Delhi Persian 1228 (Oriental Manuscripts, British Library)

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India Office Library

Miscellaneous masnavis in Persian and Urdu, 2 items (a-b)

Summary of Contents: Miscellaneous collection of romantic mas̲navīs in Persian and Urdu, comprised of items from two separate sources. Volume not dated; item a dated (21 Ṣafar 1269/4 December 1852). Rough scribal nastaʿlīq by multiple hands. Stamped foliation. Lacking original binding. Paper dust wrapper (BEIC legal publication on Regulation II for 1819); watermark (T Stains, 1816); torn, creased, and stained. Folios unbound; stains, wormholes.

Language(s): Persian and Arabic

1. ff. 1r-13v

Language(s): Persian

Item a.

Inferior copy of a mas̲navī on the romance of a youth and the daughter of a vizier claimed against her will by a cruel king, with the ultimate triumph of justice, by the munshīʾ of ʿĀlī Jāh ibn Niẓām ʿAlī Khān the Niẓām al-Mulk of Ḥaydarābād, Lachhmī Nārāyan "Shafīq" Awrangābādī (d. 1808), son of the dīvān Rāy Mansārām ibn Lālā Bhavānīdās Lāhawrī.

The narrative is apparently based on an earlier romance composed in the period of Shāh Maḥmūd (of Ghazni) and, being recited and appreciated by his patron, Shafīq was ordered to swiftly produce a Persian naẓm or versified composition.

Dated colophon (f. 13v): completed 21 [Ṣ]afar 1269/4 December 1852.

Author: Lachhmī Nārāyan Shafīq لچهمى ناراين شفيق

Title: Dastūr-i maḥabbat

Title: دستور محبّت

2. ff. 14r-22v

Item b.

Fragment of an unidentified Urdu mas̲navī (with Persian chapter headings) on the tragic romance of the youth Parsurām by an unnamed author.

Defective at end.

Not dated at end.

Rough scribal nastaʿlīq tending to shikastah āmīz.

Language(s): Urdu

Physical Description

Form: codex

Extent: 22 ff.

Dimensions (leaf): 210 × 145 mm.

Hand(s)

History

Origin: Between 1800 and 1852 CE . ; India

Provenance and Acquisition

Purchased by the Government of India at sale organised by Delhi Prize Agents, 1859; administrative deposit India Office Library, 1876

1876

Government of India

Availability

Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card for admissions procedures contact British Library, Registering for a Reader Pass. Contact apac-enquiries@bl.uk for further information on the availability of this manuscript. For information on catalogues and ordering manuscripts see Finding and ordering Persian manuscripts in the British Library.

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