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Abul-Ma'ānī Mīrzā Abdul-Qādir Bēdil (Persian: مولانا ابوالمعانی میرزا عبدالقادر بیدل, or Bīdel, بیدل), also known as Bedil Dehlavī (بیدل دهلوی; 1642–1720) and Bedil Azimabadi,[1] was an Indian Sufi, and considered one of the greatest Indo-Persian poets, next to Amir Khusrau, who lived most of his life during the reign of Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal emperor.[2] He was the foremost representative of the later phase of the Indian style of Persian poetry, and the most difficult and challenging poet of that school.[3]
Abdul-Qādir Bedil | |
|---|---|
 Miniature painting of the tomb of Abdul-Qādir Bedil | |
| Born | 1642 Patna, Bihar Subah, Mughal Empire |
| Died | 1720 Delhi, Mughal Empire |
| Resting place | Delhi, India |
| Occupation | Poet and mystic |
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Bedil was born in Azimabad (present-day Patna) in India to Mirza Abd al-Khaliq (d. 1648), a former Turkic soldier who belonged to the Barlas tribe of the Chaghatay.[3][4][5] The descendants of the family had originally lived in the city of Bukhara in Transoxiana, before moving to India.[5] Bedil's native language was Bengali, but he also spoke Urdu (then known as rikhta), Sanskrit and Turkic, as well as Persian and Arabic, which he learned in elementary school.[3]
Bedil mostly wrote Ghazal and Rubayee (quatrain) in Persian, the language of the Royal Court, which he had learned during his childhood.[3] He was the author of 16 books of poetry, which contained nearly 147,000 verses and included several masnavi in that language. He is considered one of the prominent poets of Indian School of Poetry in Persian literature, and is regraded as having his own unique style. Both Mirza Ghalib and Iqbal-i Lahori were influenced by him. His books include Tilism-i Hairat (طلسم حيرت), Tur i Ma'rifat (طور معرفت), Chahār Unsur (چهار عنصر) and Ruqa'āt (رقعات).
Possibly as a result of being brought up in such a mixed religious environment, Bedil had considerably more tolerant views than his poetic contemporaries. He preferred free thought to accepting the established beliefs of his time, siding with the common people and rejecting the clergy who he often saw as corrupt.
Bedil's work is highly regarded in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. Bedil came back to prominence in Iran in 1980s. Literary critics Mohammad-Reza Shafiei-Kadkani and Shams Langrudi were instrumental in Bedil's re-emergence in Iran. Iran also sponsored two international conferences on Bedil.[6]
The Indian school of Persian poetry, especially Bedil's poetry, is criticised for its complex and implicit meanings. As a result, However, it better regarded in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and India than in Iran.[7] In Afghanistan, a unique school in poetry studying is dedicated to Bīdel's poetry called Bedilšināsī (Bedil studies), and those who have studied his poetry are called Bedilšinās (Bedil experts). His poetry plays a major role in Indo-Persian classical music in central Asia. Many Afghan classical musicians (e.g. Mohammad Hussain Sarahang and Nashenas) have sung Bedil's ghazals.
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His grave, called Bāġ-e Bedil (Garden of Bedil) is situated across Purana Qila, at Mathura Road next to the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium gates and the pedestrian bridge over Mathura Road in Delhi.[8][9]
- Bıdil, ‘Abd al-Qadir. Avaz-hayi Bidil: Nasri adabi (Ruq‘at - Nukat – Isharat – Chahar - ‘Unsur). Edited by Akbar Bihdarvand. Tihran: Nigah, 1386 [2007].
- Bıdil, ‘Abd al-Qadir. Kullıyat. Lakhnahu: Naval Kishor, 1287 [1870 or 1871].
- Bıdil, ‘Abd al-Qadir. Ghazaliyati Bidil Dihlavi. Edited by Akbar Bihdavand. Shiraz: Navid-i Shiraz, 1387 [2008 or 2009].
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