Malik Muhammad Jayasi
{{Short description|Indian poet}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2019}}
File:Queen Nagamati talks to her parrot, Padmavat, c1750.jpg, c. 1750]]
Malik Muhammad Jayasi (1477– 1542) was an Indian Sufi poet and pir. He wrote in the Awadhi language, and in the Persian Nastaʿlīq script.{{sfn|Ramya Sreenivasan|2007|p=30}} His best known work is the epic poem Padmavat (1540).{{cite book|last=Garg|first=Gaṅgā Rām|title=Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World|date=1992|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=9788170223740|page=73|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w9pmo51lRnYC&pg=PA73|language=en}}
Biography
Much of the information about Jayasi comes from legends, and his date and place of birth are a matter of debate. As the nisba "Jayasi" suggests, he was associated with Jayas, an important Sufi centre of medieval India, in present-day Uttar Pradesh. However, there is debate about whether he was born in Jayas,{{Cite web|date=2018-01-30|title=Padmaavat Row LIVE Update: Karni Sena Stoops To New Low By Announcing A Film On Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Mother|url=https://www.desimartini.com/news/martini-shots/trending/padmavati-postponed-ban-controversy-live-updates-protests-karni-sena-deepika-padukone-sanjay-leela-bhansali-article67994.htm|work=DesiMartini|access-date=2021-11-16}} or migrated there for religious education.{{sfn|Ramya Sreenivasan|2007|p=28}}
The legends describe Jayasi's life as follows: he lost his father at a very young age, and his mother some years later. He became blind in one eye, and his face was disfigured by smallpox. He married and had seven sons. He lived a simple life until he mocked the opium addiction of a pir (Sufi leader) in a work called Posti-nama. As a punishment, the roof of his house collapsed, killing all seven of his sons. Subsequently, Jayasi lived a religious life at Jayas.{{sfn|Ramya Sreenivasan|2007|p=28}} He is also said to have been raised by Sufi ascetics (fakir).
He belong to the Mehdavia Sect of Islam Jayasi's own writings identify two lineages of Sufi pirs who inspired or taught him. The first lineage was that of Saiyid Muhammad of Jaunpur The Promised Mahdi. (1443-1505). Jayasi's perceptor from this school was Shaikh Burhanuddin Ansari of Kalpi.{{sfn|Ramya Sreenivasan|2007|p=29}}
Jayasi composed Akhiri Kalam in 1529-30 (936 AH), during the reign of Babur. He composed Padmavat in 1540-41 (936 AH).{{sfn|Ramya Sreenivasan|2007|p=28}}
Some legends state that Raja Ramsingh of Amethi invited Jayasi to his court, after he heard a mendicant reciting verses from the Padmavat. One legend states that the king had two sons because of Jayasi's blessings. Jayasi spent the later part of his life in forests near Amethi, where as per legend he would often turn himself into a tiger. One day, while he was roaming around as a tiger, the king's hunters killed him. The king ordered a lamp to burned and the Quran to be recited at his memorial.{{sfn|Ramya Sreenivasan|2007|p=28}}
Though his tomb lies at a place 3 km north of Ram Nagar, near Amethi, where he died in 1542, today a "Jaisi Smarak" (Jaisi Memorial) can be found in the city of Jayas.
Legacy
More than a century after his death, Jayasi's name started appearing in hagiographies that portrayed him as a charismatic Sufi pir. Ghulam Muinuddin Abdullah Khweshgi, in his Maarijul-Wilayat (1682–83), called him muhaqqiq-i hindi ("knower of the truth of al-Hind").{{sfn|Ramya Sreenivasan|2007|p=28}}
Literary works
He wrote 25 works.{{cite news|title=Padmini's poet: The man behind the first known narrative of Rani Padmavati is known more as a peer|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/padmavati-movie-ban-rani-padmini-of-chittor-poet-muhammad-jayasi-4954758/|work=The Indian Express|date=26 November 2017}} Jayasi's most famous work is Padmavat (1540),{{cite web|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/padmavati-karni-sena-malik-muhammad-jayasi-sanjay-bhansali/1/1095409.html|title=Absurdity of epic proportions: Are people aware of the content in Jayasi's Padmavat?|date=24 November 2017 }} a poem describing the story of the historic siege of Chittor by Alauddin Khalji in 1303. In Padmavat, Alauddin attacks Chittor after hearing of the beauty of Queen Padmavati, the wife of king Ratansen.{{sfn|Aditya Behl|2012|pp=166-176}}
His other important works include Akhrawat and Akhiri Kalaam. He also wrote Kanhavat, based on Krishna.
References
{{Reflist}}
= Bibliography =
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite book |author=Aditya Behl |title=Love's Subtle Magic: An Indian Islamic Literary Tradition, 1379–1545 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PK7riKO6IN8C&pg=PA177 |year=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-514670-7 }}
- {{cite book |author=Ramya Sreenivasan|authorlink=Ramya Sreenivasan |title=The Many Lives of a Rajput Queen: Heroic Pasts in India C. 1500–1900 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GiSUwULkK64C |year=2007 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=978-0-295-98760-6 }}
{{refend}}
External links
- [http://www.kavitakosh.org/kk/index.php?title=%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%95_%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A6_%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%80 Malik Muhammad Jayasi at Kavita Kosh] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423112502/http://www.kavitakosh.org/kk/index.php?title=%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%95_%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A6_%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%80 |date=23 April 2009 }} {{in lang|hi}}
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Category:16th-century Indian poets
Category:Poets from Uttar Pradesh