M1:1558 — گفتش آن طوطی که آنجا طوطیان / چون ببینی کن ز حال من بیان

This couplet marks the beginning of the parrot's message, a pivotal moment in one of the Masnavi's most famous allegories. The parrot, a symbol for the soul trapped in the cage of the physical body (tan), does not ask for a physical gift like the merchant's other servants. Instead, it requests a form of communication, a bearing of witness.

The request is deceptively simple: "describe my state." The parrot doesn't ask the merchant to complain on its behalf, nor to demand its freedom. It trusts that a simple, truthful description of its imprisonment to those who are free will be enough to elicit the proper response. This reflects a core Sufi principle: the soul's predicament is not solved by loud complaint but by a clear-eyed recognition of its separation from its origin (the "India" of the spiritual world).

The parrot's message, which unfolds in the subsequent verses, is a lament about separation (firāq) and a subtle plea for guidance. By asking the merchant to be its messenger, the parrot initiates a chain of events that will ultimately teach it—and the reader—the secret of spiritual liberation.