GS1 PYQ (Mains Answer Writing): Persian Literature | History for UPSC CSE PDF Download

Persian literary sources of medieval India reflect the spirit of the age. Comment. (UPSC GS1 Mains)

There were some important changes in language and literary trends in the medieval period and the Persian language’s appearance was one of them. Although the roots of the Persian language are as old as Sanskrit, it came to India with the coming of Turks and Mongols in the twelfth century and became the mode of communication of the court.
1. Persian literary sources composed in the form of history

• In the Delhi Sultanate, multiple texts were written in Persian. Most of them were concerned with creating histories for the rulers. 
• Zia-ud din Barani is amongst the top historians of that period and he wrote Tarikh-e-Firuz Shahi. It gives political insight into that time. 
• Mughal emperor Babar wrote Tuzuk-I-Babari in Turkish, which is his autobiography and gives us important information about the Mughal conquest of India. 
• One of the greatest Persian literary sources about the period of Jahangir was Tuzuk-I-Jahangiri. 
• Another important work is Humayun-nama which gives an account of his life and struggles to get the throne, written by the half-sister of Humayun, Gulbadan Begum. 
• The greatest emperor of this period was Akbar and Ain-e Akbari and Akbarnama written by his court historian AbulFazl, are the best examples of literature of this period. 
• These Persian literary sources give detailed accounts of the organisation of the court, administration and army, the sources of revenue and the physical layout of the provinces of Akbar’s empire and the literary, cultural and religious traditions of the people. 
• Along with a description of the various departments of Akbar’s government and elaborate descriptions of the various provinces (subas) of the empire, the Ain-e-Akbari gives intricate quantitative information of those provinces. 
• Akbar ordered several translations of Sanskrit texts like Ramayana, Bhagwata Gita and several Upanishads into Persian. 
• Padshahnama was written by Abdul Hamid Lahori. It is about Shah Jahan. 
• Although military campaigns are given the most prominence, the illustrations and paintings in the manuscripts of Padshahnama illuminate life in the imperial court, depicting weddings and other activities. 
• The Mahabharata was translated into Persian in this period called Razmnama.

2. Other Persian literary sources

• The most important work of this period in which the tableau of the then folk life is found is the epic Padmavat of the Malik Mohammad Jaisi. 
• One of the finest Persian poets is Amir Khusrau Dehlavi (Amir Khusrau of Delhi). Apart from his Diwan (collection of poetry in Persian), he also wrote Nuh Sipihr and the Masnavi Duwal Rani Khizr Khan, which is a tragic love poem. 
• There are several travel accounts written by famous travellers like IbnBatuta (Moroccan traveller) that explain the socio-political scenario of the period. 
• One of highly illustrated works from this period is called Hamzanama, which depicts the story of the mythical Persian hero, Amir Hamza 
• Other major writers of this period include Badauni, who wrote on ethics of political rule and Faizi who was considered a master of Persian poetry. 
• Several texts were produced in the period of Shah Jahan, especially about the emperor like the Shah Jahan-nama of Inayat Khan. 
• In Aurangzeb’s period, several satirists like Mir Jafar Zatalli wrote their Kulliyat (collection of verses). Texts like Tabqat-i-Alamgiri give us a good idea about the period of the eighteenth century.

Conclusion

A literature can be called the spirit of that time when it shows all the achievements and failures of that time and present the lively form of society to the reader. Persian literature composed in the medieval period meets all these standards.

Topic covered - The Mughal Empire