Original Persian Text

Metre: fe‘ilātün fe‘ilātün fe‘ilātün fe‘ilün

Āmed ez-sūy-ı ‘adem ṭarf-ı gülistān ġonca
Ki buved zīnet ü ārāyiş-i bustān ġonca
Ṭıfl-ı şāh-ı çemenest ū ki be-gehvāre-i sebz
Ber-ser-i ḳaṣr-ı zeberced şode ḫandān ġonca
Ṭās-bāzī konedeş pīş-i gülistān nergis
Tā küşādī be-dil-i teng dehed z’ān ġonca
Fī’l-mes̱el Yūsuf-ı Mıṣrīst fütād’est be-çāh
Ki keşed zaḥmet-i ḥabs ü ġam-ı zindān ġonca
Bāde ber-rūy-ı gül-i tāze keşed ġam ne-ḫored
Ḫūn-ı dil-ḫordenī-i lāle-i nu‘mān ġonca
Bülbül-i sūḫte-rā dīd ki şod ġarḳ-ı sirişk
Ber-ser-i şāḫ-ı şecer reft zi-ṭūfān ġonca
Ġālib ānest ki ber-seyr-i gülistān āmed
Cübbe-i sebz be-pūşīd zi-bārān ġonca
Pür zi-la‘l ü zer ü yāḳūt ber-āverd seḥer
Behr-i sulṭān-ı çemen ḥoḳḳa-i mercān ġonca
Dehen ez-ḫande be-gülzār ez-īn rūy küşād
Der-hemī hest ki mī-ḫord za‘ferrān ġonca
La‘l-i pür-āb u muṣaffāst egerçi be-naẓar
Şod be-murġ-ı seḥereş aḫker-i sūzān ġonca
Āteş ender-ciger-i lāle-i ḥamrā zed gül
Ez-firīb-i deheneş ḫūn ḫored el-ān ġonca
Tā ki ez-ḥādis̱e-i dehr gezendī ne-resed
Behr-i sulṭān-ı çemen būd nigeh-bān ġonca
Nāle-i bülbül-i dil-ḫaste ez-ān kem ne-şeved
Ki reved ‘āḳıbetü’l-emr be-tālān ġonca
Dūş dīdem be-seḥer ez-es̱er-i cām-ı ṣabūḥ
Behr-i yek ġonca-lebī geşt ġazel-ḫᵛān ġonca
Mī-dehed la‘l-i revān-baḫş-ı to-rā cān ġonca
Ki mis̱āl-i dehenet nīst dür-efşān ġonca
Ger zi-hestī-i leb-i la‘l-i to āgāh şeved
Bāz gerded be-dil-i ḫūn-şode pinhān ġonca
Ġonca der-ġaybet-i la‘l-i to meger lāfī zed
Senghā z’ān be-dehān ḫord zi-nīsān ġonca
Tā-be-key teng-dilī mis̱l-i dehān-ı to keşed
Der-miyān-ı semen ü sünbül ü reyḥān ġonca
Rīş-i dil-rā ki lebet hīc nemek-rīz ne-şod
Ḫᵛāhed ez-vey be-dil-i ġam-şode dermān ġonca
Be-ḫayāl-i dehenet gül-şen-i cān u dil-i men
Mis̱l-i gül-zār şod ārāste yeksān ġonca
Pīş-i şeh çün men-i dil-ḫaste zi-dest-i ġam-ı ḫār
Dest ber-zed ki koned çāk-i girībān ġonca
Ḫüsrev-i rūy-ı zemīn ḥażret-i sulṭān Aḥmed
Bered ez-ṣoḥbet-i ū la‘l be-dāmān ġonca
Pādşāhī ki zi-enfās-ı nesīm-i keremeş
Ber-ser-i ḳaṣr-ı zeberced şode ḫandān ġonca
Ey şeh-i devr-i zamān ber-deret āmed zi-gile
Ki zi-şeb-nem be-keşed zaḥmet-i dendān ġonca
Kec-küleh Türk-i süvārīst ki der-‘arṣa-i bāġ
Mī-koned der-ḳadem-i devr-i to cevlān ġonca
Yek dem ez-ṣoḥbet-i ḫās-ı to müşerref gerdān
Şod be-gül-zār-ı ser-i kūy-ı to mihmān ġonca
Sāl ü meh gül-şen-i luṭf-ı to ki pür tāze gülest
Mī-nümāyed heme şāḫeş be-hezārān ġonca
Lāle der-bezm-gehī-i ‘ayş-ı to efrūḫte şem‘
Āteş ender-zed ü şod micmere-gerdān ġonca
Der-gülistān-ı ser-i kūy-ı to her nergis ü gül
Hemçonān ḥūrī-i ḥūrā şod u ġılmān ġonca
Hīc ez-ḥādis̱e-i dehr ne-mī-dīd diger
Çün ġulāmān-ı der-i to dil-i vīrān ġonca
Ez-nesīm-i kerem-i ‘adl-i to der-devr-i zamān
Mī-rehīd ez-sitem-i faṣl-ı dey āsān ġonca
Meger ez-feyż ü seḫā-yı to be-y-āmūḫt ki şod
Nev-‘arūsān-ı çemen-rā ki zer-efşān ġonca
Ser fürū bord belī fikr-i viṣāl-i to koned
Müddetī şod ki keşed şiddet-i hicrān ġonca
Siper-i gül ki be-gül-zār bered dāşt meger
Düşmen-i cāh-ı to-rā ḫᵛāst be-meydān ġonca
Īn heme la‘l ü zümürrüd ki be-zer ḥāṣıl kerd
Yāft der-‘uhde-i feyż-i to meger kān ġonca.......
Ez-to ber-bād-ı ḫazān ḫaṭṭ-ı emān mī-ḫᵛāhed
Ṣubḥ-dem āmede ber-cānib-i dīvān ġonca
Bihter ez-deste-i gül şod ki faḳīr āverdem
Ez-gülistān-ı dilem ber-şeh-i devrān ġonca
Şöhretī yāft belī bāz be-yümn-i ḳademet
Şod be-nezd-i heme kes ḳıṣṣa vü destān ġonca…..
Ġonca der-midḥat-i to kerd Münīr erçi redīf
Şod be-dīvān-ı merā levḥa-i ‘unvān ġonca
Cāy-ı ān şod ki süḫan-rā be-du‘ā ḫatm konem
Ki be-vaṣf-ı to ne-dāred ser-i pāyān ġonca
Tā buved bülbül-i gül şöhre-i ‘ālem be-ḫoşī
Tā ki bīned be-cihān dīde-i insān ġonca
Gül-şen-i ‘ömr-i to bādā be-cihān tāze vü ter
Pür-gül-i ‘ayş-ı ṣafā bād firāvān ġonca

In English

1. The rosebud, the ornament and adornment of the garden, has come out of the land of non-being to the edge of the rose garden. ("‘Adem" means non-being in the dictionary sense; the bud is pictured as a traveller arriving from the nothingness before it existed.)

2. The rosebud is the child of the king of the meadow; in its green cradle, on top of the emerald palace, it has laughed and opened. ("Zeberced" in the dictionary sense is a green precious stone; the emerald palace is the green garden, the green cradle the leaves that enfold the bud.)

3. Before the rose garden the narcissus performs the bowl game for it, so as to give the bud's narrowed heart some opening. (The bowl game is, in the dictionary sense, a conjuring show done with bowls. The opening of the bud's heart is the opening of the flower.)

4. The rosebud is, so to speak, Joseph of Egypt fallen into the well; it suffers the hardship of confinement and the grief of the dungeon. (The closed bud is likened to the well into which Joseph was thrown and to the prison where he was later held.)

5. The rosebud drinks wine before the face of the fresh rose and feels no sorrow; it pays no heed to the poppy drinking its own heart's blood. ("Lâle-i nu‘mân" is the poppy; its red is likened to heart's blood.)

6. The rosebud saw the burning nightingale drowned in its own tears; fleeing that flood of tears, it climbed to the top of the tree's branch.

7. Perhaps the rosebud has come to view the rose garden; to keep off the rain it has put on a green cloak.

8. At dawn the rosebud brought a coral jewel box filled with rubies, gold and garnets as an offering to the sultan of the meadow. (The red bud is likened to a coral casket and its colours to the jewels within.)

9. That is why the rosebud has opened its mouth in laughter in the rose garden: it has eaten saffron and its wits are in disarray. ("Der-hem" means confused, dishevelled in the dictionary sense; Ersoy also reads the couplet as the bud eating saffron and becoming confused.)

10. Though in appearance the rosebud is a lustrous and pure ruby, for the bird of dawn it has become a burning ember. ("Pür-āb" in the dictionary sense means both full of water and lustrous; the bird of dawn is the nightingale.)

11. The rose set fire to the liver of the red tulip; and the bud, deceived by its mouth, is now drinking blood. (Whose mouth is meant is not clear from the line; Ersoy too leaves it as "by the trickery of its mouth".)

12. So that no harm from the events of the age should reach him, the rosebud stood watchman for the sultan of the meadow.

13. This is why the lament of the heart-wounded nightingale never lessens: in the end the rosebud will be given over to plunder. (The plucking and scattering of the bud is likened to plunder; Ersoy explains it as the plundering of the bud's life.)

14. Last night at dawn, under the effect of the cup of morning wine, I saw the rosebud singing a ghazal for a rosebud-lipped beauty. (The line can be read in two ways: Ersoy takes "es̱er" as the traces of the cup and reads "I saw the traces of the morning wine"; it can also be read "I saw, under the effect of the cup".)

15. The rosebud gives its soul to your life-bestowing ruby lip; for there is no rosebud that scatters pearls like your mouth. ("Scattering pearls" refers both to fine speech and to the showing of the teeth.)

16. If the rosebud learned of the existence of your ruby lip, it would turn back into its blood-filled heart and hide again. (Before the beloved's lip the bud would be ashamed to open and would close once more.)

17. Perhaps the rosebud boasted about your ruby lip in its absence; for that it took stones in its mouth from the April rain. ("Lāf" means boasting, idle talk in the dictionary sense; "ġaybet" means both absence and speaking behind someone's back. The stones seem to stand for the hailstones of the spring rain.)

18. Among jasmine, hyacinth and sweet basil, how much longer will the rosebud suffer narrowness of heart like your mouth? (A narrow mouth is a measure of beauty; "teng-dil" means heavy-hearted, sorrowful in the dictionary sense.)

19. Your lip never sprinkled salt on the bud's heart wound; so the bud asks that lip for a remedy for its grieving heart.

20. Through the image of your mouth, the rose garden of my soul and heart has become a garden adorned with buds from end to end.

21. Before the shah, the rosebud, like me with my wounded heart at the hands of the thorn's grief, reached up to tear open its collar. (The opening of the bud is likened to the tearing of a collar, and tearing one's collar means losing oneself to grief. The couplet prepares the turn to praise.)

22. From the company of the ruler of the face of the earth, His Majesty Sultan Ahmed, the rosebud carries away its skirt filled with rubies. ("Ḫüsrev" means ruler in the dictionary sense.)

23. He is a king through the breath of whose generosity, like the dawn breeze, the bud has laughed and opened on top of the emerald palace. (The second line is identical to the second line of couplet 2.)

24. O shah of the age, the rosebud has come to your door to complain: it suffers toothache from the dewdrops. (The dewdrops in the bud's mouth seem to be likened to teeth.)

25. In your reign the rosebud is a Turkish horseman with his cap tilted, wheeling his horse in the field of the garden. ("Kec-küleh" in the dictionary sense means one who wears his cap aslant, proud and showy.)

26. To be honoured, even for a moment, with your private company, the rosebud became a guest in the rose garden at the head of your street.

27. For years and months your garden of kindness has been full of fresh roses; every branch of it displays thousands of buds. ("Hezārān" means thousands; "hezār" in the dictionary sense also means nightingale.)

28. In your assembly of pleasure the tulip lit a candle; the rosebud kindled the fire and became the one who carries the censer around. ("Micmere-gerdān" means one who carries a censer around in the dictionary sense.)

29. In the rose garden at the head of your street every narcissus and rose has become like the houris of paradise, and the bud like its youths. ("Ġılmān" in the dictionary sense are the youths who serve in paradise.)

30. Like the servants of your door, the rosebud no longer sees a ruined heart from the events of the age.

31. Thanks to the dawn breeze of your generosity and justice, the rosebud escapes easily, in the turning of time, from the tyranny of the winter season.

32. The rosebud must have learned from your bounty and generosity, for it has begun to scatter gold over the new brides of the meadow. (The bud's yellow pollen must be what is likened to gold.)

33. The rosebud has bowed its head; yes, it dreams of union with you, for it has long suffered the severity of separation.

34. Judging by the shield of rose it carried into the rose garden, the bud must have wished to call the enemy of your rank out to the field.

35. All these rubies and emeralds the bud has gained along with gold: it must have found that mine under the protection of your bounty. (Ersoy takes "be-zer" as gold placed alongside the rubies and emeralds; it can also be read "gained with gold". In the edition the line ends with a row of dots; see the commentary below.)

36. At morning the rosebud has come towards the divan (the ruler's council); it asks you for a writ of safe-conduct against the autumn wind. ("Ḫaṭṭ-ı emān" means a written guarantee of safety, a writ of quarter, in the dictionary sense.)

37. The rosebud that I, the humble one, have brought from the rose garden of my heart to the shah of the age has turned out finer than a bunch of roses. (The bud here seems to stand for the poem the poet offers.)

38. Yes, by the blessing of your footstep the rosebud has won fame again; its tale and its legend are told in everyone's presence. (In the edition the line ends with a row of dots.)

39. Although Münîr made "rosebud" the refrain in praising you, the rosebud has become the ornamented title panel at the head of my divan. ("Levḥa-i ‘unvān" in the dictionary sense is the decorated heading panel at the beginning of a manuscript.)

40. The time has come to close the speech with a prayer; for the rosebud cannot reach the end of describing your qualities.

41. As long as the nightingale of the rose is famed throughout the world for its sweetness, as long as the human eye sees rosebuds in the world…

42. May the rose garden of your life stay ever fresh and green in the world; may it be full of the roses of pleasure and delight, and may its buds be plentiful.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is a Persian kaside (qasida) of forty-two couplets and is numbered Kaside 23 in the edition. The kaside is a long verse form in which all couplets run on a single rhyme, usually written to praise a ruler or a dignitary of state. The metre is "fe‘ilâtün fe‘ilâtün fe‘ilâtün fe‘ilün". The redif (refrain word) is "ġonca" (rosebud); Ersoy names "ġonca" separately among the kaside refrains in the divan. The rhyme rests on the sound "-ān" (gülistān, bustān, ḫandān, zindān, nu‘mān); Ersoy cites this kaside among the examples of kafiye-i müreddefe, that is, rhyme in which a long vowel precedes the rhyming letter. The kaside is found only in the Vatican manuscript (VT 45a). The heading in the edition, "Der-medḥ-i Sulṭān Aḥmed ṭāle beḳāhü", means "In praise of Sultan Ahmed; may his life be long". The sources give no information on when or on what occasion the kaside was presented.

In the edition the second lines of couplets 35 and 38 end with a row of dots after the refrain word. Under Ersoy's editorial rules three dots mark an illegible word; in these two places, however, the dots stand at the end of the line and the lines scan complete in the metre. No gap has therefore been assumed in the translation, and what the dots indicate here remains unclear.

The sections of the kaside are clearly visible in the text. Couplets 1-13 form the opening, describing the spring garden and the adventures of the rosebud. In couplet 14 the poet says that at dawn the bud was singing a ghazal for a beauty; couplet 15 is a new matla (opening couplet) with both lines ending in "-ān ġonca", and couplets 15-20 address the beloved like a small ghazal (gazel) set inside the kaside. Couplet 21 is the girizgâh (transition to praise): before the shah the bud reaches up to tear its collar. The patron's name appears in couplet 22 as "ḥażret-i sulṭān Aḥmed", and couplets 22-38 are the praise section. Couplet 39 is the pen-name (mahlas) couplet; in couplet 40 the poet says the time has come to end with a prayer, and the last two couplets are a prayer built on the pattern "tā … tā …" (as long as … ).

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The whole imagery of the kaside is built around the rosebud of the refrain, and in each couplet the bud takes on a different guise. It is a traveller from non-being (1), a baby laughing in a green cradle (2), Joseph thrown into the well (4), a fugitive escaping the flood by climbing a branch (6), a spectator putting on a green cloak in the rain (7), a servant offering a jewel box to the sultan of the meadow and his watchman (8, 12), a plaintiff coming to the shah with toothache (24), a Turkish horseman with his cap aslant (25) and a refugee asking the divan for a writ of safe-conduct (36). Most of these comparisons come from the flower's appearance: the closed bud becomes a well, a prison or a narrow mouth, its red becomes ruby, coral and ember, and its opening becomes laughter or the tearing of a collar. The couplets that explain the bud's closedness by Joseph's imprisonment, or its opening by eating saffron and laughing (9), are clear examples of hüsn-i talil (fanciful aetiology); hyperbole and personification are the basic devices of the kaside.

In the ghazal section (15-20) the bud competes with the beloved's lip and loses every time: it cannot scatter pearls like the beloved's mouth (15), it would hide if it saw that lip (16), and for boasting about the lip it is pelted with the stones of the April rain (17). In the praise section the bud becomes a servant in the prince's assembly: the tulip lights a candle and the bud carries the censer around (28), the narcissus and the rose become houris and the bud a youth of paradise (29). Münîrî's fondness for words with more than one meaning shows here too: "hezārān" in couplet 27 means thousands but also recalls the nightingale, and "dīvān" in couplet 36 can be read both as the ruler's council and as a poet's collected poems. The exact repetition of the second line of couplet 2 in couplet 23 carries the emerald palace of the opening into the praise section; what opens the bud there is no longer spring but the prince's generosity.

At the end of the kaside the poet likens his own poem to a rosebud. In couplet 37 he says that he has brought the shah a bud from the rose garden of his heart and that it is finer than a bunch of roses; in couplet 39 he openly mentions that he has made "rosebud" the refrain and adds that the bud has become the title panel at the head of his divan. Naming the refrain word in this way within the kaside itself presents the poet's choice of refrain as a deliberate display of skill. Ersoy's introduction gives no information that this kaside was written as a nazire (response poem) to another poet. The English rendering is based on the Persian text and on Ersoy's meanings in the apparatus; places where it departs from Ersoy or where two readings are possible are noted under the couplets.

Historical Context

According to the heading in the edition, the kaside is a eulogy written for Prince Ahmed; the patron is named in couplet 22 as "Ḫüsrev-i rūy-ı zemīn ḥażret-i sulṭān Aḥmed". According to Ersoy, the divan contains kasides written for Prince Ahmed, and the influence of Zahîr-i Fâryâbî and Selmân-ı Sâvecî can be seen in the Persian kasides. Münîrî had been in Ahmed's circle while the prince was governor of Amasya, and according to Hüseyin Hüsameddin he was Ahmed's chancellor (nişancı) between 910 and 915 (1504-1510). There is no record showing whether the kaside was written in those years.

Bibliography

Online sources