पढ़िए› दफ़्तर 1› एक व्यापारी की कहानी जिसके पिंजरे में बंद तोते ने उसे भारत के तोतों को एक संदेश दिया, जब वह व्यापार के लिए जा रहा था› शेर 1553
M1:1553 — بود بازرگان و او را طوطیی / در قفس محبوس زیبا طوطیی
M1:1553
अर्थ · به زبانِ تو — आपकी भाषा · AI
This couplet introduces the main characters and the central conflict of the story: a merchant owns a beautiful parrot that is trapped in a cage.
This is the opening line of one of the Masnavi's most famous teaching stories. Rumi begins with the simple, archetypal language of a fable: "There once was a merchant..." The two key elements are introduced immediately: the merchant (bāzargān), who represents the worldly, rational mind that possesses and controls, and the parrot (ṭūṭī), which symbolizes the soul.
The parrot is described with two crucial adjectives: it is "beautiful" (zībā) and "imprisoned" (maḥbūs). Its beauty signifies the soul's inherent preciousness and divine origin. Its imprisonment in the cage (qafas) is the classic Sufi metaphor for the soul's confinement within the physical body and the material world (dunyā). The entire spiritual drama of the story unfolds from this initial state of beautiful captivity.
- بازرگان
- A merchant, a trader. In Sufi parables, the merchant often represents the rational, worldly self or the mind that deals with material possessions.
- طوطی
- A parrot. In Persian literature, the parrot symbolizes the soul, particularly because of its ability to speak, which links it to the divine gift of speech (logos). It is often depicted as an exile from its true home (India), longing to return.
- محبوس
- Imprisoned, confined, captive. An Arabic loanword emphasizing a state of being held against one's will.
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