Winged Messengers, Feathered Beauties and Beaks of Divine Wisdom: birds in Hindi-Urdu Allegorical Love Stories

The article addresses the role of birds in Indian literature, with particular reference to the allegorical love stories, a prominent literary genre in South Asian literary culture. Analyzing the role different bird have played in the symbolism of both classical Hindu, i.e. Sankrit, religious literature and Persianate Sufi literature, the article focusses on the role played by birds in the mediaeval love stories whose allegorical language acted as a device used by their authors to convey indications concerning the spiritual path nd its protagonists, ths master and the disciple. On the example mainly of the Padmavat by Malk Muhammad Jaysi, the author traces the role played by the parrot, perhaps the most Indian of all birds, in bringing together the two protagonists of the story personifed by the two lovers. Through the often very colourful descriptions provided, there emerges a fascinating account of both the capacity of mediaeval Sufi authors and the importance birds have revested in describing the complex relationship between the human protagonist on earth and the divine leader in the realm of transcendence.