- Malik Muhammad Jayasi (1477– 1542) was an Indian Sufi poet and pir.
- He wrote in the Awadhi language, and in the Persian Nastaʿlīq script.
- Jayasi’s own writings identify two lineages of Sufi pirs who inspired or taught him.
- The first lineage was that of the Chishti leader Saiyid Ashraf Jahangir Simnani (died 1436–37) of Jaunpur Sultanate: according to tradition, Jayasi’s teacher was Shaikh Mubarak Shah Bodale, who was probably a descendant of Simmani.
- The second lineage was that of Saiyid Muhammad of Jaunpur (1443-1505). Jayasi’s perceptor from this school was Shaikh Burhanuddin Ansari of Kalpi.
- Though his tomb lies in a place 3 km north of Ram Nagar, near Amethi, where he died in 1542, today a “Jaisi Smarak” (Jaisi Memorial) can be found in the city of Jais.
Legacy
- More than a century after his death, Jayasi’s name started appearing in hagiographies that portrayed him as a charismatic Sufi pir.
- Ghulam Muinuddin Abdullah Khweshgi, in his Maarij Ul-Wilayat (1682–83), called him muhaqqiq-i hindi (“knower of the truth of al-Hind”).
Literary works
- He wrote 25 works.
- Jayasi’s most famous work is Padmavat (1540),a poem describing the story of the historic siege of Chittor by Alauddin Khalji in 1303. In Padmavat, Alauddin attacks Chittor after hearing of the beauty of Queen Padmavati, the wife of king Ratansen.
- Jayasi composed Akhiri Kalam in 1529-30 (936 AH), during the reign of Babur.
- His other important works include Akhawat and Kanavat (based on Krishn).
Source: AIR
