The Representation of Earlier and Contemporary Poets in the Thought and Language of Inayat Khan Ashna

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD student in Persian Language and Literature, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran

10.22111/jsr.2026.54058.2570

Abstract

This article examines the views and critical assessments of Inayat Khan Āshnā (1037–1081 AH), a Persian-language poet of the eleventh century AH, regarding earlier poets, as well as his personal, social, and literary relationships with his contemporaries. It also explores the influences he received from predecessors and peers and the impact he exerted on poets of his own time. The study demonstrates that Āshnā was particularly influenced by earlier poets in the genre of qaṣīda.
In the literary perception of eleventh-century poets in general, and of Āshnā in particular, the qaṣīda poets of the fifth and sixth centuries AH were regarded as authoritative figures. Poets of this period often employed rhetorical exaggeration to assert superiority over their predecessors and thereby gain literary prestige. Āshnā similarly uses hyperbolic comparison, at times likening one of his contemporaries to a major earlier poet to elevate that poet’s literary standing.
Owing to his familial background and the presence of a learned poet as his father, Ẓafar Khan Aḥsan, Āshnā associated with prominent literary figures of the Indian subcontinent, including Kalim Hamadani and Fāni Kashmiri. According to tazkiras, he also exerted a direct influence on Binesh Kashmiri, who composed responses to several of Āshnā’s ghazals.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Journal of Subcontinent Researches

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 18 April 2026

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics