Chandayan (poem)
| Chandayan | |
|---|---|
| by Maulana Daud | |
| Written | 1379 CE |
| Language | Awadhi |
| Genre(s) | Sufi epic poem |
| Form | masnavi |
| Meter | doha and chaupai |
Chandayan, or The Story of Chanda,[1] is the first Indian literary poem composed in masnavi form (or a poem in couplets)[2] and in the Awadhi dialect, the regional language of the eastern Gangetic plains.[3] It was written in the Persian-Arabic script.[4] It was written in 1379 CE by poet Maulana Daud who was a Chishti Sufi.[5] Daud had composed the poem for the entertainment of a provincial court in North India.[6]
History
[edit]Chandayan is recognized as an important literary text in the history of Hindi literature[7] because it pioneered a new genre of literature called Awadhi premkatha which mixed literary conventions from Persian, Apabhramsha, and oral Awadhi folk traditions.[8][9] Traditionally, the masnavis that were composed for the courtly states of India were written in the Persian language and style.[3]
The word masnavi, taken from a Hebrew and Arabic word, means a story that can be interpreted on many levels. As such, Chandayan is an allegory about a man on a spiritual journey who follows the Sufi path to become closer to God as well as a love story about two characters named Chanda (the moon) and Lorik (the sun).[3] The plot of the story takes inspiration from a popular oral folktale and epic called Candaini which was sung by Ahir singers of northern India.[10] Candaini was also a love story about two characters called Lorik and Canva.[11]
Succeeding poets used Chandayan as a template to create their literary works,[12] some of which include Mirigavati, composed in 1503 by Sultan Husain Shah Sharqi of Jaunpur, Padmavat which was composed in 1540 by Malik Muhammad Jayasi, and Madhumalati which was composed by Mir Sayyid Manjhan Rajgiri in 1545.[5][13]
Author
[edit]Chandayan was composed by poet Maulana Daud who was a Chishti Sufi during the reign of Firoz Shah. He lived in the city of Dalmau, present day Rai Bareilli district in Bihar.[14]
Structure
[edit]The format and structure of Chandayan served as a model for many masnavis that were created later. The poem uses meters and verse forms like doha and chaupai.[9]
Manuscripts
[edit]A complete Chandyan manuscript does not exist and there are only several damaged and incomplete copies which includes five illustrated versions[15] and two unillustrated version from the 15th and 16th centuries.[9] Folios of the manuscript are housed in the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin, John Rylands Research Institute and Library at the University of Manchester, the Bharat Kala Bhavan, in Benaras,[14] the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya in Mumbai and the Lahore Museum.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ Lande, Joel B.; Feeney, Denis (2021-07-20). How Literatures Begin: A Global History. Princeton University Press. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-691-18652-8.
- ^ M. S. Asimov (2000). The Age of Achievement A.D. 750 to the End of the Fifteenth Century. UNESCO. p. 400. ISBN 978-9231036545.
- ^ a b c Dāūda (2023). The English Translation of Candayan, the Pioneer Indo-Sufi Masnavi of Maulana Daud. Translated by Hines, Naseem Akhtar. London: Routledge. pp. 23–37. ISBN 978-1-032-52078-0.
- ^ a b Bhuyan, Avantika (2024-05-05). "'Chandayan': A translation of an epic proportion | Mint". mint. Archived from the original on 2025-02-08. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
- ^ a b Manjhan (2001-02-01). Madhumalati: An Indian Sufi Romance. OUP Oxford. pp. xiv–xvii. ISBN 978-0-19-158751-1.
- ^ Sheikh, Samira (2017). "Review of Love's Subtle Magic: An Indian Islamic Literary Tradition, 1379–1545". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 137 (3): 634. doi:10.7817/jameroriesoci.137.3.0634. ISSN 0003-0279.
- ^ "The Chandayan: A Sufi Tale of Ishq between Languages, Cultures & People". San Diego Museum of Art. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ^ Orsini, Francesca (2023). East of Delhi: Multilingual Literary Culture and World Literature. Oxford University Press. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-19-765829-1.
- ^ a b c Williams, Tyler W. (2024-10-01). If All the World Were Paper: A History of Writing in Hindi. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-55875-4.
- ^ Mohamed, Malik (2023-12-01). The Foundations of the Composite Culture in India. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-003-83095-5.
- ^ Shaikh, Sanahadbegam (2023-05-16). "Rare Slides of Chandayan Manuscript now a part of UW Libraries - South Asia Center". South Asia Center. Archived from the original on 2025-01-20. Retrieved 2025-03-26.
- ^ Behl, Aditya (2016-07-01). Love's Subtle Magic: An Indian Islamic Literary Tradition, 1379-1545. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-062882-6.
- ^ Meri, Josef W. (2006). Medieval Islamic Civilization: L-Z, index. Taylor & Francis. p. 620. ISBN 978-0-415-96692-4.
- ^ a b Behl, Aditya; Doniger, Wendy (2012). Love's subtle magic: an Indian Islamic literary tradition, 1379-1545. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 36–59. ISBN 978-0-19-514670-7.
- ^ Sheikh, Samira (2017). "Review of Love's Subtle Magic: An Indian Islamic Literary Tradition, 1379–1545". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 137 (3): 634–636. doi:10.7817/jameroriesoci.137.3.0634. ISSN 0003-0279.