The English Translation of Candayan: The Pioneer Indo-Sufi Masnavi of Maulana Daud

Cāndāyan is the first English translation of a Sufi love narrative from India, adapted from an oral epic Chanaini. It was composed in the Awadhi dialect and recorded in the Persian script, limiting access to its full exploration. Its esoteric interpretation was not yet realized, making it a significant work in the development of the masnavī genre in India.

Format: Hardback
Length: 338 pages
Publication date: 18 October 2023
Publisher: Manohar Publishers and Distributors

Cāndāyan, the pioneering work in a rich tradition of Indian-Sufi love narratives, has been translated into English for the first time. The story, adapted from an oral epic called Chanaini, was popular in the Awadhi-speaking region of north India during the fourteenth century. While the early manuscripts of Cāndāyan were written in the Awadhi dialect, they were recorded in the Persian script, making it essential for readers to have knowledge of both the Persian language and the Awadhi dialect to fully appreciate the work. Additionally, the esoteric interpretation, which is a defining characteristic of Indian-Sufi masnavī literature, was not fully realized at the time of Cāndāyan's composition. Despite these limitations, Cāndāyan holds significant importance as it marked the beginning of the indigenizing process of the masnavī in India and served as a model for this literary genre for the next 540 years. A thorough study of Maulana Daud's Cāndāyan, composed in 1379 during the reign of Firoz Shah Tughlaq, did not begin until the twentieth century due to the limited availability of its manuscript folios, which were discovered in various academic institutions and museums worldwide.

Dimension: 240 x 160 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789394262782