Šāhnāma or Singhāsanbattīsī | Monography or Translations of known period | Fables and Tales | Survey | Perso-Indica

Fables and Tales

Monography or Translations of known period
Čaturbhūjdās bin Mihrčand, Šāhnāma or Singhāsanbattīsī

[Preliminary entry] One of the earliest Persian versions (according to Ethé, the first)  of the popular Indic story-book known as Vikramacarita (Vikrama’s Adventures) or Siṃhāsanadvātriṃśakā (The thirty-two stories of the lion-throne), containing 32 stories of the deeds of king Vikramāditya (Persian: Bikramāǧīt) of Ujjayinī (Persian: Ujain), each told by one of the stauettes that supported king Vikrama’s throne, which is incidentally discovered by a later king, Bhoja. Each time he tries to mount the throne, one of the statuettes tells a story focusing on the generosity and valour of Vikramāditya.

The Siṃhāsanadvātriṃśakā was translated, or, adapted, several times during the Mughal Era. The present version was done by  Čaturbhūjdās bin Mihrčand, a kāyastha (Persian: kāyath) of Sonpat, in the reign of Akbar (r. 1556-1605). Another version of the same collection of stories was commissioned by Akbar in 982/1574-75 and accomplished by ‘Abd al-Qādir Badā’ūnī under the title Nāma-yi Ḫiradafzā in 989/1581. We do not know, whether Čaturbhūǧdās and Badā’ūnī were aware of their respective works, neither do we have an exact date of this šāhnāma or Singhāsanbattīsī.

A. M.

 

i) Place of copying; ii) Period of copying; iii) Copyist; iv) Commissioner;
v) Information on colophon; vi) Description of miniatures/illustrations; vii) Other remarks; viii) Information on catalogue(s)
Manuscript: 

Oxford, Bodleian library, Walker 118, 69 ff.

, viii)

Sachau; Ethé 1889, p. 815, no 1324

.


Bibliography:

Sachau, Eduard - Ethé, Hermann, 1889, Catalogue of the Persian, Turkish, Hindustani and Pushto Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, vol. 1.


 
Main Persian Title: Šāhnāma or Singhāsanbattīsī
English Translation of Main Persian Title: The thirty-two tales of the lion-throne
Translator: Čaturbhūjdās bin Mihrčand
Original Sources:
Vikramacarita.
Other Persian texts quoting this Original Source:
Kišan Bilās, Singhāsan-Battīsī (1), Ḫirad-afzā.
Approximate period of composition: 1556-1605
Incipit:

سپاس باری تعلای جل جلاله و عم نواله

Commissioner: Akbar