[IO Islamic 1189] ديوان برهمن

Dîwân-i-Brahman

This manuscript is now IO Islamic 1574 in the India Office collections.

[metadata: Hermann Ethé, Catalogue of Persian Manuscripts in the Library of the India Office, 2 vols. (Oxford: India Office, 1903): volume 1, number 1189 here with notations and hyperlinks].

1574

Dîwân-i-Brahman(ديوان برهمن).

Lyrical poems by Ćandarbhân Brahman of Patyâla or Lâhûr, who flourished under Shâhjahân, was munshî to this emperor as well as to prince Dârâ Shukûh, and died, according to the Mirât-i-Jahânnumâ (see No. 126 above) , A.H. 1068 (A.D. 1657, 1658); other authorities, for instance, the Mirât-alkhayâl, No. 78 (col. 209 in the Bodleian Cat.), fix his death in A.H. 1073 (A.D. 1662, 1663); comp. Bodleian Cat., Nos. 1123, 1385, and 1386; Rieu i. p. 397 sq.; ii. p. 838b; iii. p. 1087a; A. Sprenger, Catal., pp. 110, 119, and 376; Makhzan-algharâ’ib, No. 404 (col. 324 in the Bodleian Cat.). Beside his dîwân he wrote various collections of letters and refined prose-writings, for instance, the چهار چمن (a description of Shâhjahân’s court and memoir of his own life), the منشآت برهمن or رقعات برهمن, the گلدسته, كارنامه, تحفة الوزرا, تحفة الفصحا, مجمع الوزراء, etc., see Bodleian Cat. and Rieu, loc. cit.

This dîwân contains:

Ghazals, in alphabetical order, on fol. 1b, beginning:

اى برتر از تصوّر وهم وگمان ما

وى در ميان ما وبرون از ميان ما

Rubâ’îs, on fol. 55a, beginning:

ما را چو بحال خود شناشا ( شناسا read) كردى

كردى (Correctly in the Bodleian copy: گل و ز قطره دريا) از خار گل قطره زدريا

The original dîwân closes on fol. 58b and is dated the 19th of Dhû-alḥijjah, A.H. 1143 (A.D.1731, June 25); on ff. 59-67 a supplementary collection of ghazals by the same poet is added, rhyming in ت, د, ز, م, ن, و, ه, and ى. No ghazals rhyming in و and ه are found in the principal part of the dîwân.

No. 1189, ff. 67, 2 coll., each ll. 15; careless Nasta’lîḳ, mixed with Shikasta; size, 81/4 in. by 45/8 in.