Reading Persian in South Asia:

Cross-Cultural Encounters and Intellectual Histories

Peyman Eshaghi 

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Course Description

This course explores the "Long 18th Century" and the preceding eras of Indo-Persian excellence through a lens of social and spiritual history. While the Mughal throne provided the patronage, the soul of South Asian Persian resided in the khanqahs (Sufi lodges), the libraries of regional governors, and the translation bureaus where Persian met Sanskrit, Hindavi, and Pashto.

Students will move beyond the "official" history of the Akbarnama to look at how ordinary and extraordinary people lived, prayed, and wrote. We will examine how Persian functioned not just as a language of power, but as a language of "Universal Civility" (akhlaq) and deep mystical yearning.

 

​​Prerequisites & Language of Instruction

Intermediate reading knowledge of Persian is recommended. Urdu/Hindi is not required. The language of instruction is English; Persian is used in textual work.

  

​Required & Recommended Materials (provided as excerpts):

​Week 1 – Kashf al-Mahjub (The Unveiling of the Hidden), Hujwiri (d. 1072/77)

We begin in Lahore with the earliest Persian treatise on Sufism written in South Asia. This text established the vocabulary for all subsequent mystical writing in the subcontinent, bridging the gap between Greater Khorasan and the Punjab.

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Week 2 – Fawa’id al-Fu’ad (Morals for the Heart), Amir Hasan Sijzi (d. 1337)

Instead of a formal history, we read the malfuzat (discourses) of Nizamuddin Auliya. This text provides a "bottom-up" view of 14th-century Delhi, focusing on the ethics of the saint and his interactions with commoners and kings alike.

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Week 3 – Futuh-us-Salatin (Gifts of the Sultans), Isami (comp. 1350)

An epic in the style of the Shahnameh, written in the Bahmani Sultanate (Deccan). This source shows how Persian culture moved South, creating a unique "Deccani-Persian" identity that rivaled the Delhi Sultanate.

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Week 4 – Tarikh-i-Rashidi, Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat (1499–1551)

A history of the Mughals and Central Asian Khans written from Kashmir. This text offers a rare geographical perspective on the "highlands" of the Persianate world and the cultural synthesis of the Kashmir valley.

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Week 5 – Gulshan-i-Ishaq (The Rose Garden of Love) – Persian Adaptations of Padmavat

We examine the Persian translations of Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s Padmavat. This session explores "Vernacular Persian," looking at how Sufi poets used Persian to translate the indigenous Indian prema-khyan (romance) tradition.

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Week 6 – Majma-ul-Bahrayn (The Mingling of the Two Oceans), Dara Shikoh (1615–1659)

The tragic prince’s comparative study of Islamic Sufism and Hindu Vedanta. This is a foundational text for understanding the "ecumenical" strain of Indo-Persian thought and the search for a common mystical language.

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Week 7 – Tuzuk-e-Jahangiri (Memoirs of Jahangir), Emperor Jahangir (1569–1627)

While the original syllabus uses the Majalis, we look at the Emperor’s own diary. It is a masterpiece of "naturalist" Persian, where the Emperor describes flora, fauna, and his own addictions with startling, unvarnished honesty.

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Week 8 – Ghazals of Zeb-un-Nissa (Makhfi), (1638–1702)

A shift toward the female voice in Indo-Persian literature. The daughter of Aurangzeb wrote under the pen name "Makhfi" (The Hidden One). Her poetry reflects the tension between royal confinement and spiritual liberation.

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Week 9 – Nimat Khan-i-Ali’s Satires (Waqai), Nimat Khan (d. 1710)

Persian was not always serious. We read the Waqai (Events of the Siege of Golconda), a biting, humorous, and highly sophisticated satirical work that mocks the Mughal military machine and courtly pretension.

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Week 10 – Safarnama-ye Anand Ram Mukhlis, Anand Ram Mukhlis (1699–1750) A travelogue and diary of a Hindu high official in the Mughal court. This text proves that Persian was not just a "Muslim" language, but a secular professional tool used by the Khatri and Kayastha communities to record their world.

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Week 11 – Nairang-e-Ishq (The Magic of Love), Maulana Ghanimat Kunjahi (d. 1695)

A narrative poem (masnavi) set in the Punjab, representing the Sabk-e Hindi (Indian Style) at its peak. It showcases the intricate metaphors and "freshness of thought" (taza-gu’i) that defined late Mughal aesthetics.

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Week 12 – Mirat-ul-Ahwal (The Mirror of Circumstances), Ahmad Behbahani (1777–1819)

We conclude with a "traveler from Iran" visiting India. This Persian scholar’s observations of the decaying Mughal state and the rising British East India Company provide a poignant end to the era of Persian dominance in South Asia.

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Course Details

Schedule: Mondays, 30 January 2026 – 15 June 2026

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Time: 9:00–10:00 AM (US Pacific), 12:00–1:00 PM (US Eastern), 6:00–7:00 PM (Central European)

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Format: 12 online sessions 

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Tuition: $300 (payable in 3 installments)

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​​Registered participants will receive full access to recorded session videos and all course materials.

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Registration link: https://forms.gle/qb8HgweQcqGEuPRD9

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