M1:1562 — این روا باشد که من در بند سخت / گه شما بر سبزه گاهی بر درخت

This couplet is the emotional core of the caged parrot's message to its kin in India. It's a cry of anguish framed as a question of justice and loyalty. The contrast is stark and visual: the parrot is in a band-e sakht (a harsh bond, a tight cage), a state of complete restriction, while its fellows are free to move between the sabzeh (greenery) and the derakht (tree). This isn't just a complaint; it's an appeal to the conscience of the free.

In the broader Sufi context of the Masnavi, the parrot's lament is a classic allegory for the human soul. The soul, a native of the spiritual world (the "India" of the story), feels trapped in the cage of the physical body and the material world (band-e sakht). It looks upon other souls—or remembers its own origin—that are free in the divine presence (the "meadow" and "tree") and cries out from a sense of separation and profound longing (firāq). The question "Is this right?" is not a challenge to God's decree but an expression of the pain of this separation, a central theme Rumi introduces in the opening 'Song of the Reed'.