Kathakautukam: Sanskrit rendering of Persian Yusuf‑Zulaykha of Jami

Summary

Balram Shukla’s essay examines Kathākautukam, a Sanskrit translation of the Persian poem Yusuf‑Zulaykha by the Sufi poet Jami. The article opens with an overview of cultural exchanges between Persian and Sanskrit literary traditions. Shukla notes that Indo‑Iranian linguistic and cultural connections date back to the Avesta and the Vedas, and continued through the medieval period when Persian became a major court language in South Asia. He then describes how Mughal patronage encouraged translations of Sanskrit texts into Persian and vice versa, resulting in hundreds of bilingual works. The core of the essay analyses the Kathākautukam, which retells Jami’s romantic epic about the love between Yusuf and Zulaykha (Joseph and Potiphar’s wife) in Sanskrit shlokas. Shukla explains that the translator preserved the plot while adapting imagery and stylistic devices to suit Sanskrit poetic conventions. He provides examples of how metaphors, epithets and didactic elements were rendered, highlighting the translator’s command of both languages. The article also discusses the theological nuances of the story, noting that while Jami’s original reflects Sufi ideas of divine love and spiritual yearning, the Sanskrit version frames the narrative within Bhakti traditions familiar to Hindu readers. Shukla situates Kathākautukam within a broader corpus of Sanskrit‑Persian translations that fostered cross‑cultural dialogue and enriched the literary landscapes of both traditions. He argues that these works challenge rigid notions of linguistic purity and show the permeability of premodern intellectual boundaries. The essay concludes by calling for more comparative research on Indo‑Persian translations, which can illuminate shared motifs and philosophical intersections across civilisations.