The Diwan of Zeb-Un-Nissa

EDITORIAL NOTE TH E object o f the Editors of this series is a very definite one . They desire above all things that , in their humble way, these books shall be the ambassadors of good- will and understanding between East and West—the old world of Thought and the new of Action . In this endeavour, and in their own sphere , they are but followers of the highest example in the land . They are confident that a deeper knowledge of the great ideals and lofty philosophy of Oriental thought may help to a revival of that true spirit of Charity which neither despises nor fears the nations of another creed and colour . R E - L . C ANM R BYNG . S . A . KAPADIA . N o m no o x O TY n S CIE , 2 O E 1 , CB MW LL Ro w , 8 KE N SIN TO W . G N , S . WISDOM QF THE EAST T H E D IWA N O F Z E B- U N - N IS S A TH E FIRST FIFTY GHAZALS RE N DERED FROM TH E PERSIAN BY M A GA N LAL A N D JE SS IE D U N CA N WES TBROOK WITH A N IN TROD U CTION A N D N OTES LONDON A O R A L E A LE EE . J HN MUR Y, B M R STR T , W 1 9 1 3 C ON TE N TS D E D ICATION INTROD U CTION — D IWAN - I- MAKHF I TH E GHAZALS NO TES l l Thy p easaunce , Princess , now is deso ate Where once the gleam ing water- courses traced s th e Their path among cypresses , a waste Stretches beyond thy rui ned garden- gate ; e ul b fl The rose is d ad , the b ul own away, A n Z e b - nu - d Nissa but a memory. ’ th e ui G But where rapt faq rs od s praises tell , h l m Where at the s rine the pious pi gri s meet , Makhfi Thy verses , , holy tongues repeat , Thy name is honoured and remembered well For through thy words they win a fleeting gleam f l e O the Divine Be ov d of their dream . So might we , even in an alien tongue , Bring from thy mystic garden , where , apart , l Thou dwe t communing with thy burning heart, t n These echoes of h e songs that thou hast su g , ’ And t l catch thy vision of h e Sou s Desire , The im rh o rtal Phoenix with its wings of fire INTRODUCTION TH E Princess Zeb- nu - Nissa was the eldest daughter of the Mogul Emperor Aurungzebs of di 1 63 9 . In a, and was born in She came of , a di Ge n hi z distinguished line , in rect descent from g - Khan and Tamerlane . Her Emperor ancestors were famous not only fo r. their valour and states t manship , but as pa rons and inspirers of art and i learn ng , and, moreover, they themselves possessed ’ dis tinguished literary gifts . Baber s reminiscences are written in so fresh and delightful a style that - e their charm holds us to day, and he wrote po try both in Turki and Persian , even inventing a new style of verse . One of his sons , Mirza l . Kamran , was a so a writer of Persian verse Al though Akbar has given the world no writings of his own—tradi tion even says that he never — found time to learn to write yet h e surrounded himself with a most cul tured circle ; and Abul Fazl , his talented minister, constantly records ’ in his letters Akb ar s wise sayings and noble h an ir l . Je sentiments g , ike Baber, wrote his r own memoi s , and they are ranked high in Persian INTRODUCTION literature . Shah Jehan wrote some account of his court and of his travels , and a record called - ul - the Dastur Amal, or Laws of Shah Jehan . Aurun zeb e l g wrote books on Musu man law, and l Ru at the col ection of his letters , called the q Al am iri . g , is famous Nor was this literary talent ’ ’ confined to the men s side of the house . Baber s Gulb ad an daughter, , wrote some history of her own times , and has left us an interesting ’ picture of Baber himself ; and Zeb- un- Nissa s verses still testify to her skill as a poe t . It is di fficult to learn precisely the details of her lif e they were not written in any connected sh e biography, for in her later days incurred the wrath of her stern father, and no court chronicler D ru dared to speak of her . Her mother was il s Banu Begum , daughter of Shah Nawaz Khan . From her childhood she showed great intelligence , and sh e was instructed from an early age . At — seven years old sh e was a Hafiz she knew the Koran by heart ; and her father gave a great feast to celebrate the occasion . We read that the whole army was feasted in the great Maidan at Delhi , thirty thousand gold mohurs were ffi given to the poor , and the public o ces were closed for two days . She was given as teacher h a lady named Miya ai, and learned Arabic in four years ; sh e then studi ed mathematics and sh e astronomy, in which sciences gained rapid proficiency . She began to write a commentary INTRODUCTION on the Koran , but this was stopped by her father . From her early youth she wrote verses , at first in Arabic ; but when an Arabian scholar saw her work he said : Whoever has wri tten this poem is Indian . The verses are clever and di wise , but the i om is Indian , although it is a miracle for a foreigner to know Arabian so ' l f o r wel . This piqued her desire perfection , t sh e i n and thereaf er wrote in Pers a , her mother tongue . She had as tutor a scholar called R ir Shah ustum Ghazi, who encouraged and d ected r her literary tastes . She wrote at first in sec et, but he found copies of her verses among her - exercise books . He prophesied her future great all ness , and persuaded her father to send over Indi a and Persia and Kashmir to find poets and to invite them to come to Delhi to form a fittin g circle for the princess . This was the more wonderful as Aurungzebs himself cared little fo r poe try and us ed to speak against the ’ e po t s calling . He had forbidden the works of Hafiz to be read in school by boys , or in the c palace by the Begums , but he made an ex eption - un - in favour of Zeb Nissa . Ali Among the poets of her circle were Nasir , n Sayab , Shamsh Wali Ullah , Brahmi , and Be hraaz . Nasir Ali came from Sirhind , and was famous for his pride and his poverty, for he - un despised the protection of the great . Zeb a Nissa admired his verses , and in way he came INTRODUCTION Her to be regarded almost as her rival poet . coterie used to engage in a poetical tournament a kind of war of wits . One would propose a line—sometimes it would be a question another would answer it or contradict it or quali fy it or expand it , by a line or lines in the same metre , rhyming with the original line . This is called — m ushaim a poetical concourse ; and in this - un - quick repartee Zeb Nissa excelled . She had been betrothed by the wish of Shah J f ul hiko h chan , her grand ather , to S eiman S , wh o was her cousin and so n of Dara Shiko h ; s but Aurungzeb , who hated and feared Dara , was unwilling that the marriage should take place , and caused the young prince to be poisoned . She had many other suitors for her hand , but sh e demanded that sh e should se e the princes and test their attainments before a match was arranged . One of those who wished to marry r h her was Mi za Faruk , son of Shah Abbas II of Iran ; sh e wrote to him to come to Delhi so wa that she might see what he s like . The record remains of how he came with a splendid —uh — retinue , and was feasted by Zeb Nissa in a - sh e pleasure house in her garden , while waited on him with her veil upon her face . He asked b ' for a certain sweetmeat in words which , y a - nu play of language , also meant a kiss , and Zeb ' f : Ask Nissa, a fronted, said for what you want from our kitchen . She told her father INTRODUCTION ’ that , in spite of the prince s beauty and rank , his bearing did not please her, and she refused ir the marriage . M za Farukh , however, sent her this verse : I am determined never to leave te a ill this mple ; h re w I bow my head , here will I prostrate myself , here will I serve , and ' - un— an here alone is happiness . Zeb Nissa swere d : H o w light dost thou esteem this 0 . game of love , child Nothing dost thou t e v in know of h fe er of long g , and the fire of ' s eparation , and the burning flame of love .

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