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Hasht Bihisht (Persian:هشت بهشت,lit. 'Eight Paradises') is a collection of speeches (or narrative poems) authored by the Indo-Persian poetAmir Khusraw around 1302. Written in Persian, it forms the final poem in Khusraw’sKhamsah (quintet) and is modeled onNizami Ganjavi’sHaft Paykar (c. 1197), which itself draws inspiration fromFirdausi’sShahnameh (c. 1010). Like Nizami'sHaft Paykar, Khusraw'sHasht Bihisht uses a legend aboutBahram V Gur as itsframe story and, in the style ofOne Thousand and One Nights, introduces folktales told by seven princesses. Most famously, Khusraw appears to be the first writer to have addedThe Three Princes of Serendip, , including the well-known episode involving the detection of a camel’s features through inference.
The eight "paradises" in the poem link closely withthe Islamic conception of Heaven with its eight gates and eight spaces, each one decorated with a special precious stone or material.[1] Seven of the eight paradises are pavilions constructed for Bahram's "therapy" of storytelling. There is also a link to thearchitectural and garden plan of eight paradises.[1] These serve as the backdrop for Bahram’s metaphorical transformation from a pleasure-seeking ruler to a wise sovereign.[2]
A deluxe illustrated manuscript ofKhamsah-i Dihlavī, includingHasht Bihisht, was produced inLahore during the reign of Mughal emperorAkbar (r. 1556–1605) by the celebrated calligrapher Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Kashmīrī, known as Zarrīn Qalam. The manuscript (W.624), now held by theWalters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, features elaborate miniatures by prominent painters of the Mughal atelier and is considered a significant example of Persianate literary and artistic tradition under imperial patronage.[2]
The narrative commences with the story of Bahram and Dilaram.
Later, Bahram has seven differently-coloured domed pavilions built for him within his palace grounds, in which wait seven princesses from various parts of the world. Bahram Gur visits each on a different day of the week and each of them tells him a story:[3]
TheHasht Bihisht, and indeed the whole of theKhamsah, was a popular work in the centuries after Khusraw's death, not only in India, but in Iran and the Ottoman Empire, and as such was illustrated nearly as frequently as Nizami'sKhamsah from the early fifteenth century on.[4]
An illustrated and illuminated manuscript of the poem was part of a Khamsah from 1609 CE produced inSafavid Iran. All texts are written in blacknastaʿlīq script with chapter headings in red.[7]
The poem was illustrated in a manuscript probably produced inLahore in the late sixteenth CE which is associated with the patronage ofAkbar (r. 1556 – 1605 CE).[8][2]
The manuscript was written in nasta'liq script by one of the greatest calligraphers of theMughal atelier, Muhammad Husayn al-Kashmiri, honoured with the epithet Zarrin Qalam (golden pen). The manuscript has the names of a number of painters: Lal, Manuhar, Sanwalah, Farrukh, Aliquli, Dharamdas, Narsing, Jagannath, Miskina, Mukund, and Surdas Gujarati. The illuminators are Husayn Naqqash, Mansur Naqqash, Khvajah Jan Shirazi, and Lutf Allah Muzahhib
![The Story of the Princess of the Blue Pavilion, Metropolitan Museum of Art[9]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aHasht-Bihisht_Amir_Khusro_Met_1.jpg)
