This passage opens the merchant-and-parrot episode in Jalal al-Din Muhammad Balkhi’s Masnavi, Book I, verses 1547–1554, composed in the thirteenth century. The Persian text was checked against the Nicholson-based Masnavi text and verse numbering. Rumi and the work are public domain.
The wording below preserves the classical lexicon and verse order. For the platform’s orthographic contract, Persian ک/ی, punctuation, and ezafe after silent ه have been normalized; the verse content has not been paraphrased. The passage begins a much longer allegory in which a captive parrot learns freedom indirectly. Here we examine only the opening request and message.
For the sequencing contrast behind its simple-past chain, see Narrative Choice among Simple Past, می Past, and Perfect.
The verified passage
بود بازرگانی او را طوطیی؛ در قفس محبوس، زیبا طوطیی. چون که بازرگان سفر را ساز کرد؛ سوی هندوستان شدن آغاز کرد. هر غلام و هر کنیزک را ز جود؛ گفت بهر تو چه آرم، گوی زود. هر یکی از وی مرادی خواست کرد؛ جمله را وعده بداد آن نیک مرد. گفت طوطی را چه خواهی ارمغان؛ کارمت از خطهی هندوستان. گفتش آن طوطی که آنجا طوطیان؛ چون ببینی کن ز حال من بیان. کان فلان طوطی که مشتاق شماست؛ از قضای آسمان در حبس ماست. بر شما کرد او سلام و داد خواست؛ وز شما چاره و ره ارشاد خواست.
bud bâzargâni u râ tutiyi; dar qafas mahbus, zibâ tutiyi. chun ke bâzargân safar râ sâz kard; su-ye Hendustân shodan âghâz kard. har gholâm va har kanizak râ ze jud; goft bahr-e to che âram, guy zud. har yeki az vey morâdi khâst kard; jomle râ va'de bedâd ân nik mard. goft tuti râ che khâhi armaghân; k-âram-at az khette-ye Hendustân. goft-ash ân tuti ke ânjâ tutiyân; chun bebini kon ze hâl-e man bayân. k-ân folân tuti ke moshtâq-e shomâ-st; az qazâ-ye âsemân dar habs-e mâ-st. bar shomâ kard u salâm-o dâd khâst; vaz shomâ châre-o rah ershâd khâst.
There was a merchant who had a parrot—a beautiful parrot confined in a cage. When the merchant prepared for a journey and began to set out for India, he generously said to every servant, ‘What shall I bring you? Say quickly.’ Each asked him for something desired, and that good man promised them all. He asked the parrot, ‘What gift would you like me to bring you from India?’ The parrot replied, ‘When you see the parrots there, tell them of my condition: that a certain parrot who longs for you is confined here by heaven’s decree. He sends you greetings, asks for justice, and seeks a remedy and guidance from you.’
An existential opening with classical possession
بود بازرگانی او را طوطیی؛ در قفس محبوس، زیبا طوطیی.
bud bâzargâni u râ tutiyi; dar qafas mahbus, zibâ tutiyi.
There was a merchant who had a parrot—a beautiful parrot confined in a cage. (classical literary verse)
Verse-initial بود بازرگانی introduces a character like modern بازرگانی بود “there was a merchant.” The inversion puts the finite verb first for narrative and meter. The sequence او را طوطیی is not the modern direct-object pattern “him + râ.” Classical X را Y can express possession: “to him, a parrot,” hence “he had a parrot.”
The second hemistich omits a repeated copula. محبوس and زیبا both characterize طوطیی; final ـی is indefinite.
Chaining preparation and departure
چون که بازرگان سفر را ساز کرد؛ سوی هندوستان شدن آغاز کرد.
chun ke bâzargân safar râ sâz kard; su-ye Hendustân shodan âghâz kard.
When the merchant made ready for travel, he began to set out toward India. (classical narrative)
چون که introduces the temporal background. سفر را ساز کردن is a literary collocation “prepare the journey,” not productive modern speech. The second hemistich uses شدن after سوی هندوستان in the older sense “to go/proceed.” Modern Persian would normally say راهی هندوستان شد or حرکت به سوی هندوستان را آغاز کرد.
Two simple past verbs move the narrative in sequence. No past perfect is needed because order and چون که establish the relation.
The merchant’s question
هر غلام و هر کنیزک را ز جود؛ گفت بهر تو چه آرم، گوی زود.
har gholâm va har kanizak râ ze jud; goft bahr-e to che âram, guy zud.
Out of generosity he said to every servant, ‘What shall I bring you? Say quickly.’ (classical literary verse)
Here را marks the recipients of گفت, a literary pattern where modern prose prefers به هر غلام و هر کنیزک گفت. The compact preposition ز means از (literary/archaic). بهر تو means “for you,” and گوی is a prefixless imperative corresponding to modern بگو.
Syntax and the shift to second person identify direct speech even without modern quotation punctuation.
Promise before the focal dialogue
هر یکی از وی مرادی خواست کرد؛ جمله را وعده بداد آن نیک مرد.
har yeki az vey morâdi khâst kard; jomle râ va'de bedâd ân nik mard.
Each asked him for something desired, and that good man promised them all. (classical literary verse)
وی is a literary third-person pronoun. مرادی خواست کرد is compressed and not a model for modern requests. In جمله را, جمله means “all of them,” not “sentence.” بداد is the prefixed simple past of دادن, a classical narrative form; modern Persian uses داد.
The delayed subject آن نیک مرد follows the verb. Ordinary modern prose strongly prefers subject before object and verb, but verse can postpone it for rhythm, rhyme, and focus.
The parrot’s requested gift
گفت طوطی را چه خواهی ارمغان؛ کارمت از خطهی هندوستان.
goft tuti râ che khâhi armaghân; k-âram-at az khette-ye Hendustân.
He asked the parrot, ‘What gift would you like me to bring you from India?’ (classical literary verse)
Again طوطی را گفت corresponds to modern به طوطی گفت. ارمغان is postponed for rhyme. کارمت compresses که آرمَت “that I may bring for you,” with ـت referring to the parrot; it is reading knowledge, not modern spelling to imitate.
The message and the allegorical turn
گفتش آن طوطی که آنجا طوطیان؛ چون ببینی کن ز حال من بیان.
goft-ash ân tuti ke ânjâ tutiyân; chun bebini kon ze hâl-e man bayân.
The parrot told him, ‘When you see the parrots there, describe my condition.’ (classical literary verse)
Object clitic ـش on گفتش means “said to him.” The subject آن طوطی follows the verb. طوطیان is the older/literary plural in ـان; modern prose also uses طوطیها. The prefixless command کن remains current in compounds, but modern wording would be حال مرا برایشان تعریف کن.
کان فلان طوطی که مشتاق شماست؛ از قضای آسمان در حبس ماست.
k-ân folân tuti ke moshtâq-e shomâ-st; az qazâ-ye âsemân dar habs-e mâ-st.
Say that a certain parrot who longs for you is imprisoned here by heaven’s decree. (classical literary verse)
کان contracts که آن. حبس ما literally means “our confinement,” but here means “confined here.” The episode invites an allegorical reading; no special verb form encodes it.
بر شما کرد او سلام و داد خواست؛ وز شما چاره و ره ارشاد خواست.
bar shomâ kard u salâm-o dâd khâst; vaz shomâ châre-o rah ershâd khâst.
He sends you greetings, asks for justice, and seeks from you a remedy and guidance. (classical literary verse)
بر شما کرد سلام is elevated and fronted; modern Persian says به شما سلام رساند. وز contracts و از. The repeated خواست closes two requests and produces parallelism: justice, then a remedy and a path of guidance.
Common Mistakes
1. Reading او را as an ordinary direct object
❌ بازرگان او را طوطی داشت.
Incorrect modern reconstruction — the classical possession frame cannot be copied with modern داشتن this way.
✅ آن بازرگان در دکانش یک طوطی سخنگو داشت.
ân bâzargân dar dokkân-ash yek tuti-ye sokhan-gu dâsht.
That merchant had a talking parrot in his shop.
2. Copying literary recipient را into neutral prose
⚠️ طوطی را گفت چه میخواهی؟
tuti râ goft che mi-khâhi?
A grammatical literary recipient pattern, but not the neutral-modern model; ordinary prose uses به for the addressee of گفتن.
✅ بازرگان به پرنده گفت چه هدیهای میخواهی؟
bâzargân be parande goft che hediye-i mi-khâhi?
The merchant asked the bird what gift it wanted.
3. Treating سوی... شدن as current everyday motion
❌ فردا سوی اداره شدن آغاز میکنم.
Incorrect modern sentence — the classical motion use of شدن does not transfer productively to an everyday plan.
✅ فردا صبح به سوی اداره حرکت میکنم.
fardâ sobh be su-ye edâre harekat mi-konam.
Tomorrow morning I will set off toward the office.
4. Forcing English past perfect into every prior event
⚠️ چون بازرگان سفر را آماده کرده بود، حرکت را آغاز کرد.
chun bâzargân safar râ âmâde karde bud, harekat râ âghâz kard.
Because/when the merchant had prepared the journey, he began moving. (grammatical, but heavier than needed when sequence is already explicit)
✅ بازرگان بارش را بست و به سوی هندوستان راه افتاد.
bâzargân bâr-ash râ bast va be su-ye Hendustân râh oftâd.
The merchant packed his load and set off toward India.
Key Takeaways
- Rumi’s verse freely places verbs and subjects where modern neutral prose would not.
- Classical recipient را, possessive X را Y, prefixed بداد, and contractions کان/وز require construction-level interpretation.
- Simple past chaining can establish narrative order without obligatory backshifting.
- Direct speech may be signaled by person and syntax even when manuscript punctuation is absent.
- The allegory grows from ordinary grammar of captivity, longing, and requested guidance; it is an interpretive layer, not a special grammatical category.
Now practice Farsi
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Farsi →Related Topics
- Clause Chaining with Past ParticiplesB1 — Use invariant Persian past participles to compress completed background actions before a finite narrative clause while keeping subject reference clear.
- Narrative Choice among Simple Past, می Past, and PerfectB1 — Choose Persian past forms by discourse viewpoint: simple past for foreground events, می past for background, and perfect forms for prior results and reports.
- Basic SOV Word OrderA1 — Build neutral Persian clauses in subject–object–verb order while placing time, place, prepositional phrases, and compound predicates naturally.
- Classical Aorist and Prefixless PresentsC1 — Interpret classical present-stem forms without می by using aspect, modality, genre, and clause context rather than modern morphology alone.
- Classical Persian versus Modern StandardC2 — Read classical Persian across verb morphology, pronouns, vocabulary, order, orthography, and genre without treating it as one frozen code.