Mālik Muhammad Jāyasī (1477–1542) was an Indian Sūfī poet who wrote in Awadhi, a dialect of Hindī. One of the foremost poets of early modern vernacular literature in north India, he wrote prem-ākhyāna, narrative poems of mystical love in the tradition of earlier Sūfī poets.
Jāyasī is best remembered for his Padmāvat (1540,) a retelling of the romance epic of the Rajput heroine Padmāvatī in a Sūfī mystical framework, but with the conventions of Sanskrit poetics.
Born in the Gangetic plains of Jāyas, currently a city in the Rae Bareli district in Uttar Pradesh state, Jāyasī was the son of Shaikh Mamrej, also called Mālik Raje Ashraf. The title ‘mālik’ implies that he belonged to a family of landlords of Iranian origin who migrated to India in the thirteenth century.
Based on Sūfī tadhkirahs (“descriptions” which identify him as a Muhaqqiq-i-Hind, a Researcher of Indian Truth) folklore, and Jāyasī’s own literary references, historians believe that Jāyasī lived a troubled life. In childhood, he lost his parents and suffered from smallpox, which left him without the left eye and damaged his hearing in the left ear. Later in life, after losing his sons in an accident, Jāyasī abandoned his home life and turned to Sūfī mysticism. He was initiated in the Chishtī Sūfī lineage of Saiyid Ashraf Jahangir Semnani.
Jāyasī’s most famous work is Padmāvat (1540–41,) a celebrated epic poem relating the romantic fantasy story in the backdrop of the historic siege of Chittor by Delhi Sultan Alāʾ ud-Dīn Khaljī in 1303. Khaljī attacked Chittor after hearing of the extraordinary beauty of Queen Rani Padmini, a princess of Simhal and the wife of King Rawal Ratan Singh.
Constructed from the oral tradition of bards from the princely provinces of Rajasthan state, Padmāvat is a rich tapestry of love, craving, struggle, and sacrifice that uses idioms and metaphors both from the world of Islam and from the world of Hindu Purāṇas.
In Padmāvat, Jāyasī employed popular memories, mythologies (both Hindu and Muslim,) and legends to weave a tragic story of love and desire, death, and destruction. The Padmāvat was an instant hit in literary circles and beyond. It was translated in Bengali and other vernaculars within a hundred years of its composition.
Jāyasī’s other notable works are the Akhiri Kalām (1529–30) and the Akhrawat (1540–41.) He also wrote Kanhnvat, a poetic retelling of the story of the Hindu god Krishna; it is distinguished for its metaphors of mystical love and Hindu devotional piety that have a distinct Islamic perspective.
Jāyasī’s burial place is located in Ram Nagar near the city of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh state, and his smārak (“memorial”) is located in the town of Jāyas.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Malik Muhammad Jayasi
He who endures penance and hardships for another delights in that person’s company.
—Malik Muhammad Jayasi
Topics: Friendship
There are as many paths to God as there are stars in the firmament, or pores in body; searching through any one of them a true seeker can find Him, feel satisfied and can sing his achievement.
—Malik Muhammad Jayasi
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
Rabindranath Tagore Bengali Poet, Polymath
Tulsidas Indian Hindu Poet
Sri Aurobindo Indian Mystic, Philosopher, Poet
Nolini Kanta Gupta Indian Hindu Revolutionary
Tukaram Indian Marathi Poet
Bhartrihari Hindu Philosopher, Grammarian
Kalidasa Indian Sanskrit Poet, Dramatist
Subhashita Manjari Sanskrit Anthology of Proverbs
Patanjali Indian Hindu Philosopher
Subramanya Bharathi Indian Tamil Poet