Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilün

Devr-i güldür geldi gül-zāra diyü sulṭān-ı Rūm
Bülbül eydür başladı āvāz ile ḥaḳḳu’l-ḳudūm
Devr-i ruḫsāruñda gül gelmişdür ey şāh-ı cemāl
Avucın altunla ṭoldurmış meger virür rüsūm
Gūyiyā mihr-i cemālüñden bahārı isteyü
Ṣūret-i eẓherde geldi leşker-i şāh-ı nücūm
Ṣubḥ-dem gül ḥükm-i ‘ālī-şān getürdi zer-nişān
‘Andelībe şevket-i ḫār itmesün diyü hücūm
Maṣraf u īrād-ı sulṭān-ı çemen n’olur diyü
Günde sūsen defterine derc ider Hindī ruḳūm
Geldi ṭās-ı nuḳre küp almış ele nergis meger
Cer ider erbāb-ı gül-zārı ‘alā vechi’l-‘umūm
Lāle vü gül ṭut ki yaḳdı cā-be-cā şem‘ ü çerāġ
Ḳo Münīrī daḫı yansun ḫod gerekdür ḫāṣa mūm

In English

1. The nightingale says, "It is the season of the rose; the sultan of Rûm has come to the rose garden"; the due of arrival (the gift offered when a great person arrives) has begun in song.

2. O king of beauty, the rose has come in the era of your cheek; it has filled its palm with gold; it seems it is paying the dues (rüsum).

3. As if to ask the spring from the sun of your beauty, the army of the king of the stars has come in the most manifest form (the couplet can be read in two ways: the stars appeared in the form of flowers, or the army of the sun came plainly into view).

4. At dawn the rose brought a gold-inlaid, exalted decree, ordering that the majesty of the thorn should not attack the nightingale.

5. To learn what the outlay and income of the sultan of the meadow may be, the iris enters Indian numerals in its ledger every day.

6. The narcissus has come holding a silver bowl and a jar; it seems it is making the rounds of collection (cer, gathering alms and provisions) from all the people of the rose garden.

7. Suppose the tulip and the rose have lit candles and lamps here and there; let Münîrî burn too, for a candle is needed above all.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

This is a seven-couplet Turkish ghazal, the hundred and ninety-sixth of the Turkish ghazals in the edition (tg 196). The metre is "fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilün". The ghazal has no redif (refrain word); the rhyme rests on "-ūm": Rūm, ḳudūm, rüsūm, nücūm, hücūm, ruḳūm, ‘umūm and mūm. The ghazal is in the VT (144a) and VY (120b) manuscripts, but not in Ü. It is not known for whom or when it was written.

The ghazal is a spring poem and sustains the same comparison through all its couplets: the rose garden is a state, and the rose is its sultan. The nightingale, the narcissus, the iris, the tulip and the thorn each take on an office in this state. There is no information in the sources that the phrase "sulṭān-ı Rūm" in the couplet points to a particular ruler; in the text the sultan is the rose itself.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The most striking feature of the ghazal is that it builds its description of spring out of the terms of Ottoman state life. The "ḥaḳḳu'l-ḳudūm" of the opening couplet is a due owed on arrival; the Kubbealtı Lugatı explains the word "kudûmiye" as a gift presented to a great person when he arrives from a journey. The nightingale's song is this gift offered for the arrival of the sultan rose (our observation). The second couplet has the word "rüsūm", which the Kubbealtı Lugatı explains as "taxes". The yellow centre of the rose is likened to a palmful of gold, and the rose is shown as a subject paying its taxes before the beloved's cheek. In the third couplet the phrase "ṣūret-i aẓher" means, according to the Kubbealtı Lugatı's entry "azhar – azher", "very plain, wholly manifest". The army of the king of the stars appearing plainly in spring may describe flowers scattered like stars; the couplet does not offer a definite solution.

In the fourth couplet the rose brings a "ḥükm-i ‘ālī-şān", that is, a sultan's decree. The Kubbealtı Lugatı explains "zernişan" as writing or decoration inlaid in gold on metal objects; the golden centre of the rose is likened to the gilding of this decree. The subject of the decree is to protect the nightingale from the thorn's attack; the well-known enmity between thorn and nightingale is settled here as an affair of state. In the fifth couplet the words "maṣraf u īrād" (outlay and income) and "defter" (ledger) call to mind the scribes of the treasury. According to the Kubbealtı Lugatı, "sûsen" is the plant also called lily in some places; the iris is a treasurer recording Indian numerals on its leaves.

In the sixth couplet the narcissus holds a silver bowl; the white petals of the narcissus and the cup at its centre recall this bowl. The Kubbealtı Lugatı explains one of the senses of "cer" as the practice of madrasa students who, in the three holy months, served as prayer leaders and preachers in the villages and so collected the money and provisions for a year's living. The narcissus is shown as such a student collecting from the people of the rose garden. In the couplet bearing the pen name (mahlas) the tulip and the rose have lit candles and lamps; the poet asks that he too be allowed to burn, for this illumination needs a candle above all. The Kubbealtı Lugatı explains "münîr" as illuminating, giving light; a link of meaning is drawn between the pen name, which means light-giving, and the burning candle (our observation).

Bibliography

Online sources