From the SelectedWorks of Rebecca Ruth Gould

2013

Bīdel
Rebecca Gould

Available at: https://works.bepress.com/r_gould/70/

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Chapter Title Bīdel

Copyright Year 2013
Copyright Holder Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
Corresponding Author Family Name Gould
Particle
Given Name Rebecca
Suffix
Division/Department Humanities Division
Organization/University Yale-NUS College
Street 282 York Street
City New Haven
State CT
Postcode 06511
Country USA
Email rebecca.gould@yale-nus.edu.sg
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2 Bı̄del his first language. Bı̄del passed most of his adulthood 26

in societies where Urdu (at that time called rekhti) was 27

3 Rebecca Gould the most widely spoken vernacular and thereby 28

4 Humanities Division, Yale-NUS College, New Haven, acquired fluency in that language as well. In addition 29

5 CT, USA to his intensive studies of Islamic culture, particularly 30

the Qur’ān, which he memorized at the age of 6, Bı̄del 31

devoted himself to the study of Hindu traditions and 32

6 Synonyms reportedly memorized the Mahābhārata by heart. Bı̄del 33

also studied mathematics and the natural sciences as 34

7 Bedil; Bidil a child ([1], p. 55). Alongside his scholarly studies, 35

Bı̄del was initiated into Sufism by the mystics Shāh 36

Qāsim Huwa’llāhı̄ and Shāh Kābulı̄. 37

8 Definition Although Mı̄rzā cAbd al-Qādir first adopted Ramzi 38

as his pen name (takhallus), the poet soon changed it to 39

˙
9 Mı̄rzā cAbd al-Qādir Bı̄del (1644–1721) was arguably Bı̄del (“heartless”). According to his biographer 40

10 the most significant Indo-Persian poet of early modern Khushgū [2], the poet decided to change his name 41

11 South Asia. Among his many accomplishments were after encountering in the preface to Sacdı̄’s Gulistān 42

12 the infusion of the Indian style (sabk-i hindı̄) with (1259) a rhetorical query that appealed to his meta- 43

13 metaphysical density and the merging of classical physical yearnings: “What should a heartless [bı̄ del] 44

14 Persian aesthetics with Hindu ethics. man say of a signless [bı̄ nishān] God?” The poet 45

prayed to Hāfez of Shı̄rāz (1325–1390), the master of 46

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the ghazal genre that Bı̄del also cultivated for guid- 47

15 Literary Education ance. Only after his prayers were answered by Hāfez 48
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did Bı̄del decide to apply this name, so redolent with 49

16 Mı̄rzā cAbd al-Qādir (1644–1721) was born in the metaphysics of nonexistence, to himself. 50
c
17 Azı̄mābād (Patna, Bihar) to a family of Bengali- Although Bı̄del was supported throughout most of 51
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18 speaking Muslims descended from the Mongol Arlās his life by the generosity of his patrons, in particular 52

19 (Barlās) tribe. The future poet was educated by his the Mughal emperor Shāh Jahān (r. 1628–1658), his 53

20 uncle, Mı̄rzā Qalandar (d. 1665). Although he himself willingness to compose panegyrics in honor of kings 54

21 was illiterate, Mı̄rzā Qalandar was committed to had its limits. When Prince Muhammad cAzam b. 55
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22 obtaining for his nephew a comprehensive education. Awrangzı̄b, his patron of 20 years, requested him to 56

23 From the age 10 onward, Bı̄del received an intensive compose a qası̄da (ode) in his honor, the poet refused 57
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24 education in Arabic and in Persian, the language in and resigned from his position as superintendent of the 58

25 which most of his poetry is written, although it is not Prince’s kitchen. During the periods of his life when he 59

A. Sharma (ed.), Encyclopedia of Indian Religions, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-1989-7,

# Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013
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B 2 Bı̄del

60 was not supported by a royal patron, Bı̄del served as Shirwānı̄ from centuries earlier, Bı̄del is often consid- 106

61 a soldier and also experienced starvation during the ered one of the most difficult poets who ever wrote in 107

62 years he spent searching north India for his Sufi master, the Persian language; this difficulty, which resides in 108

63 Shāh Kābulı̄. large part in his complex ideas and in the allusiveness 109

64 Bı̄del contracted typhoid in 1720 and was buried to of his style, is accompanied by a vernacular sensibility 110

65 great acclaim in his adopted city of Shāh Jahānābād that readily engages his local Indian environments, 111

66 (Old Delhi). For at least 30 years following his death, which included Urdu dialectics as well as Hindu 112

67 Bı̄del’s legacy as a poet and mystic was memorialized spirituality. During his lifetime, Bı̄del taught or 113

68 in Delhi through an annual funeral ceremony (curs) otherwise influenced nearly all the major poets of 114

69 that included recitations of his poems ([1], p. 114). Persianate India, including Walı̄ Dekhanı̄, known as 115

70 Bı̄del passed away in the midst of a chaotic juncture the father of Urdu poetry, the Hindu poet Ānand Rām 116

71 in Delhi’s history. The ensuing conflicts destroyed his Mukhlis, and Khān-i Ārzū, known as the Aristotle of 117
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72 home as well as his grave. Modern scholars believe Indo-Persian literary culture. 118

73 that the site currently denominated as Bı̄del’s tomb in

74 Delhi is the construction of a slightly later epoch.
Works and Legacy 119

75 Bı̄del and the Indian Style (Sabk-i Hindı̄) In the archives of Indo-Persian literature, Bı̄del’s pro- 120

lific oeuvre rivals in extent only that of Amı̄r Khusrow. 121

76 Bı̄del, the greatest poet of early modern India who According to his biographer Bindrāban Dās Khushgū, 122

77 crafted a style that departed from past precedent, the Kulliyāt (collected works) that Bı̄del assembled 123

78 entered the world of Persian poetry by way of the toward the end of his life contained 99,000 verses. In 124

79 classics. In addition to imbibing canonical Iranian addition to his poems, which range across the 125

80 authors such as Sacdı̄ and Hāfez, he read and modeled Persianate genre system to include ghazals, qası̄das, 126
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81 himself after poets who wrote on Persianate periph- and rubācı̄yyāt (quatrains), Bı̄del’s major works 127

82 eries, including the twelfth-century poet Khāqānı̄ include four book-length masnavı̄s (verse narratives), 128

83 Shirwānı̄ (1121–1199), whom he rivals in metaphysi- one autobiography in rhymed prose, Chahār cUnsur 129
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84 cal ambition and philosophical depth, and the first (The Four Elements, 1704), volumes of letters 130
c
85 major Indo-Persian poet, Amı̄r Khusrow (ruqq at), a collection of statements (nuqat) culled 131

86 (1253–1325), whom Bı̄del rivals in originality. Bı̄del from his scattered poems, a no-longer extant collection 132

87 also was one of the first early modern Indo-Persian of the sayings of Sufi mystics compiled at the request 133

88 poets who, while knowledgeable about the Iranian of Shāh Qāsim, and many shorter masnavı̄s (narrative 134

89 tradition and on friendly terms with many of the con- poems). Bı̄del’s longer masnavı̄s are, in chronological 135

90 temporary Iranian poets who had migrated to India order, Muhı̄t-i Aczam (The Great Ocean, 1668), 136
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91 such as Sā’ib Tabrı̄zı̄ (1601–1677), Kalı̄m Kashani T ilism-i Hayrat (Talisman of Wonder, 1669), T ūr-i 137
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92 (d. 1650), and Mulla Zahūri (d. 1615), self-consciously Macrifat (The Wisdom of Sinai, 1687), and cIrfān 138

93 situated himself within a more local Indo-Persian lin- (Gnosis, begun 1682, finished 1712). It has been 139

94 eage inaugurated by Mascūd Sacd Salmān of Lahore noted that cIrfan, Bı̄del’s last major masnavı̄, contains 140

95 (1046–1121), and yet forgotten in the intervening in the story Komde-i Modan “one of the few dostons 141

96 centuries. [stories] written in the Middle East in which love pre- 142

97 The densely layered poetic style that has come to be vails over death” ([4], p. 519). Finally, in addition to 143

98 associated with Bı̄del’s name was only acquired after his predominantly Persian writings, poetry by Bı̄del is 144

99 the poet’s emigration from Bihar to Shāh Jahānābād. preserved in both Urdu and Turkish (the latter in 145

100 From this new home, Bı̄del began to cultivate a style Kabul’s Macārif library, ms. no. 504/9, p. 1001). 146

101 that came to be known as sabk-i hindı̄ (Indian style). The title of Chahār cUnsur, the prose text regarded 147
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102 Sabk-i hindı̄ was known for its abundance of meanings by many as Bı̄del’s greatest and most erudite work, 148

103 (macānı̄), its reliance on ambiguity (ı̄hām), and its refers to the Greco-Arabic teaching that the world 149

104 promiscuous use of the trope of fantastic etiology consists of earth, water, air, and fire, which in turn 150

105 (husn-i taclı̄l) [3]. Although, much like Khāqānı̄ corresponds to the four stages of being: mineral, 151
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Bı̄del 3 B
152 plant, animal, and human. Just as Khāqānı̄ had curriculum in Persianate Central Asia well into the 201

153 described the topography of twelfth-century Baghdad twentieth century. It continues to be recited by per- 202

154 and its environs in his autobiography-in-verse, Tuhfat formers (sing. hāfez; pl. huffaz) who make a living 203
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155 al-cIraqayn (Gift from the Two Iraqs), half a century from their poetic recitations to this day. 204
c
156 earlier, so did Bı̄del include in Chahār Unsur descrip- Bı̄del’s ghazals and selections from his masnavı̄s – 205
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157 tions of Central Asia, the Oxus, and Turkestan. For all particularly Chahār cUnsur – have been beautifully 206
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158 their value as social history, both travelogues are rendered into Russian by Tajik Soviet poets [11], 207

159 heavily inflected by literary metaphysics. while the Russian translation of Komde-i Modan 208

160 Among Indian poets, Bı̄del’s influence is most con- from the masnavı̄ cIrfan had been widely disseminated 209

161 spicuous, albeit in radically different ways, in the writ- across the Soviet Union [12]. Notwithstanding Bı̄del’s 210

162 ings of the two greatest bilingual Urdu-Persian poets of status as “the axis” around which Indo-Persian litera- 211

163 the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: Mı̄rzā Ghālib ture revolves ([13], p. 21), no substantial portion of the 212

164 (1797–1869) and Muhammad Iqbāl (1877–1938). poet’s rich oeuvre has yet been translated into English. 213

165 Whereas Ghālib, whose copy of Bı̄del’s masnavı̄s is While critical editions of Bı̄del’s writings have been 214

166 currently held at the Panjab University Library, published in Tehran [14], Kabul [15], and Dushanbe 215

167 profited from Bı̄del’s love of language and a fondness [16] (the latter in Cyrillic rather than Arabic script), no 216

168 for wordplay while largely ignoring the metaphysical definitive or comprehensive edition of his rich and 217

169 substratum of his difficult verse, Iqbāl learned much prolific literary output yet exists. 218

170 from Bı̄del’s proto-existentialist fascination with being

171 and nothingness while he gleaned less from Bı̄del’s
172 felicity with words. Cross-References 219

173 In literary terms, however, Bı̄del’s most extensive

174 and immediate influence is to the north and west of the ▶ Amir Khusraw 220

175 subcontinent. Bı̄del was a formative influence on the ▶ Ghālib, Mirza 221

176 greatest Tajik poet of the twentieth century, Sadriddin ▶ Ghazal, Islam 222

177 Aynı̄ (1878–1954), who published his Tajik-language ▶ Nizām-ud-Dı̄n Awliyā 223

178 monograph on Bı̄del in 1954 [5, 6]. In 1923, Bı̄del was

179 the subject of an important Uzbek-language essay by
180 the Central Asian modernist poet cAbdulra’uf Fitrat References 224
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181 (1886–1938) [7]. Although Bı̄del’s influence on sub-
182 sequent Urdu literature is incalculable, it is less con- 1. Ghani A (1960) Life and works of Abdul Qadir Bedil. 225
Publishers United, Lahore 226
183 spicuous than his influence on subsequent Tajik and
2. Khushgū BD (¼Khvushgū) (1959) Saı̄nah-’i Khvushgū 227
184 Uzbek literary culture. In contrast to the poet’s signif- (daftar-i sālis): tazkirah-’i shucara-yi Farsi (ed. Sayyid 228
185 icance for Persian poetry outside the Iranian heartland, Shah Muhammad ‘Ata’ al-Rahman ‘Ata’ Kākavi. Idarah-’i 229

186 Bı̄del’s poetry “made no impact at all on Iran” in the Tahqı̄qāt-i ‘Arabi va Farsi, Patnah 230
3. Faruqi SR (2004) Stranger in the city: the poetics of Sabk-i 231
187 centuries following its appearance ([4], p. 517). Only Hindi. Annu Urdu Stud 19. Revised version available 232
188 the past few decades have witnessed significant atten- at http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/srf/ 233
189 tion to Bı̄del’s achievements by Iranian literary critics sabkihindi/srf_sabk_i_hindi.pdf 234

190 such as Saljuqı̄ and Shafı̄cı̄-Kadkanı̄ [8, 9]. 4. Bečka J (1968) Tajik literature from the 16th century to the 235
present. In: Jan Rypka (ed) History of Iranian literature. 236
191 That the vast majority of manuscripts of Bı̄del’s
D. Reidel, Dordrecht, pp 515–519 237
192 kulliyāt are from the cities of Bukhara and Shahr-i 5. Aynı̄ S (1984) Mirzo Abdulkadir Bedil’ i ego tvorchestvo. 238
193 Sabz in present-day Uzbekistan further illustrates the In: Bı̄del, Izbrannoe. Izd-vo “Irfon”, Dushanbe 239

194 poet’s posthumous fame in Central Asia. In Tajikistan 6. Aynı̄ S (1954) Mirzo Abdulqodiri Bedil. Nashriëti davlatii 240
Tojikiston, Stalinobod (Dushanbe) 241
195 and Afghanistan, Bı̄del is regarded as a national poet
7. Fitrat A (2002) Bı̄del. In one session (trans: Allworth E, 242
196 whose importance exceeds that of Hāfez ([10], p. 163, Hanaway WL). In: Allworth E (ed) Evading reality: the 243
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197 footnote 2). Bı̄del’s death was memorialized in Kabul devices of cAbdalrauf Fitrat, Modern Central Asian. Brill, 244

198 many centuries after his funeral ceremony (curs) Leiden, pp 124–174 245
8. Shafı̄cı̄-Kadkanı̄ MR (1376/1998) Sha’ir-i A’inaha: 246
199 ceased to be performed in Delhi. Additionally, Bı̄del’s Barrasi-i Sabk-i Hindi va Shicr-i Bı̄del. Agah, Tehran 247
200 poetry was a canonical text in the elementary school
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248 9. Saljuqi S (1380/1991) Naqd-i Bı̄del. Kitāb Khana-i Milli, intellectual history of South Asian Islam. Duke University 259
249 Tehran Press, Durham, pp 14–31 260
250 10. Bausani A (1954–1956) Note su Mı̄rzā Bı̄del. Annali, 14. Bı̄del, Mı̄rzā cAbd al-Qādir (1376/1997) Kulliyat-i Bı̄del 261
251 Istituto Orientale di Napoli 6:163–199 (eds. Akbar Bihdārvand and Parvı̄z ‘Abbāsı̄ Dākānı̄). 262
252 11. Bı̄del, Mı̄rzā cAbd al-Qādir (1984) Izbrannoe [Collected Intishārāt-i Ilhām, Tehran 263
253 Works] (ed. R. Hadi-Zade). Izd-vo “Irfon”, Dushanbe 15. Bı̄del, Mı̄rzā cAbd al-Qādir (1342-43/1963-64) Kulliyāt-i 264
254 12. Bı̄del Mı̄rzā cAbd al-Qādir (1949) Komde i Modan. Gos. Bı̄del. Dapohini Vizarat va Dar’ut Talif-i Riyasat, Kabul 265
255 Izd-vo Tadzhikskoı̆ SSR, Dushanbe 16. Bı̄del, Mı̄rzā cAbd al-Qādir (1990–2005) Osor dar hasht jild 266
256 13. Siddiqi M (1979) The influence of Bedil on the Indo-Persian [8-vols collected works in Cyrillic script]. Izd-vo “Adib”, 267
257 Poetic tradition. In: Lawrence BB, Braibanti RJD (eds) The Dushanbe 268
258 rose and the rock: mystical and rational elements in the