M6:2412 — این اسد غالب شدی هم بر سگان / گر نبودی نوبت آن بدرگان

Translation: This lion would have prevailed over the dogs too, Were it not the turn of those ill-natured ones (bad-rogues).

Meaning: This verse suggests that noble and powerful individuals would easily overcome the ignoble and vicious, if the reins of power and the prevailing era were not in the hands of the morally corrupt and base.

This couplet appears within the "Story of the Three Travelers" in Book Six of the Masnavi, a narrative that Rumi adapted and expanded upon from Shams-e Tabrizi. The tale describes three companions—a Jew, a Christian, and a Muslim—who find some food during their journey and decide to eat it the next day, on the condition that whoever has had the best dream will get to eat it. In the story, the Muslim is fasting and remains hungry. This particular verse, following the initial companionship of these three travelers, illustrates an imbalance and the ascendancy of the ignoble over the high-minded.

Rumi, in this narrative, clearly articulates his perspective on the "mixtures" (āmīkhtagīhā) that constitute the world. The world, akin to a caravanserai, sees people from various realms—East, West, and beyond—temporarily housed together due to the inclement weather. In this caravanserai, individuals with diverse inner worlds, intentions, and ideals are brought together, often by necessity. This verse reflects precisely this mixture: a "lion," symbolizing a noble and powerful individual, confronts "dogs," who represent the base and ill-natured. Typically, the lion would prevail, but in an era where it is "the turn of those ill-natured ones"—meaning power and influence have fallen into the hands of the morally corrupt—even the lion cannot exert its natural dominance as it should.

This "turn of the ill-natured" is an aspect of divine decree, which has willed the world to be thus mixed. In this grand prison of the world, the pure and the impure, the harmful and the harmless, coexist. Rumi emphasizes the temporary nature of this mixture and the transient dominance of the ignoble; once the cage's door is opened, each bird will fly towards its true destination. This couplet, in essence, is a cry against the apparent disparities and injustices of this world, where sometimes the ignoble, aided by the currents of time, gain the upper hand, even though their intrinsic reality, like dogs before a lion, is insignificant.

Key takeaways

• The world is a caravanserai of mixtures where the noble and the ignoble, the pure and the impure, are forced into temporary coexistence.
• This couplet critiques the prevailing era and the distribution of power; even noble individuals may not fully manifest their true capabilities when the base are in control.
• The "lion" symbolizes the great soul, while "dogs" represent the ill-natured, whose natural order of dominance is reversed when the "turn" (fate of the times) favors the latter.
• Rumi’s perspective suggests this dominance of the ignoble is temporary; ultimately, each soul will return to its rightful spiritual station.