Nau Ratan is a famous work of the Urdu writer Mahjur. It is believed that seven editions of this work were published between 1846 and 1878. As the title indicates, the work consists of nine chapters (Bab). After standard eulogies to the Creator, the Prophet Muhammad, etc., and the invocation of a few couplets by well-known poets (Mir Dard, Mir Hasan), the headings of the chapters are listed. These are as follows: 1. Of lovers and their sweethearts. 2. Of women`s character; 3. Justice rewarded. 4. Of poets completing extempore the verses of kings and fakirs. 5. Witticisms of jesters/humorists; partly in Masnavi form. 6. Anecdotes about wise men. 7. Anecdotes about fools. 8. Anecdotes about opium-eaters. 9. About misers and wretched persons.
A Qasida (poem of praise) on the ruler Ghaziuddin Haidar is inserted at the start of the first chapter. The material in the volume has been assembled from different sources, India as well as Perso-Arabic. The language is highly ornate, with occasional rhyme. Verses by the author or by Persian and Urdu poets are embedded in the text and/or form the conclusion of the episode. Throughout the book, ornamentation is livelier in the prose sequences than in verse. The stories of the first three chapters (partly named Hikayat in the opening sequences) are longer and more elaborate than most of the remaining ones, which fall under the category of Naqlen/ Naqlat/ Naqliyat.
The tales of the first chapter relate the tragic fate of unhappy unfortunate lovers. They seem to be based on Masnavis and are partly written in Masnavi form. Elaborate descriptions of the setting, the characters and their emotions are much more important than the action itself. The stories of the second chapter are of an altogether different nature. They are based on the famous Tales of the Parrot (Sanskrit: Shukasaptati; Persian: Tuti Nama), obviously via Persian translation. Verses by Urdu poets such as Mir Hasan, Jur`at, Mir Taqi Mir and others are lavishly inserted into the text. The stories here are very elaborate and artfully crafted versions of well-known tales about wicked wives and betrayed husbands. Chapter 3 consists of stories (Hikayat) about the resolution of legal conflicts and criminal cases. Some are based on stories of the Panchatantra and Shukasaptati some probably on the Jami`u`l-Hikayat-I Hindi or its Persian source. Others narrate stories about the wisdom of Akbar and the Wazir Ali Mardan Khan, who succeed in exposing culprits by their clever questioning.
Chapter 4 is divided into two parts, the first containing stories about Shaikh Sa`di Shirazi, Nasir Ali and other Persian and Indo-Persian poets, and the second about Hindu poets at Akbar`s court, composing verses (Kabit) in Braj Bhasha. From this chapter onwards, all episodes are termed Naql. The core of all stories in this chapter is poetic verses in most cases composed by a king or other noble person, which has to be completed into a full verse by a poet. In a few stories, the completion of the verse bears the character of a contest between poets. In the first part, all but one verse is in Persian, in the second they are exclusively in Braj.
The fifth chapter comprises stories of people who either manage to get out of hopeless situations or, by virtue of their ready wit, put to shame those who try to humiliate them. In these episodes it is usually the socially inferior getting the better of his adversary. The last three Naql of this part are in Masnavi form. Similarly, the anecdotes in chapter 6 describe how clever fellows answer tricky questions or solve difficult tasks. The situations and the protagonists range from kings and courtiers to paupers, fishermen and fakirs. Some of the stories, including quite a number of animal fables, are based on tales of the Panchatantra and the Shukasaptati. This is the first of the chapters in which a story is placed within a story.
Chapter 7 is devoted to all types of fools, Qazis, simple village folk and townspeople, artisans, grooms and other servants. The more elaborate anecdotes in this chapter are full of slapstick comedy, mainly based on embarrassing situations. Similarly, embarrassing situations form the basis for the stories of Chapter 8. The stories in chapter 9 narrate how misers get rid of their guests without giving them a morsel to eat, or how they cheat singers who have entertained them. In most of the other stories, misers are put to shame by the people who have been starved.
