on his own saying
too, to propound a panacea for 'converting every rai into a yar'. It
was, again to quote his words: 'drown the dirt and dive out the
pearl.' He did this against all trends and tendencies to the contrary.
That is how inspite of the parallelism which was to converge more
than two centuries later into all embracing Tansen he is there soft-
bending the rigid lines the saptaka to co-exist with astaka; the
madhyam to view with its inborn dignity the new love-pranks of
kharaj and pancham; the bhinna sadja to lean with favour towards
the ati-komal 're' and, above all, the norms of Abhivyakti to make
aesthetic adjustments with those of the Nisbat-i-naghmat. Khusrau
begins his prose-talk on musiqi74 raising Venus to the status of a
Baikar-'Vac-geya-kara.' Verily he knew what a vaggeyakara stood
for. He was himself one and that too in a big way.

REFERENCES

1. Nuh Sipihr, III.

U\j* O'

fJjuEt
2. Nuh Sipihr, III.
3. Dibacha of Tuhfat-u-Sigliar.
4. He was a poet-musician senior in age to Khusrau. Once Kishli Khan gave
all the horses in his stable to him for having composed a 'nazani' in his
praise, for setting it to tune for the royal musicians and presenting it with
proper effects before Balban.
The incident is to be taken note of as Khusrau was next to play the same
role though with much better and consistent success.
5. Nuh Sipihr, III.
6. Even in the South, as its derivatives KARNATA and DRAVIDA indicate
7. In PARSVADEVA'S Sanskrit work Sangiia Samaya Sara it is interesting
to note that the name of the work: 'Essence of the time in Music1 hints
at the syncretic tendencies prevailing. Turuska is same as Turk.
60 AMIR KHUSRAU

The only other penta-tonic (of 5 notes) melody of this tribe has been
Desala Gauda, the folk character of which is similar to that of the Turuska
variety.
8. As Khusrau likes to call the people of Hindustan and Khurasan-Kirman.
9. The distant but direct ancestors of today's Kacchi, Kafi, Multani Kafi,
Bulla Shah Ki Kafi and not of the well known Kafi Raga or Kafi That.
10. The Sanskrit Granthas take notice of it later on.
11. From the 'Malfuzat'.
12. Tarikli-i-Firuz Shcihi, pp. 156-57, AMU
13. Ibid, pp. 158-61. It continues to live on as laoni and ghazal of present-
day Nao-tanki.
14. Translated : 'Unlike Khusrau, what I write is poetry.'
15. The style of l/ (Kamal Ismail Isfahani)
16. Condensed from his Dibacha-i-Wast-ul-Hayat.
17. Barm, p. 199.
18. The metres of poetry and song being effectively common in Arab-Persian
music and melody too measured, quite often, according to the prosodical
feet this came in the natural way.
19. From his divan.
20. Khusrau has had much to say about the music of Devagiri. In a 'qasida'
(Nihayatul Kamal) he says:
"....the music is such that each stroke of the plectrum makes Venus
cry with jealousy like her own harp."
Further on he adds: There is no wonder if by their music a dead man
is brought back to life, for the musical expression in the heart of every
melodic note infuses new life.
2 i. Null Si pi hr. III.
22. Sec Supra.
23. In classical "qaul" a do-baiti, also in Arabic, has been the conventional way.
That is how later on Persian do-baiti succeeded it and formed part of the
Arabic "qaul". Still later, only RUBAYI (do-baiti) constituted "qaul", as
part of the same legacy.
24. Siyctr-ul-Auliya, AMU Ms. 609/6, f.279.
25. liaqiyya-i-Ncujiyya—this collection was made after Alauddin's death, in 716
ATI. (13 16 AD), when the poet was about 64. The 'grading' of ghazal may,
therefore, be taken to represent his most mature judgment.
26. This Duhul, remembered by Barm as Dholak and also as Dholki had been
naturalised in India towards the advent of the Christian era, as the sculptured
pieces of A junta and Bharhut and the writings of Patanjali testify.
27 The art of Tali (hand-clap) has been so virile in Punjab—Multan since at
least post-Vedic times. Panini (3,2,55) informs that clap-experts were a
class bv themselves and were known then as cTFf^T
MUSICAL GENIUS OF AMIR KHUSRAU 61

28. Every representative Chishtiya Sama is expected to open even today with
it.
29. H.G.F., History, Intro, p. xiii here Alili stands for singing and Ninguti for
play of instruments.
30. C.F. Rasail-ul-Aijaz, p.281, and elsewhere.
31. Of Nawab Mohammed Ishaq Khan. The text reads:

isuii dy u*4 c-ftA*1

<li) nr tn r„ a- tv'ttrir fjfj avfi,,

t f t-' fbj i>' () r
i-c-- tr r fy yy^
32. e.g. Kitab-i-Chishtiya, by Sheikh Alauddin Sami Barnavi, a manuscript
dated 1065 AH (1654 AD) which should be in the Shirani Collection.
Pakistan.
33. Written sometimes between 457 AH (1065 AD) and 462AH (1069 AD)
but in no way later than 475 A.H. i.e. 1082 A.D.
34. Ghunyat-ul-Munya if 31a—the rare document introducted by Begum
Khurshid N. Hasan, History Congress 1961.
35. Most of the 'Tarana' compositions believed to be oldest and on record
exhibit this characteristic.
36. For instance the one by late Prof. Habib, which need not be repeated here.
37. Nuh-Sipihr; the relevant lines run as:

Jjs/Ub Ulf u jL ^ U/t

38. According to Bharata (not earlier than 3rd century A.D.), its earlier form
Sura Seni was a language of the Dhruva songs. His commentators regard
it as the sweetest of the seven dialects. and best suited for secular
singing.
39. The permissible limit of interpolation in word-structure by the units of
prosody.
40. Rasail, p. 276.
41. J* and written but for 'dots' similarly.
42. Qiranu's-Sadain, p. 137.
43. Rasail, p. 286; the lines read:

44. Compare Barni talking of Khusrau : (p. 359)—

* cJ'U Jl/c/'L'J *U
45. Analogous to Devagiri, Khusrau was so much enamoured of.
46. As Khusrau has to say: Sazgiri tonally agreed with Iraq, too (Qiranas
Sadain).
 AMIR KHUSRAU
62

47. Not necessarily corresponding to standard melodies but in all probability

a judicious admixture of up-coming folk tunes appropriated by the practised
art of the times as Qawvvali, Basant, Sohini Qawwali, Qawwali Paraj,
Qawwali Ranikali or Qawwali Jyajavanti etc.
48. Traditionally enumerated as Zu-bahr, Usui Fakhta, Chahar-Zarb, Khamsa
and Farodast, etc. but as far as the art of singing ghazal was concerned
only Qawwali Theka of Dadra and Kaherwa on Ti-Tala reduced to their
tempo, or Rupaka significantly referred to even now as Farsi Chal Ki Tal
were commonly employed.
49. May be evenYeman somewhere in the base, or any other of Marwa Thath
mixed with Persian Awazas of the same temperament.
50. A clue of farthest reaching significance is this. The singing voice fell in
swift cataracts of sound, i.e. the Tana—flourishes in fashion those days
were what may be technically termed as 'Avarohi Ki Tanen. This leads
to two very useful facts: (i) that Tara-Sthana ki Kharaj was often manifested
in best of colours: (ii) that in accent (Arohi) a straight sweep of the voice
was aimed at.
51. Rasail pp. 241 et seq; in particular the introduction he gives to the IXth
Khatt by the phrase elucidated further in the same strain.
52. Dibacha-i-Gliurrat-ul-Kamal.
53. The-relevant lines:
(jrfit}) (fs&r&siOJj 0\>0S

(C'lgf) Jj/JJ OAu?iJ Of Of (ft'riy+S"

54. Odes of Solomon (iv, xiv)—Kithara, Homer: the tortoise lyre from Asia
minor, the Kitaris, Qitara of Arabic; Citra of classical India.
Even Nizami, Khusrau's life-long favourite, had much in advance spoken
about Barbud's lute:
j /> > £-2"

This Sita' has also been read as Sitar.

55. The Ms discovered and introduced by Begum Khurshid N. Hasan, see at
ff4, 452, 462 etc.
56. It corresponds as such with no Arabic metre although it sounds somewhat
like , the one devised and developed in India.

57. So much like metre, proving thus the temporal affinity between Titala
and Kaherwa.
58. Rasail, p. 276; the passage reads:

59. eg : the figures of speech such as etc-

MUSICAL GENIUS OF AMIR KHUSRAU 63

mostly his own innovations, standing testimony to his love of languages

including Indian dialects.
60. Even Nawab Saif Khan, author of Raga Darpan (Persian).
61. Ghunyat-ul-Munya, f. 42b
62. Kuchak, also known as Zir-i-Khurd, has so much in common with Bhinna
Sadja that it is worth further probe;
63. Ghunyat-ul-Munya introduced by Begum Khurshid N. Hasan; see at F. II2.
64. Rasa'il, pp. 276 and 286; compare:

65. Purvi (Purbi) has better survived as a folk-tune, out of books;

66. Rasail, p. 284 at seq.
67. H.G.F. (Henry George Farmer), History, pp. 199-200.
68. Qiranu's-Sadain 137.

nzJsl/fl/JlIf ^
69. See Maarif-un-Nazahmat, by Thakur Nawab Ali, pp. 195-96 and the
Persian compositions of Ghara to be found in the 'Bayaz' of Gharana
Qawwals.
70. It has been cited as a 'mela', a parent-raga, which fact establishes its
standing in the country as well as its prevalance.
71. Raga Darpan, f. 26.
72. the virtuoso of Baghdad; Khusrau remembers him, in his Rasail, p. 280,
along with Kalan Watan-Hindi; Kalanwat is the same as Kalavanta.
73. His writings are replete with cogent remarks about these two; some read.

Ji4 & >W

74. Referred to as Rasail in this paper, see Khatt IX, Harf III. p. 275.
Dilam dar ashiqi awareh shud awarah tar bada;
Tanam az bidili bichareh shud bichareh tar bada.
Gar aiy zahid duae khair migui mara in go,
Ki un awarae kuye butan awareh tar bada
Hameh guyand kaz khunkharyiyash khalqi bajan amad,
Man in guyam ki bahare jane man khunkhareh tar bada
My heart has become a wanderer in love.
May it ever remain a wanderer.
My life has been rendered extremely miserable by love.
May it grow more and more miserable.
O devotee! if you ever pray for me, kindly pray that the
wanderer in the street of the beautiful ever roam in the same
street.Everyone is complaining that the people are fed up with
their lives on account of the cruelty of my beloved.
I would rather wish that my heart is subjected to still greater
cruelty.
 A Persian Poet Par Excellence
S.A.H. ABIDI

I ndopersian literature is one of the most treasured gifts in the

rich store-house of Indian culture. It was the creative expression
of the cultural synthesis achieved during the medieval period of
our history and marks the beginning of a new era in the history
of Indian culture. Throughout this period of our history, Persian
served not only as a state language, but also as the common
medium of communication among the intelligentsia all over the
country. In classical Persian literature three distinct styles have
been recognised by Iranian scholars, and the Indian style (Sabk-
i-Hindi) is one of them. Amir Khusrau, Tuti-i-Hind (The Parrot
of India), is the founder of this style, and is undoubtedly the top
ranking Persian poet of India, whose greatness has been
acknowledged by scholars of Persian in India and abroad where
Persian has been in vogue. Daulat Shah Samarqandi, the author
of the Tazkiratush-Shuara, has given him the epithet of Khatimul-
Kalam (The brightest star in the galaxy of poets).
Ziauddin Bami, the author of the Tarikh-i-Firuzshahi, says,
"the incomparable Amir Khusrau stands unequalled for the volume
of his writings and the originality of his ideas....A man with such
mastery over all the forms of poetry has never existed in the past
and may perhaps not come into existence before the Day of
Judgment."1 Sheikh Abdul Haq Muhaddis Dehlavi pays glowing
tribute to him and says, "He is the Sultan of the poets, and the
proof of the learned. In the valley of speech, he is unique in the
world and is the essence of mankind. In speech, he is a world from
the worlds of God, that has no end. Whatever, the art of poetry
and its various forms has accrued to him from the subject-matter
and meaning, to none else among the ancient and subsequent poets
has it occurred."2 Maulana Shibli, the author of the Sherul-Ajam,
 AMIR KHUSRAU
66

describes him in similar terms and writes, "No person of such

comprehensive ability has been bom in India during the last six
hundred years, and even the fertile soil of Persia has produced
only three or four of such varied accomplishments."3
Dr. Wahid Mirza described him in these words, "Amir Khusrau
was one of those few lucky authors who live long enough to see
their fame spread far and wide, to have the satisfaction of their
worth being recognised by their contemporaries and to be able to
visualize the prospect of an ever increasing popularity and renown
down m the depths of time among generations and nations yet
unborn."4 Joel Waiz Lai waxes eloquent in dealing with the literary
achievements of Amir Khusrau and writes, "Amir Khusrau... is
one of the most prominent writers of this period, and, in many
directions, an original poet....He has not the keen chracterisation
of Nizami, the insight and penetration of Maulana Rum, or the
charming realism of Firdausi, but he has a lovely symbolism,
magnificent diction, pure eloquence, glowing fervour, soft touch,
beautiful colouring, and an amazing command of language."5 Dr.
Shafaq observes "Amir Khusrau's poetry as a special trait traceable
in the works of other Persian poets of India in varying degrees,
and this peculiar trait finally crystalized into Sabk-i-Hindi (Indian
style)."6
The late Professor Faridi has paid his tribute to our poet in a
truly poetic style in these words, "...there shown out on the sky
of Persian, in India, a brilliant star which succeeded in keeping its
light steady by the side of many luminaries of Persia. It is no other
than Amir Khusrau of Delhi. He is the only Indian who received
the title of Tuti-i-Hind from the Persians."7 Perhaps he refers to
the well-known verse of Hafiz8:—
Shakkar shikan shawand hame tytiyan-i-Hind
Zin qand-i-Parsi ki ba Bangale mirawad.
"The sugar-lovmg birds of India, except a Persian sweetmeat
that was brought to fair Bengal, have found naught to their mind."9
Abdul Hasan Khusrau, son of Amir Saifuddin Mahmud [d. 659
A.H. (1261 A.D.)], a Turkish noble, was bom at Patiali in the
district of Etah, U.P. in 651 A.H. (1253 A.D.). But he lived all
A PERSIAN POET PAR EXCELLENCE 67

his life in Delhi, and that is why he is called Dehlavi. His deep
love for this city and its inhabitants is abundantly clear from the
following verses:—
Ai Dehlivaiy butane sadeh,
Pag bastau risheh kaj nihadeh.
Jai ki barah kunand gulgasht,
Dar kucheh damad gule piyadeh,
Shan dar rahu ashiqan ba dumbal,
Khunabeh ze didagan kushadeh.
Khurshid parast shud Musalman,
Zin Hindugane shukhu sadeh.
M0 Delhi and its young beauties with turbans placed
roguishly awry on their heads!
Wherever they stroll the path blooms with moving flowers.
They stroll along, while in their wake follow their lovers
with bloody tears flowing from their eyes.
Theses saucy young Hindus have made the Musalmans
sun worshippers. ”10
The late Professor Habib is of the view that Delhi in all her
phases-the eloquence of her preachers, the ecstatic discourses of
her mystics and the alluring blandishments of her dancing girls—
and when he took up his pen to write, he found his heart throbbing
with the deepest human emotions.”11 If Delhi is proud of the Qutb
Minar and her rich culture, she should be equally proud that she
has produced the greatest Persian poet of India.
Though a bom genius, Khusrau owes his greatness in no small
measure to his spiritual guide, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya Mahbub
Ilahi,12 who was the chief inspirer and nourisher of his talents. He
encouraged him in his literary pursuits and conferred on him the
title of Turkullah : Amir Khusrau gratefully acknowledges the
receipt of this honour and further seeks the blessings of his
preceptor in the following lines :
Bar zabanat chun khitabe bandeh Turkullah raft,
Daste Turkullah bigiru ham ba Allahash sipur.
“As you have been pleased to call your servant the “Turk
of God, hold his hand and give him in God’s custody.”13
68 AMIR KHUSRAU

Khusrau on his part had also merged his personality in that of

his preceptor and has made his poetry a mirror which reflects his
master’s mystic sublimity and inner greatness. For example the
poet is said to have addressed him in the following beautiful and
lyrical lines:
Tu Shabineh minumai babare ke budi imshab,
Ke hanuz chashme mastat asare Khumar darad.
“You look sleepless and tired, in whose embrace did you pass
the night, for your drowsy eyes have still traces of tipsiness?”14
It perhaps alludes to the sleepless nights of devotion of Hazrat
Nizamuddin Auliya.
Once Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, wearing an awry cap, was
sitting on the banks of the Jamuna and was watching the Hindu
pilgrims having dips in the sacred river followed by customary
prayers by turning their faces towards the sun. The saint recited
the following line :
Har qaum rast rahi dine was qiblagahi
“Every people has a path, a religion and a focus of devotion.”
Amir Khusrau who was also present there at once recited the
other half of the couplet :
Man qibla rast Kardam bar simte Kajkulahi.
“We, however, offer our prayers with our faces towards
a beloved who wears his cap tilted.”
Some qawwals (devotional singers) were singing this line before
Emperor Jahangir.15 When he asked its significance, Mulla Ali
Muhrkan (The Seal-Engraver) related the whole episode. By the
time the qawwals finished the songs, Mulla’s condition began to
deteriorate, and ultimately he died on the spot.
The samt loved the poet so much that he could not bear his
separation even for a moment, and once observed, “I hope on the
Day of Judgment to be expunged of all blames by the fire that
bums in the heart of this Turk...He is the keeper of my secrets,
and I shall not set foot in paradise without him. If it were lawful,
I should have instructed you to bury him in the same grave with
me so that we two always remain together.”16
A PERSIAN POET PAR EXCELLENCE 69

Amir Khusrau also was so much attached to his spiritual master

that when he heard of his death, he lost patience, tore his garments,
blackened his face, recited this Hindi verse on the grave and
fainted:

Gori suwe sej par, mukh par dare kes,

Chal khusro ghar apne, rain bahi sab des.

“The fair one lies on couch with black tresses scattered

on her face;
O Khusrau, come home now, for night has fallen.”17
He did not survive the shock for long and died a few months
later in 725 A.H. (1325 A.D.) and was buried at the foot of his
master.

Kings have come and gone, emperors have risen and fallen but
the graves of the great saint and his illustrious disciple are still
visited by the pilgrims, year in and year out, and the people
irrespective of castes and creeds pay their homages to them.
Mankind still draws inspiration from their messages of universal
love and tolerance, unity and catholocity, humanity and brotherhood.
Dr. Wahid Mirza writes, “The old Delhi is now a wilderness of
ruins, the Red Palace, the Green Pavilion, the Palace of Thousand
Pillars, and the New Palace the scenes of his poetic successes
are ‘one with Nineveh and Tyre’, and can hardly be traced in the
tangle of ruins that stretches for miles outside Delhi-the New
Delhi of Shahjahan. The strong citadel of Tughlaq is still there,
grand and defiant, but one looks in vain in it for the crystal springs
and the golden walls. The saint and his beloved disciple, however,
sleep in peace in their sanctuary. There is still a green cover over
their graves, still fresh flowers are strewn on them and still the
lamp lights the darkness and attracts the moths, and still the
qawwals sing and recite ghazals of divine love at their shrines,
while tombs of mighty kings like Alauddin have disappeared or are
but mounds of decaying bricks and plaster.”18
I have endeavoured to show that the message of the saint and
the poetry of his favourite disciple both supplemented each other
in the development of Sufistic ideas, in practising divine love, higher
70 AMIR KHUSRAU

values and the growth of human personality. One has to bear in

mind that it is not possible to fully appreciate the poetry of Amir
Khusrau without realising his intimate relationship with his
spiritual guide and master. In the words of Prof. Habib, “No
biographer of Amir Khusrau can afford to ignore the influence
exercised on him by Sheikh Nizamuddin Auliya-Though their
characters differed widely, there was a strong bond of sympathy
between them.”19
Amir Khusrau was a versatile genius, whose colourful personality
has enriched our traditions and has contributed a great deal to the
development of our composite culture. He was a great poet, an
equally great prose-writer, a shrewed courtier, a soldier, a man of
the world, a Sufi, a scholar, a historian, a linguist, a patriot, a noble,
an artist, a man of wit and humour, a great musician, and above
all a great Indian. If he attended the courts of the Slave, Khalji
and Tughlaq kings and nobles and accompanied them in battlefields,
he did not miss the opportunity of sitting in the company of Sufis
and mendicants, if he enriched Persian prose and poetry, he also
deserves credit for enriching our vernaculars. He is also regarded
as a pioneer in bringing about a confluence of Persian and Hindi,
which gradually developed into Hindustani and Urdu. He is proud
of his race, country and mother tongue
Turke Hindustaniyam man Hinduwi guyam jawab ;
Shakkare Misri nadaram Kaz Arab guyam sukhan.
“I am an Indian Turk and can answer in Hindi ;
I have no Egyptian sugar (i.e. Arabic) to talk of Arabia.”20
However, his crowning achievements lie in the fields ofIndo-
Persian poetry where he reigns supreme.
No doubt he studied and drew inspiration from great Persian
masters like Anwari (d. 588 A.H.) (1192 A.D.) and Sanai (d. 545
A.H.) (1150 A.D.). He himself admits it when he says, “My eyes
and intellect brightened when I saw the writings of Anwari and
Sanai, and whenever I beheld poem bright as gold-water I chased
it like a running stream. Every diwan I came across, I not only
studied but held it as a model for my compositions.”21 But he was
gifted with an unique genius to evolve his own style and to preserve
A PERSIAN POET PAR EXCELLENCE 71

his distinct identity. Indian as he was, he held a mirror to Indian

life and culture through his poetry.
Maulana S. Sulaiman Nadvi writing about him says, “Amir
Khusrau used the dust of India as a collyrium for his eyes... His
heart was made of Indian clay.”22 Thus, indigenous elements are
integral ingredients of his poems. He has praised India and her
climate, her art and languages, her flowers and birds, her elephants
and horses, her mangoes and water-melons, her music and dance,
her clothes and food, her spring and beauty, her youths and girls,
the fidelity of her men and women.
Amir Khusrau was a prolific writer and is credited with the
authorship of innumerable verses and a number of prose works.
He has left diwans named Tuhfatus-Sighar (The Gift of
Adolescence), Wastul-Hayat (The Middle of Life), Ghurratul-
Kamal (The Prime of Perfection), Baqiyya Naqiyya (The choicest
Remnant) and the Nihayatu 'l-Kamal (The Apex of Perfection).
Besides, he wrote the Panj Ganj (Five Treasures), after the model
of the Khamsa of Nizami.23 Their titles are Matlaul-Anwar (Flood¬
lit Horizon), Shirin-u-Khusrau, Aina-i-Sikandari (The Alexandrian
Mirror), Hasht Bahisht (The Eight Heavens) and Majnun-u-
Laila. Besides, he composed historical poems such as Qiranu ’s-
Sadain (The conjunction of the two auspicious planets), Miftahul-
Futuh (The Key of Conquest), Ishqiya or Deval Rani Khizr
Khan and Tughlaqnamah. In addition to them, he has left other
Persian poetical works, some of which have been lost to us.
Maulana Abdur-Rahman Jami24 has acclaimed him as the author
of more than ninety works in prose and poetry. But Nawab Ishaq
Khan could not trace more than forty-five.
It is said that three masnawis of Amir Khusrau were transcribed
by Hafiz, the greatest ghazal-writer in Persian literature, and they
are to be found in the Tashkent library of the U.S.S.R. But some
Iranian scholars have declined to identify the scribe of these
manuscripts with the well known poet of Shiraz.
Khusrau has tried his hand on all forms of poetry, has composed
quatrains and fragments and has established his reputation as a
masnawi and qasida-writer. But his eminence as a poet mainly
rests on his ghazals , which are still sung by the qawwals and read
72 AMIR KHUSRAU

in Indian schools, colleges and universities. These ghazals truly

depict the inner feelings of divine lovers.
Sufism is the soul of Persian poetry especially ghazal. In fact,
ghazal has grown and devefloped with the rise of Sufistic ideas.
Maulana Shibi says, “Sufism appeared in the third century A.H.
(9th century A.D.). But it reached its consummation in the fifth
century A. H. (11th century A.D.), which is the first New Year
Day of ghazal.”25 Thus, To appreciate fully the delicacy of
Khusrau’s lyric poetry and its depths mystic mind and ecstatic soul
is required.
The Persian critics have found fault with the Indian style for
its excessive use of similes and metaphors, and an over abundance
of figurative words and constructions. Further, the writings of
Indian poets are criticised for being burdend with artificiality, and
verbosity, exaggeration and far-fetched ideas. However, Amir
Khusrau, as a member of Indian writers, may be an exception,
as he generally uses simple language to express himself.
Ghazal is the best form of Persian poetry, and Amir Khusrau,
without a doubt, is one of the best ghazal-writers in Persian
literature. The chief characteristics of ghazal are purity and simple
fluency, delicacy and fire, tenderness and elegance, love and life,
softness and refinement, rhythm and harmony, music and melody,
frenzy and a burning passion, which abound in the lyrics of Amir
Khusrau and thrill the minds and souls of readers. Major Sleeman
has correctly assessed the talent of the poet when he said that
Amir Khusrau “sang extempore to his lyre while the greatest and
fairest watched his lips to catch expressions as they came warm
from his soul.”26
Dr. Wahid Mirza dealing with Khusrau’s lyrics says, “Their
charm is vague and elusive, subtle and inexpressible ....Many of
his poems are full of fervent love, a fiery passion capable of both
exoteric as well as esoteric interpretation. This, coupled with their
peculiar melodiousness, has made his poems extremely popular
with the Sufis who listen to them with rapt attention from the lips
of the qawwals as their brethren did in the poet’s life-time.yet,
at the same time there are other poems in a gentler and more
A PERSIAN POET PAR EXCELLENCE 73

restrained vein, which fill our hearts with vague longings, tender
joy or a soft melancholy. Still others are boisterously joyful,
overflowing with the joys of physical love—the fair women, the
music, the wine, the flowers, the pleasant summer, the singing birds
and the flowing waters... the lyrics form the most important part
of Khusrau’s poetry and that his fame rests more upon their
excellence, than on anything else.”27 Prof. Habib pays an equally
rich tribute when he writes, “As a writer of ghazals Khusrau has
been equalled but not surpassed. His mind held in a happy proportion
the two elements required to produce lyric poetry of the highest
excellence——fine ear for music and a heart that feels and can
express its feelings.”28
Some of the ghazals and lyrical lines of Khusrau are given here
as specimens of his poetry. Some of these are still sung by the
qawwals :
Dilam dar ashiqi awareh shud awarah tar bada;
Tanam az bidili bichareh shud bichareh tar bada.
Gar aiy zahid duae khair migui mara in go,
Ki un awarae kuye butan awareh tar bada
Hameh guyand kaz khunkharyiyash khalqi bajan amad,
Man in guyam ki bahare jane man khunkhareh tar bada
My heart has become a wanderer in love. May it ever
remain a wanderer.
My life has been rendered extremely miserable by love.
May it grow more and more miserable.
O devotee! if you ever pray for me, kindly pray that the
wanderer in the street of the beautiful ever roam in the
same street.
Everyone is complaining that the people are fed up with
their lives on account of the cruelty of my beloved.
I would rather wish that my heart is subjected to still
greater cruelty.
Kafire Ishqam Musalmani mara dar Kar nist ;
Har rage jan tar gashteh hajate zunnar nist.
Khalq miguyad ke Khusrau but parasti mikunad;
Are are mikunaman be khalk mara kar nist.
74 AMIR KHUSRAU

Having embraced the infidelity of love, I need not remain

a Muslim ;
Every vein of my body has become a piece of thread, so
I can dispense with the Brahmanical thread.
People accuse Khusrau of being a worshipper of idol ;
Yes, I confess, I am, but I have nothing to do with others.

Khabaram rasid imshab ki nigar Khwahi amad ;

Scire man fidae rahi ki swar khwahi amad.
Hameh ahuwane sahra sare khud nihadeh dar kaf,
Baumide anki ruzi bashikarkhwahi amad.
Kashishi ki ishq darad naguzaradat badinsan ;
Bajanazh gar nayai bamazar khwahi mad.
Balabam rasideh janam tu duya ki zandeh manam ;
Pas az anki man namanam bache kar khwahi amad.
Bayak amdan rabudi dilu dinu jane Khusrau ;
Che shawad agar badinsan du se bar khawahi amad.
0 my beloved! I have got the news that you are going
to visit me tonight;
May I lay down my head on the path on which you will
come riding.
In the hope that some day you will set out on a hunting
expedition.
All the gazelles of the desert are eagerly looking forward
to die at your hands.
The magnetism of love will not leave you unmoved ;
If you do not attend my funeral, you will perforce come
to my grave.
I am in the agonies of death, pray come and save my life;
What purpose will it serve if you come when I am no
more?
By your one visit, you have robbed Khusrau of his heart
and faith and life ;
I wonder what is going to happen if you pay me a few
such visits more ?
Jan ze tan burdi wa dar jani hanuz ;
Dardha dadi wa darmani hanuz.
A PERSIAN POET PAR EXCELLENCE 75

Mulki dil Kardi Kharab az te ghe naz,

Wandarin wiraneh sultani hanuz.
Her du alam qimate khud guftai ;
Nirhh bala Kun hi arzani hanuz.
Jan ze bande kalbad azad gasht ;
Dil bagesue tu zindana hanuz.
Piriu shahid parasti na khush ast ;
Khusrawa ta kai parishani hanuz.
“Thou takest life out of our clay
And yet within our hearts doth live-
inflicting on us pang on pang
Doth yet a palliative give.
Thy flashing sword has laid all waste
The troubled garden of my heart ;
Yet what a glory to this wreck
The rays of Thy great throne impart!
“The two vain, empty worlds,” they say
“Is price that all must pay for Thee.”
Raise up the value, raise the cost.
This is too cheap-as all can see.
From this vain tenement of clay
My soul one day shall freedom find ;
And yet my heart for ever shall
Remain with Thy great love entwined.
Khusrau! Thy grey locks and old age
Sort not with love for idols young !
And yet for such a senseless quest
Thou hast thy soul for ever flung”.29
Bakhubi hamchu mah tabindeh bashi ;
Bamulke dilbari payindeh bashi.
Mane darwish ra kushti baghamzeh ;
Karam Kardi Ilahi zindeh bashi.
Jafa Kam Kun ki farda ruze Mahshar ;
Baruye ashiqan sharmindeh bashi
Ze qaide dujahan azad basham /
Agar tu hamnashine bandeh bashi
76 AMIR KHUSRAU

Julian suzi agar dar ghamzeh ai ;

Shakar rizi agar dar Khandeh Bus hi.
Barindiyu bashukhi hamchu Khusrau ;
llazaran Khanuman barkandeh bashi.
May your charming face ever shine like the full moon ;
May you hold eternal sway over the domains of beauty.
By your amorous glance you have killed a poor man like
me;
1 low magnanimous of you? May god give you a long life.
Pray do not be cruel lest you should feel ashamed of
yourself.
Before your lovers on the Day of Judgement.
1 shall be set free from the bonds of attachment with the
two worlds,
If you become my companion for a while.
If you indulge in coquetry, you will consume the whole
world ;
If you laugh, you will scatter sugar all around.
By your wanton playfulness you must have destroyed
Thousands of hearts and lovers like that of Khusrau.
Before I conclude I may add that the following ghazal attributed
to Amir Khusrau is one of the most fascinating pieces of lyrical
compositions and is on the lips of every qawwal, although it is
surprising that it could not be traced in any of the manuscript
copies of the works of the poet :
Nami danam chi manzil bud shab jai ki man budam ;
Bahar su raqse bismil bud shab jai ki man budam.
Pari paikor nigari sarw gaddi lala rukhsari ;
Sarapa afate dil bud shab jai ki man budam.
Khuda khud mire majlis bud andar lamakan Khusrau ;
Muhammad shame mahfil bud shab jai ki man budam.
I wonder what was the place where I spent last night.
All around me I saw only the half-slaughtered victims of
love tossing about in agony.
There was a nymph-like beloved with cypress-like form
and tulip-like face,
A PERSIAN POET PAR EXCELLENCE 77

Ruthlessly playing havoc with the hearts of the lovers.

O Khusrau ! God Himself was the master of ceremonies
in that court of Heaven,
Where (the face of) the Prophet himself was shedding
light like a candle.

REFERENCES

1. Mohammed Habib : Hazral Amir Khusrau of Delhi (p. 1) Aligarh Muslim

University, 1927.
2. M. A. Ghani : Pre-Mughal Persian in Hindustan (p.392), T he Allahabad
Law Journal Press, Allahabad, 1941.
3. l/azrat Amir Khusrau of Delhi, pp. 2-3.
4. Mohammed Wahid Mir/.a : The Life and Works of Amir Khusrau (p. 140),
The Baptist Mission Press, Calcutta, 1935.
5. Rev. Joel Waix Lai : An Introductory History of Persian Literature (pp.
154, 155), Atma Ram & Sons, Second Edition, Lahore.
6. Dr. RaxaZadeh Shafaq : Tarikh-i-Adahiyat-idran (pp 289-90), Chapkhanc-
i-Piruz.
7. Abid Hasan Faridi : An Introductory History of Persian Literature (pp.OH-
99), Ram Prasad Sc Brothers, Agra, 1928.
8. d. 791 ATI. (1389 A.D.)
9. Translation by Gertrude Bell.
10. The Life and Works of Amir Khusrau, p. 66.
1 1 Hazrat Amir Khusrau of Delhi, 8.
12. d. 725 A. H. (1325 A.D.)
13. The Life and Works of Amir Khusrau, p. 6
14. The Life and Works of Amir Khusrau, p. 115.
15. 1014-1037 A.H. (1605-1627 A.D.)
16. The Life and Works of Amir Khusrau, pp. I 16, 136.
17. The Life and Works of Amir Khusrau, p. 136.
18. The Life and Works of Amir Khusrau, p. 137.
19. Hazrat Amir Khusrau of Delhi, pp. 26, 38
20. The Life and Works of Amir Khusrau, p. 34.
21. The Life and Works of Amir Khusrau, p. 32.
22. S. Sabahuddin Abdur Rahman : Hindustan Amir Khusrau Ki Nazar Men
(p. 1), Maarif Press, Axamgarh, 1966.
23. d. 599 A.H. (1202-3 A.D.)
24. 817-898 A.H. (1414-1493 A.D.)
25. Shibli Nomani : Sherul Ajam (Vol. V. P. 31), Matha Karimi, Lahore, 1924
26. The Life and Works of Amir Khusrau, p. 35.
27. The Life and Works of Amir Khusrau, pp. 206, 207.
28. Hazrat Amir Khusrau of Delhi, P. 91.
29. Hazrat Amir Khusrau of Delhi, P. 94.
When I saw the features
Of that fairy-like beloved, I said to myself:
If I am captured in her trap, it will be
Through such a bait as this

O you who reproach me,

Do not threaten sensible people (like me) with disgrace:
For in her street, I’m going to be
Like drunk and heedless of anything!

fl&jjji (/to

I’m glad the day I see

Her lovely face
She charmingly minces
And I watch her from a distance.
 Persian Love Poetry of
Amir Khusrau
A.A. ANSAR1

P ride of place among Indian poets of Persian most likely goes

to Hazrat Amir Khusrau. He had inherited from his father,
Amir Saifuddin Mahmood, who was Turkish by birth, not only a
certain strong fibre of personality but also considerable amount of
vigour and initiative. He was a man of a wide-ranging curiosity
and had an insatiable thirst for life. He left the impress of his genius
on whatever genre of poetic art he experimented with. Judging
from the multiplicity of his interests it appears as if he orbited
through the entire range of human experience and emotions. He
was at one and the same time a poet, a courtier, a soldier, a sufi,
a musician and a lover. Very much as in the case of an Elizabethan
gentleman, all these irreconcilables were fused together into the
unity of his inner being.
His catholicity of temper is brought out in the many crisp and
witty observations attributed to him as well as in his tactful handling
of men. What is even more remarkable about him is the fact that
he was a man of very ardent and passionate nature. The
extraordinary warmth and exuberance of his soul flowed out in
his strong platonic love for Amir Najmuddin Hasan and his steadfast
devotion to Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. It was a relationship of rare
fidelity and one which was illumined with an ecstasy of the highest
order.
In this particular respect Amir Khusrau resembles the Urdu
poet Meer Taqi Meer who had been enjoined by his father to make
‘love’ his guiding-star in life. The true mystic always bums with
the longing to achieve union with the Infinite. One may only
80 AMIR KHUSRAU

surmise that Amir Khusrau regarded these two-Amir Hasan and

Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya-as the media through whom the ultimate
union with the Divine could be facilitated. His deep and passionate
attachment to them was a phenemenon of rare occurrence. The
ecstasy of love and devotion which distinguished his relationship
with both was the key for unlocking the baffling mysteries of inner
experience. With them he shared the rapture of the mystic in his
encounter with the Supernal Reality and the long-enduring bouts
of solitary contemplation. With both of them again he believed in
the supremacy and pervasiveness of love.
Browsing his nearly two thousand Persian love lyrics one may
be dismayed at first reading by their conventional tone and pattern.
These had been set by antiquity and seemed to be sacrosanct. But
repeated experience of these lyrics makes one realize that Amir
Khusrau had made certain variations on the age-old theme of love
and the agony and the rapture attending upon it. Unlike the Urdu
poet Bedil, Amir Khusrau lacks tortuosness and ingenuity. Such
subtleties, when pursued too far or too often, turn into blemishes
of the worst kind and defeat the basic purpose of communication.
Amir Khusrau’s Persian love lyrics have their own specific virtues
which contribute enormously to their effectiveness as conveyors
of feelings.
As pointed out earlier, Amir Khusrau’s personality was marked
by a certain degree of abandon and ecstasy. His lyrics show that
he has the remarkable gift of merging himself with the object of
his love and devotion. He has nothing rigid or stubborn about him-
nothing that makes him withhold himself or go only half-way to
meet the desired. What we may term as a trance-like condition
is evoked many a time in his love lyrics. This condition emerges
from the depths of his being and he is able to externalize it without
any sense of strain. Manifestly, it is bom of a total self-identification.
The following couplets, chosen from a number of ghazals, indicate
this particular aspect of his poetry :

For my night thy thought is enough!

What have I to do with the moon, my dear ?
PERSIAN LOVE POETRY OF AMIR KHUSRAU 81

Here I am, and the long, long night is here-

What have I to do with the mom?

I kiss thy door-step ; I do not follow

The tradition of lip-kissing :
Since I’m happy with this dust,
I must not care if sweets are missing.

I do not look
At those laughing lips for fear of life
My fate is to be hit by stones
What have I to do with the pearls (of teeth) ?

By her tall stature,

I’d turn into a cypress !
I’d turn into the dust
Of the musk-shedding pattern she is !

As a bondsman, upon Love I wait,

In homage to those who died in love,
I want to circumambulate
Their graves as long as I’m alive !

I hope, sometime, to have sight

Of thee to the fill :
How long with my eyes at thy door
I have to be waiting and waiting .

Because of the cruel faithlessness

Of sweethearts, I’ll go mad, and as regards my affections:
I’ll turn a stranger
To friends and relations !
82 AMIR KHUSRAU

When I saw the features

Of that fairy-like beloved, I said to myself :
If I am captured in her trap, it will be
Through such a bait as this

O you who reproach me,

Do not threaten sensible people (like me) with disgrace:
For in her street, I’m going to be
Like drunk and heedless of anything!

I’m glad the day I see

Her lovely face
She charmingly minces
And I watch her from a distance.

Because of her gentle stroll,

My heart has gone out of control.
The place she sets foot on-
That is the only place I see !

I have no heart, no patience,

No sense, no strength :
In such a condition, how can I have sight
Of that beauteous Face !
Amir Khusrau’s poetry, chiefly his lyrics, are uncomplicated by
subtlety of thought or of linguistic structure. His is a love, pure
and simple, and he is capable of expressing its nuances without
any attempt at elaboration or embellishment. We do not find in his
love lyrics any false note which almost always results from a
PERSIAN LOVE POETRY OF AMIR KHUSRAU 83

failure in the process of communication. When experience is

bodied forth in its naked simplicity—as Amir Khusrau succeeds
in doing—it helps him achieve a degree of spontaneity. He does
not tend to keep anything in reserve; he does not hide or suppress
his feelings in the interest of a supercilious sense of propriety. He
utters forth what he feels, he communicates what he must. This
helps him achieve a catharsis of emotions, and also lightens the
burden of feelings weighing heavily on him. Spontaniety in itself
is not a prime virtue ; but it does become a poetic asset when it
produces a sense of adequacy of tone. This occurs when there
is not only an impression of the genuineness of feelings but also
that of the rightness of the way in which feelings have been
expressed. This is brought out in the following verses :

Me and the Night : this sums up

The story of my life.
My Heart and Sorrow : this is all that can be said
As regards my happiness !

All the night long as I think of her

I suffer in silence, I drink, as it were,
My own heart’s blood : well, this would be
The red wine, if any red wine I would drink !

I turn the wakefulness of the night

Of separation into crying
If I entertain myself with any music :
My music is this.

In her love, I sometimes die,

Sometimes I live again ; this is
My way of life !
84 AMIR KHUSRAU

Come and look

My heart
My beloved comes
She comes to take
This sore life of mine !

She rides a horse, and behind her

Thousands of enamoured,
Restless
Lovers come

What dust has been purged out of their hearts

That from head to foot
Covered with dust
These lovers come !

I am killed with the fair Face

Of my Beloved !
In this life I have been made
Helpless !

Because of the woe that I could not tell of

To any one,
There are nights and nights
When I am woe-begone

Friends seek for rest and patience in me,

But I have no rest and patience in myself !
PERSIAN LOVE POETRY OF AMIR KHUSRAU 85

Some of the ghazals are marked by repeated queries. This

obviously both creates and reflects a sense of bewilderment and
surprise. One also gets the impression of some kind of naivety
which again is bom of an attitude of innocence. The poet as lover
is intrigued and fascinated; he is also at his wits’ end as to what
he should make of the beloved’s indifference or arrogance or his
pose of self-detachment. On his part there is hardly any attempt
at condemnation or reproof. At the most there is a gesture of
impatience but that never leads to recrimination. The lover feels
that he has never provided any excuse to justify the beloved’s
attitude. In other words, he has not in any way deserved the
contempt or harshness that has been poured on him. He has, on
the contrary, been all humility and submission. There has been no
show of self-assertion on his part, for that runs counter to the
traditional attitude of the lover in Oriental love poetry.
This attitude was also characteristic of the lover in the poetry
of the French troubadours. All this underwent a change when the
then existing conventions were replaced by an alternative set of
values under the strain and stress of the social structure. But in
the Oriental love-poetry by and large, including that of Amir
Khusrau, no reversal of the prevalent trend was necessitated.
What has been designated as a series of queries in some of the
ghazals has no far-reaching philosophical implications. It is only
a poetic mode of expression aimed at understanding a particular
aspect of love relationship. The following couplets may be cited
as a case in point :

O God, how goes inside the rent heart

Of that laughing Rose !
How goes with my bright Moon
In the night of separation!

Like Jacob, I’m blinded with crying:

Will no one tell me
How my lost Joseph
In prison is ?
86 AMIR KHUSRAU

(J\ t'T-''JJu'j*' J1 lOjjs'I f cf^'s. J&Lf'JC/

Separated from her
In the prison of sorrow
Here I lie in the dust
Away from me
In the wilderness
There
How is she?

It was a pearl that dropped from my eye

To roll in the dust !
How about that rolling pearl
In case of which :
The eye itself
Had turned into dust!

I call her moon, but my Moon

Does not speak to me!
I call her rose, but for me
My Rose has
No pearly smile !

How can her eyes reflect any sympathy

With my night-long wakefulness ?
For she herself knows of nothing
In the night, except sleeping.

Shall I say, no one

Tells of my condition
To her there ? Well,
I know the breeze knows it, but
PERSIAN LOVE POETRY OF AMIR KHUSRAU 87

It does not know

How to tell !

</f jjjJ U'

Why does my heart again go after

That cruel-natured beloved ?
Why does this bleeding heart
Go out again into her street ?

? Juj\

My cypress-tall beloved
Takes walk in the garden-
Look out for what may happen
To the fragrant rose !

The whole world has been stricken

With her Face. Now, to see
Her Face
Why should all the people go mad ?

His lips were delightfully refreshed, even if

The Water of Life was not there.
Why should our Khizr again go
To the bank of that stream ?

Amir Khusrau is enchanted by the beauty of the physical world

around him though he is merely contented with highlighting it with
the magic of his verbal art. He gives the impression of responding
to it with all the wealth of sensuous details. It is not a matter of
following a particular convention and thus evoking the beauty of
Nature in a perfunctory way. He rather tries to communicate his
full responsiveness to the plenitude of the physical world in a fresh
and original way. More often than not he also endeavours to project
human reactions in terms of a reference to the physical world. The
88 AMIR KHUSRAU

portrayal of human feelings and emotions thus gains in depth and

significance. Not only does it become articulate and intelligible but
it also becomes more attractive. Following are some of the instances
of this process of distancing which is aesthetically satisfying :

Tonight, the rose-like beloved of mine

(Has been with me all the night and)
Has risen intoxicated at the end of the night only :
So let us set
The cups of tulip-red wine
To grace our assembly
• •

To verdure lies on this

Side, on the other, towards the right
Stands
The cypress.

—' \*\Jj > Oi i c*

The breeze went by

(And the eye of) the narcissus
Being drowsy
Drooped down and popped up
In every direction
(To see) !

is. i AtIS'Ao'
I was asleep in the garden
Till the beloved glided towards me like a fish,
And 1 became restless
Absolutely.

The rose has bloomed freshly but the fragrance

Of my Spring
PERSIAN LOVE POETRY OF AMIR KHUSRAU 89

Is missing
What can I do about the breeze
If it does not come from my beloved.

Why does not my heart, like a rose-bud.

Rend in a hundred places ?
The breeze has come, but the fragrance
Of my beloved
Has not come !

My rival, if thou hast the sight

Of the sweetheart,
Take joy in thy spring ;
For my spring
Has not come to me !

> U(/y L/V 'xV U 's? I

All my life I have been thirsty
For the Water of Life : but Except
The salt water of my eyes,
No water could I have !

lj (Jbhi/S L J r' tM ^

The lawn with its verdure

Marked the dawn on the beautiful Face;
In the garden, the cypress measured
The tall stature
Of the Beloved.

'>fs Ij/c>

Deck thy garden with fragrance and colour;

In the comer of the garden,
Set
Blue pansies.
90 AMIR KHUSRAU

Watch the spring in the way

Of the would-be visitors to the garden;
Since for many miles the (waiting) eyes
Of the narcissus flowers
Lie on the garden ground.

The singing nightingales

Rushed to the cups of the tulip flowers
Sometimes they sang lightly, sometimes heavily.

Amir Khusrau has not only the knack of compressing the initial
experience within the limited compass of the lyric but also of giving
the impression of artlessness. Some of his ghazals seem to
conform strictly to the definition of this particular genre as
something direct and simple characterised by single, though
intense, emotions. They are neither intricate nor embody
experience of a many-faceted character. Their effectiveness as
literary artifacts lies in their verbal texture, their elegance and
rhythmical harmony. The narrowness of range which is a
necessary corollary does not in any way inhibit the evocativeness
of such a lyric. On the contrary, it is easily apprehended in a single
sweep of receptivity. It thus sticks in one’s memory and becomes
a permanent possession :

The line that came

Near the delineation of her Features
Would undoubtedly be,
A line unparalleled !

The cypress that resembles

Thy tall stature :
Has just the right stature for anything.
PERSIAN LOVE POETRY OF AMIR KHUSRAU 91

'dfdbzfj'jfj J*
When thou tellest me
Of thy condition, dost those know
What my condition might be ?

{'''ft

I’ll never have the thought

Of going to bed,
Unless her thought
Is in my head !

Thou art my only Beloved : another one

Will never come to take Thy place
For never, never will there be
A person more beautiful than Thee !

The jasmine cannot have

The colour
Of thy face,
Near the taste of thy lips
Sugar
Cannot come.

The day thou dost not rise

From sleep-
On that day
The Sun does not rise !

The dust of thy doorstep

Is just the right things to apply
If Surma does not show
Its beauty in the eye !
02 AMIR KHUSRAU

The rose does not have the colour

Of my beloved;
It does not have the sweet smell
That my beloved has.

Here we are, and we are

In an obscure country :
In our country.
Nobody likes to be !

jJj* OL*r cf*c/ •

Do not talk to me
Of the jasmine : it does not have
The fragrance
Of my spring !

Do not speak praises

Of the garden-lawn to me:
It does not have the patterns
Of my beloved’s beauty !

f cT/ O l

Anybody who has an amber-coloured mole-

If she minces too:
She becomes
A sweetheart.

J&l 10*7 U CSj

Thy Face is a harvest

Of roses: for this reason
The halo of the moon
Is the gleaner !
PERSIAN LOVE POETRY OF AMIR KHUSRAU 93

l {jljL

It is heard
That a lover’s assembly
Is full
Of sighs fiery !

Before thy bright Face,

The face of the Sun himself
Would lie low in the dust !
fibsLJe?1 />U>' ^

I cannot reach my hands

To my beloved
Now have I the patience
To wait

(Jjj fcj; l?jfj1 4 (/s, jj

Every torment
That comes to me from you
Come
From the vicissitudes of times.

* * » *«

This sore heart, frail

Like a flimsy hair,
I bear
In the memory
Of thy lock of hair !

fjljjVM i file*/) v
Since I have suffered
The sorrows of thy love,
The sorrows of the world are
Like thorns to me !
Several of these ghazals stand out as wholly exquisite pieces
of art. They seem to offer a perfect fusion between the experience
94 AMIR KHUSRAU

communicated and the syntactical pattern provided for it. They

bear upon them the impress of Amir Khusrau’s personality-
sensitive, emotionally high-stung and deeply absorbed in itself. It
has also a certain degree of tenderness and elegance about it.
Mellowness is what really sums up the dominant trait of his
personality.
Amir Khusrau’s output is indeed enormous and there may be a
few lyrics interspersed here and there which do not seem to vibrate
with genuine feeling and thus create the impression of being pretty
dull and insipid. But by and large they seem to spring out of a fulness
of heart and he makes no attempt to achieve consciously poetic
effects. He sings, as the birds do, that is, under the compulsion of an
inner urge. Nothing is forced, pretentious or false, but everything
seems to be in its right place. Amir Khusrau offers contrast to poets
like Urfi or Bedil; he reminds us rather of Hafiz, Naziri and Sa cdi.
His ghazals are pure gems of feeling, unalloyed with anything that
might contaminate their purity, and they have a lilt and a music in
them which is most persuasive. It would only be fair to conclude this
account of Amir Khusrau ’ s achievement by quoting a few fragments
from some of his outstandingly evocative ghazals :

Let my heart which is a wanderer

In love be a greater wanderer :
Let my body which is wretched sore
Because of this heart of mine
Be wretched sore all the more !

Thy face has a novel beauty-

More novel I would like to be :
For my death ! Thy heart is flinty—
Let it be all the more flinty : for killing me !
PERSIAN LOVE POETRY OF AMIR KHUSRAU 95

Devout puritan, if to wish me well

Is thy will :
Wish that I who am a wanderer in the ways of Love
Be a greater wanderer still.

Since Khusrau is used to keeping

His dress-border wet with weeping :
With the holy water of tears, let
His dress-border be always wet.

I have a head for which there isn’t

Any house. I have a heartache
For which
There is
No remedy.
Eyes are there that keep
Waiting for me :
Without having
Even a vexed sleep!

I have made the day wait upon me

Because
I have a night which is
Never-ending !

The innocent early

Dawn on the cheeks; the chastely
Simple lips—
(How to define this beauty!
I should think)
This is a matter.
96 AMIR KHUSRAU

That goes better

Without a title !

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Happy is the moment when

The eager lover
Meets the Beloved: when
The one who desires meets
The Desired One
The dust in the eye no dust
For the eye can be
Should it come from
The feet
Of the Loved One
The bliss of Union
Only that lover knows
Who reaches the Loved One
From a distance tremendous
The worth of the Rose
Nobody knows
Except the Caged Bird
Having suffered the Fall
Is visited by the Spring.

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PERSIAN LOVE POETRY OF AMIR KHUSRAU 97

All the desolate places are

By the Moon lit up
why is my heart
Desolate
By the Moon
Let the morning break now
Because of the Moon
Since the Sun has hidden himself
Because of
The Moon’s
Splendour.

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4

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t-j LfS ('JJui'ur-’jt

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tjl lAJL/A'Jj*

Happy is the day when I was

In my Beloved’s company
That time was a time
Of happiness when we were together

My body was tom

In a hundred places
Flower-like
I rolled in the dust
Because of the enchantment that Spring had come to me.

I don’t like to leave

This Place
I like to be here because
Here
I had a Friend
Once.
Gori soey sej par, mukh par dare kes
Chal Khusro ghar aapne, rain bhaee chaon desk
(The fair woman sleeps on the bed, with hair covering her
face. O Khusrau go to your home. It is night all over.)
Khusro rain suhag ki, jaagi pi ke sang
tan mera, man piu ka, do bhaey ek rang.
(On the first night of meeting, I woke whole night
My body, the mind of the lover, the two in one colour)
Sajan sakare jaaenge, nain marenge roey
badhya aisi rain kar, bhor kadi na hoey.
(Lover is going away in the morning, eyes will die
weeping O, make the night so long that there be no morn.
 Amir Khusrau’s Hindi Poetry
PRABHAKAR MACHWE

hile I tried to cull material for this paper from various

VV sources, I was surprised by the mis-statements and
misunderstandings perpetrated by literary critics and historians on
Amir Khusrau’s Hindi writings. I will give a few examples :
Dr. Ram Babu Saksena in his A History of Urdu Literature
writes about ‘Khusru, the earliest Urdu poet’—
“He was the first to write a verse in Urdu. He wrote the
first Urdu ghazal but it was a hybrid composition, one
hemistich being Persian and the other Urdu. The metre
was, however, Persian. He is the inventor of many riddles,
rhymes, enigmas and punning verses, which are still popular.
These verses though they employ Hindi words are scanned
according to Sanskrit prosody and can scarcely be regarded
as Urdu verses though Persian words are found here
there.” (p.10; first edition 1927; second 1940).

Dr. Sadiq-ur-Rahman Kidwai in his thesis Gilchrist and the

Language of Hindoostan says on p.79 :
“Before Gilchrist, there was an absolute lack of any material
which could be used by the beginners of Urdu. When
Gilchrist had started learning the language and was in
search of such books, he was shocked at the apathy of
the people towards their own tongue.
“My coadjutors at last produced a Tom Thumb performance,
called from its ritual word, the Khaliq Baree, which they
dignified with the title of vocabulary, though on inspection
I discovered only the shrivelled summary of an old meagre
school glossary, handed down since the time of Khoosro
100 AMIR KHUSRAU

the poet about the year 1300, and like the Tohfutool-Hind,
explanatory of the ancient Hinduwee alone.” (Gilchrist,
Appendix pp. vi-viii).

But the same Khusrau was held by Ghalib as the best Indian
poet of Persian. On Hali’s testimony -“But except for Amir
Khusrau Ghalib did not hold any Indian poet of Persian in esteem.
In one of his letters he writes, “Among the Indians, except for
Khusrau of Delhi there is no established master. Faizi’s poetry is
all right in parts.” .“On one occasion when the court was
assembled the conversation turned on the close relations that had
existed between Nizamuddin and Amir Khusrau. Ghalib at once
composed and recited the following verse :
Two holy guides; two suppliants. In this
God’s power we see.
Nizamuddin had Khusrau : Sirajuddin has me.”
On July 7, 1865 Ghalib wrote in a letter to ‘Bekhabar’- “I have
written a ghazal in the same metre and rhyme as one of Khusrau’s.”
Syed Abdul Wahid praises Khusrau in his work on Iqbal (Lahore,
1944) : “The lyrical poetry in Urdu and Persian may comprise
ghazals, qasidas and qit’as. But the truly lyrical poetry in Urdu and
Persian consists of a special type of ghazal and described as the
ghazal-i-musalsal. This is really a ghazal, which possesses unity
of theme. Sa’di was the first great poet in Persian to try his hand
on it. Khusrau, one of the greatest Persian poets bom in India,
excelled in writing ghazal-i-musalsal” (pp. 186-87).
Turning to Hindi sources I found many contradictory statements.
The late Dr. Ram Dhan Singh ‘Dinkar’, a nationalist poet of Hindi,
paid his tribute to Khusrau m-one of his essays Hindi Sahitya men
Nigam-dhara in his Sahityamukhi (Udayachal, Patna, 1968)- “It
is worth remembering that this stream of unity was not only from
Hindus, but Muslim poets and saints contributed, without any
prejudice, to it. Amir Khusro is considered the father of both Khari
Boh Hindi and Urdu. In reality he was the pioneer in this movement
of unity. In his Persian masnavi Nuh-Sipihr he calls India as his
land of birth and praises her. Quoting the Prophet, Khusro said
AMIR KHUSRAU’S HINDI POETRY 101

that the love of one’s country is a part of his love of religion.

Pnthviraj was defeated in 1192 A.D. Amir Khusro was bom in
1253 A.D. It means only after 61 years of the establishment of
Islamic rule in India was bom that Musalman in India, who was
the first great Nationalist Muslim.” (p. 151).
Even a Pakistani literary critic, Prof. Abulais Siddiqi of Karachi
University opined, “I would also like to clarify the misunderstanmg
about treating Urdu as an Islamic language. It is true that Urdu,
after Arabic and Persian, contains a more comprehensive and vast
Islamic literature than many other languages spoken by Muslims
all over the world, yet in its nature and development, it is definitely
indigenous in character. It was unfortunate that the problem of
language got mixed up with political issues, which has done more
harm than good to the cause of Urdu.” (p. 204; Literary History
and Literary Criticism, Act of the Ninth Congress of the
International Federation for Modem Languages and Literature,
New York University Press, 1965).
But standard Hindi reference works on literature have many
contradictory statements, for example :
(1) In the Hindi Sahitya Ka Brihat Itihas; Volume IV published
by the Nagari Pracharini Sabha, Varanasi and edited by
Pandit Parashuram Chaturvedi the following statements are
made by different authors :
(a) On page 44- “Some famous saints of this sect of
Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti are give below .Amir
Khusro was one of them.”
(b) On page 74-75- “He created synthesis of Iranian and
Indian music styles and invented ‘Sitar’.”
(c) On page 84- “Amir Khusro enriched Persian literature
by composing many Sufi books of poetry. He gave
special attention to referring to things Indian which
other Indian Persian poets did not do.”
(d) In the footnote on page 85- “Amir Khusro refers to
three ‘diwans’ in Arabic, Persian and Hmdvi by one
Masud, whose full name was Masud Sad Salman.”
102 AMIR KHUSRAU

(e) On page 92- “Sufi poets in Dakhni did not follow

Persian poets like Amir Khusro.”
(f) On page 298- “Amongst the Persian poets Amir Khusro
needs special mention (651-726 A.H.) (1253-1325 A.D.).
It is difficult to say how far Hindi Sufi poets received
inspiration from Amir Khusro. It is doubtful if Hindi
Sufi poets have been influenced by Amir Khusro. Khusro
takes his ideas, language, images - everything from
Persian literature and its traditions. The atmosphere of
Hindi Sufi literature is entirely different from Khusro’s
literature.”
(g) On page 299- “In Nuh Sipihr there are nine centres
like nine skies. In each canto a new metre is used. In
this work Khusro praises India very enthusiastically.”
Giving the same quotation which ‘Dinkar’ has given
above, this note continues, “He has described in detail
the flowers, the fruits, plants, weather, wisdom and
scientific knowledge of India and tries to understand
Hindu customs and ways of living.”
(h) On page 321- “Amir Khusro was with Alauddin in the
battle of Chittor, but he has nowhere mentioned Padmini,
nor has referred that the battle was because of her”
(Khusro’s Tarikh-i-Allai).
(i) On page 358- “About Khusro’s Hindi works, it is
surmised that they were probably written by another
Khusro, who may be in Shahjahan’s times.”
In the Hindi Sahitya Kosh, Part II, published by Bharatiya
Hindi Panshad, Allahabad, on page 119 there is a note on Amir
Khusro by Matabadal Jaiswal which says among other things
-“He was bom in 1254 A.D. in Lachan Caste of Turks. His father
died when he was seven.He returned to Delhi after getting
Sultan Muhammad’s (Balban’s eldest son’s) invitation. He went
on war front with this Sultan who died; Khusro was taken as a
war prisoner. He has written a ‘marsiya’ on this. He saw three
Afghan dynasties of Ghulam, Khalji and Tughlaqs and the rise and
fall of eleven Sultans."
AMIR KHUSRAU’S HINDI POETRY 103

In the Hindi Vishwa Kosh (Hindi Encyclopaedia) Part I,

published by the Nagari Pracharini Sabha in 1960, on p. 199, Amir
Khusro’s year of birth is given to be 1253 A.D., and it is said that
his father died when he was ten year old. “In 1324 he went with
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq on an invasion of Bengal.” It also mentions
that “he wrote a diwan in Hindi. Unfortunately no standard authentic
collection of Amir Khusro’s poetry is available in Hindi.”
I have deliberately kept the different spellings of his name and
varying facts given in various books. If the so-called reference
books themselves are so vague and varied in their guidance, what
can be said of ordinary books? In the entry in this Encyclopaedia
in Hindi, a list of seven books is given as bibliographical base
including Bami’s Tarikh-Feruzshahi Mirkhurd, Shibli’s Syasul-
auliya, Syed Ahmed Mehrawardi’s Hayati Khusrau (Lahore,
1909), M. Habib’s Hazrat Amir Khusro of Delhi (Bombay, 1927)
and Wahid Mirza’s Life and Times of Amir Khusru (Calcutta,
1935).
Khusrau’s Hindi poetry is divided in several sections. The first
is ‘Riddles’ or Paheliyan. Some examples which could be
translated are given below. Invariably each of the riddle
contains in the form of pun or double meaning, its solution also.
I give below the Romanized version of the original with a rough
English translation; in the bracket at the end of each is the solution
of the riddle.
His favourite subject is lamp or Diya Paheli :

Bala tha jab sab ko bhaya

Barha hua Kachhu Kam na ay a
Khusrau Kah diya iska naon
Arth Karo ya chhodo gaon
(Diya)
When young was liked by all
When grown up was of use to none
Khusrau says his name lightly
Find out the meaning or leave the town
(Lamp)
104 AMIR KHUSRAU

Jab kato tab hi bar he, bin kate kumhilay

Aisi adbhut nar ka ant na payo jay
(Dipshikha)
When you cut it, it shines, if you do not
cut it it smoulders
Of such a wonderful woman one cannot
find the end
(Wick of a lamp)
Mukariyan
Sari rain more sang jaga
Bhor bhaye tab bichhuran laga
Wake bichhurat phate hiya
Ai sakhi sajan na sakhi diya

The whole night he woke with me

When it was morning he bid adieu
With his departure the heart is broken
O maiden ! was it your lover
no it was the lamp.

Paheli :
Ek Raja Ki anokhi Rani
Neeche se vah peeve pani
(Diya ki batti)
A king had a strange queen
She drank water from below
(Wick of a lamp)

His other favourite subject was ‘A mirror’. There are many

riddles and double-meaningful utterances about it.
(1) Farasi boli ai na
Turki dhundi pai na
Hindi boli arsi aye
Khusro kahe koi na bataye
(Arsi)
Did not know any Persian (In Persian it is called Aaina)
In Turkish I searched but did not find
AMIR KHUSRAU’S HINDI POETRY 105

In Hindi tongue one feels peculiar

Khusrau says, none can tell
(Mirror)
Some songs, of which only rough translations are possible :
Asthai:
Sagan bin phool rahi sarson - Ambva phoote,
tesu phoole, koel bole daar daar, aur gori
karat singar - malania gudva le aayi karson
(It is spring. Mustard blossoming. Mangoes flowering,
palash blooming. Cuckoo singing on every branch. The
fair damsel decorating herself. Gardener-woman brought
bouquets.)
Antra :
Tarah Tarah ke phool lagaaye, le gudva hathan
men aaye-
Nijamuddin ke darvajje par, aavan kah gaye aashaq
rang aur beet gaye barson
(Different kinds of flowers were planted. Now bouquets
are in hand. At Nijamuddin’s door, the tryst was promised
but years rolled away)
Khaliqebari
1. Ze haale miskeen makun taghaful, darae mainan
banaye batiyan
ke taabe hijraan na daaram eh dil, na lehu kahe
lagayye chatiyan
(It is in mixed Persian and Braj bhasha)
2. Khaliq Baari sarjan haar
Wahid ek bada kartaar
Rasool paighambar jaan baseeth
yaar dost boli jaeeth
Khaliq ek Khuda ka naon
garmi hai dhoop, saaya hai chaon.
RANG :
Asthai
Aaj rang hai-eh maan rang hai-
morey mehboob ke ghar rang hai-
106 AMIR KHUSRAU

sajan mila vara-sajan mila vara-

morey ghar aaj rang hai-aaj rang hai
(Today is the Festival of Colours. Colour at my lover’s
home. Let me meet the lover.)
Antra :
Mohe peer paiyo Nijamuddin Aulia-
Nijamuddin Aulia-Nijamuddin Aulia-
eh maan rang hai-Nijamuddin Aulia
jag ujiyara-jag ujiyara voh to jag
ujiyara—eh maan rang hai-aaj
rang hai-maan rang hai.
(O Nizamuddin Auliya, please be kind to me. The whole
world has brightened. Colour in all directions. Today is the
day of Colours).
QAUL :
1. Man kunto maulah-Faaliu maulah—
Dratil dratil dar daani—ham tome ta
na na na-ta na na na re-valali yalaii yala
yaala re-mankunto maulah—
(It is more onomatopoeic).
Asihai :
2. Hayya ya dir tala laye—Hasan-o-
Nijamuddin Aulia—dem dem dir dir
dir tane taan tale ta—nana nana nana
Antra :
Fa ’aenama tavallau fa'samma vajhullah
dir turn dir turn tome tome taan na na
na dir de tale tale dra janam deem deem
dir dir dir tale taan tale na na na.
DOHA :
1. Gori soey sej par, mukh par daro kes
Chal Khusro ghar aapne, rain bhaee chaon desh
(The fair woman sleeps on the bed, with hair covering her
face. O Khusrau go to your home. It is night all over.)
2. Khusro rain suhag ki, jaagi pi ke sang
tan mera, man pin ka, do bhaey ek rang.
AMIR KHUSRAU’S HINDI POETRY 107

(On the first night of meeting, I woke whole night

My body, the mind of the lover, the two in one colour)
3. Sajan sakare jaaenge, nain marenge roey
badhya aisi rain kar, bhor kadi na hoey.
(Lover is going away in the morning, eyes will die weeping
O, make the night so long that there be no mom.)
DO SUKHANE : (Linguistic puns, untranslatable)
1. Brahman Gadha udasa kyon ? = Lota na tha
pyasa kyon ?
2. Gosht kyon Dome kyon na gaya ? = Gala na tha
na khaya ?
3. Joota kyon Samosa kyon na khaya? = Tala na tha
na pahena ?
4. Annar kyon Vazir kyon na rakha ? = Daana na tha
na chakha ?
5. Paan sada Ghoda ada kyon ? = Phera na tha
kyon ?

CHEESTAN :
1. Sab koi usko jane hai-par ek nahin
pehchane hai-aath dhadi man likkha hai—
fikr hai ke undekha hai-(Answer : Allah-God).
2. Us naari ka ek hi nar-basti bahar va ka ghar—
peeth sakht aur peth narm—munh meetha
taseer garm- (Answer : watermelon)
DHAKOSLA :
Bhadon ki phali, chaun chaun paid kapas
bi mehtrani daal pakaogi, ya manga so rahoon
CHUTKULE :
1. A medicine for eyes :
Lavadh phitkari, murda sankh—haldi,
zeera , ek ek tang—afune chana bhar,
mirchen chaar—urad barabar thotha daar.
108 AMIR KHUSRAU

2. A medicine for teeth :

Tirkata tirphala teenon noan patang
daant bajar hojaat hain, maan jho phal he sang

TUK BANDI : (Absurd verses)

Kheer pakaai jatan se, Charkha diya jala,
Kutta aaya klia gaya, tu baithi dhol baja
la paani pila
Examples of his contribution to music :
GEET :
(1) Bahot kathin hai dagar panghat ki
kaise main bhar laoon madhva se matki
morey achchey Nijam piya—kaise main bhar
laoon madhva se matki—Jara bolo Nijam
piya—paniya bharan ko main jo gayee thi
daur jhapat mori matki patki—bahot kathin hai
Khusrau Nijam ke bal bal jaaiye—laaj rakho
morey ghunghat pat ki.
(2) Amina mere baba ko bhejoji—ke sawan aaya,
Beti tera baba to buddhari—ke sawan aaya,
Amma mere bhaiya ko bhejoji—ke sawan aaya,
Beti tera bhaiya to baalari—ke sawan aaya,
Amma mere mamoon ko bhejoji—ke sawan aaya,
Beti tera mamoon to baankari—ke sawan aaya,
(3) Kahe ko biyahi bides re—lakhi babul morey.
Bhaiyon ko dino mahal do mahle, ham ko diya
pardes re—lakhi babul morey.
Ham torey babul bele ki kaliyan, ghar ghar
maangi jaaye re—lakhi babul morey
Doli ka par da utha kar jo dekha, aaya par ay a des
re lakhi babul morey.
Amir Khusro yun kahen tera dhan dhan bhag suhag
re lakhi babul morey.
In short, Khusrau contributed to poetry in peoples’ language.
This was the tradition which made it possible in Urdu for nazir,
AMIR KHUSRAU’S HINDI POETRY 109

Hali, Akbar or Firaq to write in a simple, colloquial language.

Wordsworth maintained that the language of poetry should be as
near to prose as possible. Khusrau gave to Hindi its first Khari
Boli compositions. It was his tradition which was followed by
Rahim or Girdhar or all the poets in Khari Boli in 19th and 20th
century upto Maithilisharan Gupta and Bachchan. Had he not been
there we could not have seen Balkrishna Sharma ‘Nam’ or ‘Suman’
mixing modem Hindi with words from dialects and from what
Rambilas Sharma called Bhades (rustic) language.
The first page of'Shirin wa Khusrau” of Amir Khusrau. Reportedly
the oldest manuscript in India, it is dated 830 AM. (1426 A. D.)

Courtesy: Kutub Khana Madarassa Mohammadi, Madras.

 An Accomplished Critic
(A study based on the Dibacha-i-Ghurratu’l-Kamal)
NAZIR AHMAD

mir Khusrau’s preface to his third diwan called Ghurratu’l-

ZlJCamal is an exposition of his accomplishments as a critic of
Persian poetry. He has expressed his view about poetry in general
as well as his own poetic excellence along with various allied
matters. The poet starts with the thesis that speech (£) is the
distinguishing feature of human beings. This lengthy discussion
covering eight pages of the preface is similar to that available in
any book of ethical philosophy. This is followed by Khusrau’s
admiration of poetry and the high place it occupies in the realm
of literature and science. This is an useful discussion which shows
the critical abilities of a man who was himself a poet and writer
of the highest order. And perhaps it is the earliest example of
literary criticism available in Persian literature, and I shall make
an attempt to examine his views in a critical manner.
Khusrau observes that speech which occupies such a lofty
position and which is the most distinctive feature of human being,
may be both in prose and poetry. But prose is very common and
hackneyed while poetry is lofty and sublime. Poetry is superior to
prose in the same manner as human beings are superior to animals.
Though prose possesses some good qualities such as pleasant
words and excellence, it does not possess that sweetness agreeable
to each heart and tongue. Often prose is intermixed with poetry
which adorns the former as does a gem in a ring of gold. But the
same is not true to prose because poetry is neve embellished by
intermixing prose. The difference between prose and poetry is in
the same proportion as a jewel strung in a thread and that with
a broken thread. So long as jewel is strung it is an adornment for
112 AMIR KHUSRAU

the ear, neck and head of a bride as well as for the crown of a
king but as soon as its string is tom asunder, it is thrown in dust
and is liable to be trampled down under the feet of the passers-
by. This is why poetry is called “y/j/" (balanced) and prose uujj/V
(unbalanced); likewise the former is termed as (correct) and
the latter as (shallow). Poetry when broken becomes prose
but the vice-versa is not correct.
“Poetry is a gold weighed in the scale of wisdom and a treasure
put in the comer of each line ('C-^); it is a lofty edifice so well
adjusted and balanced that if a letter is added to its pillars (parts)
it may fall down. How excellent are the divers of the seas of poetry
who having dug the earth of nature have constructed such a swift
flowing and shining canal as will remain full of water till eternity.”
“The cloud cannot boast of its pearls before the gem of poetry;
the sun cannot take pride in its full moon in the face of the brilliance
of poetry.”
“Poetry is a heart-solacer of lovers (J»_^U), intimate friend
of divine-seekers, consolation of the heart of truth seekers, an ingot
for the com of scholars, comfort-giver to the heart of grief strikers,
the soul-reviver of extemees, the exhilator of the mind of the
sorrowful, and the knot-looser from the forehead of all and sundry.”
“What is prose?—Talked about by each lip and tongue, produced
by the mouths of ordinary and extraordinary men—a book pages
dispersed, an account not to be adjustable, a horse having no speed,
a rein broken dromedary; in the laws of binding together its action
is confused, and in the scale of holding fast together its discourse
is unbalanced. So long as it does not enlist the support of poetry
it has no attraction and so far as it is not intermixed with poetry
(poem) it produces no effect. The bride of prose devoid of poetic
adornment is likely to lose its charm."
One of the points in favour of poetry is that it enhances the
charm of music, in so much as melody without poetry has little
attraction.
Amir Khusrau continues his argument pleading the case of
poetry by comparing it with knowledge (^). He claims that poetry
based on knowledge has more charm. But knowledge itself is not
AN ACCOMPLISHED CRITIC 113

so popular as poetry and a scholar is less known than a poet. This

is why people who have nothing to do with scholarship are attracted
by poetry. Although it may not be always correct to prefer poetry
to knowledge and scholarship, yet the former is certainly preferable
in regard to popularity. We have a good number of poets who were
scholars but their scholarship is subordinated, though they themselves
assigned lower status to poetry. Of this class Khusrau quotes four
Persian poets, two ancient, two modem viz. Raziud-din Nishapuri1
and Zahirud-din Faryabi2 (ancient), Shihabud-din Mahmara3 and
Bahaud-din Bukhari4 (modem).
Then the poet quotes a qita in which he tries to plead the cause
of poetry forcefully. He says knowledge obtained by repetition is
like a large vessel of water which would be empty if ten buckets
are drawn out of it. But the temperament of a poet is like a flowing
stream whose flow becomes swifter if hundred buckets are drawn
out. To Khusrau a real poet is better than a cross-tempered
scholar. A few lines are:

It may be frankly admitted that despite the fact that Khusrau tried
to make out the case of poetry, he could only succeed in giving
preference to poets over the hackneyed scholars. The genuine and
original scholars may not be placed lower than the poets.
Khusrau continues his argument in regard to the preference of
poetry by citing Hadis and verses from the Quran. The words ^
and have the same meaning as may be inferred from the
following verse: (They do not understand). The term
may be replaced by The Prophet had several
Hadis in this regard:
114 AMIR KHUSRAU

" Zfcjb&ctr (philosophy or wisdom is part of poetry).

fy ” (philosophy is a branch of poetry,
narration is that of magic). At one place the Prophet calls poetry
a root and philosophy a branch; while in the Quran philosophy or
knowledge has been called a virtue:
(One who has been bestowed with knowledge, has been granted
much virtue and goodness). Amir Khusrau concludes that as in
the Tradition philosophy has been called a branch of verse and not
the vice-versa, the status of poetry is higher than that ofphilosphy
and the latter is contained in the former. This is why a poet is called
a philosopher but the vice-versa is not true. Similarly narration or
eloquence is called a part of magic and not the latter a part of
the former. So poetry may be called magic but not the vice versa.
Thus the poet may be called magician but a magician cannot be
called a poet.
Then Khusrau tried to remove a suspicion. The Quran6 says,
"We have not taught him poetry." This was because if such a thing
had not been revealed the Arab infidels would have strung the best
gem of the mine of creation into the string of the false poets basing
the argument on the saying,7 "The best poets are most liar." The
infidels must have gone even to attribute the Quran to be the
creation of the Prophet for they have declared that being a
transposition of ^ is based on it. But the fact is in the (poetry)
itself there is no inherent defect. The position of poetry may well
be judged by the following saying the Prophet8:
"If the Revelations were to be had on any class other than the
Prophets, they would have been on the Poets and the Eloquents."
Khusrau continues that the Quran has been revealed in versified
from and all the poetical artificies are contained in the holy book.
At some places in it one may come across an actual line or a
hemistich.
One such example9 is:
/uyoi&iPU/&'j t
s

Another example10 is:

AN ACCOMPLISHED CRITIC 115

However it is an example of versified from Q/>) and not of

poetry (^) and it is this form which facilitates the task of the
memorisers (j;^) to memorise the whole of the Quran by heart.

The verse of the Quran: Hj [There remains

no wet or dry (things) which may not be contained in the Divine
Revelation], fully establishes that all knowledge that may be available
in the wet or dry parts of the world is contained in the Quran.
Thus those who claim that the poetic knowledge is not
available in the holy book repudiate its views. However the poets
who follow the path of Satan have gone astray, and there are those
condemned by Allah. But the poets who tread the path of fidelity
and righteousness are sure to have divine favours on the Day of
Judgement.
To substantiate his theory Khusrau observes that Zamakhshari,11
the author of the Tafsir-i-Kashshaf has related from Khalil b.
Ahmad that the Prophet has a liking for poetry. Similarly Abdul
Qadir Jurjani in his work Dalailul Ejaz, has explained that Hassan
b. Thabit, Abdullah b. Rawahe and Kab b. Zuhair used to recite
poem in praise of the Prophet who would listen to them and admire
them. Then Khusrau quotes several illustrations indicating the
Prophet's interest in poetry, a topic which has been taken up by
several earlier and later scholars including the outstanding bilingual
Indian scholar, Mir Ghulam Ali AzadBilgrami d. 1200 A.H. (1785
A.D.) who had added a discussion in his Subhatul-Marjan12 and
thereafter in the Sarw-i-Azad'3. These are the illustrations quoted
by Amir Khusrau:
1. Once the Prophet addressed Kab b. Zuhair14 and said that
Allah has neither forgotten him nor what he had written. On Kab's
enquiry the Prophet asked Abu Bakr Siddiq to read the poem
which the latter did as follows:
✓ J

« • ' * ^

(The Quraish misjudged that they would dominate Allah,

but those seeking domination became dominated by one
who is the best dominator (i.e. Allah).15
116 AMIR KHUSRAU

2. The Prophet inspired the poet Hassan bin Thabit with these
words:

(Recite and the Gabriel is with thee)

3. Once the Prophet had remarked:

(Verily Almighty God is treasure beneath the Arsh and its

keys are the tongues of the poets).
4. The Prophet had called poets the leaders:

(The poets are the leaders of discourse)

5. Once the Prophet recited the following line in a gathering
of his companions:

(The serpent of evil desires has stung my heart; but there

is no physician or enchanter to cure the melody).
The Prophet was so excited with joy that his sheet fell down
from his shoulder and he at once remarked:

(One who did not rejoice when his friend is being mentioned,
is not generous).
6. There is another saying of the Prophet which shows his liking
for poetry:
*

"Teach your young ones poetry for verily it would generate

gallantry (in them)".
7. The Prophet had addressed the infidels of Mecca who had
borne great enemity and ill-will towards him, in the following
words:
AN ACCOMPLISHED CRITIC 117

(If any one fills his belly with an unwanted matter which
he would vomit, it is better that he should fill it with poetry).
This follows Amir Khusrau's reference to Hazrat Ali's poetry
which occupies such a sublime place as would last till eternity.
After quoting the Hadis: l<| (lam the city of knowledge
and Ali is its door), Khusrau argues that Ali's knowledge emanates
from the Prophet and the Prophet's knowledge from the divine
Revelation ( )• Thus Ali's knowledge is divine and his poetry
based on knowledge has divine origin so it must have its impression
on the Divine Tablet ). All this goes to prove that poetry
should not be abused and accused for if poetry had been an evil
thing, it would have not been added to the knowledge of the
Prophet because he was a divine scholar ((LHV^;) aRd not a
wordly one

Continuing his argument Amir Khusrau refers to Hazrat Aisha's

composing poetry (without quoting any example). Then follows a
line recited by Hazrat Abu Hanifa:

(I love the righteous but I myself am not one of them; I

wish God would have granted me righteousness).
This is followed by a line illustrating Imam Shafai's talent as
a poet:

(If poetry had not been disparagement for scholars today

I would have been a poet better than Labidi).
Amir Khusrau argues that Imam Shafai in the above line does
not mean to accuse poetry in general because Hazrat All who was
a greater scholar had composed poetry and Imam Shafai would
not open his mouth against Hazrat Ali:

(O, Khwaja if thou sayth something against Hazrat Ali I

shall accuse thee even if thou may not have accused me).
118 AMIR KHUSRAU

Khusrau's argument is based on the presumption that Hazrat

All was a poet who has left a diwan but the scholars have serious
doubts about the authenticity of its attribution to him.
It may be noted that Khusrau has based his statement with
regard to the Prophet's interest in poetry on later sources. The
earlier scholars have written on this topic more exhaustively, for
example Baihaqi in his Dalailul Nubuwah16 has included a separate
chapter called: and has discussed this point
in an elaborate manner. Jalalud-din Siwti has also useful information
on this topic in his Khasaisul Kubra}1
Another point to be noted is that Khusrau does not refer to his
sources while quoting the traditions and sayings; but Azad Bilgrami
while writing on the same topic has referred to all the sources that
he has used. This has made the latter's deliberations more scholarly
than those of Amir Khusrau.
After dealing with poetry in general Khusrau proceeds to the
consideration of the preference of Persian over Arabic poetry.
However he was fully conscious of the fact that Persian as a
language cannot compare favourably with Arabic which because
of being a language18 of Revelation is the (the best of the
languages). But the savant prefers Persian poetry on account of
the following points:
1. Though Persian prosody is borrowed from Arabic, the former
has made much improvement on it. Its metre-system has
grown so subtle that even an addition or subtraction of a single
letter or diacritical sign would disturb the meter, which an
average reader would easily mark, but in Arabic an addition
or deletion of a word would not make any substantial difference.
2. The Arabic language is very exhaustive and elaborate in the
sense that a word has several meanings as well as several
synonyms. This facilitates the task of a poet. Persian is
devoid of this merit with the result that a Persian poet finds
it difficult to express his views forcefully and effectively.
Despite this drawback the Persian poets have produced
poetry of very high standard.
AN ACCOMPLISHED CRITIC 119

3. Arabic poetry is and not ^y ; while Persian has both

j\S and and this special feature adds to the charm of
Persian poetry.
After putting forward these arguments Khusrau compares Arabic
poets with Persian and declares the superiority of the latter. To
him Khaqani's diction is superior to that of Abiwardi,19 Anwari d.
581 A.H. (1185 A.D.) and Kamal-Isfahan d. 635 A.H. (1237
__
A.D.) may be preferable to Mutanabbi20 in fluency and imagination;
while Muarri21 may not be a match to Saiyid Hasan Ghaznawi,
d. 556 A.H. (1160 A.D.), Nizami Ganjawi d. after 597 A.H. (1200
A.D.) and Zahir Faryabi d. 598 A.H. (1201 A.D.) in respect of
good words and better meaning U*j Then he summarises
thus: Persian poetry is better than Arabic in yj,(Charming
measure) (delicacy of meanings) and (addition
of radif).
I may be excused for adding that Khusrau is not correct in his
judgment. The points on the basis of which he prefers poetry, and
Arabic poetry too possesses certain distinctive characteristics in
which it stands alone. Hence the question of preference of one
over the other does not arise. Even in pointing out the special
features of Persian poetry Khusrau has not shown an admirable
critical aptitude. The distinguishing features of Persian poetry may
be as follows:
1. Persian has a huge stock of ghazal literature unsurpassed and
unapproached by any literature of the world.
2. Persian has immense literature on philosophy and ethics and
in this respect Persian poetry stands matchless.
3. Sufistic literature available in Persian remains unequalled by
any other literature.
As a result of all this Persian has produced poets like Firdau’si,
Maulana Rum, Sa’di and Hafiz whose likes no single language may
boast to have produced.
Khusrau argues that an Arab brought up in Fars or Khurasan
is incapable of writing Persian correctly; so the question of
composing poetry or producing a literary style does not arise; while
120 AMIR KHUSRAU

Persian even residing in his land would acquire such a stage of

proficiency in Arabic as is capable of producing admirable poetry.
Then Khusrau tries to substantiate his point by citing the examples
of Zamakhshari and Sibwaih. This argument is flimsy and would
not stand the test of evidence. An Arab would not compose in
Persian not because he is incapable of doing so but because he
thinks it below his dignity to write in the language of the conquered
people, just as a Persian would do in respect of the Indian languages.
Zamakhshari and Sibwaih were scholars, linguists and lexicographers
and not poets or writers. Hence these examples would not
substantiate the points raised by Khusrau.
Then Khusrau proceeds to the consideration that Indian people
in general and residents of Delhi in particular are’superior in poetic
talents to the people of the whole world.
He says:

-A c^cj’jSC
(The residents of Delhi are superior to the poets of the
world in poetic talent).

(The poetic temperament of the poets of Delhi is superior

to those of the whole world on grounds of judicious
arguments).
Khusrau argues in this way. If an Arab or Khurasani or a Turk
or a Hindu happens to reside in Delhi or Multan or Lakhnauti for
the whole of his life he would not succeed in acquiring proficiency
in a language other than his own. But a writer who is brought up
in Delhi is capable of acquiring proficiency in any language of his
choice and would excel both in prose and poetry. It was his
personal experience that residents of Delhi who had been in Arabia
for some time had acquired a stage of proficiency not reached
even by the eloquent Arab people. Similarly non-Turk (Tajik)
Indians had learnt Turkish in India and had gained such proficiency
as astonished the native Turks.
AN ACCOMPLISHED CRITIC 121

About Indian Persian and Persian poets Khusrau has supplied

important information. Indian Persian is more similar to Persian
of Transoxian than to that of Iran. The language spoken in Khurasan
is sometimes not a standard one for residents of this region
pronounce £ as and [/ as and they write as they pronounce.
But Khusrau does not approve of it. According to him the standard
form should be that a word does not differ in writing and
pronunciation.

Indian Persian is one and the same from the mouth of the Sind
river to the Bay of Bengal. This is one of the reasons why Khusrau
has produced admirable works in Dari Persian.

Khusrau continues that the Hindi language substantially differs

at every hundred Kuruh but Persian spoken over four thousand
Farsangs is just the same. In it the words agree in writing and
pronunciation. It is not like that of the Atrariyans or the Isaghuyans
who pronounce as and or that of the Sistanians
who add at the end of each word such as ^ >/, The native
scholars declared Persian of Delhi as the standard Persian while
the inhabitants of Delhi laughed at the way the native people spoke
their language:

(O, Khurasani if thou hast not heard my speech, then wait

so that my subtle poetry may reach thee).
Khusrau continues that the Indians have a say in respect of the
languages of all but no one can claim to have anything to do with
the language of the Indians and the savant has cited his preface
to the Ghurratu’l Kamal in testimony for the same.
Unfortunately I fail to subscribe to Khusrau’s view regarding
his arguments in preference of Indian Persian over the Iranian
Persian and the poets of Delhi over the poets of the world. But
the time and space would not permit me to explain my views in
this respect. However the importance of his statement lies in
supplying some first-hand information about Persian phonology
perhaps not available anywhere else.
122 AMIR KHUSRAU

Then the poet considers the problem of praise and satire. He

observes that what is impermissible in poetry is accusation of both
praise and satire, though the fact remains that the former is a magic
on the lips of the magicians which can turn the impure dog and
a foolish donkey into a sagacious human being, while satire ^
is a speech which when produced by the tongue of fiery people
turns ruby into stone and aloe-wood into ashes. The ingot of poetry
embellishes the coins of praise and satire equally. How admirable
are the poets whose abuses are so charming.
The earlier masters have well said that a statement which has
a tinge of impurity is sin ((/^j) and a speech even if it all be poetry
which has a colour of falsehood becomes a thing of ridicule for
the readers. But the ugliest face of deception when reflected into
the mirror of poetry becomes as attractive as possible. Thus the
elixir which turns the copper of impurity into pure gold may not
be subject to disapprobation.
Then Khusrau takes upon another point. Some persons disapprove
poets as they have no worldly wealth and pleasures. They hold
the poets’ life a failure. Khusrau is very critical towards this class
of people whom he calls illiterate (< ). According to him a
poor person possessing excellence ( ) is thousand degrees
superior to those illiterate who possess wealth but no
accomplishments This discussion concludes on an
anecdote of a dialogue between Mutannabi and Saifud-Daula to
the purport that excellence is better than wealth because the
former is permanent while the latter is subject to decay.
This discussion contains a statement in praise of poetry which
may be one of the best pieces in the Dibacha. I shall quote it here:

^fli bj jjb Ob
AN ACCOMPLISHED CRITIC 123

(And poetry is an agreeable friend who does not adapt

itself except with its composer and would not ensure good
name except for its writer. It is a light which would not
extinguish by the wind of calamity and would not be
darkened by any depraved person; it is a candle which
keeps enlightened its enlighter in the assembly of the
enlightened.lt is a soul which keeps alive its master till the
day of Judgment; it is a faithful friend which remembers
its composer wherever it goes; it is obligation discharger
which causes the subsequent poet to bow down before its
author.)
Then Khusrau enters upon a discussion of the classification of
Persian poets who may be placed in three categories :
1. Those who have a separate style of their own, not borrowed
from others. Hakim Sanai, Anwari, Zahir Faryabi, Nizami
Ganjawi etc. may be put in this category.
2. Those who have not a particular style of their own, but are
followers of the style and diction of the earlier masters. They
may not have actually learnt from the masters, but because of
their following, their style, they may be called as their pupils.
3. Those who imitate the styles of the superior masters but do
not accept them as their superiors. They are imposters and
their claim of being the master of a separate style is untenable.
Then Khusrau imposes the following conditions for being called
a master-poet ().
1. He should be the master of a particular style not common
with any other master of the art.
2. His diction should be that of a poet and not of a Sufi or a
preacher.
3. His writings must be free from defects and blemishes.
4. He should be original in his imagination and his thoughts and
ideas must not be borrowed from others. In the words of
Khusrau he should not be like a tailor who stitches a garment
of thousand patches obtained from others.
Khusrau very humbly applies these conditions to his poetry and
observes that his poetry falls short of the standard in respect of
124 AMIR KHUSRAU

the first and the third conditions. He says that he may not claim
to be the master of style for he has imitated the earlier masters:

iji fils'JC
(As I am the imitator of the styles of others, I am only
a pupil and not a master).
Similarly, according to his own observation his, poetry is not free
from defects:

(My poetry is though mostly fluent, yet at times, one may

come across blemishes in his ghazals and puzzles). -
But his poetry fulfils the other two conditions. Regarding his
mode of expression Khusrau says that his expression is on the
pattern of poets and not of the type of Sufis and preachers. In
regard to his originality and independent thinking, Amir Khusrau
claims that he has not borrowed the fabrics of the carpet of his
composition from others :

He concludes that of the four conditions of mastery of Persian

poetry with regard to two he has no claim. In respect of being
master of a particular and permanent style and being
free from blemishes he has no stability. But regarding
the other two conditions - mode of expression, resembling that of
poets and not of Sufis and preachers, and originality in thought -
his poetry satisfies these conditions. So he remarks that he is not
a perfect master. He is 50% master (fJJf&fCcfjHe may
be perfect only if the masters hold him perfect.
I may be allowed to add that in passing judgment about his
poetry, Khusrau has not displayed the correct aptitude of a true
critic which may be due to his modesty. He is certainly an outstanding
poet and a match to the best poets of Iran. Khusrau’s judgment
about his own poetry must be shocking to those who hold his place
higher than Nizami and similar other Persian poets of Iran.
AN ACCOMPLISHED CRITIC 125

It may be noted that Khusrau regards the poets of Delhi superior

to the poets of the world. But when he comes to his own poetry,
he finds it not of such high order as to rank with the first-class poets
of Iran. This contradiction may again be due to his own modesty.
While discussing the merits of his poetry, Amir Khusrau mentions
the masters he has imitated. In the ethical and didactic poetry, he
has kept Sanai and Khaqani as his models. In qasida he has copied
Raziud-din Nishapuri and Kamalud-din Isfham while in Masnawi
and ghazal, his models are Nizami Ganjawi and Sa’di Shirazi
respectively. But in muqatta and rubaiat, muamiyat and lughz he
has none to follow. Similarly, his prose is the creation of his own
self having no model to copy :

(My prose is the outcome of the nature of my pen which

has no resemblance with any. It is the choice of myself
as is known well to men of imagination).
But these masters are distinct from his teachers or inspirers
whom Khusrau mentions as follows :
Maulana Shihabud-dm, Qazi Sirajul Millat, Tajud-dm Zahid,
Alaud-din Ali, his brother.
Khusrau was adept in both Arabic and Hindi as well, and he
has quoted eight lines from his Arabic poetry but he does not assign
this poem a high place.
He supplements the statement with the apology:

(I am an Indian Turk; I may write in Hindi. As I have no

Egyptian sugar, I may not have discourse in Arabic).
However, he had composed some Hindi poems but he did not
deem it proper to insert Hindi verse in Persian. But he was quite
conscious of having written Hindi poetry successfully :

[As I an Indian parrot, if you truly ask me, you ask Hindi
from me so that I may give you excellent (verses)].
126 AMIR KHUSRAU

While discussing mastery in poetry Khusrau refers to three

categories of pupils. The first called the Shagird-i-Isharat are those
who pick up the subtle points the teacher or the master raises with
a view to removing defects in other verses. The second called the
Shagird-i-ibrarat are those who successfully imitate the masterly
style of their teachers. The last called the Shagird-i-Gharat are
those who steal words and phrases and ideas from the writings
of other masters without acknowledgement. “The drops of blood
coming out of the heart of the wise are made darling of their heart”
by these imposters. May God protect poets and writers from such
shameless persons.
This is a description of Amir Khusrau as a critic of Persian
language and literature. As literary criticism was not then so
developed as to form a separate discipline, the savant’s view may
definitely fall short of the modem standards. But the manifold
importance of his writings cannot escape the notice of any serious
Persian scholar. To me the Dibacha-i-Ghurratu 7 Kamal may be
studied in the light of these points :
It is one of the earliest examples of Persian literary criticism
certainly not borrowed from any other source.
It contains more elaborate and exhaustive points than those
covered by Nizami Aruzi in his Chahar Maqala written more than
a century earlier. It is also certain that Khusrau did not base his
views on Aruzi’s.
It incorporates the views of a personality who was himself a
poet of extraordinary merit, possessing a rare combination of
critical acumen and poetic talent.

REFERENCES

1. A sixth century Persian poet attached to the Khanian dynasty of

Transoxiana. See the Lubabul Albab pp. 184-85.
2. See the Lubabul Albab pp. 457-62.
3. See Iqbal Husain : Early Persian Poets of India.
4. He is an unknown poet mentioned in Khusrau’s writings.
5. See the Sarw-i-Azad pp. 9-11.
AN ACCOMPLISHED CRITIC 127

6. The actual words are:

7. The words are :

8. The original words are :

9. Quran Sura 79.

10. Ibid Sura 77. But in the printed copy of the Dibac.ha both are copied
together.
11. For his life see Muqaddamatul Alab, Introduction.
12. Aligarh Ms f.
13. pp. 4-11.
14. Azad has attributed it on the authority of Tafair Qartabi to Kab b. Malik,
Sarw-i-Azad p. 5.
15. Sarw : and Sakhina refers to Quraish, Ibid.
16. See the Sarw-i-Azad p.6 Dalailul-Nubuwali V. 2 p. 164.
17. Hyderabad ed. V 2 p. 166.
18. Scholars would not agree with Khusrau’s point of view that since the
Quran was revealed in Arabic, it is the best of the languages : p.29.
19. Muhammad b. Ahmad Abiwardi d. 507 A.H. (1103 AD), the great scholar,
writer anad poet from Abiward in Khurasan, see Lughatnama.
20. Abu at-Taiyib Ahmad b. Hussain d. 354. A.H. (965 AD), the most
popular and most widely quoted poet in the Muslim world.
21. Abul Ala al-Muarri d. 448 A.H. (1056 AD) was the philosopher poet of
Syria.
The first page of the illustrated “Matla-ul-Anwar" of Amir K/iusrau
 Affectionate Response to the
Indian Environment
SYED SABAHUDDIN ABDUR RAHMAN

A bdul Hassan Yaminuddin Khusrau, 650-725 A.H. (1252-1324

A.D.) has been admired as a wonderful being,1 a strange
phenomenon for all times,2 a gem of the mine of beliefs and river
of gnosis,3 a man of such colourful personality and comprehensive
ability, as even the fertile soil of Persia has not produced in a
thousand years,4 a highly esteemed and enormously productive
poet,5 an extraordinary genius for poetry with an almost supernatural
energy and indefatigable capacity for work,6 Tilmiz-ur-Rahman (a
pupil of God),7 a poet, who could write qasidas and ghazals with
the same rapidity as our modem journalists write their daily editorials,8
a scholar of encyclopaedic knowledge and inventive talent, who
could write extraordinarily voluminous work like Ijaz-i-khusravi
in five volumes consisting of 1179 pages, a true disciple of his
spiritual guide Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya, who was proud of the
burning love which this Turk had for God in his heart, a picturesque
and boon companion for all his contemporary royal masters, and
a skilled musician of enviable calibre who introduced many
innovations in Indian music.
Poetic hyperbole apart, Khusrau was indeed a great genius.
There was yet another trait which gave him a still wider dimension.
He was a prince patriot, a great lover of his homeland and probably
the foremost pioneer of emotional and national integration.
Ancestrally he was a Lachin Turk, but he had an inborn love for
India and adoration for everything Indian. His life and works make
it abundantly clear that only a few could excel him in the profuseness
of national feelings and sublimity of patriotic sentiments.
130 AMIR KHUSRAU

He was bom in Patiali in the district of Etah in Uttar Pradesh,

but after his father’s death he settlled in Delhi, where he lived for
sixty years till his death. In his early days, he enjoyed prosperous
life with his maternal grandfather Imad-ul-Mulk, who was an
influential noble of the courts of Mamluk Sultans of Delhi. After
the latter’s death he, at the age of twenty, became a companion
of Sultan Ghiyas-ud-din Balban’s nephew Alaud-din Kishli Khan
and later on joined the Sultan’s son Prince Bughra Khan in Samana.

Attachment for Delhi

In 1280 A.D. the prince went along with his father to Lakhnauti.
Khusrau had to accompany his patron. For the first time in Lakhnauti
he felt the agony and anguish at the separation from Delhi which,
instead of Patiali, had become his dear and sweet home. In the
distant land of Bengal he enjoyed the company and cordiality of
his affectionate friends like Shams-ud-din Dabir and Qadi Athir
etc. The Prince also was very kind and considerate to him. But
Khusrau could not feel at home there and pined for Delhi. When
he ultimately got permission to return to Delhi, his joy was unbounded.
He later wrote that as he came out of Lakhnauti he felt as if Joseph
had come out of his prison cell, and on reaching Delhi he likened
his feelings to that of Joseph when he came back to Egypt.9

After his return from Bengal, he basked under the warmth of

the patronage of Sultan Ghiyas-ud-din Balban’s another son, Prince
Muhammad Sultan, who took him to his fief in Multan. The Prince
had a superb literary and poetic taste, so his court, according to
Finshtah, had become the envy of the garden of paradise.10 He
bestowed upon Khusrau all princely favours, but the latter always
painfully felt the separation from Delhi. He recollected Delhi to
be the arch of Islam, the qibla of the king of the seven realms,
the twin-sister of the blessed heaven, and a tract of paradise on
the surface of the earth. In a long letter written in an exotic flavour
of style to a contemporary noble Ikhtiyar-ud-din, he bemoaned
romantically that he missed the lofty palaces of Delhi raising their
heads to the sky and overshadowing the sun itself, nor could he
see the green fields of Delhi bedecked with roses, nor could he
AFFECTIONATE RESPONSE TO THE INDIAN ENVIRONMENT 131

enjoy its springs which, according to his opinion, was brighter than
the eyes, nor their running water, which he said was like milk
flowing through sugar, nor its gardens, where he revelled in looking
at rose-cheeked beauties bright as the pearls of their earrings, nor
its melodies arising out of ud and rubab which according to him
intoxicated the trees and rendered the fountains drowsy.11 His
annual visit to Delhi did however relieve much of his agony and
pangs of separation from his beloved home.

Hatred Against Foreign Aggressors

His love for Delhi was indeed intense, but his patriotism
encompassed the whole country. When Multan was invaded by
Mongol raiders, he grew highly worried at this foreign aggression
on his homeland. In the beginning his patron Prince Muhammad
Sultan warded off these raids successfully. So he wrote pleasingly
that the Indian troops fought against the enemy by standing in the
battlefield like the mount of Caucasus,12 and yet in another verse
he said that the bold Indian cavaliers caused even lions tremble.13
When the Mongol invaders were valiantly repulsed, he felt glad
that the infidels could not inflict loss on India on account of the
heroic swordmanship of Indain soldiers.14 In 1285 A.D the Mongols
made still more barbarous raids on Multan. Khusrau considered
it a heavenly calamity, a day of judgment, a deluge of disaster or
mischief for the entire country.15 In depicting the heroic fight of
the Indian army, he gave full vent to his usual hyperbolic fancy.
He wrote that with the march of Indian troops there was
consternation even among the stars of the sky, tremors of earthquake
were felt in the entire world, the sun was clouded with their dust,
the sky began to shed tears, the day grew dark, the flames came
out of their glittering swords, and the soil was about to be reddened
with the blood of the fighting soldiers, etc. While adulating Indian
soldiers as bold, valiant and manful like Rustum, he in outright
hatred against the aggressors of India, condemned them as man-
eaters, cat-eyed, faithless, shameless, ugly, having movement like
monkeys and features like dogs. He never felt tired in depicting
their ignoble features. He wrote that their heads which were as
even as eggs, had the wings of owls on them; their faces were
132 AMIR KHUSRAU

broad like shields; their eyes seemed pierced in their heads; water
ran from their flat noses, which looked like frogs swimming in
water; they ate rats and they ran after food like dogs; bad smells
came out of their bodies, and persons sitting besides them could
not help vomitting, etc.16
Khusrau had no soft comer for those whom he considered
enemies either of his motherland or of the crown. He always used
harsh words and phrases for them but once they became loyal to
the crown, he wooed them with open arms and displayed a great
sense of religious, political and social toleration. During the fight
against the Mongols he was captured and his beloved patron
Prince Muhammad Sultan was killed. He mourned the Prince’s
martyrom in an elegy which is considered to be a masterpiece in
the art of pathetic versification. Many of his friends were slaughtered
in this battle, and he bewailed their losses and separation with tears
which seemed actually to be streaked with the blood of his heart.17
This also provides a glimpse of his sincere and deep affection for
his friends.
After being released by the Mongol raiders, Khusrau came to
Delhi, where, after some time, he was invited by a noble of Sultan
Balban ’s court, Amir Hatim Khan, to join his company. He entered
into the nobleman's service, but when the nobleman set out for
Oudh, Khusrau actually burst into tears; as he was leaving Delhi,
he wept and remained wailing with the march of the retinue.18 He
lived in Ayodhya for two years. He found the city charming like
a garden. In a letter to one of his friends he called its ground the
ornament of the earth. He was glad to find here flowers, wine,
grapes, limes, pomegranates, oranges and other fruits in abundance.
He saw here the pretty scene of mulsari champa, juhi and kewra.
He felt delighted to smell all sorts of perfumes viz. sandal, aloe-
wood, ambergris, musk, camphor and cloves etc. In his usual flight
of imagination he called the textile manufacture of this place
namely jhambartali and bihan a pleasant gift of spring tide which
sat as lightly on the body as moonlight on tulips or a dewdrop on
morning roses.19 He found the people courteous, faithful and
generous. Here he received many tray-ful of gold from his patron
Amir Hatim Khan, but in spite of lively environment and lavish
AFFECTIONATE RESPONSE TO THE INDIAN ENVIRONMENT 133

patronage, he could not help longing for Delhi, his mother and
friends he had left behind. When he got leave to come back to
Delhi, he, according to his own words, traversed the way like a
swift dart or like a flying arrow and reached the city happy like
the moon of Id. Here he smiled like a rose, and felt himself like
a bird, which after experiencing the rigours of autumn comes back
to a spring tide garden or a thirsty man reaches the Fountain of
Life. After seeing his mother and friends he found himself restored
to life.20
In Oudh he had witnessed the historic meeting of Bughra Khan,
the Governor of Bengal with his son Kaiqubad, the Sultan of Delhi.
The latter had great faith in the poetic acumen of Khusrau so he
asked him to commemorate it in verse. Khusrau found this task
quite according to his taste. He was by this time author of two
diwans, Tuhfat-us-Sighar and Wasat-ul-Hayat, which had
established his reputation of being a high class writer of erotic and
eloquent verses in ghazals and qasidas. He had composed some
masnavis also, but he had yet to write a long masnavi to give
evidence of his still greater command in poetic art. He was a great
admirer of Nizami Ganjavi’s masnavis, but so long he felt unnerved
in writing anything after his model. When Sultan Kaiqubad asked
him to undertake the task of versifying his historic meeting with
his father in Oudh, he felt an urge to accumulate all his poetic
talents and then composed Qiranu’s-Sadain after the model of
Nizami’s Makhzan-ul-Asrar. It was finished in six months in 1289
A.D. and consists of 3,944 verses.
Khusrau was himself an eye-witness to the meeting of the
father and the son, so according to Prof. Cowell, he was able to
throw himself into the scene and we have thus an interesting
mixture of epic and lyric elements, each portion of the action being
represented from objective and subjective point of view.21
Besides this, we have in it an invaluable treasure of Khusrau’s
unlimited amount of admiration and adoration for everything which
was in his beloved city, Delhi. We leam from him that the reputation
of the faith and justice of Delhi had spread far and wide and so
it was a garden of Eden,22 in its qualities and charactenstices it
134 AMIR KHUSRAU

was an orchard of paradise.23 We find his exaggerated admiration

for Delhi in verses in which he did not hesitate to write that after
hearing about this garden, even Mecca begins to take round of
Delhi; Medina gets deaf by listening to its reputation.24 Due to its
characteristics it has become the qubbat-ul-Islam.25 He felt proud
to note that the houses of the people of Delhi were well kept and
well furnished and they looked like the comers of paradise.26 The
residents of the houses spent ample amount of money in decorating
and adorning them. They themselves were well-mannered like
angels, well-tempered and warm-hearted like the residents of
paradise,27 they were matchless in industry, knowledge, literature,
music and in the art of manufacturing bows and arrows.28

Khusrau loved everything Indian. He was ecstatic in his praise

of the simple-hearted and sweet-faced beauties of Delhi. He liked
the climate of Delhi and India also, so he wrote that if anyone
tasted once the water of this country, he would never like to drink
the water of Khurasan.29 He felt delighted to find that in Delhi
flowers were seen blooming in every part of the year and its land
looked full of silver and gold due to them; here green verdure was
as good as of paradise;30 here fruits of India and Khurasan were
always found in abundnce; some fruits which were available here
were not to be had in Khurasan.31 He liked the melons of Delhi
very much, so he said that this was preferable to all fruits of
paradise and this was as sweet as sugar.32

The poet’s pen got still livelier when he described the architectural
grandeur of the city. He observed that the Muslims of Delhi
considered its Jama Masjid, having nine domes, as good as Ka’ba.
According to him, Qutub Minar, the upper storey of which was
made of gold, served as a stair to reach the seventh sky and it
acted also as a pillar to sustain the domes of the sky.33 His graphic
description of Shamsi Haud, built by Sultan Shams-ud-din-Iltutmish
is worthy of being studied for getting its accurate structural
information. We know from him that it flowed between two
hillocks; its water was so clean and transparent that the particles
of sand sparkled even in the night from its lowest depth; its water
did not go deep because of its stony ground; its waves struck a
AFFECTIONATE RESPONSE TO THE INDIAN ENVIRONMENT 135

hillock; its sweet water was drunk in every house. Many canals
had been dug out from the river Jamuna up to this reservoir. In
the midst of it there was a platform, on whcih was constructed
a building. The fowls and fishes of the reservoir presented a
beautiful spectacle. Here people gathered together to enjoy its
pleasant sight.34 Khusrau described this reservoir in his Khazain-
ul-Futuh also, in which he wrote that the building in the centre
was like bubble on the surface of the sea and the dome together
with the tank looked like an egg of the ostrich half in water and
half out of it.35
Khusrau has not failed to give a vivid picture of the pomp and
grandeur of royal palaces of Delhi in which we can relish his poetic
fancy also. The new palace of Kilokhari was built by Sultan
Kaiqubad on the western bank of Jamuna at the distance of three
miles from old Delhi. Khusrau called this palace a paradise on the
door of which hung the branch of Tuba (a tree in paradise).
According to him it was so high that its height served as a cloud
for the sun; its shadows fell on the river; the lower portion of the
palace was built of bricks; it had the plaster of lime which looked
transparent like glass; the upper part was built of white stone; on
one side, it had the river, the running water of which looked like
the mirror of a new bride; on the other side there was a garden,
the branches of which hung inside the palace36.
Sultan Kaiqubad celebrated the festival of Nauroz (New Year’s
day) inside this palace. In portraying the revelry of this celebration,
Khusrau entertains us with his poetic imageries, which are invested
at the same time with a charm of singular mode of versified
expression. His delineation was that the palace was richly decorated
on the occasion. Its parapets were made attractive with the
curtains of velvet and brocaded silk hanging on the nine arches of
the palace. The venue of the celebration was a majestic pavilion,
having five parasols, four of which were black, white, red and
green and the fifh one was loaded with flowers. The black parasol
had an engraved artistry of extraordinary quality along with hanging
pearls whcih looked like showers of rain pouring forth from dark
clouds. The white parasol was circular, the roofs, the doors and
pillars of which were embedded with gold. It was adorned with
136 AMIR KHUSRAU

dazzling gems. The red parasol besides having various species of

pearls was decorated with quartz. The green parasol was covered
with green velvet overcrown with a green shadowy tree laden with
fruits. The parasol of flowers was bedecked with myriads of
blossoms and flowers. On the left and right sides of the court red
and black flags moved in the air. On either side there stood one
thousand caprisoned horses. The horses on the right side wore
black apparels, while the horses on the left side had red apparels
on them. Behind them were arrayed the long rows of elephants
which looked like a fort of iron. In the midst of the court there was
built an artificial garden of gold and jewels. The fruits of these
artificial branches appeared as if they were just to drop. The birds
were shown sitting on them in such a way as if they were just to
tly. Many trees were made of wax. Charming vases of flowers
were also placed here and there. They looked like a garden in
which besides green grasses, tulips, roses and willows were shown
blooming. The entire court was decorated with embroidered cloths
also. Curtains of velvet and silken cloths, having species of quartz
of beautiful violet, purople or blue shade hung on door in such a
manner as the stones of the wall also seemed to be transformed
into jewels with the glitter and lustre of quartz. The floor also was
covered with pearls and gold. When the King sat on the throne, his
crown shed its own lustre. His long coat was interwoven with high
workmanship of gold. The knots of precious gems hung in his
crown, long coat and belt in such a way as the lustre of belt spread
to his waist. The glitter of his long coat overtook his neck and the
glamour of his crown overshadowed his head. As soon as the King
arrived there to celebrate the festival, the royal body-guards moved
here and there and the chamberlain got the rows in order.
Swordsmen were ordered to stand on right an left side. The
atmosphere of the court was scented with Chinese musk.37
Khusrau described the meeting of Sultan Kaiqubad with his
father Bughra Khan in Oudh with the same ardour of his poetic
passion. He gave elaborate details of the gifts which were exchanged
from both sides. They included aloe, cloves, musk, ambergris,
camphor, sandal, gold jewels, pearls, quartz, horses, camels, swords,
daggers, bows, slaves brought from Tartar and Khutan, brocaded
AFFECTIONATE RESPONSE TO THE INDIAN ENVIRONMENT 137

and silken costumes etc. Khusrau was greatly surprised by seeing

some specimens of the Indian textile, so he appreciated them by
writing that they were so fine that body looked transparent if
costumes made of such cloths were put on, and some of its
varieties could be wrapped in a nail.38
He has given a graphic description of the royal banquet given
on this occasion which helps us to know some of the cultural
refinements of those days. He informs us that there were more
than one thousand kinds of cooked victuals and drinks on the
tables. The syrup of the rose was used for change of morsels.
Varieties of sweet dishes were beyond enumeration. Nan tunuk,
tanuri, kak and sambosa were a few varieties among the breads.
Numerous kinds of pilaos were also served, one of which was
prepared with dates and grapes. Roasted meats of goats, rams and
deer were in abundance and among the fowls partridges, quails
and tihoo were also there.39

Praise for Indian Men of Letters

Khusrau compiled his second collection of verses entitled
Ghurratu’l-Kamal in 689 A.H. (1290 A.D.). In its preface, he
once more gave expression of his excessive patriotic feelings by
trying to claim that the literary luminaries of India, specially of
Delhi, were superior to the learned men of the world. In support
of this he argued that whenever the citizens of Arabia, Khurasan
and Turkey came to India, they spoke their own language and they
composed verses in the same tongue. But when an Indian, specially
a citizen of Delhi, went anywhere, he could compose verses in the
language of that place. Citizens of India, without even visiting
Arabia, could compose verses in Arabic, the purity and grace of
which excelled an Arab poet. There was a large number of Tajiks
and Turks who had received education exclusively in India, but
their graceful speeches were worthy of being envied at even by the
purists of Khurasan. Khusrau contended that Iran is no doubt the
home of Persian language, but so far as its purity was concerned,
it existed in Transoxania only. He claimed that in India it was as
good as it was in Iran. He cast aspersion on the citizens of
138 AMIR KHUSRAU

Khurasan by writing that they did not pronounce words accurately.

4 and \/ were pronounced by them as and £. He felt proud in
saying that in India Indians spoke Persian just as they wrote it. He
decried the pronunciation of the people of Azerbaijan who while
speaking 9l/ concluded with ,/vf. Simlarly he underrated the
pronunciation of the people of Siestan who made superfluous
addition of uT' along with verb, so in speaking $)/ and they said
ex' oiS and utr'Zif'. Khusrau boasted of the superiority of India by
writing that whenever learned men and purists came here from
outside, the Indians laughed at them because they could speak
quite like them and write Persian free from all errors and flaws.40
Ghurratu ’l-Kamal has in its collection a masnavi called
Miftahul-Futuh in which Khusrau recorded his admiration of the
fortress of Jhain. He was wonderstruck to find that it looked as
high as the sky; it was engraved with hard stones; it was a paradise
of the Hindus; its engravings were very attractive; art of the
famous painter Mani dwindled into insignificance before them;
hundreds of statues were seen here, the like of which was very
difficult to prepare even from the wax; the plaster of the walls
looked transparent like mirrors; if Farhad had dreamt of such a
palace, he would have forgotten the sweet memories of Shirin; its
plasters were made of scrubbed sandal; its woods were of pure
aloe-wood; in its garden there were many temples which had the
engraving and artistry of gold and silver.41
Amir Khusrau’s sense of patriotism grew still more exuberant
at the time of compiling his masnavi Dewal Rani Khizr Khan in
715 A.H. (1315 A.D.) which describes the love episode of Alauddin
Khalji’s son and the daughter of Raja Karan, the ruler of Gujarat.
The story is purely Indian in nature; here Khusrau deals with a
lot of Indian themes and elements, which shows that by this time
his patriotic sentiments had grown wider and deeper so it did not
remain confined to Delhi only but he had been grasping extraordinary
amount of love for everything which was Indian also.

Sanskrit Language Eulogised

While mentioning Sanskrit, he remarked that it was in no way
AFFECTIONATE RESPONSE TO THE INDIAN ENVIRONMENT 139

inferior to Persian. It had preference over all other languages

except Arabic.42
Persian has borrowed a large number of Arabic words but
Arabic has no foreign word. Similiarly Sanskrit had not borrowed
words from other languages. As regards Sanskrit grammar he was
of the opinion that it was like the Arabic one.43
He admired an Indian textile fabric, namely Deogiri, by writing
that it looked like the sun or the moon or the shadow. He liked
much the national fruit of India, the mangoes. He did not feel
pleased with those who gave preference to figs over mangoes.
He argued that it was just like a blind woman calling Basrah better
than Syria.44

Admiration for Indian Flowers and Beauties

Khusrau has mentioned all the Indian flowers which were then
available. The names of some of these flowers, according to him,
were: Sausan (iris), Saman (Jasmine), Rainan (sweet-basil), gul-
i-surkh (red rose), gul-i-kuza, gul-i-sufaid (white rose), kiura (screw
pine), sipar gham, sadburg, nastran, dauna, karan, nilofar, dhak,
champa, juhi, sewti, gulab (rose), baila and mulsari etc. Khusrau
makes us believe that banaisha, yasman and nastran were brought
to India from Iran, otherwise all other flowers were purely Indian.
He has versified these flowers in a singularly charming way of
his poetic expression.45 For example about gul-i-kuza he observed
that in it there is cleanliness of water, but the water itself has
begged its freshness from it.46 As regards bail he said that it has
broad forehead and in one flower of it there are seven flowers.47
About juhi he wrote that its fragrance is heart-bewitching, so it
is a vision for lovers and all hearts.48 It is interesting to know from
him that the garments of beloveds were perfumed with kiura, the
fragrance of which remained fresh even after two years and even
if the costumes got old and tom out the perfume persisted in
them.49 Khusrau called champa the king of flowers, the scent of
which, according to him, was like wine laden with musk; it was
delicate like the jasmine-bodied beloved and its colour was pale
like the face of a lover; the oil extracted out of them was more
140 AMIR KHUSRAU

affective for head than musk.50 He admired mulsari by saying that

its leaves were small and delicate but they were liked by all hearts;
its flowers decorated the necks of the beloved.51 He called dauna
the sweet basil of India,52 the smell of which was much likeable.
He liked kama much because its smell made houses and lanes
fragrant.53 He applauded sewti by remarking that a wasp sacrifices
its life in love of it, and even when it dies it does not like to be
away from it; and all the beautiful ones are in search of it like
lovers; itis really a beloved among the beloveds.54 He finishes this
chorus of praise by observing that Indian flowers are better than
all the flowers of the world; the paradise only is likely to have
possessed such flowers. If Rome and Syria had such flowers they
would have trumpeted out their glory all over the world.
Amir Khusrau believed that like the Indian flowers, Indian
beauties were worthy of being given preference to the beauties
of Egypt, Rum, Qandhar, Samarqand, Khita, Khutan, Khalakh and
other parts of the world. His plausible and fanciful arguments were
that the beauties of Yaghma and Khalakh could not compete with
Indian beauties, because the former ones had sharpsightedness
and sour visages. The beauties of Khurasan were no doubt attractive
because of their red and white colour, but they were just like their
flowers i.e. they had colour but no fragrance. The beauties of
Russia and Rum had no humility and submission in them; they were
cold and white like a block of ice; the beauties of Tartar had no
smile on their lips; the beauties of Khutan lacked salt. The beauties
of Samarqand and Bukhara had no sweetness in them. The silvered-
bodied beauties did not possess a sagacity and agility. Khusrau
found every thing in dark and wheat coloured beauties of India
which he did not perceive in international beauties. This is simply
an evidence of the intensify and poignancy of his patriotic feelings.54

Indian Marriage Ceremonies

In Dewal Rani Khizr Khan, there is a graphic description of
Prince Khizar Khan’s marriage ceremonies which helps us to know
how the Turks were being influenced by the Indian sociological and
social elements in their environment. Khusrau felt highly delighted
in giving all the details of this marriage. He informed his readers
AFFECTIONATE RESPONSE TO THE INDIAN ENVIRONMENT 141

that the preparation of the marriage began three months ahead.

Palaces and city of Delhi were tastefully decorated. Pavilions were
hung; walls were engraved; silken carpets were spread on special
routes; different kinds of drums were beaten; acrobats displayed
their tricks on ropes; magicians showed their magic by swallowing
a sword and passing a knife through their noses; they transformed
themselves at times into fairies and at other times into demons;
masterly performances were shown in music by beating chang,
barbat, tambura, kadoo and teen tal etc. Dancing girls entertained
the audience by giving an exhibition of their superb excellence in
dance and music. According to Khusrau, their eye-brows could
make the breasts afflicted; their gracefulness robbed off a man’s
life; when they moved eye-lashes, young men got restless; when
they laughed, the soul seemed to depart from body; their mole looked
like a pearl; their eye-brows were like bows; their curls appeared
like the darkness of the evening; their knots of tresses were like buds
and their chins were like apples; coins were sprinkled on spectators
through marjanique; marriage procession started at the time when
astrologers described it auspicious; the bridegroom rode on a horse;
he was followed by rows of elephants which had golden litters on
their backs; soldiers held naked swords and daggers in their hands
as if they were warding off the evil-eyes; quartz and pearls were
showered on bridegroom; when he reached the bride’s house he
was seated on the valuable carpet; the nobles sat on either side
according to their ranks; the sermon of nuptial was read in auspicious
moments after which pearls were showered on audience and
precious gifts were distributed among them; the bridegroom went
inside the bride’s house after some parts of the night passed-off;
he was seated on a bejewelled and brocaded carpet; jewels and
pearls were once more showered on him; after this the bride was
brought before him to give her glimpses to him.56
In Dewal Rani Khizr Khan Khusrau has also described a
Hindu devotee worshipping fire. When he was asked why did he
worship it and sacrifice his life at its altar, his answer was that
the fire enlightened in his heart the hope of union and in perishing
into it he earned perennial life. Amir Khusrau advises his readers
to have respect for this sublime emotion and high sense of devotion.57
142 AMIR KHUSRAU

Khusrau’s overwhelming sense of love for Delhi and India

reached its climax when he compiled his masnavi Nuh-Siphir for
Qutab-ub-din Mubarak Shah Khalji in 718 A.H. (1318 A.D.).
While mentioning Delhi in this, he gave it preference to Baghdad,
Egypt, Khita, Khurasan, Tabriz, Tirmiz, Bukhara, and Khwrzim and
then in rapturous delight exclaimed that the heavens had ordained
that Hindustan be better than all the countries of the earth.58

Patriotic Emotions
In singing the sonorous songs of the greatness of India in the
third Sipihr of this masnavi, he could not help the torrents of his
patriotic emotions growing into full spate. He claimed that what
India possessed in philosophy, wisdom, knowledge and art were
something quite different from what other countries had.59 He
wrote emphatically that he loved, of course, India very much,
simply because it was his birth place, it was his refuge and it was
his motherland; the Holy Prophet has said love of motherland is
a part of faith.60 He then called India a paradise on earth, which
he substantiated by arguing that (1) Adam landed here from
heaven; (2) It is here that the bird of paradise, i.e., peacock is seen;
(3) Even the serpent came here from the garden of the sky; (4)
When Adam left India, he was deprived of the blessings of
paradise; (5) All the paraphernalia of luxury and merriment including
the scents and perfumes could be available here. In Rum and Ray
flowers remained blooming for two or three years, but the land
of India was always fragrant with flowers blossoming throughout
the year; (6) India was a paradise due to its excessive amenities
of life; (7) The Muslims considered this world a prison house but
to them India was a pardise.61
He thought the climate of India better than that of Khurasan
and other parts of the world and gave the following ten reasons
in proof of it. (1) Its cold did not inflict any harm. (2) The summer
ot India was better than the winter of Khurasan where people died
of cold. (3) In India people did not make provision for much clothes
m winter because they were not afraid of its cold. (4) In india
flowers and wine were seen in abundance throught the year. (5)
Here Powers always looked attractive. (6) Here flowers give
AFFECTIONATE RESPONSE TO THE INDIAN ENVIRONMENT 143

fragrance even when they get dry. (7) Here mangoes, plantains,
cardamoms, camphors and cloves were produced. (8) Here fruits
of Khurasan were produced but in Khurasan fruits of India could
not be cultivated. (9) Here plantains and betel-leaves were quite
strange. (10) Betel-leaf was not to be found in any other part of
the world.62 In his Qiranu’s-Sadain he admired betel-leaf by writing
that it is excellent; it renders the breath agreeable, it strengthens
the gum and makes the hungry satisfied and the satisfied hungry.63
The above ingenous arguments may not be convincing and look
puerile and medieval in approach, but not even a modem reader
can fail to find in between these lines the sincerity and sublimity
of the patriotic feelings of the poet.

Affectionate Feelings for Hindu Learning and Religion

Khusrau also greatly admired the knowledge and learning of the
Hindus, during the course of which he pleaded that the concealed
wisdom and learned ideas in India were beyond calculation. Greece
was famous for its achievement in philosophy, but India also was
not devoid of it. Here logic, astronomy and dogmatic theology could
be studied easily. Hindus did not of course know jurisprudence but
their knowledge in physices, mathematics and astronomy were
worthy of consideration.64
Some aspects of Hinduism also cast its spell on the mind and
heart of Khusrau. His co-religionists were believers in unity of
God. So he tried to convince them by proving that the Hindus also
believed in oneness of God. They did not follow his religion but
most of their beliefs were similar to his religious ideas. They also
had the conviction that God is One, He is Eternal, He is the
Inventor, He is the Creator, He is the giver of livelihood, He is
Omnipotent.65
Khusrau did not like to compare Hinduism with Islam but by
making comparison with all other religions of the world, he
considered it better than all of them, for which he offered the
following reasons: the dualists belived that there were two Gods
but the Hindus believed in oneness of God. The Christians think
that Christ was the son of God but the Hindus did not accept this
144 AMIR KHUSRAU

view. The anthropomorphists believed that God had physique, the

Hindus did not subscribe to such a view. The star worshippers
believed that there were seven gods but the Hindus were free from
such a belief. The likeness similarised God with possibility, but the
Hindus were opposed to it. The fire worshippers thought light and
darkness as two gods, but the Hindus had so such conception.
They worship stones, animals and trees but the spirit of their
sincerity in worshipping them is worthy of being respected. They
believed that all these things have been created by one Creator.
They do not disobey this Creator. They worship them only because
their ancestors have been worshipping66 them. One of Khusrau’s
following verses is worthy of being greatly relished:

6/jy1 ft

India’s Superiority Over Other Countries

In extolling the greatness of India he had put forth a lot of
arguments to prove that it was better than all the countries of the
world : (1) Here learning was more widespread than in other parts
of the world. (2) A citizen of India could easily learn the languages
of the world, but an inhabitant of another country could not speak
Sanskrit. (3) Scholars of other countries came here from time to
time to leam knowledge but no Indian tried to go anywhere in quest
of learning. (4) Numerical system and specially cyphers are purely
the innovations of India. (5) Kalila Dimna was written here. (6)
The game of chess was invented here. (7) Indian music enkindled
fire in heart. (8) Indian mathematics, Kalila Dimna got widely
popular throughout the world. (9) The enviable progress made by
Indian music was incomparable. It hypnotised even the wild deer
of the desert. (10) It was here that the wizard-poet Khusrau was
bom.67

Indian Languages
In describing the different languages spoken in India, he
mentioned Hindi, Sindhi, Lahori, Kashmiri, Kubn, Dhor Samundri,
Tilangi, Gujn, Mabari, Gori, Bengali, Avadhi and Sanskrit along with
Persian and Arabic. About Sanskrit he once more tried to make
AFFECTIONATE RESPONSE TO THE INDIAN ENVIRONMENT 145

his readers believe that in quality it was lesser than Arabic but
it was superior than Persian. It was no less sweet than Persian.68
Khusrau seems to have been greatly enamoured of Hindi. He
was once contemptuously referred to by one of his contemporary
poets, ‘Ubaid as a poet of Indian origin and his aspiration to equal
Nizami Ganjavi in writing a masnavi was ridiculed as stew cooked
in Nizami’s pot and a foolish self-conceit.’ Khusrau did not feel
ashamed of being an Indian, so he retorted that he was an Indian
Turk, could reply in Hindi and had no Egyptian sugar to talk of
Arabic.69 In another verse he says “I am the paroquet of India,
question me in Hindi that I may talk sweetly.”70 In order to show
his proficiency in this language he composed a large number of
Hindi couplets, quibbles, enigmas, punning verses, ghazals with
mixed vocabularies of Hindi and Persian, dohas and songs which
are still sung in sonorous voices by womenfolk. There is no doubt
that a large number of Hindi verses have been wrongly ascribed
to Khusrau. Yet his contribution to Hindi poetry cannot be ignored
even by a modem writer of history of Hindi literature. It was he
who made popular the use of Persian rhymes in Hindi poetry and
showed the way for a synthesis of Persian and Hindi. Again, it
was he who strove to liberate Hindi from Prakrit and Apbhransa
influence and used for the first time a simple and popular form
of Hindi which led ultimately to the growth of a new language
called Urdu.

Indian Faunas and Magicians

Khusrau had great attachment for Indian faunas also. In admiring
some of the species he remarked that; (1) Indian Parrots could
speak like men. (2) Sharak i.e. magpie of India was not to be found
in Iran and Arabia. It also could speak like a man. (3) Indian crows
could betoken the future events. (4) Indian sparrows were
picturesque in their movements, flights and voices. (5) There were
several kinds of other animals also which had strange features.
(6) Indian peacocks looked as attractive and beautiful as a bride.
(7) Peacocks do not pair in ordinary manner but the she-peacock
swallows the fluid from the eyes of he-peacocks, after which she
lays eggs. (8) Indian cranes could perform strange tricks after
146 AMIR KHUSRAU

receiving training etc. Khusrau referred to five other animals also,

(a) He described an animal which looked like an antelope but
howled like a jackal, (b) Here horses could trot to music, (c) Here
a goat could stand on a lean wood by placing all its four hoofs
on it, after which it could perform balancing feats, (d) Here
monkeys were so wise that they could be called an imperfect man.
(e) Here elephants are no doubt four-legged animals, but they
could act like men. Khusrau wrote that he had himself learnt the
lore of birds and beasts so well that he could understand their
speech and he could experience how gods tell things about men
through them.71
Khusrau felt highly pleased in describing the art of Indian
magician. He believed that in India a man dying of snake poison
could be restored to life; the span of a man’s life could be extended;
the soul of a man could be transferred to the body of another man;
the blood of a man could be transfused to another man’s body;
a yogi could live for two hundred years by practising the exercise
of slow breathing, and rain could be stopped falling from the clouds
etc.72
Khusrau was very much impressed by the sense of devotion
which an Indian had for his master and an Indian woman had for
her husband.
According to him a Hindu could sacrifice his life for the idol
he worshipped and for the master he served. A Hindu wife
immolated herself on the pyre of her husband. Khusrau liked very
much these devotions, so he wrote that if his religion permitted
this, many of his co-religionists would have died eagerly in that
manner.73

Different Sections of Indian Society

In his masnavi Nuh-Sipihr he felt an urge to admonish the rulers
of his motherland whom he wished to be ideal ones. While giving
several pieces of advice to the ruler he wrote that he must obey
the commandments of God; he must strictly adhere to his own
views and must faithfully act upon what he says; he must not be
negligent in his duties; he must be very just, so that oppression and
AFFECTIONATE RESPONSE TO THE INDIAN ENVIRONMENT 147

injustice might have no room in his Kingdom; he must take care

to keep high and low contended, so that the rich and the poor may
remain equally happy.74
Khusrau wanted different sections of Indian society to be well
governed in their conduct. He gave some pieces of advice to the
nobles of his days also : they must first remain faithful to God and
then to their royal master; they could be loyal to their worldly
master only when they were true to God.
His advice to the soldiers was: they must be religious minded;
they must not fight a battle for the sake of either ravaging tracts
of land or earning fame; they must not destroy the crops of the
farmers; they must not let their horses eat what the cultivators
produce by the sweat of hard labour. Khusrau had laid a code of
conduct for Indian youth also : they must speak the truth; they must
be well-tempered and well-wishers for all; their nobleness of
character lies in their forebearance and patience; anger and
exasperation are simply madness; they must make honesty as their
motto of life, which will help to make them religious minded;
embezzlement brings forth miseries; envy and miserliness are great
evils.75

City of Devagiri Admired

Khusrau did not get tired of paying glowing tributes to India till
the last days of his life. His last collection of verses is his Nihayatul
- Kamal. In one of his qasidas he called Devagiri a wonderful and
auspicious city and then wrote that by hearing the fame of Devagiri
Egypt had dipped its garments into river Nile and Baghdad had
rent itself asunder into two pieces and its breezes came out of
paradise, the perfume of which made all its flowers fragrant. In
admiring the fruits of Devagiri he observed that the plantains o
this place looked curved like the new moon and they were pleasant
like the festival of Id; the mangoes of this place were highly
delicious, they were the golden shells of milk and honey and when
they were sucked they made the mouth sugar candy water. He
admired the textile fabrics of this place by writing that if they were
compared with the skin of the moon removed by executioner star,
148 AMIR KHUSRAU

it might excel in its fineness with the latter; one hundred yards of
it could pass through the eye of a needle and yet a point of a steel
needle could pierce through it without difficulty; it was so transparent
and light that it looked as if one was wearing no dress at all but
had only smeared body with pure water.76 He applauded the music
of his music of this place by making use of the same ardour of
his poetic passion, so he remarked that when chang was played
here its sweetness made even Venus lament and the melodies
arising out of this city could make the dead ones alive.77

Passionate Love for Indian Music

Khusrau had a great admiration for Indian music also, and
exultatingly claimed that no music of any other country could
surpass it. With his passionate love for India, he was not expected
to ignore the thrill and magic of Indian music for which he felt
an instinctive love. While his co-religionists were interested in
sound and sensation of Persian music, he tried to break the barrier
between the two schools by bringing them closer. By the amazing
vitality of his genius he introduced a new tone in Indian music by
intei linking some of its purbi, gauri, kangli and a Persian rag into
sazgari and then he intermixed khatrag and shahnaz into zilaf. His
ushshaq is a mixture of sarang, basant, nawa and again his muwafiq
is a combination of tun, malwa, dugah and hussami.78 Abdul
Hameed Lahori in his Badshah Namah writes that prior to Khusrau,
in India only geet, chhand, dhrupad and astit were sung, but
Khusrau made many innovations. They are (1) qaul, in which
Persian and Arabic verses were sung on one to four tals. (2) In
another innovation Persian verses were sung along with tarana on
one tal. It was probably qalbana. (3) In tarana there was no verse,
but it was sung on one tal. (4) Khiyal is also Khusrau’s innovation.79
Some scholars of the art of music are of the opinion that Khiyal
was innovated by Hussam Shah Sharqi of Jaunpur but Dr. Sumati
Mutatkar, formerly Director of Indian music, All India Radio,
contends that Khiyal emerged from the chalant bols of qawwali
and as qawwai is Amir Khusrau’s innovation, so the origin of
Khiyal also must be attributed to thim. A very interesting story is
nai rated about Khusrau's ingenuous adaptability of catching a new
AFFECTIONATE RESPONSE TO THE INDIAN ENVIRONMENT 149

rag and mixing it with Persian one. Naik Gopal was a very famous
musician in his time. He hailed from the south but came to Delhi
and enjoyed Alauddin Khalji’s patronage. He was highly respected
by his two thousand disciples who did not let him walk on ground
so they carried him from one place to another in a palanquin. He
once gave demonstration of his art in the royal court. Khusrau
listened to it by hiding himself behind the royal throne. He picked
up Gopal Naik’s technique and when he sang the Iranian rag qaul
in Gopal Naik’s style, the latter got highly surprised and said that
it was simply a plagiarism, though he himself could not help
repudiating it.80 Most of the songs sung by women in marriage
ceremonies, along with bahar rag, rang, sarang, rag sarang, holi
khamach, and basant are ascribed to Khusrau and are still sung
in different parts of India. It is popularly believed that sitar, dholak
of qawwali and qawwali itself were innovated by him.81 In the
introduction of Ghurratu ’l-Kamal, he writes that he could have
written three volumes on music but he did not do so. He learnt
the art of music to enkindle in his heart the fire of the love for
God, but he experienced it in the pious assembly of Khwaja
Nizamuddin Auliya, so he did not devote his time in writing on
music. There is however a chapter on music in his Ijaz-i-Khnsravi,
which only the expert of this art can fairly understand and grasp
it (Vol. I. pp. 275-90).
Khusrau’s affectionate response to the Indian environment not
only delights the fancy by its general brilliancy and spirit, but moves
all the tender and nobler feelings with a deep and powerful imprint.
His abundance of appreciation of everything which was Indian
may obviously look as simply an overwrought effusion of poetic
ardour. He however deserves our admiration not only for his
remarkable gift of touching nothing that he could not adom.f but
also an impressive intellectual force and effective example for
opening a vista of the catholicity of patriotic feelings and nobility
of national sentiments. He was a devout follower of Islam. His
devotion to his religion is still unchallengeable. He was nevertheless
a prince patriot with an undiminished glory to catch and reflect
various aspects of Indian life. His life is an inspiring message for
all of us that the rigour and orthodoxy of religion, if followed and
150 AMIR KHUSRAU

practised in right earnest, can be no barrier to the cultivation and

absorption of spirit of love and adoration for the country of our
birth as well as mutual toleration and respect for the brighter
aspects of the culture and religion of our fellow countrymen.

REFERENCES

I. 2. Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, by Zia-ud-din Barni, p. 359.

3. Tadhkirat-ush-Shuara by Daulat Shah Samarqandi, p. 238.
4. Shir-ul-Ajam by Maulana Shibli Nomani, Vol. II. pp. 132, 133.
5. A History of Persian Literature, Vol. II, pp. 106, 108 by E. G. Browne.
6. Life and Works of Amir Khusrau, by Dr. A. W. Mirza, p. 140
7. Amir Khusrau by Dr. Tara Chand published by Khusrau Academy, Delhi.
8. Life of Amir Khusrau by Prof. M. Habeeb, p. 2 published by Khusrau
Academy, Delhi.
9. Ghurratu’l-Kamal, Dibacha, Mss, Shibli Academy, Azamgarh.
10. Tarikh-i-Firushtah, vol. II, p. 402.
II. Extract of this letter has been taken from Life and Works of Amir Khusrau
by Dr. A. W. Mirza, p. 51
12. Wasat-ul-Hayat, Aligarh edition, p. 105:

13. Ibid, p. 105:

14. Ibid, p. 70:

t'b' f jyfA if A £J l Jy

15. Ibid, p. 161:

>>> I ly yj ify

16. Wasat-ul-Hayat, Aligarh edition, pp. 106, 107 etc.

17. Wasat-ul-Hayat, Aligarh edition, p. 168.
£

ciC'jy^ \J fax

18.

b//. fa//' £s&L

19. Letter addressed to Tajuddin Zahid, quoted in Life and Works of Amir
Khusrau by Dr. A. W. Mirza, p.72.
AFFECTIONATE RESPONSE TO THE INDIAN ENVIRONMENT 151

20. Qiranu’s-Sadain, p. 222, Aligarh edition Ghurratu’l-Kamal Dibacha.

21. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal of 1860, quoted in History of India
by Sir H. Elliot, Vol. Ill, p. 524.
22. Qiranu’s-Sadain p. 25:

• •

23. Ibid, p. 29:

24. Ibid, p. 29.

25. Ibid, p. 29.

26. Ibid, p. 29.

27. Qiranu’s-Sadain p. 33:

28. Ibid, pp. 33-34.
29. Ibid, p. 36.

9 m

uVJraitytc/.i

31. Ibid, p. 34. cfLoisty.wfsjSf'j *d-UL-'jfJ

32. Ibid, p. 109.
33. Ibid, pp. 30, 31.
34. Qiranu’s-Sadain, pp. 32-33.
35. Khazain-ul-Futuh, Persian text, p. 34, English translation by Prof. M.
Habib, p. 20.
36. Qiranu ’s-Sadain, pp. 54-56.
37. Qiranu’s-Sadain, pp. 73-83.
38. Qiranu’s-Sadain, pp. 132:

f ih cfify U
152 AMIR KHUSRAU

39. Qiranu’s-Sadain, pp. 183-85.

40. Ghurratu 'l-kamal, Dibacha.
41. Miftahul-Futuh, pp. 35-36.
42. Dewal Rani Khizr Khan, Aligarh edition pp. 41-42:

43. Ibid, pp. 41-43.

44. Ibid, pp. 42-43.
45. Ibid, pp. 126-33.
46. Ibid, pp. 129.

47. Ibid, p. 130.

*>l

48. Ibid, p. 130.

eX>LUj/f.^ Lb

49. Ibid, p. 130.

Jo GfiJri/L&Jl'jj

dXjjjSlfOJ:;)

50. Ibid, p. 130.

>'JJt d 1V tf* OJr^A

• • •

51. Ibid, p. 132:

—'& *t<v^

52. Ibid, p. 132:

C0£fO\&MbiJj
53. Ibid, p. 133:
AFFECTIONATE RESPONSE TO THE INDIAN ENVIRONMENT 153

54. Ibid, p. 133: tcJlj

55. Dewal Rani Khizr Khan. pp. 133-34.
56. Dewal Rani Khizr Khan. pp. 154-69.
57. Ibid, pp. 195-96.
58. Nuh-Sipihr, Bombay edition, pp. 148-49:

59. Ibid:

3
/fjfj 1 '>> zJ*
*

60. Ibid, p. 95: c£?c/i

61. Ibid, pp. 151-57.
62. Nuh-Sipihr, pp. 158-61.
63. Qiranu's-Saddain, p. 94.
64. Nuh-Sipihr, pp. 161-63.
65. Nuh-Sipihr, p. 164.
66. Nuh-Sipihr, pp. 164-66.
67. Ibid, pp. 166-72.
68. Ibid, pp. 178-81:

69. c

70. c'iSj c
71. Nuh-Sipihr, pp. 181-91.
72. Ibid, pp. 191-94.
73. Ibid, pp. 194-95.
74. Ibid, pp. 191-94.
75. Nuh-Sipihr, pp. 258-65.
76. Nihayatul-Kamal, Qaisarya Press edition, pp. 50-52.
77. Ibid, p. 52.
78. Rag Darpan by Faqirullah Ms preserved in Shibli Academy Library,
Azamgarh.
79. Badshah Namah, Vol. II, pp. 5-6.
80. Mirat-ul-Khiyal, by Sher Khan Lodhi, pp. 442-43, Rag Darpan Ms.
81. For further details vide my book Hindustan Ke Musalmanon Ke Abad Ke
Tamadduni Jalway, pp. 526-31.
The tomb of Amir Khusrau in Delhi

Congregation of devotees at the tomb

 Khusrau’s Works As Sources of
Social History
S.H. ASKARI

S ome works of Amir Khusrau like Khazain-ul-Futuh, which is

in prose, and 5 out of 10 masnavis, namely Qirann’s Sadain,
Miftah-ul-Futuh or Tarikh-i-Alai, Nuh-Sipihr, and Tughlaqnama
have been included among the many different types and classes
of historical literature. His Kulliat, the 4 diwans and the Khamsa
Masnavis, and specially his stupendous epistolary and rhetorical
work, Risail-ul-Ijaz are purely literary works and Afzal-ul-Fawaed,
contains the table talks of his spiritual guide, Hazrat Nizamuddin
Auliya but these are also not absolutely devoid of suggestive
references and allusions of some historical and cultural interests.
Scant attention has been given to Risai 7 which though verbose
and full of verbal gymnastics and literary acrobatics bear some
genuine documents and have a wide range and variety of details
bearing on law and exegis, grammar, lexicography, tradition, morality
etc. and also many things of historical value concerning social
psychology, life and conditions of the period. It may, however, be
argued that the work is diverting rather than authoritative since
it is often difficult to distinguish between the fictitious and the
imaginary and the actual; the historian would naturally like to have
concrete facts.
Judged by the modem ideas on history as an objective study,
Amir Khusrau may not be taken seriously by historical specialists.
History with him was contemporary history. He had little or no spell
of the past, and he was largely concerned with the experiences and
observations of his own generation. Of course, being highly connected,
deeply learned, moving freely in all circles, not only in the imperial
metropolis but in the different parts of northern and peninsular India,
156 AMIR KHUSRAU

this celebrated poet and prolific writer had excellent opportunities of

seeing and judging things for himself He never professed himself to
be a historian but gloried in being essentially an Indian and called
himself the “Parrot of India.” He had no religious narrowness or
social and even racial prejudices and was above his age in taking
detached view about men, alien and indigenous, high and low, rich
and poor, nobles and labourers. But he had his limitations and
unevenness as a writer of books of historical value for in marshalling
his material and supplying factual information he becomes rhetorical
with the result that sober facts are very often lost in his literary
devices and mazes of words and expressions.
Whatever may be said about the political factors dealt with,
and there may, here and there, be some omissions, but not distortions
or misrepresentations; but there is no lack of candour and impartiality
in what he says, more in allusions than straight to the point, about
things of social and cultural import. In places he shows himself
sardonically human, distributing judicious criticisms, and also mild
or unstinted praise with a fairly even hand. We may refer here
to the third chapter of his book, Nuh-Sipihr, revealing the partriotic
fervour of the first great national poet of Muslim India. It is thrilling
to read the following:
“Hindu-i-Dahqan ba Kuhan Chadaragi-Shab ba
Charagah buwad ba Kharagi; Bar lab-i-Ju. Ze ab-i
Khumuk Barhamanah Ghusl Kunand Akhiri-i-Shab
Ghota Zarian-Khud Gah-e-Garma na buwad Shan
Ghami-i-Khaz-Saya-i-Shakh bas o az kulba Do Gaz”—
And yet “Barhamane hast ke dar Ilm-o-Khirad-Daftar-
i-Qanun-i-Aristu to darad.”
The ill-clad Hindu rustic or peasant who passes his night with
his horses under the azure sky, and the Brahmin who takes his
ceremonial bath in the cold water of the stream in the latter part
of the night and who is content with a cell or a closet, even the
shade of a tree, in all seasons should not be looked down
upon. The Brahmin is such an embodiment of wisdom and learning
that he can easily tear to pieces all the records and books of
Aristotle.
KHUSRAU’S WORKS AS SOURCES OF SOCIAL HISTORY 157

His observations on many aspects of every day life, though

scattered and found in bits and pieces, may be assembled into an
orderly picture, and are, therefore, well worth consideration.
Amir Khusrau’s oriental pattern of rhetorical history and his
literary works reflect the spirit of the times and the tendencies at
work, specially among the Muslims of his days, and this also is
not devoid of some significance for those interested in social and
cultural history. What emerges after a careful sifting of the verbose
contents and the ornate and occasionally over-dramatised picture
of life and conditions from birth to death, about food and drink,
clothes and costumes, manners and customs, festivities and festivals,
social behaviour, family life, arts and crafts, games and music,
hunting excursion, agriculture, irrigation, pastime and amusements,
virtues and vices of society etc. may be taken as a fairly
understandable delineation of what had existed or had been seen
or thought about by our author. Those who have read Amir
Khusrau’s works in the original will not question the considered
view of late contemporary social life.” (Life and Conditions in
Medieval India).
To reconstruct life lived and to form a consolidated picture of
society as it existed in such a distant age from isolated and
disjointed fragments and incidental allusions to contemporary men
and events, scattered in books composed in high flown language
and style, is neither easy nor a satisfactory task. It is difficult to
get a full and vivid picture of contemporary life. But one need not
be unduly skeptical about all that he says, especially what he writes
in the Risai’l, about a variety of people such as the turbaned
ulemas, saintly and imposter Sufi mystics, quarreling jurists, the
Syeds with double locks of hair, slaves of both sexes and of
different extractions, with characteristic names, artisans, and various
functional groups, corrupt officials, dishonest merchants, shop¬
keepers (baqqal, or bazarganan), carpenters, blacksmiths,
goldsmiths, money changers (sarraf), oil pressers (raughangran),
black marketeers, hoarders (muhtakiran), singers, dancers (pa-
koban), courtesans (tawaif, ruspiyan), mimics, acrobats, jugglers,
conjurors (mushabbid, bazigar, gadan ghazian, rasan bazan), (rope
dancer), maqamiran (gamblers); but in all his works except
158 AMIR KHUSRAU

Nnh-Sipihr, it is Muslim rather than Hindu society, more of the

urban areas than of the countryside, which arrested his attention
most. There are only a few Hindu names in the RasaiT such as
Saunpal Zargar (jeweller), Nepal Khuta (tax-gatherer), Narayan
Raughangaghar (oilman), Deo Chand, Debir-i-Mudabbir (ingenious
writer or secretary), as compared with a plethora of Muslim names
of Jolaha (weavers), Tanindah (spinner), Bazzaz (cloth merchant),
Challa Faroshan (grain merchants), Khaiyyat and Darzi (tailor),
Ahangar (ironsmith), Zirahgar (armour maker), Kamangar (bow-
maker), Ruingar (metal worker), Muzayyan or Hajjam (barber),
Zarkoban (gold beaters), etc. Of course, the majority of unnamed
Muzanan (cultivators), Dihqanan (rustic agriculturists), Qasbatiyan
(villagers or townsmen), Sangtarashan (stone-cutters) were Hindus
and Mahigiran (fishermen) and Margiran (snake catchers) have
been definitely described as Hindus. Some of them were good and
lived by their honest and industrious labour, while others were
definitely bad and dishonest. A learned man and a mystic sufi
himself, the Amir did not separe the greedy hypocrites among them
and he considered the laity to be a “hundred times better than the
priestly class.” He writes in Matla-ul-Anwar (Chapter VI).
“Hast Base Sufi-i-Pashmina posh-kas na rasad bang-
i-Muezzin ba gosh.In hama Shaikhan-i-
Khaza in parast-Barhamanand but-i-e Zarrin ba dast."
On the other hand, about low class wage earners he writes
appreciatively that they pour the sweat of their brow to earn their
lawful food; they work with their hands, night and day, and go to
the length of making holes, with their teeth, in the leather to serve
mankind. He has very good words to say about the tailors and the
cobblers who were more hard-working and straight-forward in
their dealings than others, especially goldsmiths. The Amir writes
frequently about the weavers who were simpletons but honest and
industrious. We are told how they worked, at what they worked,
their tools and apparatus and the services they rendered to society.
The characters portrayed and the situations depicted appear to
be mostly imaginary, fictitious and overdrawn; yet the portraiture
and the descriptions comprising the illustrative selections here may
be taken to represent some real personality, actualities and
KHUSRAU’S WORKS AS SOURCES OF SOCIAL HISTORY 159

possibilities as seen and found at the time in society by the

observant eyes of the acute writer. Even the word-picture as
drawn by the Amir and his pen-drawings are very often helpful
and suggestive. Literature is the imperishable voice of life and of
the period that produces it; and is, indeed, the mirror of the soul
of society. It gives us a glimpse into the existing and actual social
life of the time, and therefore, there is much in it which forms a
very interesting study of social evolution.

It may be said that literary picture based on scanty and scattered

references is not only incomplete, but is also sometimes misleading.
The motivating factor was not so much to paint a true picture of
social elements, social organisation and institutions, and cultured
pattern and performances as to display the writer's literary skill
and accomplishments and to cater to the tastes and the needs of
the time. The poets are generally in the habit of exaggerating
things, and one should not expect their works to be marked by
moderation and balance. Amir Khusrau was not an exception. He
has gone to the absurd length in the later portions of the fifth Risai 7
of his Ijaz in his highly obscene remarks, which cannot be put
before the modem readers. Social standards of beliefs and practices,
manners and morals are not necessarily the same among the
different people and at different times. It is not safe to judge the
past from the present. But even this part about episodes and
persons concerned, is not altogether worthless for unfortunately
Bami and others support him in some respects.

Though much that Amir Khusrau, who has been not unjustly
styled as “the social historian” of the 13th century, has left to us
in his numerous works, specially his masnavis and Risal-ul-Ijaz
which is an interesting heritage as well as an example of the
author’s literary accomplishment, compels attention, we have to
be very cautious and careful in clearing the grain from the husk.
There are difficulties, and much painstaking effort is needed to tap
the sources still wrapped up in Persian garb. We can confine
ourselves in this short paper only to certain aspects and past
conditions of society by way of examples, and draw the attention
of the readers to what our author says about diet and drink, clothes
160 AMIR KHUSRAU

and costumes, beliefs and practices, other than religious, and above
all the various categories of people as to how they lived, thought
and behaved, and what their good and bad points were.
In Quranu ’s-Sadain, while dealing with that which pertained
to royalty and not to ordinary social life he writes about food and
table manners of Sultan Kaiqubad. After referring to the large
(thousand) varieties of menus and dishes, sent in 9 tripod trays
from the royal kitchen to the table, he writes about the nature and
orders of the viands as follows:
“Hundred of cups of sweet vegetable juice, tasteful and nourishing
as the water of life, were first taken round, and placed before the
companions whose liquor-saturated palates were thus washed off
by Jullab (purge of water and sugar). By taking the lip-sticking
sherbat (syrup) broken (languishing) spirits were reunited and set
right. After this course the turn came of the dishes which were
served on the table. The Nan (bread) was carried round like the
circular disc of the sun. The nan-i-tunuk (thin fine bread like
chapati) was so crystal clear that one’s face could be seen through
it. I should describe it as the dise of the sun rather than a bread;
it was worth if Jesus spread it on the table. The nan-i-turi (of
Turkish or Mongol variety) was puffed up like a dome because
of the joy felt at being included among the royal dishes. This was
the reason why kak (biscuit or dry bread), became surly and pale-
faced. The sambosa (a kind of smal pastry of minced meat of a
triangular form) became a delicacy because of the three elements
constituted by it (Asar=Arad, Sarid, Raughan). The bara-i-biryan
(fried or roasted kid) excelled the disc of the sun (refers to circular
mutton chop). The tongue tasted the meat prepared out of the
rib of the goat; it was placed at the top of the polaw (a dish
composed of meat and rice, seasoned and cooked with butter,
spices and honey. It refers to gravy or abgosht or yakhni of
biryani). The meat pieces cut out from the sides of skinned goat
looked like so many crescents. Strangely enough thirty first crescents
(Ghurra) came out of the day of the new moon (Salakh skinned
or flayed). The fat of the thick tail of dumba (a kind of sheep)
weighed two mans; it was more delicious than that of ahu-barra
(fawn). The head of the goat came intact with teeth exposed and
• KHUSRAU’S WORKS AS SOURCES OF SOCIAL HISTORY 161

excited the laughter from those sitting at the table (well-cooked

but intact buz musallam like murgh musallam). The hilly dumba
of which tray ful of meat was brought had been reared and nourished
for ten months till its two horns had come out on its head. Hundreds
of delicacies and all varieties of food cooked in the cauldron (deg)
were placed on the table and people partook of them with great
relish, using their lips and fingers. A large variety of birds, fowls,
such as waji (quail), tihu (a bird smaller than a patridge), durraj
(black patridge), charz (bustard, a bird of game whose flesh is
tender and delicate) had been cooked in a variety of ways. There
were trayful of sugar-constituted halwa (a kind of sweet-meat
made of flour, ghee and sugar) with a flavour and taste like that
of the dishes of paradise. There were tablets or cakes of sabuni
(a mixture of almond, honey, sesame oil), which was as tasteful
as sugar and as good and straight as an old whitish garment.Then,
many kinds of fragrant perfumes were sprinkled on, or mixed up
with the eatables. They were more fragrant than camphor and
saffron. When their palates had partaken of their shares of eating
and drinking and their hearts and soul had got nourishment from
the delicious delicacies, a few topmen stood up and uncovered in
the name of each one present, a tray of Fuqqa (a kind of drink
made of water and barley and of dried grapes, something like
beer). Its strong effervecsence went to the body and unloosened
hundreds of knots of life’s thread. When the provisions and the
accessories were removed from the dinner table, the turn came
for serving betel leaves among the men of the assembly.”

This is followed by more than a dozen lines in praise of betel

leaves. Amir Khusrau has made frequent mention of Pan which
was invariably offered to the guests, specially at the end of the
dinner, in his various works. This was the practice of his maternal
grandfather, an Indian Muslim whose “rang-i-qirgun” (dark as
pitch) glittering in sun’s glare pleased the child Khusrau so much
while he was perched on his shoulder. The long discourse in
Volume II of the Risai 7 in which we find 42 virtues mentioned
as against 43 demerits of betels and betel chewing, has already
been published elsewhere. The Risai’1 contains references to many
articles of food such as Kabab (meat cut in small pieces and
162 AMIR KHUSRAU

roasted with onion and eggs and stuck on skewer), Zaliba-i-Nabat

(IV 325 our Jalaibi), Sirka (vinegar), Jughrat (curds) (IV-51),
Girda-i-Paneer (cake of cheese), Paludah (Paluda, a kind of
flummery or Sweetmeat 11-177-517), Murabba (1-169, a preserve
or confection), Sikbat or Sikbati (1-612, a dish made of meat,
wheat-flour and vinegar), Khushka (1-23 boiled rice), Shakkar
Paich (1-196, a kind of sweetmeat made of rice or wheat and
sugar; also paper to wrap with sugar in), Ruqaq (IV-325, thin
cakes), Tutmaj (thin slices of pastry or vermicelli), Lauzina (a kind
of sweetmeat in which almond is mixed up; also almond shaped
confection IV-15) Sharabi-i-Asir, (grape-wine) and Sharab-i-
Naishkar (wine manufactured out of sugarcane IV-53), Sikanjabin
(1-23), lime-juice or other acid mixed with honey or sugar),
Ghulahakkari (1-60, a kind of sweetmeat made of rose and sugar,
something like Gulqand), a Qaisunqur (a kind of meat syrup of
birds), bughra (a kind of dish with dressed pastry or macaroni or
a worm shaped white paste called vermicelli or sewa’in invented
by King Bughra Khan) and Shulla (Pulao or dish made up of rice,
spice, butter, flesh or fowl) have been also referred to in Matla-
ul-Anwar (Chap.II).
“Mail ba Qaisunqur o bughra makun-Shulla-i-Tutamajit
lghra Makun.”
Our author has told us much about the second most essential
need of man, that is, clothes and apparels. They were of various
stuffs or texture, silken, cotton, woollen, linen, embroidered, painted
and of gold work. There are many references, in different places
of his various works, to Khaz (coarse kind of silken cloth), Deba
(brocade), Harir (silken cloth), Zarbaft (cloth of gold), Zardozi
(embroidered cloth), Makhmal (velvet), Atlas (dull coloured satin-
red, tending to be black), Mushajjar (a kind of figured silk brocade
ot painted silk cloth), Daq (a kind of costly stuff; also a coarse
dwarfish garment, painted and embroidered), Katan (a kind of linen
cloth said to be rent by the expousre to the moonlight), Kirpas (a
kind of long cotton cloth; also fine lines or muslin), Pamean (a kind
of fine painted silk from China), Aksun (a rich black-coloured
silken cloth worn by princess or boastful people; also a species
of brocade). Amir Khusrau is very lavish in his praises of the
KHUSRAU’S WORKS AS SOURCES OF SOCIAL HISTORY 163

clothes of Devagiri and Bihar, and Oudh, specially the first. It is

interesting to see what he says about Bihari or Rupak-i-Bihari and
Devagiri cloth. He writes under Jama-i-Devagiri in his diwan
called Nihayatul-Kamal (page 52).
“How can I describe adequately the fine quality of the cloths.
Had it not been so, the hard-hearted planet (Mars) would have
skinned the moon and brought it to the end of the month (what
the poet means to say is that the Devagiri cloth is so fine and thin
that if the moon is deprived of its skin and thinned, it would not
be thinner than that). Even a hundred yards of such a fine cloth
can be made to pass through the eye of the needle and yet it is
of such fine and strong texture that the point of the steel needle
cannot pierce it without difficulty. It may be said to compare
favourably with the drops of water, as if the drops trickle down
against nature from the streamlet of the sun. Elsewhere he says,
“It is so transparent and light that it looks as if one is wearing no
dress at all, but has only rubbed the body with pure water.” The
fine subtle Hindustic silken garment of which, if doubly folded ten
yards are out of one, were drawn. Owing to the extrene fineness
ten (hundred) yards can easily be contained in the eyes which do
not suffer in the least thereby. Neither water nor oil nor the iron
or pointed needle can pierce or penetrate through it like drops of
water. Khazain-ul-Futuh also refers to the varieties of cloth from
‘Kirpas’ to ‘Harir’ which cover the nakedness of body; from
‘Bihari’ to ‘Gul-i-Baqli’ which are used both in summer and winter,
from ‘shirt or under garments to Galim (blanket of goafs hair)
which differ greatly in their hair; from ‘Jaz’ to ‘Khaz’ which are
similarly engraved or painted; form Devagiri to Mahadeonagari
which are allurement both to the body and the mind” (page 25).
The types and modes of dress have also been referred to. Such
were the large turbans (Dastar) and Ammama, worn by Ulemas
and religious groups on the head over a close-fitted skull-cap called
Kulah and, consequently, they were called Dastarbandan,
Mutammiamah, and Kulahdaran. In Risai’l we get that the big
turban folded like a coiled serpent was made of such fine and light
stuff that a hundred yards of this cloth could be wrapped round the
head and yet the hair underneath was visible. The other clothes
164 AMIR KHUSRAU

they used were Pairahan, Qaba (sleeved close-fitting jacket or

coat open in front), Aba (a kind of coat or cloak), Jubba (a sort of
drawer or trouser like Pae-Jama), Shalwar (baggy trouser), Lungi
(narrow strip of cloth passed round the waist and thigh), Barani (a
cloth for keeping off rains), Dotai (a kind of double cloth). The sufls
and durveshes were clad in Khiroa-i-hazr-Mehki (the mendicant’s
habit made of numerous patches), Kulah-i-Chihar Taranji or Chihar
Taraki (four cornered cap), Kafsh (shoe, sandal or slipper), Nalain
(a pair of shoes of a particular kind with wooden soles), Labaicha
or Labada and Chadar as also Moza; and sandals were of different
types. We find mention being made of Kafsh-i-Yaky-Mehkhi and
Seh-Mekhi (hooks), Kafsh-i-Zardozi (embroidered), and Kafshak-
l-Hanm used by men of affluence. The garments of women
consisted of Naqab (veil hanging over the face), Maqna (a veil
worn over the head), Durrah’a (tunic; upper garment with buttons
and loops), Pae-cha (drawer or trouser), Chandar (scarf), Qasb
(women’s headgear), Izar or Kishtak (drawer), Pairahan (loose or
close-fitted shirt from the neck to the navel), Reshaha-i-Damani
(women’s skirt mounted with fringes), Sangchil-i-Zanan (sinaposh
or breast-belt), Gulband (neck cloth), Chirin Baf (a piece of cloth
of delicate kind of texture). Izar and Fido were worn by both men
and women. They parted their hair just in the middle of the head
i.e. a track was made just in the centre of the head (Rah-ha az
farq-i-rast rast kard-and) R.I.-1-21). They used also cosmetics
like Ghaza, Gulguna, Sandal, and many other perfumes. They had
Gulala (locks of hair hanging loose), Jaad (ringlets of furly locks).
The male Syeds had also double Jaad and men used Masma (dye
made of leaves of wood or indigo).
We get some interesting observations in Risai’l (IV-856) on
different kinds of cloth “Jama-i-Yak-Shiqqadar Muina (The garments
with fissures or crevices) which wards off a whole hill of snow;
Yakta-i-Bahraman (red coloured upper garment without lining
which is very delicate like water and covers the beatiful ones upto
the neck); Yakta-i-Hari (silken) which on account of its brilliant
glare and fineness resembles the rays of the sun; Yakta-i-
Chambartan, which had the quality of covering the defects (of
poverty and misery), but had a defect of its own in that its wearer
KHUSRAU’S WORKS AS SOURCES OF SOCIAL HISTORY 165

remained naked inspite of putting it on; the Yakta-i-Paman, a

green, thin and delicate garment like the feather of the flies; the
Devagiri garments, white and fine like the spider’s web; Yakta-
i-Awadhi which had become sugar-coloured and stained on account
of moisture; the jama (garment) of the special wardrobe is harsher
(more coarse) than mean-minded ones, which the slave, asked to
use as a pae-taba, kicked off with his legs; Katani-i-Rusi, which
general Aibak Tatar sent, was harsher than the temperament of
the Russians and was narrower than the eyes of the people of
Khata (China). The Yaktayi-i-Narma Latif resembling the skm of
the snake had been sent as a memento and in lieu of that the green
Maqan like Jama-i-Chuk (like green scum or kayee) has been
recevied. The Dastar, as thin as water, Kulah-i-Chihar Taranji, the
rose coloured Yaktai (Gulnari) a piece of long cloth (Katan) which
on account of its being excessively cool is ever in tremor, and a
piece of Jar Mauji and one Miyar-i-Ma’abari (turban or veil made
in Ma’abar or Madura) from which water easily came out, and
Yakta-i-Zabadi have also been referred to (1-177-8).
The Risai 7 tells us about different kinds of people, good or bad.
For example we are told about Kuzhawarzan-i-Miskin (poor
cultivators) who take their pair of ploughs (Juftawanan) to the
fields; and with pearl-like sweat trickling down from their fore¬
head break the dry or parched earth; irrigate it with their own
hands; and when the seeds thrown inside the earth sprout and
blossom up with grains, one into thousands, he plies his crescent¬
like reaping sickle; gets the crops, say of Shali paddy, wheat or
others, removes the grain from the straw; provides food for himself
and others; and keeps the gram stored in the granary of the
Judgment Day. The real benefactors will never allow their labours
to go in vain. In the same piece we are told about a Navismda-
i-Hindu (Hindu clerk or accountant) whose two-faced reed pen
(Qalam-i-Juftawan-Kah) which being wielded to keep an account
of produce (Hirz Challa) becomes as important as the com itself
for it splits under the disposition (affects the mental equilibrium)
of the poor peasants just as the plough does in the case of the
cultivated field, and his tongue serves the purpose of a sickle
(badas) of the field which splits and removes everything that
 AMIR KHUSRAU
166

comes in the way (this shows that in making the entries of the
produce the petty Hindu official acted dishonestly and he was so
sharp-tongued as to summarilty dispose of all complaints, just as
the sickle removes all that comes in the way) (R.I.IV. 64-65).
The Amir’s observations on the ways of the sots and frunkards,
Rabis (usurers), Rashis (bribers), Zanis (adulterers) “who are alike
in form and spirit” and also Muhtakiran (hoarders and profiteers)
show that such vices were widely prevalent in his time. Wine
drinking, though strictly prohibited by Islam, had become a habit
with the people, and even some men included in his religious groups
had become addicted to it. We are told of a drunkard Mu-ezzin
who entered the magnificent mosque of Qazi Jmran in a state of
intoxication and the smell of liqour coming out of his mouth defiled
the pillars and rafters of the mosque which had been made of
sweet-scented sandal and aloe wood (R,I, IV-175). Some recluses
joined the Sultan in secret drinking party and some Ulemas poured
liqour in the same bosom in which the Qoran was treasured”
(Matal-ul-Anwar, Chap. 11). Of the trinity of joy, wine, women
and music, all of which form important themes in the Risai 7, the
first and the third have been accorded separate sections (11-267-
275 and 275-291) which is also the case with the following discourses
and Nard and Shatranj (games of backgammon and chess (11-291-
298) which are also noticed in Khazain-ul-Futnh (pp. 42-43). In
the “account of wine bibing the author who was himself a teetotaller
gives an indirect hint to Alauddin’s prohibition of the drinking and
sale of wine.” But by the vicissitudes of the revolving sky the big
wine jars became small (were broken).the spiders had woven
their webs on the doors and walls of the tavern.the fellow
drunkards who were the flies of wine had dispersed and gone into
retirement.the minstrel, the cupbearers, Kabab, Nuql (desserts),
the goblets, jugs, juglets, and flagons had disappered. (R. II. 270-
71), Khazain-ul-Futuh also tells us how the roots of all iniquities,
lust and adultery were cut off; wine, the daughter of grape and
the sister of sugar, was turned into vinegar, and the prostitutes with
their locks at the lower part of their ears and addicted to adultery
were chastised and became veiled. This is followed by references
to thieves, robbers, highway-robbers, night-prowlers, cut-purse,
KHUSRAU’S WORKS AS SOURCES OF SOCIAL HISTORY 167

grave-diggers, shroud stealers, pick-pockets, who were held up

from the banks of Sindh river to the sea-coasts (on the East) and
were thoroughly chastised. The blood-sucking necromancers,
magicians and man-devouring witches (Kaftari), who speared their
senseless teeth in the flesh of people’s children and caused a
stream of blood to flow were stoned to death after being buried
upto the throat (Sangsar). Last in the list comes the heinous
fraternity of incestuous miscreants (Ibahatian), who held secret
nocturnal assemblies wherein a mother cohabited with her son, the
aunt with her sister’s son, the father with his daughter, the brother
with the sister. These libidinous wretches were tortured to death,
the saw of iron being drawn over their heads (K.F. text, pp. 18-21).
He also writes about “Sunnian-i-Pak-o-Saf (orthodox Charyari
Muslims), Muatazilan and Rafizis (rationalists and Schismatics
Muslims). At one place he writes “If in this age the Rafizis (Shia
heretics) were to nominally claim their rights, the pure Sunnis ought
to remind (warn) the rightful caliph on oath”.(KF). He refers
in derisive tone to the polluted ‘Hinduan’; the bearded and severely
despotical Afghans (Afghanak-rishail and Ushrtulum) who were
vain and arrogant; the lion-nosed, dog-tongued, Tartar-lipped, thinly-
bearded Mongols; the Tabbetans with narrow close eyelids; the
dog-faced, cat-eyed Arazenian Chinese with frowning and wrinkled
foreheads. On the other hand, he mentions about a dozen types
of Turks such as the moon-faced Aibaka, silver-bosomed and lron-
bodied Qamash and Tamar, white-headed Aqwaish, the vigorous
and manly Sunqur, the warlike intrepid Qilich, the loud-talking red-
haired Sanjar, the pleasing open-handed Tangar; Qizil Arsatan, the
red-lions, the incomprehensible Gorid, and also Kam Tughid and
Ai-tughid (R.I. 166).
Amir Khusrau gives us a peep into the “Dark comers” (Zawaya-
i-Tarik) of people without provisions (Be-toshagan) which have
neither fire in the day nor the light of the lamp in the night (IV.
114) and also into the thatched houses of the poor people (Muflisan)
covered with thorns (Khaspish) which cannot prevent the leakage
of pearl-like drops (of rains) nor the penetration of sun’s rays and
particles of dust through its holes (11.18). On the other hand, he
takes us into the high roofed, two storied houses of the upper class
168 AMIR KHUSRAU

people which had vaulted halls (Suffa-i-taq), pool of water (Hauz

Khana), bath room or privy (Ab-Khana), library (Kitab-Khana),
courtyard (Sahan) threshold (Dahliz), portico (Rawaq) with lofty
pillars, painted walls and high doorways (V-57-61, V-87-89). In
Nuh Sipihr, Amir Khusrau tells us about a poor helpless Hindu
(Hindu-i-Miskin), who works himself to death, on account of the
tyranny of the Khuta (Khurad Az Khuta Khun). He tells us about
the drunkard Sufi (Sufi-i-Qallash), who goes into the tavern, and
also the pious mystic of pure character (Sufi-i-ba-safa), who has
become extremely popular due to his character.
The Nuh-Sipihr again tells us of the Indian dancing girls, with
their forehead decorated with sandals and jewels, the parting of
their hair being filled with pearls and diamond pendants, wearing
a nose ornament and clad in the Devagin garment. At the end of
the fifth of the Risala, there is a satirical reference to some bad
type of the women of the south. One is the Didi Miskin of Devagiri
who made her black face white by coming out of the flour mill
to cast glamorous side glances on people, and the other was
Uchhaldi, the mistress of a brothel, and a typical representative
of Nayakans of India. She and her followers always looked youthful
amongst men; her ears were like water-drawing buckets hanging
down in wells, and her lips were like raised sides of a drain. On
one side of her nose a pearl was suspended from the nostril, while
on the other the snot (neta) having frozen on account of cold
breeze looked like a hanging pearl. Her nose made her much too
self-conscious.
Birth of a male child was welcomed with festivities and presents
(V-251). Father or guardian arranged the marriage of their sons
and daughters, and sometimes the hands of a grown-up girl were
asked for direct by the suitors (V-215). Rich presents were offered
by friends and relations to the married couple (V-221-24); a
professional people called Murda Khwan recited the Quranic suras
specially of Yasin over the dying and the dead (IV-39-40). The
public crier put his fingers in his ears while calling the faithful to
prayer (1V-81). Like the Hindu, a Muslim woman dying before
her husband was decorated with vermilion paste being applied to
her (gul-guna kunand). Festivals and festivities have also come in
KHUSRAU’S WORKS AS SOURCES OF SOCIAL HISTORY 169

the picture. Such were the occasions of Nauroz (new year’s day,
according to Persian calender on which the Sun enters Aries); the
two Ids; Shab-barat (14th or night of the 15 th of Shaaban involving
nocturnal vigil, making of offerings and oblation to the departed
souls, display of lamps and general illuminations, and fire works,
played by children); Lailat-ul-qabr (27th of Ramzan, when the
Quran is said to have descended from heaven); Lailat-ul-miraj (the
night of prophet Muhammad’s ascent to heaven). When Amir
Khusrau invited his mystic freinds to attend a Qawwli get-together,
some thrown in a state of ecstacy, danced, that is rotated on their
legs (pa-koftand) their hips being in motion (‘Kachol juftaha shud’),
while some clapped their hands (dast zidand); Ashura the 10th of
Muharram when the orthodox Sunnis kept whole day fast, applied
collyrium to the eyes, and also read out from the book, Maqtal-
i-Husain which dealt with the tragedy of Karbala. On the occasion
of Id-ul-Fitr, which marked the breaking of the Ramzan fasts, after
the visibility of the moon, Dasta-i-Nan, Halwa and Zaliba-i-nabat
were sent out in big trays (tabaq) to the houses of friends and the
vessel with rose-water (gulabdan) was in frequent use. Id was
announced by the beating of the drum nine times.
There are references also to some common-place but still
current practics. Water mixed up with milk was sold at the rate
of milk (IV-259); goldsmiths, while pretending to purify gold use
Suhaga (borax) and steal gold; the washerman who earns 100
dirhams every week, and who utters ‘si, si’ while he is at work,
is found garbed in the clothes of other people (II-112); the tumbul
attendants of poor means offer a few betels to the men of position
and expect to be tipped (11-257); it does not behove one to take
augury from sneezing which is due to cold (IV-86); they hang a
black raven in a garden or on a newly-built house to avert fatal
misfortunes and calamity of evil eyes (IV-87); among the
congregation of people of griefs and lamentation they sing Hmdmstic
songs, while carrying the bier of an old person (11-250); in India
there is a custom that workers of spells and magic practise
incantations with the help of a cane and whosoever is struck with
it becomes tractable and submissive (IV-161). The conjuror who
swallows swords and daggers, etc.(IV-261). Afsun (spells
170 AMIR KHUSRAU

and magic) and Chashmbandi (tricks that deceived the eyes) which
the Gabrs (infidels) practised so as to draw a veil over peoples'
eyes have been referred to in the K.F. also (63-64)- In his masnavi
of Laila Majnun the Amir refers to the conjuration (Shubada) or
sleight of hand of the dagger-swallowing man (Khanjar-asham)
and one who inflicts wounds on his arms and sides for the sake
of his belly (Bazu ze paye shikam kunad resh).
In his masnavi named Aina-i-Sikandari Amir Khusrau has
referred to some of the typical customs and manners of the Hindus
“out of sheer foolishness the common Hindus drink water out of
hands of their palms in spite of the fact that they had a hundred
earthem pots with them (p. 32). From the red colour of the twilight
the mountain peak looked like the forehead of the elephant which
had been besmeared with Vermillion. When the snake charmer
catches a snake, he nourishes such a bloody reptile with milk (53-
54). When I slightly removed the veil from the side of the ear I
caused the cap to fall down on the head and the head from the
shoulder. She covered her rosy face under ‘Maijar’ (a cloth worn
by women to preserve their headdress from being soiled by unquent
or pomatum of their hair) and thus shaded closed the eyes of the
evil wisher and prevented him from seeing her.
Here are a few lines from Ashiqa about the conjurors and
acrobats and their juggling or sleight of hands. “They were so
dexterous in their use of swords that they could split a hair into
two halves like a young hero. With the dagger, clean and pure as
the wing or the feather of the flies, they cut the flying flies into
two without making any boast of it. The rope-dancer played on
the top of the rope just as the hearts are constrained by curling
locks. He was not only exhibiting his feat by twisting his body round
the rope but was rather playing with the threads of his life. With
his dexterous hands he threw the ball high in the sky and with it
went the galloping stead round the circular disc. The conjuror
swallowed the sword like water as if he was drinking water as
a syrup. He let the sharp pomard slip into his throat through his
nose just as one takes water into his nostrils. The child warriors
exhibited their feat by jumping to and fro on the running horses
like flowers borne on the wings of the wind. The masqueraders
KHUSRAU’S WORKS AS SOURCES OF SOCIAL HISTORY 171

exhibited their skill in different ways. By practising a variety of

strategems they sometimes showed themselves as fairies and
sometimes as devils.”
More interesting is the versified account of the spells and
incantations found in Nuh-Sipihr. “Many wonderous things have
appeared in this land the like of which has not been mentioned of
any other country. If I happen to describe most of them it would
become as long as a tale, and, therefore, I am recounting only a
few of them. Firstly, within this area, the enchanters bring a dead
man back to life by their magical charms. This statement requires
substantiation. I am giving a hint to those who will seek it. The
person bitten by a snake who does not rise at the time is brought
back to life after six months. In order to learn the art one has to
proceed to the East by way of water as swiftly as the lightning.
When he reaches the borders of Kamrup the master magician
turns him into an animal. The other thing is that the Brahmans
treasure the powers of enchantment in their hearts and if they
exercise their spell on a freshly killed person the latter becomes
alive provided he has not been removed away. If he is asked about
the future events he may tell that if they are not terrified. So long
as his tongue remains intact he is capable of speech but when it is
dissolved we should not expect any speech from him. Another
wonderful thing is that either by a true method or any pretexts and
pretences they prolong the life which is not prone to decay. This
is achieved in this way that since the number of breaths of every
man for each day is fixed by calculation, one who accustoms
himself to the taking care or holding the breath prolongs his life
when he takes less number of breaths each day. The Yogi by
practising restraints of breath within the idol temple remains alive
for 200 or 300 years. Another strange thing is that by their artful
regulation of nose breathings they predict events of the future.
That is, if they stop and release their breath through their right and
left nostrils, they give out same thing of the future. The other thing
is that they have developed the art of transferring their souls from
their own bodies to those of others. In the hilly regions of Kashmir
there are many cave habitations of such people. Another thing is
that they knew the art of assuming the forms of wolf, dog and cat.
172 AMIR KHUSRAU

Again by practising their art they remove the blood from one body
and infuse it into that of another. It is also a strange thing that both
old and young are quickly struck by their hypnotic charms. Another
strange thing is their claim that they can fly high in the air like birds;
but this does not stand to reason. Again by virtue of their charms
they claim that they do not get drowned in the encircling whirlpool.
Even if you put them in a tight sack and throw it on the surface of
the water they would swim across from one bank to another
without being drowned. Another strange thing is their claim to
withhold and let go rains and moisture from the clouds. The have
got such a collyrium that if a person desires and applies it to his
eyes he can make himself invisible. There are many such wondrous
things which are reported about them, but which may be said to be
beyond the capacity of everyone except the watchful protectors
(spiritual men) of the time. One who has seen all these things may
not deny them; but those who have not seen them cannot believe
all of them. Though all these are charms and fancies, yet, there is
something which may be taken to be really true and I would tell you
that for your approval."
There are many appreciative verses of Amir Khusrau in Nuh-
Sipihr, a command performance, about the fidelity of the Hindus,
male and female, to the object of their love and devotion. The dying
of the Hindus for expressing their fidelity is a thing to be astonished
at; their dying either by the stroke of the sword or burning in the
cruel fire. (Hast Ajab Murdan-i-Hindu Ba Wafa Murdanasn Az
Tegh Wa Ze Atash ba Jafa). The woman burnt herself out of love
for her husband and the man practised self-destruction for his idol
or for his lord and patron (Zan Ze Paye, Mard Basa Zad Ba
Hawas-Mard Ze Bahre But-o-Ya Munim-o-bas). Although in
Islam such things are not allowed, but see what great deeds
these are:- (Garche Dar Islam Rawa Nist Chunin-Laik Clio Bas
Kari-i-Buzurg Ast be bin). If such kind of acts had been
allowed by the Shariyat, many virtuous people would have gladly
sacrificed their lives for the sake of their love and devotion (Gar
ba Shariyat Bawad In Na'u Rawa-Jan Bedehand Ahl-i-Saadat
ba Haw a).
KHUSRAU’S WORKS AS SOURCES OF SOCIAL HISTORY 173

Amir Khusrau's conception of womanhood as a mother, daughter,

and wife, and his ideas of the correct role of women in society,
her interest and activities, deserve more than a passing notice. He
says that the mother is "the origin of the mercy of God," and "the
paradise is under her feet." The rights accruing from the pains of
pregnancy and child birth she has undergone entails on her offsprings
a load or burden the least particle whereof will suffice to weigh
down the scale of the Judgment Day. Even if a son offers 30 cities
to her for carrying his burden and suckling him during the period
of 30 months he cannot render her all her dues (H. Ijaz II, 164,
325). The long sermons to his daughter and to “all the women”
(Sair-i-Masturat) in Hasht Bhisht (38 verses) and Matla-ul-Anwar
(109 verses) would lead one to think that the great poet was
extremely orthodox and conservative in his attitude towards the
fair sex. In one of his verses he seems to lament the birth of his
daughter; but he immediately offers his thanksgivings to God for
the gift and says that his father had also a mother; the latter was
also a daughter; Messiah was bom without a father; but there was
no case of any one being bom without a mother (H.B.).
Addressing his seven years old daughter, Mastura, he says
“although your brothers like you are of good stars (disposition) they
are not better than you in my eyes (M.A.).” When you enter into
wedlock and qualify yourself for occupying the Sedan I would wish
you first to be chaste and continent and then wealthy. My first
counsel to you is that you should exert with assiduity in your
devotion to God and remain under the arched place of worship
like your eyes. There is no better ornament for you than the rosary.
Seek good name and character through your own body by being
chaste and abstemious, and be a friend of purity. For a woman
of bold conduct and deliberations needles and spindles are spears
and arrows. Even if you have enough of gold, don’t feel ashamed
of the spindle which is of iron. It is not sagacious to give up the
spinning wheel and needle, for these are the means of covering
the body. If you want to be at ease and free from all calamities,
keep your face towards the wall and have your back at the doors.
The secluded ones are applauded and those who wander about
in the streets are disgraced. The woman who runs in the streets
174 AMIR KHUSRAU

is not a woman but a bitch. The swing (Bad Pech) and tambourine
(Duff) which the women play upon are no better than pillories and
ropes for them. Songs and melodies appear at first to be simple
affairs, but when carried to extremes they serve as virtual invitation
to drunkenness. Wash your face of the false cosmetics (Gulgauna),
and try to be honourable without the red colour (ghaza) on the face.
The real ‘ Jalwa’ (meeting of the bride and bridegroom) is not that
to look like a bedecked idol or fairy before the husband, but to
be bashful, modest and fearful and to be known and seen from
behind the curtain mounted with the fringe of the veil.
Our author enjoins upon the wives to keep themselves within
the limits of their homes and have watchful eyes on all the
resources of their houses; have privacy with none except husband,
even with brothers and nearest relations; remain engaged in their
domestic duties rather than being busy with the combs and mirrors;
treat the husband’s face as the mirror; practise thrift, and make
particles of gold and silver, earned by the husbands into thousand;
avoid being quarrelsome, harsh-tongued and short-tempered lest
they might annoy the husbands, and drive away the domestic
attendants; behave well towards the female servants; consider
contentment as their ornaments, if the husbands be poor and
without means of subsistance; in short to cultivate such moral
excellences as to make him feel proud of being the father of a
daughter, hoping to be remembered as such, through her, after his
death (M.A.).
 The Historian in Khusrau
ABDUL AZIZ 'AMEEQ' HANFEE

H istory is made conspicuous by its absence in ancient India.

Its presence was for the first time felt when a new and
entirely different type of culture knocked on the north-western
gates in the early years of the 8th century.
The first ancient narrative of succeeding regimes is the Sanskrit
work, Rajatarangini written in 1150 A.D. by Kalhana. This too
is a provincial history—that of Kashmir. "Itihasa" is a term that
has undergone many a change before assuming the present
connotation that brings it closest to the sense of history. Originally
the word was almost a synonym of "Puran", the former meaning
"legends of gods" and the latter meaning "legends of origin."1 This
complete absence of history leaves one wondering as to why our
ancients were so indifferent to record their past. It will be unfair
to expect from them an explanation for the lack of something of
which they hardly had any idea. The reasons can be deduced from
their basic attitudes and fundamental beliefs. Present, for them,
was a consequence of the past, and, future, the fruit of what you
sow in the present. They were preoccupied with thoughts and
actions that might lead them to free their souls from "Kala-chakra",
the life-and-death cycle i.e. the cycle of Time. Therefore past was
better forgotten. The Vedas, the Puranas, the Kavyas, the Natakas
and the biographies (Charitras or Charitas) have enormous store
of source material for history but the problem of placing this mass
in a chronological framework is made more complicated due to
non-availability of political narratives. Even in this age of
interpretative analysis of history the importance of "Dynastic
chronology" is not undermined. "Dynastic chronology" and "Political
narratives" provide its anatomy to history, however interpretative
and analytical it may claim to be.2
176 AMIR KHUSRAU

The cultures that developed with Islam as their fundamental and

central ideology attached great importance to history. Ziauddin
Bami places History on an equal footing with Hadis. The 13th and
14th centuries can be called an 'Age of History' in the history of
Islamic culture. Amir Khusrau (1253-1325 A.D.) was underscoring
the charm of history on an aesthetic plane of poetry in the East
while Ibn Khaldun (1333-1405 A.D.) was laying the foundation
of philosophy of history and science of culture in the West. Both
of them did not lose sight of Man as of paramount importance.
Whether dove-tailed with poetry (as in Khusrau) or with philosophy
(as m Ibn Khaldun), history remained a treasure of the past wisdom
handed over to the present generation to help make its future
beautiful, benefic and bright.
The medieval concept of a historian is quite efficiently presented
by Tabari in his Tarikh:
"The knowledge of the events of past nations, and of the
information about what is currently taking place, does not reach
one who is not contemporary to, or does not observe, such events
except through the reports of historian and the transmission of
transmitters. These (historians, transmitters) should not use rational
deductions and mental elucidations. Now if there happens to be
in this book a report that I have transmitted from some past
authority to which the reader objects or which the hearer detests
because he does not see how it could possibly be true or correct,
let him know that this report did not originate with me, but came
from some who transmitted it to me and all I did was to deliver
it as it was delivered to me."8
Another light on the medieval view of history is from Amir
Khusrau's illustrious contemporary, Khwaja Tashor 'Pir-bhai' and
historian Ziauddin Bami (b. 1285 A.D.) who thought of history as
a discipline which made men wise as they leamt from the experience
of the past. He prescribed that a historian should be honest and
truthful and if for one reason or the other he is unable to convey
facts he should try to do so through suggestion and implication.
Historiography in the middle ages was a pursuit which some
people followed as a profession and others as an artistic expression.
THE HISTORIAN IN KHUSRAU 177

Works like Tajul Maathir by Sadrulamm Muhammad Hasan

Nizami Nishapuri covering the period between 587 AH to 626 AH
(1191-1228 AD), Tabaqat-i-Nasiri by Maulana Minhajuddin Usman
Ibn Sirajuddin Al-Jozjani, a general history of the Islamic world
upto the fifteenth year of Nasiruddin Mahmud's reign, Tarikh-i-
Firuz Shahi by Maulana Ziauddm Bami starting with the reign
of Balban and ending with the first six years of Firuz Shah's reign,
Futuhus Salatin by Khwaja 'Abdullah Malik 'Isami beginning with
the Yaminis of Ghazni and coming down to the reign of Muhammad
Tughlaq; Futuhai-i-Firuz Shahi by Shams-Siraj-Afif, a useful
primary source for the political and cultural history of the long reign
of Firuz Shah. Besides these there are many valuable Maslfuzat
and chronicles of some of the foremost Sufi saints of the period
which have a lot of historical information and data that can help
in the construction of the basic structure of a sociological study
of the period. Fawaid-ul-Fuwad by Hasan Ala Sajzi, Siyaul
Auliya by Syed Mubarak Ali Kirmani, more famous as Amir
Khurd and Khair ul Majalis by Hamid Qalander are unsurpassable
works for any m-depth study of India under the Delhi Sultanate.
It may not be out of place to mention the role of the Chishti-Nizami
order of Sufism in the cultural experiment of the age. It may be
noted that to this order belonged the large majority of historians
and poets of that age like Amir Khusrau, Hasan Ala Sajzi, Ziauddin
Bami, Amir Khurd etc.
Figures of speech, stock rhetorical expressions and the style of
that age bother and confuse modem historians very much. Hammer
Prugstall finds lessening of historicity in Tajul Maathir because
of the excessive use of figurative language. Elliot considers Bami
to be an unreliable narrator. Some historians find 'Island's epic to
be more poetic than historical. This criticism is no doubt correct
to some extent but has more often been an excuse to cover the
lethargy of these historians in mastering the knowledge of the
styles of literary communiction of that age and do a bit of semantic
analysis of these writings. Amir Khusrau, though the greatest
poetic genius of his age, when takes up history as such, is able
to keep restraint over the muse of poetry and does not sacrifice
facts for fancy. It is obvious that the mediaeval historians understood
178 AMIR KHUSRAU

their job as narrating and reporting of events that took place in

the past or were taking place in their own time. Honest, factual,
chronological reporting was looked upon as good history. Like the
Aristotalians, these historians did not find a useful role for rational,
scientific analysis in the field of history as its contents are mutable
and ever-changing. It was left for Ibn-Khaldun to give a philosophical
and scientific dimension to history—a dimension that "even Aristotle
could not dream of."
Amir Khusrau was a poet—one of those few who could be
categorised among "the total poets." Though he used "vernacular" .
expressions without inhibitions and had something of the folk-poet
in his make-up, he was a true representative of the classical
tradition of Persian poetry. His poetic genius encompassed the
totality of human existence in its natural as well as social setting.
His drawing deep inspiration from both Tasawuf and Tarikh
(Mysticism and History) amply suggests his involvement with the
interior and the exterior of Man as a substance, and on both these
planes his concern with truth pervades everything else. Amir
Khusrau's modem biographer, Dr. M. Wahid Mirza, throws light
on the classical tradition in the East in these words:
"The classical conception of a great poet in the East has been
radically different from that in the West. According to the principle
universally accepted in Eastern countries, poetry is not only an art
but also a science, that its object is not to amuse and divert but
to educate and instruct, and, so, great oriental poets had to be
thoroughly well-versed in the various sciences, or at least to have
a passable knowledge of them."4
Amir Khusrau was a man of wide and varied interests and his
inquisitive and probing nature hardly left any subject untouched.
His intimate experience from Khanqah (Monastery) to Durbar and
from the rendezvous of poets to the battlefields sharpened and
deepened his insight in the nature of man and things around. "His
life as a protege of his maternal grand-father, Imadul Mulk, who
was one of the maliks of the Sultanate of Delhi and held important
offices like Ard-i-Mamalik and Rawat-Ard. Imadul Mulk's death
in 671 AH (1272 AD) lifted to umbrella of protection of the family
THE HISTORIAN IN KHUSRAU 179

and Amir Khusrau started trying his luck outside the bounds of
kinship. His career from the 20th year of his age onwards can
be summed up chronologically as under:
671 AH (1272 AD)—In the court of the chief chamberlain of the
Sultanate, Alauddin Kishli Khan, commonly known by his
nick-name Malik Jhujhu or Malik Chajju.
673 AH (1274 AD)—In the court of Prince Nasirud-din Bughra
Khan at Samana.
678 AH (1279 AD)—In the court of Prince Mohammad Sultan
also known as Malik Qaan, at Multan.
683 AH (1284 AD)—Martyrdom of Malik Qaan. Association with
Malik Amir Ali Sarjandar.
687 AH (1288 AD)—In the royal court of Sultan Muizzud-dm
Kaiqubad.
689 AH (1290 AD)—Court poetofSultan Jalalud-dinFiruz Khalji.
695 AH (1295 AD)—Court poet of Sultan Alaud-din Mohammad
Khalji.
716 AH (1316 AD)—Court poet of Sultan Qutbud-din Mubarak
Khalji.
721 AH (1321 AD)—Court poet of Sultan Ghiyasud-dm Tughlaq.
725 AH (1324 AD)—Death.
This chronology speaks volume not only of the variety of
experience that Amir Khusrau might have had but also of the
knack he might have developed in the art of courtiership that he
could be an apple of the eye of mutual rivals and enemies. His
being a court poet of Sultan Ghiyasud-dm Tughlaq and being the
most beloved and the most loving disciple of Hazrat Nizamud-din
Auliya at the same time proves the point. His journeys through
Awadh and Bihar upto Lakhnauti, through Haryana and the Punjab
upto Multan and through Rajasthan upto Chittor offered him an
opportunity to see the colourfulness and variety of the living
patterns and culture of the country, the love of which sent him into
a state of ecstasy in Nuh-Sipihr.
180 AMIR KHUSRAU

So, Amir Khusrau was fully equipped with the knowledge, the
experience, the narrative excellence and the ability to speak on
unpalatable facts in concealed and suggestive manner, which a
historian of the middle ages in India basically required. In addition,
he possessed the mystic insight and poetic fancy which helped him
to bring home to his readers that facts were more often stranger
than fiction. This remark should in no way be construed to mean
that in the treatment of historical themes Khusrau used his
imagination rather loosely. He always kept them apart and never
used real and historical characters symbolically or allegorically
along with fictitious ones, as Malik Mohammed Jayasi did in his
Padmavat.
Amir Khusrau can be of great help to the students and scholars
of the Sultanate period of Indian History in more than one way.
He was an eye-witness to the turbulent, ever-changing and uncertain
political conditions as well as to the great historical experiment of
the fusion of two opposing cultures, yielding to a new synthesis,
particularly in the areas of arts and letters. He lived almost for
three quarters of a century and was personally associated with
some of the important characters who played crucial roles in the
drama of his times. Ten Sultans, great and small, ascended the
throne at Delhi during his life-time.
Nasirud-din Mahmood 1246-1266 AD
Ghiyasud-dm Balban 1266-1287 AD
Muzzudin Kaiqubad 1287-1290 AD
Jalaud-dm Firuz Khalji 1290-1296 AD
Ruknud-din Ibrahim 1296- AD
Alaud-din Mohammad 1296-1316 AD
Shihabud-din Umar 1316- AD
Qutbud-din Mubarak 1316-1320 AD
Nasirud-din Khusrau 1320- AD
Ghiyasud-din Tughlaq 1320-1325 AD
The number could be increased by one as in fact Amir Khusrau
breathed his last when Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq was the
reigning monarch. Amir Khusrau died on 18th of Shawwal 725
AH (1324 AD) while Muhammad bin Tughlaq had ascended the
THE HISTORIAN IN KHUSRAU 181

throne in Rabiul Awwal 725 AH (1324 AD) i.e. five months

earlier.
Amir Khusrau was a prolific writer, keen observer of details
and a sensitive reporter. There is little internal evidence to prove
the legendary specialisation in many languages, arts and intellectual
disciplines but his being an intelligent, perceptive and receptive
generalist is beyond doubt. His greatness as a poet is also
unchallengeable. Historicity of the facts narrated by him is reliable
and he is a dependable reporter. Interests of his carrer as a courtier
at times counselled him to gloss over the mistakes and high¬
handedness of a future patron and to maintain neutral silence over
incidents like the murder of Jalaud-din Firuz Khalji and a few other
incidents of the kind. Such errors of omission are ignorable and
it goes in his favour that there are no errors of commission in his
record. It is gratifying to note that Amir Khusrau advised his own
son not to follow his foot-steps as his life was almost wholly spent
in weaving stories.5
Later historians have drawn heavily upon him with and without
acknowledgement. Nizamuddin Ahmed, Finshta, Abdul Qadir
Badayuni and others develop their narratives on the basis of his
facts. Dr. K. M. Ashraf, Dr. Yusuf Hussam Khan and Dr. Tara
Chand have found a lot of valuable material in his writings to
formulate theories about the social conditions and cultural patterns
of the medieval period.
However, the fact remains that Amir Khusrau wrote history
either for the fun of it or when commissioned. History for him,
as for most of the medieval historians, was a story to be told and
not a process to be explained. He does not, however, leave the
paraded area of social life and cultural activities unnoticed and
imparts into his writings a lot of sociological data like topographical
details, flora and fauna, festivals, customs connected with birth,
marriage and death, foods, drinks and dresses, arts and crafts,
occupations and means of livelihood. His keen sense of observation
does not miss a beautiful face, may be of the earth or of a woman
or a fair boy. Even as a historian Amir Khusrau remains on the
operational base of the principle of pleasure and pain.
182 AMIR KHUSRAU

Those who are interested in the political history of the Delhi

Sultanate can also rely on Amir Khusrau’s deliberations. He is not
of any significant assistance as far as the Sultans preceding
Kaiqubad are concerned. The poet under the caption,

(I first narrate the military achievements of the past Sultans

of Delhi, specially of the impressions left by the sword of
Sultan Muhammad Alauddin wad Duniya.) DRK—p. 46.
in Ashiqa praises the military expoits of the Sultans from Muizzud-
din Sam to Aluad-din Khalji. His tribute to Sultana Raziyya deserves
attention:

£ JX jyS 6JX'J l USX jJ. X0"Xf<r-

VLc'y/Jl gj>
Lx I jjS "L-V

1 »I

(People having right mind counselled in favour of the

daughter (of the Sultan) when no son was found (fit) for
the throne. For a few months her Sun (like face) remained
hidden in the cloud (veil) only visible momentarily as the
lightning illuminates the cloud. As the sword in the scabbard
is useless and encourages troubles to raise their heads (her
observing purdah) disturbances increased. The royal office
and responsibilities of state forced her to leave the veil aside
and come out in the open as the Sun comes out of the cloud.
As the lioness showed her majesty the brave submitted in
obedience. She ruled with a strong hand for three years and
no accusing finger pointed towards her.) DRK—p. 49
THE HISTORIAN IN KHUSRAU 183

This is the portrait of a reigning-warrior-queen in a terribly

masculine and male- dominated age which did not allow its women
to unveil their faces, much less permitting the involvement of their
persons in such exclusively male pursuits like politics and war.
Amir Khusrau in the above couplets transcends the male prejudices
of his age and praises Raziyya’s valour and intelligence without
reservations.
The pronunciation of the name of the Third Mamluk Sultan of
Delhi was a hard nut to crack till somebody came across the
correct, authentic pronunciation of the name in one of Amir
Khusrau’s couplets in Ghurratu’l-Kamal:

“Iltutmish conquered the world with his (Saifud-dm’s) help

for he was a sword drawn by God from the scabbard of
His Might.” WM—p. 15.
The name was differently spelt as Al-Tamash, Al-Tamish,
Iyaltimish, Iltimish etc. Amir Khusrau came to our rescue and not
only told us the correct spelling i.e., Il-tutmish but also its meaning,
“He has seized the World.”
Dibachas of his diwans not only yield interesting autobiographical
details but also some valuable information about the reigns of
Balban and Kaiqubad.
The Mongol menace wrecked the nerves of the Delhi Sultans
till Ghiyasud-dm Tughlaq’s regime. Amir Khusrau’s personal
experience of Mongol captivity and his being associated with
Prince Muhammad Sultan at Multan for five years gave him an
edge over contemporary historians in the description of the Mongol
hordes and also of the measures against them. Let us first have
a feel of these ‘Barbarians’:
“There were more than a thousand Tatar infidels and warriors
of other tribes, riding on camels, great commanders in battle, all
with steel-like bodies, clothed in cotton; with faces like fire, with
caps of sheepskin, with their heads shorn. Their eyes were so
narrow and piercing that they might have bored a hole in a brazen
184 AMIR KHUSRAU

vessel. Their stick was more horrible than their colour. Their faces
were set on their bodies as they had no necks. Their cheeks
resembled soft leather bottles, full of wrinkles and knots. Their
noses extended from cheek to check, and their mouths from
cheek-bone to cheek-bone. Their nostrils resembled rotten graves
and from them the hair descended as far as the lips. Their
moustaches were of extravagant length. They had but scanty
beards about their chins. Their chests, of a colour half black, half
white, were so covered with lice, that they looked like sesame
growing on bad soil. Their whole body, indeed, was covered with
these insects, and their skin as rough-grained as chagreen, leather,
fit only to be converted into shoes. They devoured dogs and pigs
with their nasty teeth."6
This malignant tone is constantly maintained by Amir Khusrau in
the treatment of the Mongol theme. Qasidas in praise of Prince
Muhammad Sultan in Tuhfat-us-Sighar, Wasat-ul-Hayat and his
marsia in Ghurratu 7 Kamal are over clouded by the dark shadows
of these barbarians. Dibaches of Wasat-ul-Hayat and Ghurrsatu 7
Kamal cast historical light on the names of their leaders and the
strategy adopted by the Delhi Sultans and their wardens of marches
to defend the Indian territories and to repel these calamitous hordes.
Mongols came in wave after wave and devastated the northern
territories of the Sultanate. It was because of their constant threat
that Balban could not think of expanding his empire. To quote Amir
Khusrau:
k'Although each year the Mongols came from Khurasan in
seriate ranks like storks, with owlish wings and ominous faces, at
the time of their rout under the world-conquering sword of the
Prince they are rent into morsels and then despatched to Kirman.
Fondly do the enemies yield up their ghosts wherever the Turks
send the showers of their fatal arrows. Each time when an army
of the enemies surging like the sea arrives, a new splendour is
imported to the dust of Multan.’7
(The pun on the word Kirman is interesting as the word
is the name of a famous township and is also the plural
of Kirm (i.e. worm).
THE HISTORIAN IN KHUSRAU 185

Amir Khusrau mentions the Mongols in various qasidas and

marsias in his diwans. The qasidas of Prince Muhammad Sultan
(23 in Wasat-ul-Hayat alone) and the elegies written after his
martyrdom were very touching as well as historically valuable
matter on the Mongols and Balban’s forces. The graphic description
of the battles with the hordes of Timur and Arghun Kan, particularly
the one which took the life of Price Muhammad, is superb. Qiranu’s
Sadain describes how they were routed by Kaiqubad’s army. They
appear again in Miftahul Futhul under the command of a grandson
of Halaku and are defeated by Jalajud-din Firuz Khalji. Alauddin
Khalji’s campaigns against the Mongols under Ali Beg, Tartaq
Targhi who plundered the Doab and Awadh are also very well
described. The Sultanate forces rushed under the Master of the
horse, Malik Manik, a Hindu commander, and severely defeated
the Mongols near Amroha on Dec 13, 1305. Next year, Kabak,
Iqbal and Tai Bu led the Mongols hordes to avenge the death of
Ali Beg and Tartaq. Malik Kafur and Ghazi Malik Tughlaq met
them on the bank of the Ravi and inflicted a crushing defeat. At
Nagaur also the Mongols fled after being attacked by Malik Kafur.
The last year of Mongol incursions in India was 1306 AD. Amir
Khusrau’s account of the battles with Mongol in Khazainul Futuh
and ‘Ashiqa is honest and he supplies us the exact dates which
Bami and others do not have to offer. The Mongol problem thus
finds full treatment in Amir Khusrau’s works right from the days
of Balban to their final rout in the reign of Alauddin Khalji. A
chronology of Mongol incursions during Alauddin Khalji’s reign can
be sketched out on the basis of Amir Khusrau’s statements:
22nd Rabi ul thani 697 AH (1297 AD) Ulugh Khan defeats
Mongols under Kadar.
698 AH (1298 AD) Qutlugh Khwaja leads his Mongols up to the
walls of the capital itself but was defeated by Zafar Khan.
Targhi returns Ali Beg, Tartaq and Targhi invades. Mongols
defeated on 10th Jumadi-ul-thani.
705 AH (1305 AD) Kabak marches across the Sindh. Malik Kafur
defeats him and brings the ‘dog with a collar around his neck’
to Delhi.
186 AMIR KHUSRAU

706 AH (1306 AD) Iqbal and Tai Bu lead the hordes. Malik Kafur
and Ghazi Malik rout them completely.
Ashiqa, Khazain-ul-Futuh and some portions of Ijaz-i-
Khusravi are of great help to historians in finding out the extent
and intensity of the Mongol menace and the stem military and
economic measures adopted by Alaud-din Khalji to meet the
challenge. The thrilling description of how the Mongols were
crushed can be enjoyed from the couplet:

(JOf ))

Another problem facing the Delhi Sultanate was to bring the

far flung but rich areas of the Deccan under its sovereignty and
to keep them as such. The Deccan was always Tast to come and
first to go.’
As such, study of this question is of utmost importance for
students of political history of this period.
It was during the last year of the reign of the first Khalji Sultan
that his ambitious nephew and son-in-law, Alaud-din, independently
decided to carry the arms of the Sultanate into the south and to
bring the wealth from there. According to Amir Khusrau, he left
the seat of his governorship, Kara, on the 19th of Rabi-ul-Akhir
695 AH8 corresponding to the 26th of February 1296 AD. He
marched to Devagiri, defeated Smghana, son of Raja Ramchandra
Yadava and returned with large booty to Kara on the 3rd of June
1296. It may be noted that the dates and the name of the Devagiri
Prince are all Amir Khusrau’s contribution to our knowledge.
Descriptions of Devagiri as “the lofty city which in freshness and
bounty was greater than the fort of Shaddad,” in Khazainul Futuh
and Nihayal-ul-Kamal are both beautiful and useful.
The graphic details of the Deccan campaign may tempt one to
conclude that Amir Khusrau was physically present in some of
them. But there are scholars who resist this temptation because
Amir Khusrau does not openly say so and also because they
THE HISTORIAN IN KHUSRAU 187

believe that since he had access to all records and important

nobles, the details could have been placed at his service by others.
However, the way these details have been described does not
altogther rule out the possibility of Amir Khusrau’s personal
association.
Besides Miftahul Futuh and Khazainul Futuh, Amir Khusrau’s
Ashiqa has a lot to say about the Deccan campaigns of Alaud-
din’s generals which were a logical offshoot of the Gujarat
campaigns. The descriptions of Ulugh Khan’s victories in Gujarat
and then in the Deccan (Devagiri-renamed Khizrabad) are pregnant
with good historical material. Gujarat was invaded twice, first with
an eye on the booty and second time to annexe the territories of
Anhilwada. Bami has missed the second campaign about which
we are told by Amir Khusrau only.
Some doubts were raised by some historians about the historicity
of Ashiqa. Jagan Lai Gupta, who rejected the contents of this
masnawi as fictitious, was made to undergo the test of historical
criticism by Dr. K. R. Qanungo in the Calcutta session of the
Indian History Congress in 1939.9 Dr. Qanungo rejected the
arguments of Mr. Gupta and smelt communal prejudices in his
theory. But his conclusions, though based on different grounds,
suffer from identical deficiencies. He concludes:
“So, the Devalrani story appears to have originated with Amir
Khusrau who had no motive except that of creating a heroine for
his epic....It belongs to the same class of works as Yusuf Wa
Zulaikha, Shirin Wa Farhad. Wrong translation by Elliot and
Dowson of some extracts have given rise to a wrong notion that
Amir Khusrau was given a MS of this love epic composed by Khizr
Khan at whose request the poet rendered it into Persian.”
Dr. Qanungo’s worthy disciple Dr. K. L. Srivastava however
disagrees with him on the ground that: (1) It is an absolutely
contemporary work, (2) No mediaeval writer of note ever suspected
the authenticity of the episode, and (3) An old man of sixtythree
at the time of writing Ashiqa, Khusrau could not have been so
imprudent as to popularise love scandals of the living members of
the royal family. Dr. Srivastava’s conclusion is:
1XX AMIR KIIUSRAU

“There is little that is impossible in the basie theme of the Ashiqa

which stands the test of historical criticism and is substantially
true.”10
Before him, I)r. Banarsi Prasad Saksena had taken up the issue
in the 1943 session of the Indian History Congress at Aligarh. His
thesis stood on the following foundations:
(1) There are references to numerous historical events and
personalities in Ashiqa.
(2) Ulugh Khan’s campaigns around Multan against Qutlugh
Khwaja, Targhi, Tartaq, Ali Beg, Iqbal Mand and Kabak are
historically true.
(3) (iujarat, Ranthambhor, Chittor, Malwa and the Deccan
campaigns cannot be denied.
(4) The historical sequence of events is correct.
(5) The object of the poet in selecting the theme does not seem
to be otherwise.
Dr. Saksena’s concluding remark is, “A poet who could
write about India and things Indian in the following lines can hardly
be accused of the devilish desire of traducing Karan i.e. fallen
prince. ”1111
The controversy manifestly is unscientific and has little academic
importance. Dr. Qanungo himself accepted in his paper that Amir
Khusrau, who had been almost an eye-witness of what had happened
at Ranthambhor and had outlived the Khalji dynasty, cannot be
suspected of playing a foul game. To place Ashiqa on par with
pure romances like Yusuf Wa Zalaikha and Shirin Wa Farhad
is also not a correct approach in view of the fact that the latter
romances do not have a historical theme, characters or events.
Ashiqa not only traces past history and narrates contemporary
events but also authenticates some with dates. Khusrau not only
gives the day and date of the marriage of Khizr Khan with the
daughter of his maternal uncle, Alp Khan but versifies the position
of the stars on the occasion:
Wednesday the 23rd of Ramadan 711 AH (1311 AD):
THE HISTORIAN IN KHUSRAU 189

ifj&Ji ojJldU
* * ■ + *
^
• / »

jl , , «*• I «

CyjS;>l Crojjj j 3 J>S.

The Moon in Saggitarius. The Sun in Aquarius, Venus in

Pisces, Jupiter in Aries, Mars in Taurus etc.—DRK-p. 161
Similarly there is a couplet giving the date of Alaud-din Khalji’s
death (7th of Shawwal 715 AH (1315 AD)).

With much of internal evidence available in the masnavi itself,

there is hardly any reason to doubt the historicity of its theme. Amir
Khusrau named it as Deval Rani Khizr Khan but it got famous
as Ashiqa in course of time.
Back to the Deccan campaigns of the Delhi Sultans as narrated
by Amir Khusrau. The two incursions in the deep south by Malik
Naib Kafur have been given a detailed treatment in Khazainul
Futuh and are now a common feature of any textbook of history
devoting space to Alaud-din Khalji. Amir Khusrau is the mam
source for the dates of these campaigns as for other important
events of the age.
Nuh-Sipihr has the details of Qutbud-din Mubarak Shah’s
favourite and General Khusrau Khan in the Deccan. The youthful
Sultan had himself marched upto Devagin and renamed it Qutbabad,
a change noticed by Amir Khusrau alone. The encounters of
Khusrau Khan with the soldiers of Laddar Deo (Rudra Deva and
Telang) are graphically narrated. The treaty of Badrokot, signed
by the vanquished Laddar Deo affixing the seal of Laddar Mahadeo
✓
is also mentioned by Amir Khusrau in return of
which the Chatr and other insignia of royalty were given afresh
by Khusrau Khan.
The Malwa, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Bengal campaigns of various
Sultans also find due place in Khusrau’s writings. Miftahul Futuh
deals with the four successful military expeditions of Jalalud-din
Firuz Khalji during the first year of his reign.
190 AMIR KHUSRAU

Khazainul Futuh enumerates the various reforms introduced

by Alaud-dm Khalji like: prohibition, steps to check concentration
of capital in the hands of a few traders and landlords, measures
against making profit out of all reasonable limits and taking bribes,
ajid establishment of Dar-ul-Adl or fair price market. Amir Khusrau
tells us of the various methods adopted by Alaud-din to ascertain
personally how the orders and regulations were being faithfully
obeyed and executed. Alaud-din is reported to have taken stem
measures against black-magic, sorcery and witch-craft also.
: The gruesome details of the murder of Khizr Khan and then of
Qutbud-dm Mubarak Shah are availble in Ashiqa and Tughlaq
Namah. The latter masnavi is the only reliable and true history of
the tragic end of the Khalj 1 dynasty and the accession of Ghazi Malik
Tughlaq as Sultan Ghiyasud-dm Tughlaq. Tughlaq Namah is the
only contemporary chronicle that tells us that Hasan Khusrau Khan
who was a Gujarati Parwar and was a favourite of Mubarak Shah,
ascended the throne of his masters with the help of not only ‘the
low caste Hindus’ (as Bami and others say) but also with the
connivance of some high-bred Umara. It is also evident that Khusrau
Khan did not nurse the dream of occupying the throne when he and
his companions murdered the last Khalji Sultan but the idea was sold
to him by one of his accomplices after the Sultan was beheaded.
Amir Khusrau tells us how Nasirud-din (Hasan) Khusra Khan got
the five brothers of the late Sultan murdered in the harem before
the eyes of their shrieking mothers. Tughlaq Namah then proceeds
to narrate how Prince Fakhrud-dm Jauna Khan slipped from Delhi
to join his father, of the letters by Ghazi Malik to Mughul Tai
(Governor of Multan), to Muhammed Shah (Governor of Siwistan),
to Bahram Abija (Governor ofUchcha), to Amir Hoshang (Governor
of Jalore-West Rajputana), to Ainul Mulk Multani (Wazir) and to
the Governor of Samana; Ghazi Malik’s quickest marches from
Dipalpur to Delhi in two months; the battle with the usurper’s army
and the role of archers and spearmen; how Khan-i-Khanan Shaista
Khan and Khizr Khan the commanders of Khusrau Khan’s forces
fled from the field after the fierce attack of Tuglaq’s soldiers. The
whole sequence of events upto the persuasion of the soldiers leading
to Ghazi Malik’s hesitant acceptance of the crown is very effectively
THE HISTORIAN IN KHUSRAU 191

built up in the masnavi. The capture of the usurper Khusrau Khan

and his execution gives the finale to the narrative. The masnavi is
an epic of the heroic deeds of Ghiyasud-dinTughlaq, with the tragedy
of the family of the last Khalji Sultan providing it a starting point.
Amir Khusrau mentions that Ghiyasud-din Tughlaq ascended the
throne on Saturday the 1st of Shaban 720 AH (September 8,1320)
while Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi puts it in 721 AH (1321 AD) and
Bami accepts the former date. Amir Khusrau gives the position of
the stars at the moment of Ghiyasud-din Tughlaq ’ s coronation, thus
making an astronomical verification of the date easy. He says that
the rising sign was Saggitarius with Mars in it, the Sun and Mercury
in Virgo in the tenth house and the Moon in Scorpio in the twelfth
and so on.

Architecture finds a place of pride in the writings of Amir

Khusrau. This gives corroborative evidence so necessary to the
study of history. The description of the city of Delhi in Qiranu’s
Sadain dwells at length on the Jama Masjid and the Minar (which
to the writer of these lines should be identified with Quwat-ul Islam
and Qutb Minar as the masnavi was written in 688 AH (1289 AD)
i.e. 27 years before Alaud-din’s death, Kilokhari, Qasi-i-Mau and
the fort and the city-wall. Khazain-ul-Futuh describes the building
of Jama Masjid and Ala-i-Minar and repairs of Hauz-i-Shami by
Alaud-din Khalji. The implication seems to be that Alau-dm added
a chamber to Quwatul Islam. Amir Khusrau’s lofty praise for the
stone-cutters and masons of Delhi is another example of partnotic
sentiment which he gave vent to whenever an opportunity arose.
Jalalud-din Firuz Khalji’s Kaushak-i-Sabz is praised by Amir
Khusrau in his Kulliyat (as related by Dr. M. W. Mirza, Life ff
97). Descriptions of Multan, Devagiri, Dwarasamudra, Awadh and
Bengal are also very picturesque. The palace of the Rajah of Jhain
is described well in Miftahul Futuh. The beautiful description of
the Tughlaqabad fort and palace there is found in an ode in the
diwan Nihayatul Kamal.

Amir Khusrau refers to Indian music, its modes and instruments

in so many of his works. This has led many to believe that he himself
was a performing musician and a ‘nayak’ who not only sang and
192 AMIR KHUSRAU

played so many instruments but experimented in evolving a synthesis

of Iranian and Indian music. A study of his works reveals that all
this belief was a part of the legend-making process and is not
substantiated by any of his works. But a historian of Indian music
can find many references in his writings e.g. the basic theories of
Persian music, critical appreciation of Indian music and the instruments
in use in those days. Dr. M. Wahid Mirza is of the opinion: “It is
useless to enter here into the technical niceties of music or to try
to establish the identity of all his inventions, but there is no doubt
that the popular melodies, qaul and ghazal were first introduced into
Indian music by Khusrau. Qawwals all over India recognize him to
be their master, even today.”12 The first volume of ljaz-i-Khusravi
has a chapter on the theory and forms of music. The main musical
instruments enumerated by him are Paikan, Ajab-rud, Duhal, Chang,
Rabab, Daff, Shahnai, Tambur, Bablik, Dastak, Dastan, Bitara-i-
Hindi, Qanun, Duhlak (Dholak?). The names of some of the
musicians of his age are interesting, e.g. Amir Kunjashk (literally,
sparrow) Murghak (little bird). Mahmood Chuza (chicken),
Muhammad Shah, Turmati Khatun, Khalifa Husaini Akhlaq. Amir
Khusrau sings the praise of Indian music in a proud vein as under:
THE HISTORIAN IN KHUSRAU 193
I

ifjO \^>'f

j/V JJS jrfs&j*>'J j/. » b i*js\

(The eighth argument in praise of India is our sweet music,

the fire of which keeps the heart and soul ablaze. This
music attracts artists form far and near. They rush to learn
it. But it is so difficult and delicate that even thirty to forty
years’ stay does not suffice for a foreigner to learn to
produce even a light Indian tune. The ninth argument is
that Indian tunes can hypnotise the beautiful spotted deer
so much so that it does not fear the arrow piercing its
heart. The Arab can only intoxicate the camel to follow
his tune and go on and on but the Indian can hunt down
the deer with the help of his music). Nuh Sipihr-pp. 170-
171
In these couplets one can discern sublime poetry emerging out of
a mind which had found its roots in an adopted land and its culture.
This identification of the mind and soul with the country and its people
is not common among the intellectuals of that age who are nostalgic
and boastful about the lands they had left. Amir Khusrau’s appreciation
and admiration for things Indian is not restricted to music alone. The
third Sipihr of Nuh Sipihr and portions of Ashiqa, Shirin-o-
Khusrau and Hasht Bihisht sing the praises of the country, its land,
its people, its cities, its artists and craftsmen, its seasons, its flora and
fauna, its languages, its religious and philosophical attitudes, its
sciences. Amir Khusrau’s love for mangoes, betel-leaves and musk-
melons cannot conceal itself even in serious works. He pointedly
refers to India's contribution of "Zero" to the science of mathematics
and is fully conscious of its significance. He ascribes the perfection
of the numericals to a Brahmin named Asa. Hence, the Arabic word
Hind-sa, a compund of Hind and Asa. Amir Khusrau regards
Sanskrit as a better language than Dari (Persian) though lesser in
richness than Arabic. He counts Sindhi, Lahori, Kashmiri, Kubri,
Dhor-Samudn, Telangi, Gujari, Ma’bari, Gouri, Bengali, Awadhi and
Hindui as the languages of India and is proud of a Hmdui base of his
style. Ijaz-i-Khusravi places before a historian of language and
194 AMIR KHUSRAU

literature accounts of the various styles. It is interesting to note even

in the 13th and 14th centuries the ‘academics’ were an object of
ridicule by free intellectuals like Amir Khusrau. He says that the
style of teachers is ‘like a slippery stone placed on the roadway by
a clumsy workman-is avoided by the wise but causes many a fool
to stumble.”13
Amir Khusrau’s real self finds expression in the journals named
Ijaz-i-Khusravi. Here he is free and essays into any area of life
and culture from sublime to ridiculous and high seriousness to wit,
humour and satire. The miser, the eunuch, the old dancers, the
clowns and the buffoons are all caricatured by him. The fourth
risala contains a proclamation issued by Alaud-din Muhammad
Khalji when he ascended the throne in 1296 AD. Ijaz-i-Khusravi
needs to be studied in depth and its hard kernel of style and literal
artifices broken to reach the reality of his writing on Indian music,
logic and philosophy etc.
The historical importance of the prose work Khazainul Futuh
is greater than other works of Amir Khusrau as it is the only
contemporary chronicle of Alaud-din Khalji's reign and narrates
facts honestly.
An interesting feature of Amir Khusrau’s writings is that fragments
of medieval Indian military science are scattered in them and offer
an open invitation to, and have an irresistible attraction for, military
historians. Elliot as well as Prof. M. Habib and Dr. M. Wahid Mirza
invited attention of scholars to this aspect of Khazainul Futuh. It is
satisfying to note that Dr. Jagdish Narayan Sarkar, professor and
head of the department of History in Jadavpur University, took these
hints seriously and wrote a paper on the art of war in medieval India
on the basis of material available in Khazainul Futuh, Qiranu’s-
Sadain, Ghurratu 7 Kamal, Miftahul Futuh, Ashiqa, Nuh-Sipihr,
Tughlaq Namah and Ijaz-KhusraviF
Dr. Sarkar’s paper has the following scheme:
1. Triple bases of war
(a) terrain (b) psychological (c) organisational.
2. Military institutions.
3. Armaments.
THE HISTORIAN IN KHUSRAU 195

4. Men and beasts in the army.

5. Fortifications.
6. Siege-craft.
7. Strategic intelligence.
8. Diplomatic personnel.
9. Stategy, tactics and logistics.
10. Army on march and on the field.
11. Laws of war and peace.
The material arranged under the above captions is very
enlightening. It will be of interest if some of the facts given by
Dr. Sarkar are reproduced here. Armaments used in these days,
according to Amir Khusrau, were:
(1) Bows and Arrows, (2) Swords—specially the Muhannad (the
Indian Sword), (3) Spears, (4) Clubs or maces (Gurz or Amud), (5)
Daggers, (6) Spades, (7) Fire weapons like Tir-i-Ateshin.
Ranthambhor, Sivana, Chittor, Mandu, Devagiri, Warangal,
Ma’bar etc. are the campaigns which are repeatedly quoted to
complete the picture and Khazainul Futuh provides most of the
information utilised by Dr. Sarkar.
Writing the details of military expeditions and adventures has
been the choicest pre-occupation of the historians in the past. Amir
Khusrau’s perception creditably sensed the beginning of a new era
and he did feel the difference both in time and in space. It is this
new vision of history that distinguished him not only from his
predecessors but also from most of the successors in the field of
historiography. His attitude to history is not that which the historians
belonging to the orthodox classes of Ulema had. He does not
condemn the Hindus to hell simply because of their ‘ infidelity’. His
verdict on them in Nuh-Sipihr is based on admiration and sympathy.
He emphasises the similitudes in beliefs more than the differences:
196 AMIR KHUSRAU

The Hindus believe in the Unity and Un-createdness of God

who has power to create from nothing. He feeds all whether useful
or useless. He is the active principle of all acts, good or bad and
his Wisdom and Command is eternal. He rules supreme over all
actions and illusions and knows the whole and the part of everything
right from the begining. Nuh Sipihr—p. 164
Amir Khusrau regards Hindus to be preferable to Dualists, to
Christians who regard the Holy Ghost and the Son to be associated
with God, to those who believe God as possessing human attributes,
to Sabians who worship the seven stars, the materialists who
regard the four elements as Gods and to those who believe in
'similars' of God. It can be seen that Amir Khusrau does not
consider idol-worshipping of the Hindus to be a hindrance in
understanding. He is all praise for the Hindu cities like Jhain,
Devagiri, Dwarsamudra, Mandu, Ranthambhor, Warangal etc.
During the Deccan campaign of Malik Kafur the Raja of Devagiri
opened the bazars to the Khalji forces and the relations between
the Muslims and Hindus were very cordial: “The Turk did not
oppress the Hindu and the will of the Hindu was not opposed to
the will of the Turk.”15 Amir Khusrau admires the faithfulness and
devotion of a Hindu wife to her husband.16
The professions and handicrafts of the period also draw Amir
Khusrau’s attention and the outlines of the economic conditions
emerge from his writings. The tiller of the soil, the stone-cutters,
the masons, the horticulturists, the oil-makers, the sugar-cane-
crushers, the brewers, the goldsmiths, the mony lenders, Harir,
Pamian, Zarbaft of Bengal, the cloth woven in Devagiri, the 'Iraqi'
and 'Damishqi' paper, the book-sellers of Delhi, the white-sugar,
the international trader etc. appear in his writings along with the
kings, the nobles, the soldiers and the writers. An interesting thing
to note is that not only the Hindu merchant class but a class of
Muslim merchant community also carried the business of lending
money and charged interest. Amir Khusrau says that the rate of
interest varied from 10 per cent to 20 per cent and the interest
was being paid on a monthly basis.17
The outdoor and indoor games, sports and other means of
entertainments like chaugan, hunting with the help of hounds and
THE HISTORIAN IN KHUSRAU 197

falcons, chess, dance and music, nard, fireworks in celebrating

festivals, rope-walking, swallowing of sword, inserting knife in the
nostrils, ‘bahurup’, scattering of coins with the help of “Manjamq”
etc. are very picturesquely described by him. The marriage
ceremony of Prince Khizr Khan and celebrations on the birth of
Mubarak Shah Khalji’s son are worth witnessing in Ashiqa and
Nuh-Sipihr respectively. Royal festivities usually included
decoration of the capital, raising of tents, pavilions and canopies,
wall-hangings with colorful paintings, buntings, spreading of silk
carpets on the roads and lanes etc.
Amir Khusrau’s ethics of writing history is best illustrated by
his remarks in his short masnavi, Miftahul Futuh:
“When I began this poem an3 prepared my pen to write, I
adorned it (with various artifices), for that is indispensable in
writing verse, but when I thought of adding what was untrue, truth
came and held my hand. My mind also did not relish the idea of
mixing lies with truths, for although false exaggerations may impart
charm to a poem, truth is an admirable thing.”18
It is this ‘realistic’ approach and moral obligation to tell the truth
and nothing but truth, that makes Amir Khusrau more acceptable
to historians of today than many of the historians proper of that
age. Amir Khusrau’s meticulous treatment of facts and exactness
of chronology and sequence makes him an invaluable source of
contemporary history and culture.

REFERENCES

1. History and Culture of Indian People, Vol. I Foreword by K. M. Munshi,

p. 8.
2. History of India, Vol. I, Romila Thapar, pp. 22-23.
3. Ibn Khaldun’s Philosophy of History, Muhisn Mahdi p. 136.
4. Nuh-Sipihr-— Intro, by Dr. M. Wahid Mirza, p. Xliii.
5. Quoted by K. M. Ashraf—Hindustani Muashra Ahd-i-wusta-men—
(Tarraqi-e-Urdu-Board, Delhi) p. 254.
6. History of India aS told by its own historian—Elliot and Dowson Vol. Ill
pp. 528-29.
7. Life and Works of Amir Khusrau, Dr. M. Wahid Mirza, p. 55.
198 AMIR KHUSRAU

8. History/ and Culture of Indian People, Vol. VI, p. 49.

9. Proceedings of Indian History Congress, Vol. Ill, pp. 877-79.
10. Islamic Culture, (XXX-I) 1956—p. 24.
11. Proceedings of Indian History Congress, Vol. VI. pp. 203-209.
12. Life and Works of Amir Khusrau, Dr. M. Wahid Mirza, pp. 238-39.
13. Ibid—p. 217.
14. Indo-Iranica—Amir Khusrau Number, Sept-Dec. 71, pp. 6-36.
15. Khazainul Futuh, p. 85.
16. Qiranu’s Sadain, p. 31.
17. K. M. Ashraf, cited at 5 above, p. 191.
18. Life and Works of Amir Khusrau, by Dr. M. Wahid Mirza, p. 177.
 Khusrau—From Iranian Angle
ZIAUDDIN SAJJADI

E Persian language found its way to the Indian sub-continent long

ago. From the time of Ghaznavids however literary contact
between India and Iran was gradually strengthened. The Indians
evinced greater interest in learning Persian language and literature,
and by the Mughal period there lived so many scholars, poets and
writers of Persian that India was regarded as a land of Persian
language.
But any talk of the advent and growth of Persian language and
literature in India, and the close relationship that evolved between
the two countries as a consequence of this, will be incomplete
without a mention of Amir Khusrau, who was indeed the sheet-
anchor of this phenomenon.
Amir Khusrau was the son of Saifuddin Mahmood and belonged
to the Lachin tribe of the Turks. His father was the lord of his
tribe in Kash (Turkistan).1 Saifuddin fled to India during the turmoil
resulting from the invasion of Changiz Khan, and probably settled
at Patiali2 (a town in Uttar Pradesh) where our poet Amir Khusrau
was bom in 651 A.H. (1253 A.D.). As Khusrau passed the greater
part of his life in Delhi, he is commonly called Dehlavi.
Some of the biographers3 state that the actual name of Khusrau
was Abul Hasan and his title Yaminuddin. He had two other
brothers, Izzuddin Ali Shah and Husamuddin.4 Amir Khusrau was
barely seven years old when his father passed away and he was
entrusted to the care of his maternal grandfather, Imadul Mulk.
The Story goes5 that when Khusrau was bom, his father wrapped
the baby in a cloth and took him to a majzub, who after having
a look at the infant made the prophecy that the baby would go
much ahead of Khaqani. Another story says that when the young
200 AMIR KHUSRAU

Khusrau was sent to school to learn calligraphy, he straightway

started writing poetry. When his brother Izzuddin saw the talent
of the young boy he suggested the poetical name of Sultani to him.
Khusrau at first wrote under this poetic name and many of his
ghazals included in the Tuhfatus-Sighr bear this nom de plume.
Later on he changed it to Khusrau. We do not exactly know what
is the source of these stories but they indicate clearly that Khusrau
was dedicated to poetry from his boyhood. He himself writes in
the introduction to his diwan Ghurratu’l-Kamal, “At an age when
children shed their teeth, I wrote poetry and my compositions
rivalled gems.”6
Khusrau pursued the general courses of his day till the age of
twenty, acquiring a thorough knowledge of Arabic7 and the necessary
mental background for the composition of literary works. His
scholarship was perfect as is evident from the questions and
answers of Khusrau Parviz with the sages occurring towards the
end of his masnavi Shirin wa Khusrau.8
In addition to Persian, Arabic and Turkish, Khusrau knew Hindi
well. Taquiddm Auhadi states in Arafat-ul-Ashiqin9 that Khusrau
had written much poetry in Braj Bhasha (a dialect of Hindi) but
nothing is extant of it. He also had gained proficiency in music
and had invented a number of notes of melodies. According to
Shibli Nomani,10 Khusrau enjoyed the title of Nayak (a perfect
master of music), and knew Sanskrit. We find reference to these
achievements in his masnavi Nuh-Sipihr.
With this poetic talent and comprehensive knowledge combined
with a mastery in prose, Khusrau at first found his way to the court
of Ghiyasud-din Balban who ascended the Delhi throne in 664 A.H.
(1265 A.D.). There he was patronised by Amir Kishli Khan alias
Malik Chhajju, a cousin of the Sultan.11 Khusrau, as he states in
Ghurratu 7 Kamal, stayed under the patronage of this prince and
sang his praises. One of the well-known qasidas that Khusrau
composed in praise of Chhajju begins with the following couplet:12

(When the morning dawned from the east, the sky looked
like the garden of Paradise).
KHUSRAU—FROM IRANIAN ANGLE 201

But the first king for whom Khusrau composed his qasidas is
Muizzud-dm Kaiqubad (686-689 A.H.), (1287-1290 AD) as is
evident from the following couplet of Nuh-Sipihr:13

(Of the rulers who remembered me first, was King Muizzud-

din Kaiqubad.).
One of the qasidas composed in praise of this King begins as
follows:14

cJy't
(Thank God that the King has adorned the royal throne,
and the air of empire has subsided in the mind of the
country.)
After Kaiqubad, Khusrau attached himself to Jalalud-din Firuz
Shahi Khalji (689-695 A.H.) (1290-1295 AD) and sang his praises.
The opening couplet of one of such qasidas is as follows:15

(At dawn when the heaven presented the gold cup to the
world, and the royal garden was filled with fragrant breeze).
Khusrau saw the rise and fall of several kingdoms in Delhi yet
he maintained his association with each successive monarch and
tried to win his favour through his eulogies. Thus we see that he
sang the praises of Alauddin Khalji16 (695-715 A.H.) (1295-1315
AD), Qutubud-din Mubarakshah (715-720 A.H.) (1315-1320 AD)
and Ghiyasud-din Tughlaq (720-725 A.H.) (1320-1324 AD). These
rulers, on their part, treated Khusrau with respect and consideration
and favoured him off and on with lavish rewards. Alauddin Khalji
gave him 100 tanka (gold coin) annually, and Khusrau, as a token
of acknowledgement, recorded all the conquests of the king in a
beautiful masnavi called Khazain-ul-Futuh}1 His another masnavi
Taj-ul-Futuh commemorates the victories of Jalalud-din Firuzshah.
In 718 A.H. (1318 AD) our poet dedicated his masnavi Nuh-
Sipihr to Qutubuddm Mubarakshah and received an elephant-load
of rupees.18
202 AMIR KHUSRAU

Bughra Khan, son of Ghiyasud-dm Balban and the ruler of

Samana (in Panjab) always favoured the poet. When Bughra
Khan’s war against his son Kaiqubad resulted in peace, Khusrau
was very much relieved and he composed a qasida to commemorate
the event.

(What a nice kingdom in which two Kings have become

one, and what a nice treaty when no room for disagreement
is left).

Bughra Khan was really pleased with the course that events
had taken. He asked Khusrau to write a full-length masnavi to
commemorate the happy reunion of the father and the son. Khusrau
complied with his request and composed Qiranu ’s-Sadain in 688
A.H. (1289 AD) in six months.19

Khusrau also came to Malik Muhammad Khan, the elder son

of Sultan Ghiyasud-dm. The Prince was a man of culture and
learning. He enjoyed reading of classical Persian works such as
Shahnama, D iw an e-e-Anwar i, Diwan-e-Khaqani and Khamsa-
e-Nizami in his assembly. When the prince was sent to Multan
as the governor of that province, he took Khusrau and Hasan
Dehlavi along with him. Multan in those days was threatened by
the Mongol hordes. Timur Khan, a Mongol general who was a
noble of Arghun, the grandson of Hulagu, attacked Multan but he
was bravely rebuked by Prince Muhammad and given a crushing
defeat by the Delhi army. The Mongols fled away but after some
time they mounted another attack. In the second battle that the
prince fought against the Mongols, he was wounded by an arrow
and he could not survive it. His army was defeated and a number
of nobles including Khusrau and Hasan Dehlavi were made captive.
They were taken to Balkh, and it was only after two years that
they could manage their release and return to Delhi. Both Khusrau
and Hasan Dehlavi were shocked at what had happened. Khusrau
composed a pathetic tarikhband containing eleven stanzas. It
begins:20
KHUSRAU—FROM IRANIAN ANGLE 203

>>><CJC*'1 ifl (£ / >.>> f'Jlr'fji If t

(Is it an event or a heavenly calamity: is it a misery or

the advent of the doom’s day?)
Hasan Dehlavi also expressed his shock and sorrow in a prose-
piece included in his diwan.21
It is said that when Khusrau returned to Delhi he recited his
poem to the bereaved father, Ghiyasud-din Baldan and we can
very well imagine the plight of the old man.
Balban died in 686 A.H. (1287 AD). He was succeeded by
Kaiqubad, his grandson. The new king invited Khusrau to his court
but a certain Nizamuddin, who was at the helm of affairs, created
some problem for our poet. Disgusted with the situation, Khusrau
preferred service with Khan Jahan with whom he went to Awadh
and stayed there for two years. Then he had to rush to Delhi
because his mother had been taken seriously ill.22 She, however,
passed away in 698 A.H. (1298 AD). The same year saw the
demise of Khusrau’s brother, Husamuddin. Khusrau was deeply
grieved at the double tragedy, as is evident from the elegy he wrote
on this occasion and included in his masnavi Laila Majnun.
Therein he says:23

(One of them is myself, fallen to this wretched day due

to bad luck.)

(This year I lost two stars in my sky. Both my mother and

brother have passed away.)
The last king to be praised by Khusrau was Ghiyasud-din
Tughlaq, who came to power after overthrowing the Khaljis in 720
A.H. (1320 AD) and ruled till 725 A.H. (1324 AD).24 He favoured
the poet with many rewards and Khusrau composed the Tughlaq
Namah to commemorate his era. Khusrau accompanied Tughlaq
to Bengal where he stayed for some time but when he heard the
sad news of the death of Nizamuddin Auliya, his spiritual guide,
204 AMIR KHUSRAU

Khusrau rushed back to Delhi. The death of the saint was indeed
a terrible blow to Khusrau who was now in his seventies. He
perpetually wore the mourning dress and dedicated himself to the
sacred memory of his revered master. Six months later Khusrau
himself passed away in Ziqa’da, 725 A.H. (1324 AD) and was
laid to rest in the precincts of the grave of Nizamuddin Auliya.25
Shahab Mu’amma’i composed a qit’a which contains the
following two chronograms at the death of Khusrau:26

The same qit’a is engraved at the tomb-stone of our poet.

The year Khusrau passed away, Muhammad bin Tughlaq

ascended the throne of Delhi. His rule lasted till 752 A.H. (1324
AD). A number of Persian biographers27 have confused him with
his father Ghiyasud-dm Tughlaq.

The spiritual guide of Khusrau, Nizamuddin Auliya, also called

Sultan-ul-Mashaikh, belonged to Badaun, a town in U.P. His name
was Muhammad bm Ahmad bm All Bukhari.28 He was a disciple
of Shaikh-ul-Islam Fariduddin Ganjshakar. He traced his initiative
from Shaikh-ul-Islam Maudud bin Yusuf Chishti,29 according to me,
to Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti,30 It is said that the father of Khusrau
brought the baby and placed him at the feet of Nizamuddin Auliya
to seek his blessings. It served as an impetus for the life-long
attachment of Khusrau to Nizamuddin. There he also enjoyed the
company of his dear friend Hasan Dehlavi. Khusrau, according
to his own statement in Ajzal-ul-Fawad,31 was admitted to this
fold in 713 A.H. (1313 AD) and was given the four-plaited cap
which was characteristic of the followers of this order.

When Khusrau attached himself to Nizamuddin Auliya, he

renounced whatever he possessed of the wordly things. The
master was also deeply attached to our poet and addressed him
as the Turk of God. Nizamuddin often prayed: “O God, forgive
me for the sake of the fire of love burning in the heart of this
KHUSRAU—FROM IRANIAN ANGLE 205

Sayyid Muhammad bin Mubarak al-Alawi al-Kirmani writes in

Siyar-ul-Auliya:33 “Sultan-ul-Mushaikh (Nizamuddin) composed
the following two lines about Khusrau to whom he was so kind”:

(Khusrau who has had hardly a match in prose and poetry,

is undoubtedly the lord of the realm of poetry.)

t* {S L

(I speak of my Khusrau who enjoys the favours of God.)

Most of the compositions of Khusrau and particularly his
masnavis are full of praise of Nizamuddin Auliya. For instance we
came across the following couplets in the masnavi Shirin wa
Khusrau:34

(Nizamul Haq (Din) is the right hand of the Prophet; the

blue sky is but a comer of his prayer carpet.)

(His words scatter away the treasure of truth; and his

countenence radiates like sun for those who pray at dawn.)
It is also stated35 that Amir Khusrau was given the mystic name
of Muhammad-e-Kasahlis (Muhammad, the bowl-licker) by
Nizamuddin Auliya.
Khusrau had a son by the name of Malik Muhammad. The son
like his father had an aptitude for poetry and was gifted with the
faculty of critical appreciation.36 Khusrau had also a daughter
called Afifa. She was years old when our poet was composing
the Hasht Bihisht. He has addressed a few couplets to her in this
masnavi.37
This was Khusrau, a poet of good taste and sweet diction, a
mystic, a scholar and a musician. He evolved his own style in
poetry, yet he drew inspiration, as he admits himself, from the
classical masters of Persian poetry. Thus he followed Sa’di in
ghazal, Razi Neishapuri and Kamal Ismail in qasida and Nizami
206 AMIR KHUSRAU

in masnavi. In the realm of philosophical and didactic poetry, Sana’i

and Khuqam served as his models.
Khusrau, in the beginning studied systematically the poetry of
Khaqani. He states in Tuhfat-us-Sighr that he found it difficult
to comprehend and could not follow it successfully. But it seems
that he did not give up and eventually he was able to compose
some of his best qasidas after those of Khaqani. One of the qasidas
opens with the couplet:38

Khusrau also calls his qasida Mirat-us-Safa (the Mirror of

Purity) in the manner of Khaqani. The poem contained in GhurratuT-
Kamal is pretty long, having 221 verses. Before the actual qasida
starts it is preceded by the following couplet:39

(Though magic is forbidden according to the law of Islam,

yet by virtue of his nat my magic has become lawful.)
We know that Khaqani enjoyed the title of Hassan-e-Ajam (The
Hassan of Persia). Khusrau refers to Khaqani in the following
lines:

(If he (Khaqm) was the Hassan of Persia, I am the magic

of India, and I can make him vanish in a moment like his
predecessor.)

(Now in Delhi my poetry makes such an echo that Khaqani

is awakened in Sharwan out of his deathslumber.)
From another couplet of this qasida we leam that it was composed
in 696 A.H. (1296 AD) when Khusrau was forty-five years old:

As stated earlier, Khusrau received his inspiration in ghazal from

Sa’di. He says:
KHUSRAU—FROM IRANIAN ANGLE 207

(The book of my poetry has been bound in the style of

Shiraz).
The attachment of Khusrau to Sa’di was to such an extent that
it has led his biographers, like Azari Tusi and others,40 to maintain
that Sa’di travelled all along to Delhi to see Khusrau. Others41 have
called Khusrau the Sa’di of India, but this title is more often
attached to Hasan Dehlavi. However, since Amir Khusrau lived
in India and had a deep knowledge of Indian thought and traditions,
his poetry is endowed with a sort of delicacy in idea and diction,42
and his ghazal is, in fact, the avant-garde of a style in Persian
that was eventually characterised as Indian style, and which found
so many admirers.43
Amir Khusrau wrote qasida, ghazal and masnavi and in each
of these forms of poetry his mastery is manifest. His qasidas are
well-knit and lofty; and his ghazals are charming and original. In
Ghurratu ’l-Kamal, while speaking of his poetry, Khusrau refers
to the novel similes that he had introduced in Persian poetry. He
says,44 “There are many new similes but this book cannot contain
all of them. So I quote a few of them for instance.”
The poetry of Amir Khusrau is embellished with numerous
figures of speech such as Qalb-ul-Lisanain, Wasl-ul-Harfain,
Muhtamil-ul-Maani, etc. Shibli Nomam quotes verses of Khusrau
which have the above figures. Shibli also maintains that Khusrau,
like Sa’di, had brought his language closer to the colloquial, thus
making his poetry all the more sweet and appealing. In the art of
ghazal Khusrau kept pace with Sa’di and introduced pleasing
innovations into it.45 The diction of Amir Khusrau in ghazal,
particularly short and rhythmic metres, makes his ghazals full of
charm and lucidness, and in this regard Khusrau has come very
close to Sa’di.
Amir Khusrau knew Arabic very well. He has quoted a few
of his Arabic verses in his introduction to Ghurrat ’ul Kamal. In
his another work Ijaz-Kliusravi or Rasail-ul-Ijaz he has also
reproduced some of his Arabic letters.46
208 AMIR KHUSRAU

The Hindi verses of Khusrau, as stated earlier, are not extant.

However, his basic thought in his Persian poetry seems to be under
the impact of Indian themes and similes.47 Hindi language was
undoubtedly at the root of several poetic devices in the poetry of
Khusrau. For instance, he composedMulamma-i-e a line in Persian
supplemented by another in Hindi. This novelty continued even
after Khusrau and was given the name of Rikhta for the verses
composed in half-Persian half-Hindi.48
In introduction to Ghurratu ’l-Kamal, Khusrau enumerates the
virtues of Persian verse and establishes its superiority to Arabic
poetry. He also mentions the great poets of Iran and then classified
them into three categories, the perfect master, the semi-perfect
master and the plagiarist. Then he says that a perfect master must
possess four pre-requisites. Khusrau himself does not plagiarise
and sermonise. But he does not possess the other two qualities
i.e. he is not the inventor of a particular style in poetry and,
secondly, his poetry is not free from flaw. Thus Khusrau criticises
his own poetry without any bias or prejudice.49
The author of Siyar-ul-Auliya writes50 that Amir Khusrau used
to read his verses before Sultan-ul-Mashaikh (Nizamuddin). One
day the latter said, “Write something in the Isphahani note i.e.
something which generates love and which speaks of the beauty
of the beloved." From that day onwards Khusrau involved himself
in the description of the Beloved’s beauty till his description reached
its zenith in his poetry.
Mir Ghulam Ali Azad Bilgrami regards Khusrau as the founder
of Wuqu-qui (description of love affairs) in his work Khizana-
e-Amircih.5' He quotes a few verses to illustrate his point and one
of them is the following line:

(What a sweet moment when I steal a look of her lovely

face, but when our eyes meet I turn away my face.)
Khusrau was a prolific poet and a powerful writer. The number
of his verses exceeds those of any other Persian poet; four to five
hundred thousand verses stand to his credit.52 Shibli, however,
interprets the above statement in a different way. He says that
KHUSRAU—FROM IRANIAN ANGLE 209

the above number means half a line and not a full couplet
«
y*- Zamiri of Isfahan,53 a poet of the Safawid period, is also
known for having composed hundreds of thousands of verses. And
it was on this account that he was compared with Amir Khusrau,
and was called Khusrau, the second. One day, in the assembly
of King Tehmasp, the name of Amir Khusrau Dehlavi was
mentioned. The king pointed to Zamiri and said, “We also have
a novel Khusrau in our court.”54
Amir Khusrau’s works55 were composed in different periods
of his life. Below we give a short description of these works.
His versified works56 include his diwans and masnavis. Khusrau
compiled five diwans in the following order:
1. TUHFA T- US-SIGHR: containing the verses that he composed
from the age of sixteen to twenty years.
2. WASAT-UL-HAYAT: it includes the verses which he sang
between the age of twenty to thirty-four years. This diwan
contains many qasidas which Khusrau composed in praise
of Khan-e-Shaheed.
3. GHURRATU’L-KAMAL: containing the poetry of Khusrau
composed at the age of forty-three years. It contains an
introduction in which the poet gives an account of his life
followed by a description of the ventures of Persian poetry
and its superiority to Arabic poetry. He also mentions the
great poets of Iran in this introduction. The diwan contains
qasidas in praise of Muizzud-din Kaiqubad, Jalalud-din
Firuzshah, and Nizamuddin Auliya.
BAQIYYA-E-NAQIYYA: it contains the verses of Khusrau
composed probably till year 715 A.H. (1315 AD). This diwan
also contains the elegy which our poet wrote at the death
of Alauddin KhaljL
5. NIHAYAAT-UL-KAMAL: this diwan has some references to
• the events of the year 725 A.H. (1324 AD) and contains an
elegy on the death of Qutbud-din Mubarak Shah.
The first masnavi that Khusrau composed is called Qiranu’s-
Sadain. It was completed in 688 A.H. (1289 AD) when Khusrau
210 AMIR KHUSRAU

was 36 years old. The masnawi as stated earlier relates to the

affairs of Bughra Khan and his son Kaiqubad.
Afterwards, Khusrau engaged himself in composing the Khamsa
(Five masnavis) after the model of Nizami Ganjavi. Khusrau is the
first Persian poet to set himself to this task after Nizami. He states
towards the end of Majnun-wa-Laila57 that he was able to
complete his Khamsa in spite of his heavy engagements in the
court. All the five masnavis were composed between the years
698-70 A.H. (1289-1301 AD). The first of these masnavis is
entitled Matla-ul-Anwar composed after the model of Makhzan-
ul-Asrar of Nizami. It contains 3,310 couplets and was completed
in 698 A.H. (1298 AD).

Shirin-wa-Khusrau was composed after the model of Khusrau

in Shirin of Nizami. The metre of both the masnavis is identical:58

The poet, as usual, sings the praise of God and the Prophet
followed by his tributes to Nizamuddin Auliya and Sultan Alauddin
Khalji. Khusrau knew very well that the story of Shinn and
Khusrau had been completely exhausted by Nizami and nothing
new was left for our poet to offer. He says:59

(I sent the bird of my high spirits to the sky and I summoned

my heart (courage) that I had already lost.)

(jSjIHjO ^ l)jj S’fj? bv

(I opened the casket of precious gems, and I offerd to my

lips whatever I had in my heart.)

(Nizami left nothing unsaid; his hands spared no pretty

pearl unstrung.
KHUSRAU—FROM IRANIAN ANGLE 211

O Khusrau, make yourself known for recitence like the

eagle; and do not prattle much like a domestic sparrow.)
Towards the end of the poem Khusrau records the date of its
composition i.e. Rajab, 698 A.H. (1298 AD):60

Ob t) 'i&XU
The third masnavi of Amir Khusrau, in the series of Khamsa,
is Majnun-wa-Laila composed after the model and in the metre
of Laila Majnun of Nizami. This is the most beautiful of all the
five masnavis of Khamsa and even the poet liked it more than his
other masnavis. It seems that the poet instead of recording the
actual story has deviated to a sort of imaginary fiction. It begins:61

JbJi
Towards the end of the masnavi the poet gives the date of its
composition and the number of its verses.62

(698 years have passed from the calendar of Hijrah)

(If you count the number of its verses it is exactly 2660).

Professor Ali Asghar Hikmat in his book Romeo Juliet and
Laila Majnun63 has analysed this masnavi and compares it with
that of Nizami and calls it a new addition to the story of Laila and
Majnun.
The fourth masnavi of Khusrau is Aina-e-Iskandri composed
after the model of Sikandr Namah of Nizami. It contains 4450
couplets and was concluded in 999 A.H. (1299 AD).64
The fifth masnavi of Khusrau is called Hasht Bihisht, a
counterpart of the Haft Paiker of Nizami. It was completed in
701 A.H. (1301 AD).65
All the five masnavis of Khusrau contain 1800 couplets and they
are all dedicated to Sultan Alauddin Khalji.
Of other masnavis of Khusrau one is Taj-ul-Futuh66 on the
events of the first year of the reign of Sultan Jalaluddin Firuzshah.
Some biographers have called this mansavi Miftah-ul-FutuhP
212 AMIR KHUSRAU

Nuh-Sipihr, another masnavi of Khusrau was composed in 718

A.H. (1318 AD) in the name of Qutubud-din and on the events
that took place in the beginning of his reign.68 Yet another famous
masnavi of Khusrau is Ashiqa describing the love affairs of Khizr
Khan, son of King Alauddin, and Deval Rani, daugher of Raja of
Gujarat. The masnavi contains 4300 couplets till the description of
the death of Khizr Khan, to which Khusrau has added a few
couplets.69 The Suz-o-Gudaz ofNau'i Khabushani is modelled after
the Ashiqa of Khusrau.70
Another masnavi of Khusrau composed in the metre of Shirin
wa Khusrau is entitled Tughlaq Namah describing the conquests
of Ghiyasud-dm Tughlaq. The poem was left incomplete by Khusrau,
and it was completed by Hayati of Gilan, a poet of Jahangir’s court.
Hayati says in his versified introduction:71

Jjij/ JL^ ojJ J

In the succeeding couplets he tells us that the poem was left
incomplete by Khusrau and that he brought it to completion. Hayati
also added a prose introduction to the Tughlaq Nama. This poet
had also served Akhar and Khan Khanan and passed away in 1028
A.H. (1618 AD).72
Khusrau has also left three works in prose, the most important
being Khazain-ul-Futuh. It is a history of Alauddin Khalji (695-
715 A.H.) (1295-1315 AD) and is also called Tankh-e-Ala’i.
Khusrau modelled this work after the Taj-ul-Maarthir of Hasan
Dehlavi.73
His another prose-work Rasail-ul-Ijaz or Ijazi-Khusravi deals
with the principle of grammar and prose-writing. The work, divided
into three volumes was completed in 719 A.H. (1319 AD).74
The third prose work of Khusrau is called Afzal-ul-Fawaid
containing the sayings of Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya.75 Sa’idNafici76
regards the prose works of Khusrau as the master-pieces of the
seventh century prose, and praises its style and richness.
Khusrau enjoyed great reverence at the hand of posterity, and
most of the later poets studied his poetry and imitated his style.
Jami (d. 898 A.H.) (1492 AD) is one of those who deeply admired
KHUSRAU—FROM IRANIAN ANGLE 213

the poetry of Khusrau. Jami also planned his diwans like his
illustrious predecessor and named his diwans Fathat-ush-Shabab,
Wasitat-ul-Iqd, and Khatimat-ul-Hayat.11 Jami also composed a
qasida after that of Khusrau and entitled it Lujjat-ul-Asrar. He
says towards the end of this qasida:78

(The virgins of my poetry and of Khusrau are as akm as

two sisters. Both of them have given birth to novelty.)
Another qasida of Jami entitled Jila-ur-Ruh was composed
after the famous qasidas of Khaqani and Khusrau. Jami says in
it:79

Jr* Ob 41f&lSdU't l *

(Khaqani is the first master who spread the table of his

poetry to entertain the intellectuals).

(But when Khusrau found his way to the table of khaqani,

he added its deliciousness with his own sweet words).

Even in his ghazals, Jami refers over and again to Khusrau and
remembers him for his sweet, delicate and powerful poetry. For
instance:80

(This perfection is enough for Jami that he imitates Khusrau

and Hasan in his poetry).

(Jami realises very well that Khusrau is too high to be

imitated, yet he indulges in his vain efforts).

(The pathetic poetry of Jami finds its inspiration from

Khusrau, otherwise it is impossible for him to have such
impossible ideas).
214 AMIR KHUSRAU

Jami also pays his tributes to Khusrau in his masnavis. He says,

for instance, in Laila wa Majnun:81

J — -X X--X tew
eX>v xX v, CLXu

(Two great masters of the realm of poetry have composed

the story with all its fineness and admiration. One of them
scattered his gems from Ganja and the other sang like a
sweet parrot in India).

In short, it may be said that Khusrau is one of the richest

contributors of Persian language and literature and the Indo-
Iraman culture would always be proud of his great personality.

REFERENCES

1. Atishkada by Azhar; Lughat-Nama-e-Dahkuda.

2. Az Sadi ta Jami by E. G. Browne, tr, Ali Ashgar Hikmat.
3. Tazkira-e-Maik/iana ed. Gulchin-e-Ma’ani, p. 59.
4. Shir-ul-Ajang Tazkira-e-Nataij-ul-Afkar.
5. Nataij-ul-Afkar, Siyar-ul-Auliya (quoted in Maikhana)
6. Shir-ul-Ajam, Vol. II, p. 104.
7. Ibid., tr. Fakhr Dai Gilani, Vol. II, p. 79.
8. Shirin Wa Khusrau, Moscow, pp. 309-34.
9. Quoted in Shir-ul-Ajam.
10. Shir-ul-Ajam, Vol. II, p. 98.
11. Ibid., 1 1/79.
12. Diwan-e-Amir Khusrau, Tehran, p. 581.
13. Shir-ul-Ajam p. 80.
14. Diwan-c-Kluisrau, p. 580.
15. Ibid., p. 585.
16. Tahaqat-e-Salatin-e-lslam by Lane-Poole. tr. Abbas Iqbal.
1 7. Shir-ul-Ajam.
18. Ibid.
19. Ibid., 11/84.
20. Introduction to Diwam-e-Hasaii, p. 36
21. Diwan-e-Hasan, Hyderabad, pp. 40-46.
22. Shir-ul-Ajam.
KHUSRAU—FROM IRANIAN ANGLE 215

23. Laila Majnun, Moscow, p. 264.

24. Tabaqat-e-Salatin-e-Jslam.
25. Shir-ul-Ajam; Nafahat-ul-Uns.
26. Tazkira-e-Maikhana, Vol. I, p. 66.
27. Tazkirat-ush-Shuara.
28. Akhbar-ul-Akhyar (Maikhana, 11/63).
29. Tazkirat-ush-Shu'ara.
30. Tazkira-e-Maikhana.
31. Shir-ul-Ajam.
32. Ibid.
33. Quoted in Maikhana, p. 69.
34. Shirin Wa Khusrau, Moscow, p. 15.
35. Siyar-ul-Auliya.
36. Shir-ul-Ajam.
37. Az Sadi ta Jami by E. G. Browne, Vol III, p. 156.
38. Sair-e-Yak Qasida dar Nidi Qarn by this writer (Name-e-Minovi) Diwan-
e-Khaqani ed. by this writer, Introduction, p. 60.
39. Kulliyat-e-Khusrau, MS. Tehran University Library (also Sair-e-Yak
Qasida).
40. Daulatshah Samarqandi; Nataij-ul-Afkar. Nafahat-ul-Uns.
41. Diwan-e-Amir Khusrau, ed. Said Nafici, teheran, Introduction.
42. Tahawwul-e-Shir-e-Farsi by Zain-ul Abidi Mutaman.
43. Tarikh-e-Adabiyat by Dr. R. Shafaq.
44. Shir-ul-Ajam.
45. Ibid.
46. Ibid.
47. Ibid, tr. Fakhr-e-Dai Gilani, Vol. II, p. 112.
48. Article of Dr. M. Moin in the Mi hr, VIII, Nos. 1,2,3.
49. Shir-ul-Ajam.
50. Quoted in Maikhana.
51. Shir-ul-Ajam, p. 132, Maktab-e-Wuqu by Gulchin-e-Maani, p. 2,
Introduction.
52. Majma-ul-Fusaha puts the figure at 400,000 verses.
53. Maktab-e-Wuqu p. 256.
54. Ibid., p. 300.
55. Jami maintains in Nafahat-ul-Uns that Khusrau is the author of 99 works,
but it seems to be an exaggerated statement.
56. Shir-ul-Ajam; Tarrikh-e-Adabiyat by Dr. Shafaq. Tarikh-e-Adabi-yat by Dr.
Safa, Vo III, Part II.
57. Majnun Wa Laila, Moscow, p. 281.
58. Shirin Wa Khusrau, Moscow, p. 1.
59. Ibid, pp. 29-30.
60. Ibid, p. 360.
61. Majnun Wa Laila, Moscow, p. 1.
216 AMIR KHUSRAU

62. Ibid., p. 285.

63. Romeo Juliet and Lada Majnun, pp. 182-190.
64. & 65. Sliir-ul-Ajam.
66. Ibid.
67. Tarikh-e-Mughul by Ihhas Iqbal; Tarikh-e-Nazm-o-Nasr by Said Nafici.
68. Tarikh-e-Adabiyat by Ethe, tr. Dr. Shafaq.
69. Shir-ul-Ajam.
70. Tarikh-e-Adabiyat tr. Dr. Shafaq, p. 96.
71. Tazkira-e-Maikhana, p. 813.
72. Tazkira-e-Maikhana, p. 813
73. Tazkira-e-Mughab, Tarikh-e-Nazam-o-Nasr dar Iran.
74. Shir-ul-Ajam, Tarikh-e-Adabiyat by Ethe: Dr. Safa, in his Tafikh-e-Adabiyat
Vol. Ill, Part II enumerates Jawahir-e-Khusravi among the works of
Khusrau.
75. Shir-ul-Ajam; Tarikh-e-Nazm-o-Nasr dar Iran.
76. Diwan-e-Amir Khusrau, Teheran, 1343 Shamsi, p. XII.
77. Jami by Ali Asghar Hikmat, p. 309.
78. Diwan-e-Jami ed. Hashim Razi, p. 24.
79. Ibid., p. 54.
80. Ibid., pp 293, 327, 614.
81. Haft Aurang ed. Madarris Gilani, p. 759.
.

.
1
!Amir Xhusrau was aprodfic cCassicaCpoet associated
with the royaC courts of more than seven ruCers of the
:DeChi SuCtanate. 3-Ce was a muCtifacetedpersonadty-
apoet of good taste and sweet diction, a mystic, a
schoCar, a reporter and a musician. “Besides these
attributes he was also a household name, particuCarfy
in north India, through hundreds ofpCayfuCriddCes,
songs and legends attributed to him.“This hook unfolds
various aspects of thispersonadty who represents
one of the first recorded Indian personages with
a true pCurafistic identity.

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