“These are not mere stories; they are reflections of our own state.”
Associate Professor Dr. Nuri Şimşekler
In the literary traditions of the East, writers and poets often incorporate animal tales—particularly those transmitted by Bidapa in Sanskrit as Kalila and Dimna—into their works. This foundational text has served as a source for countless literary pieces and holds a significant place in Persian and Turkish literature, both through direct quotations and inspired new narratives. Authors and poets sought to convey messages to people by using animal characters as material for their stories.
The Masnavi, begun in the 1250s by Mevlana (Rumi), adopted this style, employing rabbits, lions, crocodiles, foxes, ravens, nightingales, peacocks, ants—each embodying recognizable traits—to depict the human condition.
Alongside animal tales drawn largely from Kalila and Dimna, the Masnavi incorporates figures such as Jesus and a shepherd, Moses and Pharaoh, Solomon and Balkis, Ghaznavid Sultan Mahmud and his loyal servant Ayaz, Ibrahim ibn Adham and Abu al-Hasan al-Harraqani. Furthermore, Chinese and Anatolian painters, false Sufi masters (şeyhler), Bedouins and their wives, individuals of various ethnicities—Turks, Greeks, Arabs, Indians, and Persians—and people with diverse characteristics like deafness, blindness, beauty, and ugliness are woven into the “Masnavi film,” aiming to impart wisdom to its readers.
The Style and Characters in Masnavi Tales
As mentioned above, a large portion of the stories in the Masnavi are derived from Kalila and Dimna, following a tradition common in Islamic literature. However, it is also influenced by Shamsu-Tebrizi’s Maxalat, as well as the masnavis of Sana’i and Attar, prominent figures in Persian literature, and stories circulating among the people. Mevlana recounts these tales, referencing their origins, and says, “Listen to it from me too so that these stories don’t seem like fables. You read the outward face; listen to the inner face from me…” He then reflects these tales in his own style, comparing the good and bad roles of the story characters to similar traits in his readers.
The Masnavi, comprising nearly 26,000 couplets, begins with Mevlana’s first tale in the 36th verse and continues until the final verse. One story follows another; even before one ends, the characters of another story enter with a new narrative. Thus, hundreds of intertwined stories, hundreds of characters, appear before the reader’s eyes like film characters.
There is a king, a beautiful slave girl, a handsome young man who is a goldsmith; there is a physician, a divine healer. In reality, all these personalities are not real. They represent the good and bad qualities within a person—the ego that constantly seeks worldly possessions. There is also the heart of a person, which wages war against the ego with love’s sword, freeing the individual from it. There is also a divine healer in this story. If a person does not have a loving heart, someone will help them, guide them to eliminate the “bad man” – the ego. That healer is “love.”
There is a deceitful Jewish vizier who infiltrates Christians, presents himself as one of them, and deliberately misleads them. The ruler also assists him in this “sacred service.” Ultimately, this treachery bears fruit, causing the Christians to turn against each other. In reality, neither that vizier is truly a vizier, nor is that ruler a true ruler. He is the “materialistic hunter” who infiltrates a person’s soul and deceives them with worldly pleasures. He is also the