| it became lost < to become lost, to disappear | گم شد < گم شدن |
|
from that lost one, of that lost one | زان گمشده = از آن گم شده |
| lost one, person or thing that is lost. Past participle functioning as adjective or noun. | گم شده |
| (you) say less! (imperative) < to say less, to speak less | کمتر گو < کمتر گفتن |
| where (is)? (Sentences with "ku" do not require the verb, the "ast" is implied.) | کو (است) = کجا است |
| (you) go! (imperative) < to go | رو < رفتن |
| (you) read aloud, recite! | برخوان! |
| bar khān, two meanings: "upon the table" or "recite!" | بر خوان / بر خوان |
|
"kam tarku' verse of the Koran, Surah 44, "al-dukhān" - "Smoke" كَمْ تَرَكُوا مِنْ جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ How many of gardens and springs that they [Fir'aun's (Pharaoh) people] left behind, (سرانجام همگى نابود شدند و) چه بسيار باغها و چشمهها كه از خود به جاى گذاشتند، [Transliteration] Kam tarakoo min jannatin waAAuyoonin Source: http://quran-reader.com/chapter_display.php?chapter=44&translator=6&mac=&show_arabic=1&otherTranslations%5B%5D=5&otherTranslations%5B%5D=20 | کم ترکوا |
| crowned ones, those having a crown, those wearing a crown, suffix -var, meaning "endowed with" | تاجوران = تاجورها |
| crown | تاج |
|
having a crown, crowned | تاجور |
|
now, at this time | اینک = اکنون |
| they (3rd person plural). In contemporary Persian, /ishān/ usually is a respectful way to say 'he' or 'she'. In classical Persian, it means "they" which is now usually /ān-hā/ in the modern style. | ایشان |
| stomach, belly | شکم |
| pregnant, literally /āb/ - 'water', 'sperm' + /e-stān/ - 'taking' < setadan - 'to take' | آبستن |
| immortal, eternal | جاویدان = جاودان |
| very late | بس دیر |
| it gives birth, classical form. In contemporary Persian, the "hami" (derived from /hamishe/, "always") has become "mi-" and is prefixed to the present indicative with no additional meaning. Here, the "hami" does not really mean "keeps giving birth" as one might think. Rather "hami" is used just in a way similar to "ham", to add emphasis. Think of it as "bas/khayli ham dir mizāyad ..." which simply adds emphasis. The role of ham/hami in such constructs is similar to the role that the verb "do" plays in constructs like "I did tell him ...", "I do intend ...", etc. (See line 43, /hami rānad/ for the other instance of /hami/ in this work.) | همی زاید = می‌زاید |
| pregnant earth | آبستن خاک = خاکِ آبستان |
|
to give birth to, to bring forth | زاید < زاییدن = زادن |
| difficult, suffix -vār here meaning, "having" |
دشوار |
| semen, sperm, egg, embryo | نطفه |
|
easy | آسان |
| Giving birth is hard, getting pregnant (is) easy. Ellipsis, the second "is" (bovad) is left unstated. | دشوار بود زادن، نطفه ستدن آسان (بود) |
| is, will be, a poetic form of the subjunctive bāshad < budan used for general truths. pronunciation: bovad | بود |
| it gives < to give, mi-omitted in poetic, classical style | دهد = می‌دهد < دادن |
| grape plant, grape vine | رزبن |
| water-and-clay, physical essence | آب و گل |
| cask, vat, pronunciation: khom | خم |
| he/she puts, places < to put, to place (present indicative without mi- as in poetic, classical style) | نهد < نهادن |
| small land owner, peasant | دهقان |
| many, many a | چندین = بس |
| those who are all powerful, mighty; tyrants | جباران = جبارها |
| omnipotent; tyrant | جبار |
|
that this soil | کاین خاک = که این خاک |
| it has
swallowed down, it has eaten up completely< to swallow, to consume. "foru"
prefixed to verbs adds a "downwards" dimension. | فرو خورده است < فرو خوردن |
|
gorosne-chashm” pronounced “gorsene-chashm” here for rhyming, literally
translates into “hungry-eye[d]” and means avaricious. | گرسنه‌چشم |
| even in the end, after all that | آخر هم |
| satiated, content, pronunciation: sir | سیر |
| child. In classical Persian, /tefl/ was one word for "child". In contemporary usage however, /tefl/ often means "unfortunate child". | طفل = بچّه = کودک |
|
children | طفلان = طفل‌ها |
| red-water, a kind of traditional facial cosmetic, rouge, blush | سرخاب |
| it mixes, (present indicative without mi-) < to mix | آمیزد < آمیختن |
| white | سپید = سفید |
| eyebrow | ابرو |
| old woman of the white eyebrow | زال سپید ابرو |
| and this | وین = و این |
| mother, mom. An alternative but contemporary interpretation of this verse would be to consider "mom" as the mother of all humans, which makes her a child devouring hag, etc. However, the notion of considering the earth as the mother of humans (and other living things) was not part of the poets contemporary culture, nor part of the culture of ancient Iran. Ancient Iranians and Muslims (at least educated ones) would have probably been familiar with this notion as somthing that some other cultures (e.g., in India) believed in, but it is unlikely that the poet would refer to it. | مام = مامان = مادر |
|
black | سیه = سیاه |
| breast | پستان = سینه |
| black breast, Compounding: ezāfe deleted and adjective put before noun | سیه پستان |
| begging, asking in a humble manner | دریوزه |
| (you) beg! (imperative) < to beg | دریوزه کن < دریوزه کردن |
| begging for a life-lesson, seeking a teaching, looking for a warning | دریوزه‌ٔ عبرت |
| after that | زان پس = از آن پس |
|
so that after that, the emperor will beg / Khāqāni (pen-name of the poet)
will beg (double meaning) | تا...
دریوزه کند خاقان = تا ... خاقان دریوزه بکند |
| The rulers of the Shervānshāh court (located in the Caucasus region now part of Azerbaijan) were called by the title, "khāqān", a title used by other dynasties as well. The poet was honored by being permitted to refer to himself by the pen-name "Khāqāni" since he served at the court of two of the Shervānshāh khāqāns, namely, Manuchehr and Manuchehr's son, Akhsetān. Since Khāqāni was apparently discontented with the ruling establishment and possibly was even physically imprisoned, it is possible his pointing out the transience of rulers and tyrants had some personal dimension for this poet. | خاقان |
| sultan, king, sovereign | سلطان |
|
rogue, scoundrel; free-spirited person, pronunciation: rend | رند |
| a rogue, a scoundrel | رندی |
| victuals, journey provisions, travel provisions; | توشه = زاد = زاد ره = زاد راه |
| victuals, journey provisions, travel provisions; the poet is contrasting"the [spiritual] nourishment of Madāen" with the physical nourishment of the pilgrimage to Mecca. | زاد ره = زاد = زاد راه = توشه |
|
Mecca | مکّه |
| in every city, in whatever city | به هر شهری |
| gift, souvenir, curio | تحفه = ره‌آورد |
| (you) bring! (imperative) < to bring | بر = ببر < بردن |
| Thanks to the lack of punctuation, it is not obvious that /bar/ is an imperative verb. It almost seems to be the preposition /bar/ meaning 'upon'. "to zād-e madāen bar" (you take the nourishment of Madāen), "tohfe ze pay-ye shervān" (souvenir for Shervān). Be careful to not fall into the trap of thinking the bar goes with the following word: /bar tohfe/. It does not mean "upon gift". (See line 40 for a similar case of /bar/ as imperative.) |
تو زاد مدائن بر تحفه ز پی شروان |
| Shervān / Shirvān (located in the Caucasus region now part of Azerbaijan) | شروان |
| for Shervān | ز پی شروان = از پی شروان |
| the poet is contrasting"the [spiritual] nourishment of Madāen" with the physical nourishment of the pilgrimage to Mecca. | زاد مدائن |
| everyone | هر کس |
| rosary; praise to God | تسبیح |
| "bar" here too is the imperative of "bordan". It is not "bar tasbih", "upon rosary'; it is "ze madāen bar" (take from Madāen) "tasbih-e gel-e Salmān" (the rosary of the clay of Salmān).: (see line 39 for a similar case of "bar" as imperative.) | ز مدائن بر تسبیح گل سلمان |
|
rosary; rosary prayer | سبحه |
| ocean, sea | بحر |
|
drink, sweet, usually cold drink; sip, draught | شربت |
| without a sip | بی‌شربت |
| from it | ازو =
از او |
| do not pass, (imperative) negative ma- prefix of classical Perisan < to pass, to pass by | مگذر = نگذر < گذشتن |
| river; This should not be confused with shatt ol-`arab, called the Arvand River in Iran, the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates as they make their way to the Persian Gulf. This river forms the modern border between Iran and Iraq. | شطّ |
| the river of such a sea | شط چنین بحری |
| thirsty-lipped; thirsty | لب تشنه |
| One cannot go, natavān + infinitive. Here "shodan" is used in its long infinitival form whereas in modern Persian, the short infinitive "shod" would be used. Also, in classical Persian, the verb shodan" means "to go" as well as "to become. | نتوان شدن = نتوان شد |
| brothers, brethren (Arabic, obsolete in Persian), pronunciation: akhavān or ekhvān | اخوان = اخوی‌ها |
| brother; my brother (Arabic) = barādar (Persian) | اخوی / اخ |
| they bring, (present indicative, without mi- in classical style) < to come, this is a classical variant without /v/, that is, /ārand/ instead of /āvarand/. | آرند = می‌آورند < آوردن |
| souvenir, gift | ره‌آورد = تحفه |
| piece, fragment, verse | قطعه |
| for, for the sake of, pronunciation: az bahr-e | از بهر = بهر = برای |
| (you) look! Behold! (imperative) < to look | بنگر < نگریستن |
| magic, pronunciation: sehr | سحر |
| he causes to go, (present indicative with hami, adding emphasis and/or the sense of "all the time") < to make go, to drive | همی راند = می‌راند < راندن |
| a range of meanings: "parde daride [someone whose curtain/veil/purdah has been torn]", "morde [dead]", "fawt shode [dead]", "dar gozashte [passed away]". "parde daride" particularly refers to the space, dignity, privacy, domain of someone or something has been trespassed and defiled. In contemporary Persian, we use "hatk-e hormat" to mean "defiling dignity" as in when someone says or implies something vulgar about someone, or [falsely] accuses them of some wrong-doing. | مهتوک |
| one who praises God, pronunciation: mosabbeh (final /h/ is pronounced) | مسبّح |
| insane, lunatic | دیوانه |
| wise, judicious, clear-headed | عاقل |
| the insane whose soul is wise | دیوانه‌ٔ عاقل جان |
| soul | جان |