Persian Ramayanas

The Ramayana translated by Badayuni

The Ramayana, one of the most ancient and sacred stories of India, was originally composed in Sanskrit by Valmiki and later translated to Awadhi by Tulsidas. However, besides the famous Sanskrit and Hindi versions, there are no less than 23 Ramayanas in Indo-Persian Literature. Some of these were translated from the original Sanskrit, while others were based on the Ramayana of Tulsidas. According to Abul Fazl, these translations were ordered by Emperor Akbar to dispel the fanatical hatred between Hindus and Muslims as he was convinced that it arose only from mutual ignorance.

This statement is as relevant today as it was then for all communities. It is important we read each other’s scriptures and make an effort to understand other religions, cultures and beliefs. Ignorance makes one more susceptible to hatred and propaganda by bigots and fanatics.

The first Ramayana in Persian was by Mulla’ Abdul Qadir Badayuni. In AH 992 (1584 AD) Emperor Akbar asked him to translate it from Sanskrit. Badayauni, though reluctant, spent four years on this assignment and finished it in AH 997 (1589 AD). Unlike the original Sanskrit Ramayana, it was beautifully illustrated and contains 176 illustrations. It can be seen in the Sawai Man Singh Museum, Jaipur.

In the article Yet another Mughal Ramayana, BN Goswamy, Emeritus Professor of History of Art at the Punjab University, Chandigarh, writes, ”The manuscript seems to have belonged once to emperor Akbar’s mother, Hamida Bano, often referred to as ‘Maryam Makani’ (Dwelling at the same loftiness as the Virgin Mary). There is increasing evidence that Hamida Bano was a collector of books in her own right for some very early manuscripts — dating even to the days when Humayun had just conquered India again— bear her name and the impression of her seal, indicating her ownership. On the flyleaf of this Ramayana too, there are numerous seals and inscriptions — among them a note that the manuscript, completed in 1593, was viewed by Maryam Makani in August 1604, apparently when she was on her deathbed. There are other seals and dated notes on the leaf, including inspection notes by the emperors Jahangir and Aurganzeb in their respective handwriting. Apparently, this was no ordinary manuscript as to its intrinsic value as a work of art (One note records the price of the work as 550 gold mohurs) had been added — in the eyes of the two emperors — the immeasurable value of the fact that the hands of a revered ancestor of theirs had once touched it.

At the bottom of the page, there are two seals of the librarian of emperor Shah Jahan who studied the manuscript in the ninth regnal year (1635 AD). Both the seals read  “Abdur-Rashid Delami Banda-i (servant of) Shah Jahan” and close to the seals, the autograph note of the librarian mentions “having been perused by the Emperor on 26th Asfandar (name of Turki month), ninth regnal year. It was repaired in 1652 during Shah Jahan’s reign, which establishes that the book was extensively handled and perused.

AK Das, the author of Asian Variations in Ramayana, writes, “Two painters did each miniature. Though the painters were mostly Hindus and thus, well-versed in the tradition of the Ramayana, their challenge was to paint Hindu religious themes in Mughal court style. So we have figures from the Ramayana in the setting of Fatehpur Sikri and in Mughal dresses.”

A duplicate of this was made by Abdur Rahim Khan-e-Khana with Akbar’s permission and is preserved at Freer Art Gallery, Washington. A very important feature of this Ramayana is a page note on the flyleaf in Abdur-Rahim Khan-e-Khana’s handwriting, testifying that this manuscript was his personal copy and was prepared with the permission of Emperor Akbar. He goes on in this strain, speaking of how Naqib Khan wrote the text, translating it with the help of Devi Missar, a Brahmin, who was learned in Sanskrit.
(Source: Yet another Mughal Ramayana)

Zayn al-’Abidin, Khan-e-Khana’s copy, Freer & Sackley, Smithsonian Museum for Asian Art

Also to be found are gold coins issued by Akbar with portraits of Rama and Sita going to the forest. These are presently in the State Museum, Lucknow; Bharat Kala Bhawan, Varanasi; the British Museum and in Russia.

Two translations of the Ramayana by Masihi Panipati and Girdhardas are among the literary masterpieces of Jahangir’s reign. Mulla Shaikh Sadullah (pen name Masih) was born at Kairana and since Kairana is on the border of Panipat he became known as Panipati. Masih spent 12 years in Banaras studying Sanskrit literature. The poet regards the story of Ram and Sita as the story of love; and love transcends the limits of religion and faith.

Masih’s Persian abridged (5407 couplets) poetical translation of the Ramayana begins with the couplet

Khuawanda za jaam e ishq kun mast
Ke der masti fishanam bar jahaan ast

O God, intoxicate me with the wine of love
So that I radiate intoxication wherever I tried.

(Translation by Usman Ghani)

Ramayan-e-Masih

Some of the lines of this masnawi have been highly appreciated and quoted by men of literary taste. The following couplet in praise of the Prophet reveals the extraordinary mind of the poet.

Dil az ishq e muhammad roaish daaram
Raqaabat ya khudaai khoyaish daaram 

The love of Mohammed has pierced my heart:
God Himself has become my rival.

(English translation by Professor AH Abidi )The following couplet in praise of Sita’s purity has been quoted by tazkira writers and is considered to be the best in the whole masnawi.

Tanish tanash  ra pairahan uryaan na deeda chu
Jaan ander-e-tann wa tann-e-jaan na deeda 

Her nakedness was not revealed even to her garments;
For she was in her robes like an unseen soul in a body.

The author of Kalematush-Shuara says, “He composed such a beautiful couplet in praise of Sita’s purity that all other poets were astonished, and they have said that this one couplet is worth a hundred thousand verses. None else has the power to compose it’s like.” The third couplet portrays Sita’s disappearance into the earth:

Garebaan zameen shud nagahaan chaak
Dar aamad humchuu’n jaan dar qaalib khaak 

Suddenly the earth gaped,
And, as a soul enters a body, she was taken in.

The Ramayana of Masih is a true exposition of our composite culture – innumerable words and allusions related to the Quran and Iranian literature have been used to enrich this masnawi and to lend colour to the story. Sanskrit and Hindi words sanyaasi, darshan, jharoka, rasta and paan have been assimilated to enrich Indo-Persian literature. This assimilation was indispensable for the Persian language to serve as a mirror reflecting our sentiments and environment. His Ramayana was in the style of a Persian masnavi and not in the tradition of Valmiki’s division into cantos or kandas.

Valmiki’s Ramayana by S Mohar Singh

Masih was targeted by fanatic Muslims for writing the Ramayana and had to justify his stance in the beginning of the book under the heading Dar Mazammat-e-Hussad (Condemning the jealous).

Another important translation is by S Mohar Singh who was employed in Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s army. It was published in 1890 by Ganesh Prakash Press, Lahore. Both the Ramayanas are based on Valmiki’s original text, but are not exact translations. While Masih portrayed Shri Rama as a human with divine qualities, Mohar Singh described him as a divine being with human qualities. Both their translations have contributed to India’s composite culture.

Another rare Persian translation of the Ramayana is by Prince Dara Shikoh, Shah Jahan’s son. The manuscript is presently with a Jammu businessman, Sham Lal Angara. About the historical and religious significance of the book, he says, “This is a unique Ramayan, as it starts with Bismillah-i-rahman ar-rahim – the same verse with which the Quran starts. When a Ramayana can have the same beginning as the Quran, then why cannot Hindus and Muslims can live together in peace? This is a lesson for the religious fanatics who are hell bent on creating a divide between the communities on religious lines.”

Some more translations of the Ramayana are listed below:

Girdhar Das composed an abridged version of the Ramayana (5900 couplets). Gopal, son of Shri Gobind, translated the Ramayana into Persian prose and completed it in either AH 1092 (1681 AD) or AH 1097 (1685-86 AD).

Chandraman Bedil Kayasth Madhuri, son of Sri Ram, wrote the Ramayana both in prose and poetry. The abridged prose translation was written in AH 1097 ( 1685-86 AD).  Later on in AH 1105 (1693-94 AD) at the age of sixty and at the instance of his friend Khatal Das, Bedil wrote the story in verse and named it Nigaristan (about 4906 couplets). Nigaristan was printed by Nawal Kishore Press in AH 1292 (1875 AD), but it has been mistakenly ascribed to Mirza Bedil. It ends with the arrival and coronation of Rama in Ayodhya

Amar Singh, in the same period, rendered the Ramayana into Persian prose in AH 1117 (1705-06 AD) and named it Amar Prakash. The book was written in simple and fluent Persian. At the end, the translator gives a brief account of his kayasth ancestry, mentioning that one of the learned kayasths, Gobind Das had translated the Ramayana of Valmiki into Hindi during the reign of Akbar.

Ramayana in Persian (Brooklyn Museum)

Pandit Sameer Chand translated Valmiki’s Ramayana in AH 1128 (1718 AD) in the reign of Farrukhsiyar and the only manuscript copy of this translation, transcribed in AH 1242 (1826-27 AD) by S Amir Shah Rampuri, is in the Raza library Rampur . This beautiful manuscript contains 247 miniatures of the Rajput School. It throws light on the art, architecture, costumes and ornaments of the time and highlights the composite culture of India in the late medieval period.

Another translation of Valmiki’s Ramayana is by an anonymous writer. It written in a simple and lucid Persian prose, interspersed with appropriate and relevant verses. The illustrated manuscript of this translation exists in the National Museum, New Delhi and consists of 64 illustrations, which belong to the Provincial Mughal School, probably Alwar.Misr Ram Das Qabil wrote Ramnamah in 1864 AD (about 3097 verses).

Munshi Bankey Lal Zar, son of Babu Lalla Prasad and the adopted son of Munshi Tansukh Rai, was the pupil of S Niyaz Ahmad Niyaz. In AH 1301 (1884 D) he wrote a qasida summarizing the Ramayana in 141 verses and named it Khulasa-i-Ramain.

Munshi Gagan Kishore Husu Firozabadi, son of Munshi Rib Kishore, was born in a Bhatnagar (Kayasth) family in Firozabad in AH 1282-83 (1866 AD). He received his education in Persian and Urdu from Shri Kallan and Moulvi Umrao Beg and was a mukhtar by profession. He composed Nairang-i-Hun, also known as Bahar-i-Ajodhya in AH 1304 (1886 AD), at the age of 21.

Rai Munshi Parmeshari Sahai Masrur and Lala Chanda Mal Chand made an abridged translation of Tulsidas, Ramayana, entitled Wazifa-e-faiz (1523 couplets) .

Munshi Harlal Ruswa, son of Ram Chander, son of Dib Chand, a Khatri by caste, belonged to nineteenth century Delhi. His ancestors had held high positions in the Deccan. Ruswa was the Deputy Inspector of Police in Larsab, where, at the age of forty three, he began to translate the Ramayana of Valmiki and Tulsidas into Persian verse. He completed the work in AH 1299 1881-82 AD) and named it Ramayan-i-Farsi. The Ramayana of Ruswa is not of a high poetic order. However, it shows the devotion of the translator.

Deli Das (or Devi Das) Kayasth translated Tulsi Das’s Ramayana into Persian. In the 12th or 13th century of Hijra, Har Ballabh Seth wrote a qasida (242 verses narrating the story of the Ramayana). Rai Mahadev Bali Daryabadi composed a qasida (159 verses) describing the story of the Ramayana .

(Note: Source of the number of Ramayanas and details of various authors are taken from a soon to be published article of Late Professor Emeritus Dr SAH Abidi with the permission of his son Suhayl Abidi to write an article. All translations, except where mentioned otherwise, are by Prof SAH Abidi.)