Mal

fuzat
Jobi
alAl
ex
Mal fuzatwasacont emporaryrecor doft het eachingsofaSufishay khasobser v ed
andcompi ledbyadi scipl
e.Muchofwhatweknowaboutpr e-Mughal Sout hAsi an
Sufism i sder ivedfrom mal fuzattext s.AnAr abicwor d,mal f
uzatl iterallymeans
“whathasbeensai d”andr eferstot extswr i
tten,most l
yinPer sian, byt hedi scipleof
aSufishay khr ecordingasmuchaspossi bleoft heshay kh’sconv ersat ions, activities,
andt eachi ng.Dwi ghtF.Rey noldsst atest hatmal fuzatcanbev iewedasal ogical
devel opmentoft het wi nI
slamictradi ti
onsofbi ographyandcol l
ect ionofdi cta
i
naugur atedi nt heear lycenturi
esoft heIslami cerat opreservet hel ifeand
teachi ngsoft hePr ophetMuhammadi nthef ormsofsi raandhadi th.Theseear ly
biographi cal dicti
onar ieswerelargelybasedonanor altr
ansmi ssi onoft het eachi ngs
ofSufimast ers, t
houghwr i
ttencollect i
onsoft heut t
erancesofi ndi v idual figur esl ike
AbuYazi dBi st ami (d.875)wer ealsounder t
aken.Monogr aphsr ecor dingt heor al
teachi ngs,andt eachi ngsessions,ofi ndividual Sufimast ers,suchasAbuSa- i
di bn
Abi al-Khay r(d.1049)andAl a-al-
dawl aal-Simnani (d.1336) ,
wer eal sopr oduced.J.
A.Moj addedi pointsoutt hatwithi
nt heSufit radit
ion,biographical not i
cesof
significantfigur esandcompi l
ati
onsoft heirut t
eranceswer ecombi nedi nwor ks
suchasAbdal -Rahmanal -
Sulami’s( d.1021)Tabaqatal -
sufiya.

Despi tetheseant ecedentsf r

om theAr abandI ranianregions,mal f
uzatarepeculiar
toSout hAsianMusl i
m culture.CarlW Ernstpointsoutt hatinIndiathemalfuzat
quicklybecameadomi nantl i
ter
aryformf orthet r
ansmi ssionofSuf it
eachingso
thatlatergenerationsofIndianSuf i
sfoundi talmosti ndispensabletocommi tt
heir
discoursesintot hist
extual mould.Theyar eani ndependentgenr e,eachtext
focusingonasi nglefigurewhoset eachingswer erecor dedduringhisli
fet
imebya
discipl
eindi r
ectcont actwithhim.Thepar adigmaticexampl eoft hi
sgenre, t
hat
firmlyest abl
ishedbot hitsform anditspopul ari
tyinSout hAsianSufism, i
sFawa- id
al-f
u-adbyAmi rHasanSi jziwhichrecordedt heconv ersati
onsoft hewidelyrevered
ChishtisaintNizam al-di
nAwl i
ya(d.1325) .

Duringt het hirteenthandf ourteenthcent uri

es, whent hemaj orSuf iorder
swer e
establishingt heirholdonSout hAsi anIslami cpiety,
fewoft hegreatSufishay khs
composedsi gni ficantproset r
eat i
sesorpoet icalworks.Car lW Ernstremarksthat
theor alteachi ngsoft heChi shtis,
asr evealedi nthe“or aldi
scourses”( malf
uzat)
l
iterature,tookonacanoni cal text
ual f
ormt hatsoonbecamet heaut hori
tat
iveand
normat ivegenr ebothf orthemember softheor derandf ortheirl
ayf oll
owers.The
chishtimast erNi zam al-
DinAwl i
yamadesuchapr ofoundi mpactonhi s
cont empor ariest hatanewgenr eofli
teraturet hemal fuzat,
emer gedt oembodyhi s
teachings.
Nizam al-
dinAwl iyawast hepr eemi nentshay khoft heChi sht
i order,andi twas
especial
lyamongt heChi shti
st hatthegenreofmal f uzatflourished.Near lyevery
subsequentChi shtishaykhwi thacl aimtoinher i
tingNi zam al-di
n’srol ehadhi s
mal f
uzatcompi led.Hissuccessor sNasiraldinMahmudChi r
agh- iDi
hl i(d.1356)and
Burhanal-di
nGhar ib(d.1337)bot hhaddi scipleswhocompi l
edt heirt eachingsin
Khay ral
-majal
is, Ahsanal-aqwal ,Nafa-i
sal-
anf as,Ghar a-i
bal-karamat ,andShama- i
l
alat
qiya.Otheror ders,i
ncludi
ngt heSuhr awar di,
Firdawsi ,
andMaghr ibi l
ineages,
foll
owedsui t
.

CarlW Ernstinhi s“Eter

nalGarden”pr opoundst hatthedev elopmentoft heChi shti
mal f
uzatli
teraturemaybesket chedi ntwost ages.Fi rsti
tisnecessar yt odescr i
be
thediscoursesofNi zam al-
DinAwl i
y aandcompar et hem witht hoseofhi stwo
disci
plesNasi ral-
DinMahmudChi ragh-i Di
hli
andBur hanal -
DinGhar i
b.Theset exts
may becall
edf orconv eni
ence,the“original
”mal fuzat.Next,these“ original”texts,al
l
wr i
tt
enbyl i
terateandcour t
lydisci
ples,may bejuxtaposedwi thanot herser iesof
mal f
uzatpurpor t
ingtobedi ct
atedbyt hepr i
ncipal Chishti
shay khst ot heir
successors,il
lustrat
ingthemainl i
neofi nit
iat
icaut horit
yintheor der .Allthe
mal f
uzattextsmadet hepersonoft hesuf imasteranessent i
al partoft het eaching.

Fawa- i
dal-fu-
ad( moralsofthehear t)wascomposedasaday -by-
daymemoi rof
Nizam aldinAwl i
ya’
st eachi
ngsessi ons,andthisdiarystr
ucturehascont i
nuedt obe
thedomi nantf ormatf ormalfuzattexts.AsGeor geMakdi si
hasdemonst rat
ed, the
keepingofper sonaldiari
esbyst udentsofhadi t
hdat esbackt otheni
nthcent uryand
perhapsear li
er .I
nt hebookFawd’ idal -
fu’
adt herecordi
ngsoft heoralteachingsof
Nizam al-DinAwl iyawasev identl
ythespont aneousdecisionofhi sdi
sciple,
thepoet
Ami rHasanSi jziDihlawi.ThesuccessofFawa’ i
dal-adasanexposi ti
onofChi shti
sufi
sm wast remendous.Thecour thistori
anBar ani
,inanof t-
quotedpassage, has
recordedt hepopul ari
tyofthebookasani nst
anceofgr eatinfl
uencethatNizam al -
dinexertedov ert hewhol epopulati
onofDel hi
.

Wi t
hNi zam al -
Din’ssuccessori nDel hi,Nasi ral-
Di nMahmud“ Chir
agh- iDihli
”,the
mal f
uzatt ookonanunev enchar acter,der ivedfrom t hecont r
astint emper ament
betweent heser i
ousl egal andascet icemphasi soft heshay khandt heimmat urityof
thecompl i
er,Hami dQal andar .Hehasgi venanel abor atedescr i
pti
onofhowt he
coll
ectionofkhay ral –maj ali
s( t
hebestofassembl i
es)begani n1354.Theedi torof
khayral -
maj ali
s,KANi zami , r
emar kedt hatHami dQal andarhasnor ealandgenui ne
aptit
udef ormy sti
cism.Despi tethest ri
ctur esonhi saccur acy
,Hami dQal andar’s
compi lati
oni snonet helessani mpor t
antl inki nther ecor dingofChi shtiteachings.
Mor eimpor tantlyfrom thepr espectiveoft hisst udy, Hami dQal andar ’
swor kref lects
from thebegi nningacer taintensionwi t
ht hemal fuzatt extsofBur hanal -dinGhar ib
asr i
valsforcanoni cal status.Thef latteri
ngt oneofHami dQalandar ’
sfirst
conser vati
onwi thChi ragh-i Dihl
isuggestt hatoneofhi smot i
veswast oest ablish
pol
i
tical
supr
emacyofChi
ragh-
iDi
hli
wit
hinChi
sht
isuccessi
on.

Themostex i
stingaccount soft heearlymal f
uzatl i
teraturehav enegl ectedt he
l
ar gelyunpubl ishedt extspr oducedi nthecircleofBur hanal -DinGhar ib,anot her
maj ordi scipleofNi zam al-Din,whol edSuf i
swhopar ticipat edi ntheenf orced
mi grationoft hemusl i
m eliteofDel hitotheDeccancapi tal ofDaul at
abadi n1329.
Thef i
rstandper hapst hemosti mpor t
antoft hemal fuzatt extsemanat i
ngf rom t
he
circleofBur hanal -
DinGhar ibalsof oll
owedt hemodel ofFawa- i
dal-f
u’ ad.Thi swas
Naf a’i
sal -
Anf ascompi l
edbyRuknal -
DinDabi rKashani i
nf ortyeightsessi ons
bet weenmuhar ram.Lat ertextsf r
om theci r
cleofBur hanal -DinGharibt ookonmuch
mor el i
terar ychar acter,andwhi l
etheyr et
ainedor alelement s,theyabandonedt he
diarymal fuzatst r
ucturefort heothergenr es.Amor esy stemat icappr oach
char acterizedt hemal fuzatcompl iedbyRuknal -Din’
sbr ot herHammadal -
Din
Kashani ,ent i
tl
edAhsanal -Aqwal (t
hebestoft hesay i
ng) .Thi sbookisdi vi
dedupi nt
o
29chapt er s,eachcal l
edaqawl orsaying,coveri
ngal l aspect sofsufi practiceli
ke
thepr act i
ces( rawish–ha)oft hemast ersoft hepat handt hecust oms( sunan)of
thel ordofr eali
t yandmanymor e.

Asi gnifi
cantminorit
yofmal fuzathav eav ar
iantstr
uctureinwhichashay kh’s
teachingsar eorgani
zedi nt
ochapt ersaccordingtotopic.Suchtopicsmightinclude
prayer,thevirt
uesoft hefamilyofthePr ophet,t
hemanner sofinit
iati
onand
discipl
eship,andsoon.Unt ilthenineteenthcenturymalfuzatwerecomposedi n
Persian,thelit
eraryl
anguageofSout hAsianI sl
amicsociety.Malf
uzathav e
cont i
nuedt obecompi l
edtothepr esentday,thoughUrduhasbecomet hel anguage
ofchoi ceinthepasttwocent uries.

Ami naSt einfelshascar r

iedoutanin-depthstudyof4mal f
uzatcompil
edbyt he
di
sci plesofSay y
idJalalal-
dinHusaynBukhar i(1308–84)oft heSuhr
awardiSufi
order.Shesay sthathav i
ngfourseparatetextsdev ot
edt oasingl
efigureall
owsnot
onlyar i
chdescr ipt
ionofJalalal
-di
nBukhar i
’slifeandteachingsbutal
soaf ul
ler
under standingoft henatureofmalfuzattexts.Atthetimeoft hei
rcompil
ati
on, t
he
l
atef our t
eent hcentury
, malf
uzathadbecomeanest abl
ishedgenrebeyondthe
confinesoft heChi shtiorder
.

Thehi storicalimpor tanceoft heset extshasledt oanat temptt odetermi net he

authentici
tyofpar ti
cul armal fuzatt hatis,whetheriti
sact uallybythedi scipl
eand
aboutt heshay khthati scl ai
mst obe.Mal f
uzatisthepl uralform ofmal fuz,a
passivepar ti
cipial
nounmeani ng“ utter
ed”or“utterance.”Ther efor
e,mal fuzatare
expli
citl
yclaimi ngtobet hewor dsspokenbyt heshay kh, notlit
erarytextspr oduced
bydisciples.Howev er,italsoseemsobv i
ousthatthedi scipl
ei stheaut hor:hehas
usuallyincl
udedapr efacewi thhi sownname, statinghisi nt
ent i
ontocompi lethe
teachingsofhi smast er,explainingwhenandwher ehewasi nt hecompanyofhi s
mast erandf requent l
yci t
ingear li
ermal fuzatashi smodel s.Thus, accor di
ngt o
AminaSt einfel
sthemal f
uzatisacoll
aborati
veproject
,spokenbyt hemast erbut
wri
ttenbyt hedisci
ple,wit
heditor
ial
inputfr
om both.Ul t
imatel
y,thekeyto
understandingthestruct
ureofthemalfuzati
sthemast er-di
sci
plerelat
ionshipi
npre-
moder nSufism andt henatureofspir
it
ualauthor
itygeneratedbyit.

Themi xtureofmat er
ial
spr esenti nt hemal fuzatisrel
atedtot heirmultiplefunctions.
Ont heonehand, themal fuzatar enar r
at i
ngl i
festori
es:asamemoi roft hedisciple’
s
ti
mewi t
ht heshay kh,asbi ogr aphy -
hagi ographyoft heshaykh, andast he
autobiographyoft heshay kh.Ont heot herhand, theyareacti
ngast extbooksand
anthologi
essummar i
zingI slami cdoct rine,legalrul
es,andSufipr acti
ce.Fort he
reader,t
hebl endi
ngoft heset wodi fferentmodesmakeseachonel essef fecti
ve.
Thebiogr aphical
nar r
ativesar elosti nawi ldernessoflegalargument s.Thedoct rinal
expositi
onsar efragment ed, disorganized,interr
upted,andsomet imesar r
angedby
orderofexpl anat
ionr at
hert hanbyl ogicaldev el
opment .

Sincet heypr esentadet ai leddepi cti

onofSufil if
ei nitssocial cont ext ,mal f
uzatar e
ani nv aluabl esour ceofi nf ormat i
ononsoci al,politi
cal ,
andeconomi chi st ory ,apoi nt
mader epeat edl ybyschol arsf amili
arwiththegenr e.Whi l
emostmedi ev al historical
writingf ocusedont her oy al courtsandmi l
itarycampai gns, mal fuzati l
lumi nat e
whol eot hersegment sofI ndo- Musl i
m societ y.Becauseoft heaut hor s’ tendenci est o
i
ncl udeal mostev ery thingt hathappenst oori sdonebyt heshay khsi nt hepr esence
ofthei rdi sci ples, theset ext scont ainmuchi ncident almat erialont hev arious
activitiesoft heirmast er s.Thus, mal f
uzatcanbeusedt oexpl or esuchdi spar ate
i
ssuesast hecul i
nar yhabi ts,economi ccondi t
ions, vernacularl anguages,
topogr aphy ,andev enpastt i
mesofpar t
icularper iodsandl ocal it
ies.Z.A.Desai ,
Khal iqA.Ni zami ,andS.H.Askar ihavev erypr oduct ivelyminedv ariousmal fuzatf or
thist ypeofi nformat ion, andMuhammadAsl am hassummar i
zedt hehi stor icalvalue
oftwent y-
ni nemal fuzatt ext sfrom thethirt
eent htot hesev ent eent hcent ury .Inthei r
preser v ati
onofaSufimast er’
sper sonal
ityandi nstructionlongaf t
erhi sdeat h,
Steinf elsdr awsacompar isonbet weenthemal fuzatandt het omb.Rat hert han
memor i
alizat ion,thought hatispr esent,thef ocusoft hepar allel bet weenmal f
uzat
andt ombsi si nt hei rpr eser vationofthespi ritualfunct i
onoft hesai ntasgui deand
teacher .
Pr
emākhy
ans

Thegenr eoft heHindaviSufir omanceembodi esanI ndianI slamicl i

ter
aryt r
adit
ion,the
accul
turationofamonot heisti
cf ai
thandal i
terar
ymodeli ntoal ocallandscape.Poet s
duri
ngtheper ioddrewont hethreeclassical(
or,inSheldonPol lock’ster
m, “cosmopolit
an”)
l
anguagesofl aw,rel
igi
on,and l it
eratur
e:Ar abic,Persian,and Sanskr i
t.Therewer ei n
addit
iont heparti
cul
arregionalli
ter
aturesi nApabhraṃśaandt hev ar
iousPrakri
ts,el
ement s
fr
om whi chwer eadaptedbyv ari
ouspoet sinthenewI ndo-Aryanl anguages.

Thr ought heiruseofgener icconv entions,t heHi ndav iSufipoet sl inkedthegenr et ot he

Per sianpr ototypeoft hemasnav i,thel ongr omant ic,mar tial
,ordi dacticpoem i nr hy mi ng
coupl ets.Howev er,theyal so feltf ree tot ake concept s,model s,gener ic conv entions,
i
mager y,poetict echniques,andt hemesf r
om l ocaluni versesofdi scourset ocr eatet hei r
desiMusl i
ml iteraryt radit
ion.TheHi ndav ipoet st hemsel vesbel ongedt odifferentsi lsilahs
whower eincompet i
ti
onwi theachot herandsoughtoutar easandpopul ati
onst owhi ch
theycoul dmi nister.Thepoet soft hegenr ecr eatedasophi st
icatedI ndianIslami cliter ary
tradition,agenr econt ainingi ndi
genousl i
teraryandr el
i
gioust erms, andanar rati
veuni v er se
toexpr esst hedi sti
nctiveSufiagendawi thint hel ocallandscapei nwhi chtheChi shtisand
Shat tariswor kedhar dt oest abl
i
sht hemsel v es.Al thought heauthor soft heSufir omances
used t he inflat ed r hetoric oft he conquestnar rati
ves ofHi ndust an,they r eimagi ned
themsel vesast he“ nativ
es,”t heRaj putswhodef endedt heirfort
st othelastandcr eat ed
narr ativ
essuchast hefict ivesacrificeofPadmi ni atChi t
taur .

TheHi ndaviSufir
omanceswer esungmosti deall
yinpr i
vatesessionsinSufishrines.Her e,
thenov i
cewasexposedt opoet r
yandmusi cinordertodi r
ecthimt owardsreali
singdivinit
y
throughhi sowni nnerjourney.Ther omanceswer eenmeshedi ncompl expr otocolsof
readingaloud,si
ngingandr eci
tati
onindi
fferentcontext
sout si
detheSuf ishri
nesaswel l,i
n
ari
stocrat
iccour t
sandst ory-
tel
li
ngsessionsconduct edbyconnoi sseur
s.Thenot ionof
fl
exibil
i
tyofmeani ngdeployedbyt heSuf
ipoet sal
lowedt heseworkst ocir
culat
ewi delyand
contempor ar
yandl at
ercomment at
orsof
tennot ethepowerandl ushappeal ofthepoet r
y .

Inthegener i
cformula,thefirstencounteroftheher oandt heher oi
neistreatedasawayof
conv eyi
ngal legor
icall
yt heSuficonceptoft hefir stmeet i
ngoft heimmor t
alspiri
twi t
h
divini
tyint hephenomenalwor ld.Erot
icdesireisarousedbet weentheheroandt heher oi
ne
i
nt hisinit
ialencounter,
butinordertotransfor
mi tintolove,theheroandtheher oinehaveto
passt hroughsev eraltr
ialsorordeal
swhi chsigni
fyt hetri
alsandt r
ibul
ati
onsoft hesoulon
thepat hofi tsunionwi threali
ty.Theyhav ehelper s,whocommonl yexempl i
fyspiri
tual
valuessuchasmy sti
calabsorpti
on( sahaj
a)ort heabst ractquali
tyoflov e( pr
ema).And
therearedemonst ofightandt r
ial
sofst r
engththatt helover
smustpasst hr oughinorderto
attaineachot her.

Alltheplot
shavecertai
nformul
aicel
ementsthatall
udet oear
li
ercanonsort
ocommon
stereot
ypesaboutgenderandcult
urethatt
heHi ndavipoet
sreshapedint
oadist
inct
ive
formula.

 TheCāndāyanandPadmavatdepl
oymanyofthecharact
eri
sti
ctopoioft
hemasnavi
asapr ol
ogue(pr
aisi
ngGodtheCreat
or,hi
sProphetMuhammadandt hefir
stfour
Cal
iphs).

 Theyalsoi
ncl
udet heaest
het
icsofrasa(
‘flav
our’
,alsodomi
nant‘
flavour
’oremot
ion
convey
edorintendedtobeconveyedini
tnarrat
ive)aswel
lasconv
enti
onsderi
ved
 ul
ti
mat
elyf
rom t
heSanskr
itMahakav
ya(
cour
tl
yepi
c).

 Theseincludethemomentoft heawakeni
ngofl
ovethroughavi
sion,adream,ora
descr
ipti
onoft heheroi
ne’
sbeautyasadivi
nemani
fest
ation,
aconvent
ioncommon
tobot
hPer si
anandIndi
anromances.

 Descri
pti
onoftheheroi
ne’
sbodyfoll
owstheorderoft
hesarāpā,t
hehead-
to-
foot
descri
pti
onoftheheroi
neinPersi
anpoet
ry,butusesmuchoftheimager
yoft he
nakha-śi khavar
ṇana,t
hetoe-
to-
headdescri
pti
onofhumanheroi
nesinSanskri
t
Mahakavyas.

 Thenecessar
ytr
ansfor
mationoftheher
oint
oay
ogionanascet
icquestdr
awson
thepoet
ryoft
heGorakhnāt
hpanth.

 Theher o’
sabandonmentofafir stwifei
nordertoconsummatehislovewi
ththe
divi
neheroi
neisamotifthatdr
awsont hecommonsultanat
ecul
tur
alster
eot
ypeof
thejeal
ousybet
weenco-wives(
sautana)i
naharem.

 Themessagethatthedesertedwif
esends,
descri
bingheragonyt
hroughthetwelv
e
monthsoft
hey ear
,usest heconv
enti
onofthebār
ahmāsā, t
akenf
rom oralsongsi
n
thev
ari
ousregi
onallanguages.

 Thehero’
sresolut
ionofthestri
febetweentheco-
wives,hi
sdeat
h,andt
heburni
ng
ofbothhiswivesonhisfuneralpyr
eusest hest
ereot
ypeofthesel
f-
immol
ati
onof
theI
ndiansat
ītosigni
fymysti
calanni
hil
ati
on.

Theinaugurat
ionoft hegenr emaybeseeni ntheCāndāy anofMaulanaDaud, composedi n
1379attheprovincialcourtofDalmaui nAvadh.Itisfol
lowedbyQut ban’
sMi r
igāv at
ī(1503),
composedundert hepat ronageofSultanḤusainShāhShar qīofJaunpur.MalikMuhammad
Jāyasīemulat
edt hemodel oft
heCāndāy anandt heMi r
igāv
atīinsev
er al
poemst hataresti
l
l
ext
ant,pre-
eminentl
yt hePadmāv at(1540),whi
cht ell
sthestoryofKi
ngRat ansenofChi tt
aur
andhisquestforthepr i
ncessPadmāv atī.

Ref
lect
ionofPat
ron’
sInt
erest

 Thehi stor
icalagent swhof or
medt hisIndianIslami cl i
terarycult
urewer enotj ust
cour t
iersandki ngsoft heDel hisultanate.Nor t
her nIndi aexperiencedsi gni fi
cant
i
mper ialexpansioni ntheear lydecadesoft hef ourteenthcent uryunderAl auddin
Khal j
iandBi nTughl uqandt heni nthel atesixteent hcent uryunderAkbar .Int he
i
nt erveningper i
odspr ovinci
algov er
nor sandchi efsasser tedthemsel vesagai nstthe
emper ors.Such chi efs drew resources f r
om t he localwar l
ords who cont rol
led
strategical
lyi mportantt ownsandt ri
edt oasser ttheirposi ti
oni nabr oaderNor th
Indianpol i
ticaleli
te.Intheabsenceofadequat er esourcest oasser ttheircl aimst o
kingshi pint heconv entional
lyaccept edidiom oft heirtime,oneoft hest rategies
usedbysuchr uralgentryadoptedwast hepat r
onageofpoet sandper former s.Itwas
tosuchaspi ri
ngchi efsthatseveralvernacularcountrynar rati
veswer eaddr essed.

 Byadopt i
ngtherecei
vedcanonicalcl
assi
cal
li
terat
ureoftheSanskr
itMahakav
yaand
thePersianMasnav i
,poetsl
ikethem wereessent
ial
lyaddressi
ngtheconcer
nsand
const
raintsoftheirpatr
ons.Althoughtheauthor
soft heSufir omancesusedthe
 classicall i
terarytradit
ion,theyreimaginedthemsel vesasthe“ nativ
es,
”theRaj puts
who def endedt heirfortst othel astandcr eatednarrat
ivessuchast hefict ive
sacrifice ofPadmi nīatChi tt
aur .The representati
on ofwar r
ior
si n narr
atives
composedatmar ginalcourtsint hi
sper i
odwasshapedbybyt hepol i
ti
calhori
zons
ofthepat ronsf orsuchnar rati
ves.Daud, Narayandas,andJay asimodi f
ytheplotsof
theirnar rativ
esandt hetraject
oriesoft hei
rpr eflectthepol i
ticalconstr
aint
sand
oppor tuniti
esf acedbysuchwar riorsinthi
speriod.

 Thecl assicalmodel sfort het ypi

callydeal tnotwi thambi ti
ouswar ri
orsbutwi t
hgr eat
ki
ngs f r
om i ll
ustri
ous l ineages.Bet ween t he latef our teenth and mi d-sixteent h
centuries,howev er,int he absence ofsuccessf uli mper i
alaut hori
ty,r egi onal
stat
e—bui l
dingprolif
er ated.Thati st osay ,theabsenceofasuccessf ulanddur able
centrali
zingr egi
mei nt hisper i
odencour agedt heemer genceoft helocalwar lords.
Poetsseeki ngpat r
onagef r
om suchl ocalpat ronsar t
iculat edthel at
ter’
sdi stinctive
concer nsinnov eladapt ationsofr eceivedcl assicalgenres.Thus, t
henew, v
er nacul ar
masnav iorkav ya oft his period cel ebrated the gr eatwar ri
orr athert han t he
dist
inguishedki ngf r
om anci entandexal tedl i
neage.Thewar ri
orsi nsuchnar ratives
al
soaspi redtonegot iatesuccessf ul:r
elationships wi tht hepol i
ti
calov er
lordoft he
day,throughi whi
cht heycoul dretaincont roloverthewomeni ntheirhousehol dsand
al
sowi nsuitablerankatt heov erl
ord’scour t.

 Int hehi nterl

andsbey ondemer gentr egionalcapi tal
sbet weent he'f ourteenthand
sixteent hcent uries,bycont rast,ver nacularnar rati
v esfrom mar ginalcour tsallfocus
onav ali
antwar rioraf
fli
ct edbydesi rewhoembar ksonaquestt owi n( orregain)hi s
belov ed.Thequestt ypicallyi nv olvessomeaust eri
ti
esand r enunci ati
on,and/ or
i
ni t
iationi nto asceticdi sciplinebyapr omi nentmast erbelongi ng t ot heShai va
ascet icor deroft heNat hs.Nat hy ogicpower st henenabl ethewar ri
ort oobt ain( or
regain)hi sbel ov ed.Inpar all
el,t hesewar r
ior—pr otagoni
stshav et onegot i
atet he
thornyquest i
onofamut uallybenefici alr el
ationshipwi thanev er—l oomi ngov erlord.
Thest ickingpoi ntinsuchnegot iationsi st y
picallythest at
usoft hewar rior’
sbelov ed,
desi r
edequal l
ybyt heov erl
or df orherr eputedbeaut y.Ther esul tingconfli cthasa
diff
er entout comei neachoft hesenar rat
ives.I nt hesestoriesoft hesacr i
ficeof
Rajputwomen,t heulti
mat epr eser vationoft heirwomenf r
om t heenemyf unctions
asapal liati
vef ortheirlossofsy mbol i
chonouraf tertheywer ef orcedt oadmi tthe
suzer aint yoftheDel hisul tans.

 Allthese nar rati

ves carry det ail
ed and conv ent
ional
ized descr i
pt i
ons of the
'
splendoursoft hecapitalcit
y.Whati swor t
hremar ki
ngbeingt hatallthreenar
rati
ves
werecomposedand/ orrecitedf orpatronsinf ort
ressandmar kett ownsint he
hint
erland;neit
hersuchpat ronsnort hetownst heycont r
olledwer eli
kelytohavehad
the resources necessary'f orsuch l avish urban architect
ur e as the nar
rati
ves
describe.I
not herwords, t
hereisaconspi cuousgapbet weent heideali
zedroyalcit
y
thatt henar r
ati
vesdescr ibe,and t hemor emodesthabi t
ationsoft hei
rpatrons
betweent hefourteent
handmi d-sixt
eenthcenturies.

Thetext
,Miri
gāvat
īortheMagi
cDoei stheworkofShai
khQut banSuhr
awardit
heI ndi
an
SufiMasteratt
achedtothegli
tt
eri
ngcour ti
nexileofSultanHusainShahShar qiof
Jaunpur
.Composedi n1503asani ntr
oducti
ontomy st
icalpract
icef
ordisci
ples,thi
s
 power fulHi ndav iorEar lyHi ndiSuf ir omancei sar ichlyl ayer edandsophi st i
catedt ext ,
simul taneousl yaspi r
itual enigmaandanexci tingl ov estor yf ull ofadv ent ur es.Mi rigāv at ī
present st hel ocalwor l
dwhi chwasdomi nat edbyt hepol i
ticalandmi li
taryst ruggl e
bet weenḤusai nShāhShar qīandt heLodisul tansofDel hif orcont rolov erAv adhand
Jaunpur .Att hebegi nni ngoft her omance,t hePr i
nce( Raj kumar )i southunt i
ngi na
forestwi thacompanyofnobl es.Heseesi nt hedi st anceagl i
mmer i
ngsev en-colour ed
doe,andf ollowsher .Whenhef ollowsher ,heseeshersi nkdeepi ntoal akeand
disappear .Epi sodeaf terepi sodedescr ibest henear -deat hexper iencesoft hepr i
ncei n
hisef f
or tt oconv ertint ol ov et hedesi re( kāma/shauq)t hathasbeenar ousedi nhi m by
hisv isionofMi rigāv atī.Hi snur se( dhāī ),per formi ngt hef unct i
onofaSufipī rorgui deas
usuali nt hesenar ratives,comest ohi mt oaskwhati swr ong.Hedescr ibeshi ssor row
throught heseasonsoft hey eari naf orm oft hebār ahmāsā.Thepr inceusest hegener ic
setpi eceoft hesar āpāorhead- to-footdescr iptionandt hel anguageofanal ogyt o
descr ibe,t hr oughpoet ici mager y ,theunpr esent abl edi vineessencei nbodi l
yf orm.By
exami ningpar ticularf ormsandl andscapesandt henembeddi ngt hem wi thi nthepoet s’
articulat ionsofaest het icsandt heol ogy ,wecanunder standhowt heser omancesmi ght
hav e wor ked as bl ue- pr i
ntsf ora spi ritualeducat ion i nt he nor thI ndi an pr ov inci al
sultanat es.Acar ef ulr eadi ngoft het extoft heMi rigdv atidemonst rateshowbui l
tf orms
andl andscapedescr ipt i
onswer eusedt odenot et hepr ocessofi nteriorv oy aging.Af ter
thedoehasl ur edt hePr incet oamagi cl akedeepi nt hef orest ,itv anishesi ni t
swat er s.
Althought hePr i
ncej umpsi n, shei sgoneandhei sl eftlament i
ng.Whenhi scompani ons
returnt ocour tandi nf ormt hePr i
nce’ sf at her ,theent i
ret owncomesoutt ot hef orestt o
reasonwi tht hePr ince,buthewi llnotr etur n.Heaskst heKi ngt obui ldhi m asev en-
l
ev elledr ed- and- gol dpal acear oundt heshi ningl ake.Thesev en- levelledpal acebyt he
l
akef i
ndsanechoi nt hesev enor dealst hatt hePr incenow t ur nedi ntoay ogi,hast o
over comei nhi squestf orMi rigav atiaf tert heyar esepar atedl ateri nt het ale.Fi nally,t he
Princer eachesandent ersKanchanpur ,theCi tyofGol d,si ngingofhi spai ni nsepar at ion,
viraha,and accompany ing hi msel fon hi s st ringed ki ngar ii nst rument .The Queen
(Mi ri
gav at i
’smot her )hear soft hismy st eriousy ogi ,andsummonshi mt oherpal ace.
Her e,t hepoett ells,‘Hel eaptacr osst hesev enst eps/ Al
lSev enhadsepar atemeani ngs.
Thus,t hesev enst epsoft hepal acegat eechot hesev enor deal s.Af tercl i
mbi ngt he
sev enst epsoft hepal acei nKanchanpur ,t hePr inceanswer edt hequest ionposedby
Mi ri
gāv atīandherf r
iends,di scar dst hey ogi cdi sease,andi sj oinedi nmy sti
caluni on
withher .

ThePadmav atoffer susagr andmy sticalpr ogr esst hroughaf antasyl andscapeandan
i
nt eriorlandscapeoft hesel f.Thest oryi sseti nal ocal, Hindust anilandscape, andi t
suseof
wor dsi ndi alectreproducest hev i
ewf rom asmal lpr ov i
ncialcent rei nAv adhorBi har,inthi
s
caset het ownofJai s.Thest oryisseti nal ocal,Hindust anilandscape, andi t
suseofwor ds
i
ndi alectr eproducest hev iewf r
om asmal lprov i
nci alcent rei nAv adhorBi har ,int hiscase
thet ownofJai s..Jāyasīgoesont opl acehi simagi narySufil andscapewi thinaf ullrangeof
Indianr eli
giousr enunci ants,t hecompet itorsoft heChi shtiSufis.Thev arietyandal l-
i
ncl usivenessofJāy asī’
sl i
stspanst her eligiousspect rum f rom nakedJai nst odev oteesof
thegodRāma, Nāthpant hīy ogis,wander ingmendi cant s,tantricwor shipper soft hegoddess
Śakt i,andal lmannerofhol ymen.Wi thint hisi magi naryl andscapeofpar adi se,Jāy asī
i
nv okesanot hersy mbol icplane:t hei nteriorlandscapeoft heascet i
c’sbody .Theseeker
hast ocr ossmanyshi ftingst ageswi thint hissy mbol icgeogr aphy .Thei magi nar yl andscape
onwhi chRat ansenadv ancest oat tainPadmāv atīisal soani nteriorlandscape, wi thinwhich
Ratansencr ossesst agesi nt hesy mbolicgeogr aphyoft hebodyt or eachtheSufigoal .
Jāyasīt akesupal lthecl assictropesandmot i
fsofRaj putmar ti
all i
teraturebutreadst hem
withint heChi shtiar r
ogat i
onoft hephy sicallandscapeofAv adh.Hi spoem cant her
efor e
also ber ead asacr iti
queofpol iti
calpower :al t
houghpol it
icalél itespr ocl
aimed t heir
domi nance t hrough t he sponsor ship ofar tand l i
terature,t he Hi ndav īSufi r omances
conceal ed withint hem a cov ertSufi cl ai
m t o spi r
itualsuper iori
tyov ertheki ngswho
suppor t
ed them.Thecont estbet weenl ov eright full
ygai ned and l ov ewr est
ed t hr
ough
viol
encesendsacl earmessaget opol it
icaléli
tesaboutt hesy mbol icindependenceofSufi
sil
silahsdespi tethei rreli
anceont hosesameél itesf orpat r
onage.Jāy asīusedal lthetr
opes
andfigur esnat i
vet oI ndiat ocr eatea“ fal
se”orseemi nglynat i
vei mageofanI ndian
romance,whi chi sonl yaf rontfort he“true”Sufimessageoft hepoem.Andal thought he
historicalPadmāv atīdidnotascendt heflami ngpy r
e,andherj auhari sahi stor
icalfict ion,
andt hefinalmar tyrdom usest het hemeofRaj putr esistancet oTur kishi nvader
st oconv ey
themessageoft hespi ri
tualstrugglet otaste pr ema- rasa,t hel ar
gerconflat i
onofer otic
feti
shi zati
onandmi lit
arysubj ugat i
onmakest het extapower fulstatementoft heact ual
cultural l
ogicofitsper i
od.