The Influence of Nateq Nili from the Story of the King and Maidservant of Masnavi in Shekarbagh

Influence is a significant topic in literary research and is regarded as a key literary theory within the framework of intertextuality. According to this theory, every text is shaped by its preceding texts. The Masnavi of Shakarbagh by Nateq Nili, a 13th-century Afghan poet, is no exception to this rule as a literary work. Among previous texts, it is more influenced than any other by the story of Shah and Kanizak (King and Maidservant) from Maulavi’s Masnavi. The composer of Shekarbagh himself acknowledges this influence. In the present study, conducted using a descriptive-analytical method, an attempt has been made to answer the question of how and to what extent Nateq Nili was influenced by the story of the King and Maidservant in composing the Masnavi of Shekarbagh, as well as the instances in which he introduced innovations. The analysis of these two Masnavis reveals that the story is largely similar in both; however, the rhythm of Maulana’s Masnavi is Ramal, while the rhythm of Sheakarbagh is Hazaj. And, of course, the rhythm of both works is appropriate for their subjects. The story in Maulavi’s Masnavi consists of 213 verses; excluding the sub-discussions, it comprises about 100 verses. In contrast, Shekarbagh contains 141 verses. This difference is largely due to the descriptive details present in Shekarbagh, which are not found in Maulavi’s Masnavi. 
Introduction:
Influence is one of the important topics in literary research, which is considered as one of the important literary theories under the title of intertextuality.
According to this theory, every text is formed on the basis of its previous texts. In other words, there is no text that emerges completely independently and without being influenced by other texts.
The Masnavi of Shakarbagh by Natiq Nili, a 13th century Afghan poet, is not an exception to this rule as a literary work, and among the previous texts, it is more than any other text influenced by the story of King and Maidservant by Maulavi’s Masnavi, and of course, the author of Sekarbagh, he himself admits this point.
In fact, among the ancient Persian poets, such as Ferdowsi, Khaqani, Nezami, Anvari, Sa’di, Jami and Orfi, whose names were mentioned by Nateq Nili in his works, he was directly influenced by Masnavi, and this influence is clearly evident in the retelling of the story of King and Maidservant.
Materials and Methods:
In the present study, which was carried out using a descriptive analytical method, an attempt has been made to answer the question of how and to what extent Nateq Nili was influenced by the story of King and Maidservan in writing the Masnavi of Sekarbagh and in what cases he innovated.
Results and Discussion:
What is obtained from the examination and comparison of these two masnavis is as follows:

Commonalities:  
The story of the King and Maidservant is largely similar in both Masnavis. It can be said that the plot is essentially the same in both narratives and it begins with the king falling in love with the maidservant and ends with the poisoning and killing of the goldsmith. In both Masnavis, the story is as follows. One day, a great king goes hunting with a group of his companions. On the way, he sees a beautiful maidservant and falls in love with her. He then buys the maidservant, takes her to the court, and marries her. After some time, the maidservant falls ill, but the doctors are unable to cure her, and her condition worsens day by day. Consequently, the king begins to pray and asks God for help. While he sleeps, he is inspired in a dream that an experienced doctor will arrive the next day to treat the maidservant. The next day, the spiritual doctor arrives. After examining the maidservant and speaking with her, he discovers that she is in love with a goldsmith from Samarkand, and that her suffering and illness stem from the sorrow of love and the pain of separation. Following the doctor's advice, the king summons the goldsmith to the court and gives him the maidservant, and this way, the maidservant regains her health. After some time, the king gives poison to the goldsmith. Gradually, the goldsmith loses his beauty, health, and strength. As a result, the maidservant begins to like him less, and he eventually dies.
The main characters of the story are the king, the maidservant, the goldsmith, the doctors and the spiritual doctor who are present in both narratives.
Differences:
The rhythm of Maulana’s masnavi is Ramal and the rhythm of Shakarbagh is Hazaj. And of course, the rhythm of both works is suitable for its subject.
Another difference between the two narrations is the number of verses in the story: 213 verses in Maulana’s Masnavi and 141 verses in Shekarbagh. Of course, it should be noted that in this story, as is Maulana’s style, there are also sub-discussions. Without including these, the story of the king and the maidservant in the Masnavi comprises about 100 verses. Therefore, the number of verses in Nateq Nili’s narration of the story exceeds that of Maulana’s.
In terms of brevity and detail, Maulana’s narrative is concise, excluding the side discussions. The story contains little description or illustration, aside from a few parables. In Nateq's narration, the story is described in detail, and wherever necessary, the poet provides vivid descriptions and illustrations. For example, while Maulana does not mention the beauty of the maidservant, Nateq devotes five verses to describing her beauty.
The story in Nateq Nili’s narration is more interesting than Maulana’s narration, and the subject of Maulana’s Masnavi, which is mystical and didactic, requires that it should not be based on storytelling.

In this sense, both of them have acted according to the requirements of rhetoric.
Conclusion:
The commonalities between the two narratives of Maulavi and Natiq Nili are:

The plot of the story is the same in both narratives.
The main characters of the story are the same in both narratives.

The differences between the two narratives of Maulavi and Nateq Nili are:

The rhythm of Maulana’s masnavi is Ramal and the rhythm of Shakarbagh is Hazaj.
The story of the king and the maidservant in Masnavi without including sub-discussions is about 100 verses. But there are 141 verses in Shakarbagh Masnavi.
The story in Maulana’s narrative is brief; But in the narration of Natiq, the story is described in detail.
The story in Natiq Nili’s narration is more interesting than Maulana’s