Correction of Selected Passages from Nafthat al-Masdur: A Critical Review of Yazdgardi’s Edition

Document Type : Research article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran.

2 Graduated Ph.D. in Persian language and literature from Lorestan University, Lorestan, Iran.

Abstract

Amir Hassan Yazdgerdi, relying on four relatively late manuscripts, produced the first critical edition of Nafthat al-Masdūr. However, a comparative analysis of these manuscripts with his edited text reveals several inaccuracies in the transcription of words and the recording of textual variants. This study, incorporating the Tehran University manuscript—unavailable to Yazdgerdi in its original form—and examining the influence of Mojtaba Minavi’s conjectural emendations, classifies these errors into three categories: (1) readings without manuscript support, (2) inaccurate reporting of textual variants, and (3) omission of significant variants. The findings indicate that the correct forms of certain phrases differ from Yazdgerdi’s readings, including:بأس این پادشاه bā’s-e īn pādeshāh →بأس پادشاه bā’s-e pādeshāh;سلطانِ ألیس  solṭān-e alaysa →   شیطان ألیس shayṭān-e alays;  جان و جهان jān o jahān → جانِ جهان jān-e jahān; لا یحصد  lā yaḥṣod → لم یحصد lam yaḥṣod; and   پای‌برجایpāy-barjāy →  پابرجا pābargā. This article critically evaluates such cases and provides the corrected readings alongside facsimiles of the original manuscripts.

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References

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Persian Language and Literature
Volume 78, Issue 252
2025
Pages 161-134

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History

  • Receive Date: 20 September 2025
  • Revise Date: 09 November 2025
  • Accept Date: 12 December 2025
  • Publish Date: 01 December 2025

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