Mulla Do-Piyaza

Mulla Do-Piyaza is a character from a series of folk tales featuring the Mughal emperor Akbar and his witty courtier Birbal. Mulla Do-Piyaza, also portrayed as witty, is Birbal's rival. Even though these folk tales originated at the end of Akbar's reign (1556–1605), Mulla Do-Piyaza began to appear later, popularised by writers in the late 19th century. Most scholars consider him to be completely fictional.

Background

In the folk tales, Mulla Do-Piyaza is depicted as Birbal's Muslim counterpart and as a proponent of orthodox Islam. Most of the time he is shown getting the better of both Birbal and Akbar, but there are other stories which portray him in a negative light.^[1]

No Mughal-era records mention any courtier called Mulla Do-Piyaza, and pamphlets on his life and jokes were published only in the late 19th century. One modern scholar, Hafiz Mahmood Shirani, states that Mulla Do-Piyaza was a historical personality whose original name was Abdul Momin, and who was born in India, left for Iran in 1582, returned after 36 years, died in 1620, and was buried in Handia. The manuscripts which mention him date back to an author who died in 1532—years before Akbar was born. According to C. W. Naim, Shirani's character is fictional and based on Persian folklore unrelated to Akbar.^[1]

See also

• Dopiaza

References

1. Naim, C. M. (2007). "Popular Jokes and Political History: The Case of Akbar, Birbal and Mulla Do-Piyaza". In Meenakshi Khanna (ed.). Cultural History of Medieval India. New Delhi: Social Science Press. pp. 27–28,31–32. ISBN 978-81-87358-30-5.