Amir Khusrau

Amir Khusrau, also known as Abu’l Hasan Yamn ud-Din Khusrau, was an Indian Sufi singer, musician, poet, and scholar who flourished under the Delhi Sultanate. He was born in 1253 and died in 1325. In the cultural history of the Indian subcontinent, he is a legendary person. He was a mystic and Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi, India, was his spiritual teacher. He primarily composed poetry in Persian, although he also wrote in Hindavi. He is frequently credited with creating the Haliq Bari, a poetry vocabulary that includes phrases from Arabic, Persian, and Hindavi. Khusrau has been referred to be the “founder of Urdu literature,” the “voice of India,” or the “Parrot of India” (Tuti-e-Hind). Khusrau is credited as being the “founder of qawwali,” a Sufi devotional singing style that is still extensively practised in Pakistan and India. He also brought the ghazal song form to India. Khusrau was a master in a variety of Persian poetic genres that emerged in mediaeval Persia, including Nizami’s khamsa and Khaqani’s qasidas. He employed 11 different metrical schemes with 35 different divisions. In addition to ghazal, masnavi, qata, rubai, do-baiti, and tarkib-band, he also wrote in other poetry forms. He made a major contribution to the growth of the ghazal.

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About Amir Khusrau

The son of an ethnic Turk named Amir Saif ud-Din Mahmud and an Indian woman named Bibi Daulat Naz, Amr Khusrau was born in 1253 in Patiyali, Kasganj district, in what is now the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Sunni Muslim Amir Saif ud-Din Mahmud. He was raised in Kesh, a small village in what is now Uzbekistan that is close to Samarkand. Genghis Khan’s invasion of Central Asia devastated the area when he was a young man, and a large portion of the inhabitants fled, with India being one of their preferred destinations. A group of families, including Amir Saif ud- Din’s, left Kesh and travelled to the relatively safe city of Balkh (today in northern Afghanistan). From there, they sent appeals to the Sultan of distant Delhi in search of safety and assistance.

After receiving approval, the group departed for Delhi. Delhi’s ruler, Sultan Shams ud-Din Iltutmish, was also Turkic like them; in fact, he had grown up in the same area of Central Asia and had gone through some similar experiences in his earlier life. The group had initially appealed to him for help because of this. The refugees were not only warmly welcomed into Iltutmish’s court but several of them were also given important positions and landed estates. Amir Saif ud-Din received a fief in the Patiyali district in 1230. Bibi Daulat Naz, the daughter of Indian nobleman Rawat Arz and military minister to Ghiyas ud-Din Balban, the ninth Sultan of Delhi, was married to Amir Saif ud-Din. The family of Daulatnaz came from the Rajput ethnic group in contemporary Uttar Pradesh.

Early Life of Amir Khusrau

Four children were born to Amir Saif ud-Din and Bibi Daulatnaz: three sons, including Khusrau, and a daughter. Khusrau was just eight years old in 1260, the year Amir Saif ud-Din Mahmud passed away. He acquired his fluency in Turkish, Persian, and Arabic as well as Islam and Sufism through his father’s influence. The Encyclopaedia of Islam states that he was referred to as Tuti-i Hind (“Parrot of India”), which “compares the eloquent poet to the sweet-talking parrot, underlines his canonical standing as a poet of Persian.” Through his work, Khusrau shows his love and affection for his native country. Khusrau was a bright youngster. At the age of nine, he began studying poetry and creating poems. In 1271, he produced his first divan, Tuhfat us-Sighr (The Gift of Childhood), which included poems written between the ages of 16 and 18. Khusrau’s grandpa, who was supposedly 113 years old, passed away when he was 20 years old in 1273.

Career of Amir Khusrau

Khusrau joined Malik Chajju’s army after his grandpa, Ghiyas ud-Din Balban, the Sultan in power, passed away. Malik Chajju is Ghiyas ud-Din Balban’s nephew. Due to this, the Assembly of the Royal Court became aware of his poems and honoured him. Balban’s second son Nasir ud-Din Bughra Khan was invited to hear Khusrau speak. In 1276, he was won over and decided to support Khusrau. Bughra Khan became the ruler of Bengal in 1277, and Khusrau paid him a visit in 1279 while penning his second divan, Wast ul-Hayat (The Middle of Life). Then Khusrau went back to Delhi. When Khan Muhammad, Balban’s eldest son (who had been living in Multan), arrived in Delhi and learned of Khusrau, he summoned him to his court. Then Khusrau joined him in Multan in the year 1281. At the time, Multan served as both the entrance to India and a hub for learning. Scholarly, commercial, and diplomatic caravans travelling to Delhi from Baghdad, Arabia, and Persia passed through Multan. Khusrau stated:

“I tied the belt of service on my waist and put on the cap of companionship for another five years. I imparted lustre to the water of Multan from the ocean of my wits and pleasantries.”

Khan Muhammad was killed in battle on March 9th, 1285, while defending the Sultanate against a Mongol invasion. In sorrow over his passing, Khusrau wrote two elegies. In 1287, Khusrau visited Awadh alongside Amir Ali Hatim, another of his patrons. When Balban was 80 years old, he tried to call his second son, Bughra Khan, who was living in Bengal, but he refused. When Balban passed away in 1287, Bughra Khan’s grandson Muiz ud-Din Qaiqabad was appointed the Sultan of Delhi at the age of 17. From 1287 through 1288, Khusrau stayed in Qaiqabad’s employ. Bughra Khan finally met his son Muiz ud-Din Qaiqabad after a protracted feud in Khusrau’s first masnavi, Qiran us-Sa’dain (Meeting of the Two Auspicious Stars), which was completed in 1288. The nobility installed Qaiqabad’s three-year-old son Shams ud-Din Kayumars as Sultan when Qaiqabad suffered a stroke in 1290. The Mamluk dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate was then overthrown, and the Khalji dynasty was established. Jalal ud-Din Firuz Khalji, a Turko-Afghan, then invaded Delhi, assassinated Qaiqabad, and eventually became Sultan. Poetry was valued by Jalal ud-Din Firuz Khalji, who welcomed many poets to his court. Khusrau received the title “Amir” in his court and was accorded honour and respect. The title of “Mushaf-dar” was bestowed on him. Khusrau was forced by court life to concentrate more on his writing. The ghazals that Khusrau wrote in rapid sequence were set to music and performed every night before the Sultan by singing females. Referring to Jalal ud-Din Firuz, Khusrau writes:

“The King of the world Jalal ud-Din, in reward for my infinite pain which I undertook in composing verses, bestowed upon me an unimaginable treasure of wealth.”

In honour of Jalal ud-Din Firuz’s achievements, Khusrau finished his second masnavi, Miftah ul-Futuh (Key to the Victories), in 1290. With poems written between the ages of 34 and 41, Khusrau finished his third divan, Ghurrat ul-Kamaal (The Prime of Perfection), in 1294. Ala ud-Din Khalji succeeded Jalal ud-Din Firuz as ruler of Delhi in 1296. Khusrau recorded Ala ud-construction Din’s achievements, wars, and administration services in the Khaza’in ul-Futuh (The Treasures of Victory). The Khamsa-e-Khusrau (Khamsa of Khusrau) is a quintet that he later created with five masnavis. It was finished in 1298. The khamsa was modelled after that of Nizami Ganjavi, an older poet of Persian epics. The first masnavi in the khamsa was Matla ul-Anwar (Rising Place of Lights), which had 3310 lines with ethical and Sufi themes and was written in 15 days. Khusrau-Shirin, the second masnavi, contained 4000 poems. Laila-Majnun, the third masnavi, was a love story. The fourth lengthy masnavi, Aina-e-Sikandari, contained 4500 poems that detailed Alexander the Great’s valiant actions. Hasht-Bihisht, the fifth masnavi, was based on myths surrounding Bahram V, the fifteenth king of the Sasanian Empire. Khusrau became a recognised poet luminary as a result of all of these works. He received a large prize from Ala ud-Din Khalji, who was very satisfied with his efforts.

Qutb ud-Din Mubarak Shah Khalji, the son of Ala ud-Din and eventual heir apparent, was given a horoscope by Khusrau before birth, which contained a number of prophecies. The Masnavi Saqiana contains this horoscope. When Khusrau was 47 years old in 1300, both his mother and brother passed away. He dedicated these verses to them:

“A double radiance left my star this year

Gone are my brother and my mother,

My two full moons have set and ceased to shine

In one short week through this ill-luck of mine.”

After his mother passed away, Khusrau paid her tribute by:

“Where ever the dust of your feet is found is like a relic of paradise for me.”

Khusrau became Nizamuddin Auliya’s student in 1310, a Sufi saint of the Chishti Order. The love story Duval Rani-Khizr Khan, about the union of the Vaghela princess Duval Rani with Khizr Khan, one of Ala ud-Din Khalji’s sons, was finished by Khusrau in 1315. Qutb ud-Din Mubarak Shah Khalji succeeded his father Ala ud-Din Khalji as the Sultan of Delhi after his death in 1316. The events of Mubarak Shah Khalji’s reign are detailed in Khusrau’s masnavi on the ruler titled Nuh Sipihr (Nine Skies). His poetry is divided into nine chapters, each of which is referred to as a “sky”. He gave a vivid depiction of India’s environment, seasons, flora, animals, cultures, scholars, etc. in the third chapter. During the rule of Mubarak Shah Khalji, he also wrote a book, Ijaz-e-Khusravi (The Miracles of Khusrau), which had five volumes.

Baqia-Naqia was compiled in 1317 by Khusrau (Remnants of Purity). He composed Afzal ul-Fawaid (Greatest of Blessings), a literary work that incorporated Nizamuddin Auliya’s ideas, in 1319. Khusro Khan assassinated Mubarak Shah Khalji in 1320, putting an end to the Khalji dynasty and momentarily elevating himself to the position of Sultan of Delhi. Ghiyath al-Din Tughlaq, who later became Sultan and established the Tughlaq dynasty, kidnapped and executed Khusro Khan within the same year. Tughlaq Nama (Book of the Tughlaqs), a historical masnavi about Ghiyath al-Din Tughlaq and other Tughlaq emperors, was first published in 1321 by Khusrau. In October 1325, Khusrau passed away, six months after Nizamuddin Auliya. The tomb of Khusrau is located near that of his spiritual leader in Delhi’s Nizamuddin Dargah. A few weeks before his passing, Nihayat ul-Kamaal (The Zenith of Perfection) was presumably written.

Shalimar Bagh Inscription

According to a folktale that has gained scholarly acceptance, Khusrau is the author of the following well-known Persian verse:

“Agar Firdaus bar ru-ye zamin ast,

Hamin ast o hamin ast o hamin ast.”

If there is a heaven on earth, it would look like this, this, and this, in English. This verse is thought to have been carved on a number of Mughal buildings, allegedly in reference to Kashmir, and more particularly, a specific building at the Shalimar Garden in Srinagar, Kashmir (built during the reign of Mughal Emperor Jahangir). Recent research, however, has located the verse in a location considerably removed from Kashmir and at a time that is much later than Khusrau. Rana Safvi, a historian, examined all potential structures in the Kashmir garden but came up empty-handed. She claimed that Sa’adullah Khan, a prominent noble and scholar at the court of Jahangir’s successor and son Shah Jahan, was the author of the verse. Even today, Jahangir is credited with coining the expression in a proclamation of Kashmir.

Amir Khusrau’s Contributions to Hindustani Music

Qawwali

In the late 13th century, Khusrau is credited with combining the Persian, Arabic, Turkic, and Indian singing traditions to produce qawwali, a type of Sufi devotional song. A qawwali is characterised by a lead vocalist who uses an elaborate style of quick taans and challenging svara combinations, a well-punctuated chorus that emphasises the theme, and a devout refrain. The Qawwals (who sang only Muslim devotional songs) and Kalawants were later terms used to describe Khusrau’s singing students who were trained in the Qawwali style (they sang mundane songs in the Qawwali style).

Tarana and Trivat

Khusrau is also credited with creating Tarana and Trivat. Jaidev Singh, a philosopher and musicologist, said:

“[Tarana] was entirely an invention of Khusrau. Tarana is a Persian word meaning a song. Tillana is a corrupt form of this word. True, Khusrau had before him the example of Nirgit songs using śuṣk-akṣaras (meaningless words) and pāṭ-akṣaras (mnemonic syllables of the mridang). Such songs were in vogue at least from the time of Bharat. But generally speaking, the Nirgit used hard consonants. Khusrau introduced two innovations in this form of vocal music. Firstly, he introduced mostly Persian words with soft consonants. Secondly, he so arranged these words that they bore some sense. He also introduced a few Hindi words to complete the sense…. It was only Khusrau’s genius that could arrange these words in such a way to yield some meaning. Composers after him could not succeed in doing so, and the Tarana became as meaningless as the ancient Nirgit.”

The tarana technique is thought to have been created by Khusrau while he was attempting to duplicate Gopal Naik’s exposition in Raag Kadambak. After spending six days hiding and listening to Gopal Naik, Khusrau recreated Naik’s performance using meaningless words (mridang bols), thereby developing the tarana style.

Sitar

The sitar is credited to Khusrau as its creator. There were numerous Veena variations at the time in India. He gave the three-string Tritantri Veena a new name: Setar (Persian for three strings), which led to the invention of the sitar.

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Legacy of Amir Khusrau

Amir Khusrau was a brilliant classical poet who was connected to more than seven Delhi Sultanate kings’ royal courts. He produced a large number of comical riddles, songs, and legends that have influenced South Asian popular culture. One of the most well-known genres of Hindavi poetry nowadays is his riddles. It belongs to a genre where wordplay or double entendre are common. Over the course of the past seven centuries, countless riddles by the poet have been passed down orally. Khusrau is one of the earliest known Indian authors to have produced works of literature that truly reflect a multicultural or heterogeneous identity. Six musical genres — qaul, qalbana, naqsh, gul, tarana, and khyal — are credited to Khusrau, however, there is insufficient proof to support this.

Riddles of Amir Khusrow

The Riddles of Amir Khusrow were created during the reigns of the Delhi Sultanate’s more than seven kings and queens. In addition to several humorous riddles at this time, Khusrow also created songs and legends that have remained a part of South Asian popular culture ever since. His proverbs, ballads, and stories are also regarded as crucial early examples of the Hindustani language. His riddles, in particular, contain enjoyable wordplay or double entendre. For the past seven centuries, this poet’s countless riddles have been passed down orally, with a noticeable rise in recent years. However, there is significant disagreement as to whether Khusrow was the true author of the riddles credited to him; some of the riddles passed down in his name deal with concepts that weren’t even invented during Khusrow’s lifetime, such the hookah and the pistol. A total of 286 riddles are included in the collection, which is classified into six categories ‘presumably on the basis of the structure of the riddle and the structure of the response’. Despite being “in the style of the common people,” most experts believe Khusro is the author of these riddles. The puzzles use Matrika metre.

Examples

One set of puzzles is presented as a conversation between a lady narrating a commonplace occurrence and an interlocutor who thinks she is discussing coitus and asks, “Who, girl, your man?” For instance:

“He visits my town once a year.

He fills my mouth with kisses and nectar.

I spend all my money on him.

Who, girl, your man?

No, a mango.”

“He stays up all night alone with me

and only leaves at the crack of dawn.

His departure breaks my heart.

Who, girl, your man?

No, an oil lamp.”

Development of Hindavi

Khusrau mainly wrote in Persian. Numerous Hindustani verses, also known historically as Hindavi verses, are credited to him because Khusrau cannot be shown to have written them before the 18th century. The Hindustani verses appear to be written in a very contemporary language. He also composed a Punjabi war ballad. He also spoke Sanskrit and Arabic. His poem is still performed at Sufi shrines all over Pakistan and India.

Amir Khusrau in Today’s Culture

The poem is used as a symbol of resistance in the 1978 movie Junoon, which begins with a performance of Khusrau’s Aaj Rung Hai. In 1974, Om Prakash Sharma’s documentary film Amir Khusro, which examined his life and works, was released. The Film Division of the Government of India produced it. In the 1980s, Amir Khusro, an Indian television programme based on Khusrau’s life and works, was broadcast on DD National, the country’s state broadcaster. He was represented by actor Bhawani Muzamil as Alauddin Khalji’s court poet in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s movie Padmaavat released in the year 2018. Sakal bun phool rahi sarson, one of Khusro’s poems about Basant, was referenced in a Saladin Ahmed issue of The Magnificent Ms. Marvel. Social media users praised the comic’s decision to include the poem, which served to depict a crucial moment. Meesha Shafi, a Pakistani vocalist, and Mughal-e-Funk, an instrumental funk group, worked together and released a version of the poem on December 25, 2020.

Works of Amir Khusrau

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