فرهنگ فرخی؛ فرهنگی ناشناخته در شبه‌قاره

Abstract
The Farrokhi Dictionary‎ is among the lesser-known Persian lexicons, compiled in 1245 AH in the Indian subcontinent. The author of this dictionary is Moḥyī al-Dīn‎ Nā’eṭi, known as Pattūr, about whose life we have little information. The dictionary itself has not been properly studied, and the scant information available about it is mostly inaccurate. Farrokhi Dictionary has not yet been published; its only known manuscript was previously kept in the Fort William College collection and is now preserved in the National Archives of India. This copy was transcribed in 1249 AH by Mohammad Abbas, pen-named Makhmoor. The brief introduction of the Farrokhi Dictionary‎ is divided into five “methods”: the alphabet; the meanings of the letters and how they are transformed into one another; pronouns; meanings of prepositions, suffixes, and prefixes; and the method of collecting, compiling, and organizing the dictionary’s content. Moḥyī al-Dīn‎, while criticizing the common approaches of earlier lexicographers in categorizing entries, has arranged his own entries in alphabetical order. These entries are defined very concisely, and the meanings are listed sequentially without any textual evidence or citations. The primary sources used in the Farrokhi Dictionary, in order of usage, are Farhang-e Jahāngīrī, Montakhab al-Lughat-e Shāhjahānī, and Kashf al-Lughat wa al-Iṣṭilāḥāt. The Farrokhi Dictionary‎ itself has served as a source for Āṣaf al-Lughat. The purpose of this article is to examine the Farrokhi Dictionary‎ from various perspectives and to present new information about it.
Keywords: Moḥyī al-Dīn‎ Mohammad Nā’eṭi, Farrokhi Dictionary, Fort William ‎College, Subcontinent, Persian Lexicons, Persian Lexicography.‎
1. Introduction
This study introduces and critically examines Farrokhi Dictionary‎, one of the lesser-known Persian dictionaries compiled in the Indian subcontinent in 1245 AH. Relying on the only known version of the work, the authors have corrected some incorrect information in previous lists and sources, examined the author's life, the features of the version, the structure, and the content of the dictionary. They have also shown, by carefully comparing the entries of Farrokhi Dictionary‎ with previous dictionaries, that this work was compiled mainly on the basis of Farhang-e Jahāngīrī, Montakhab al-Lughat-e Shāhjahānī, and some other sources (Anjū Shīrāzī, 1351; Tatavī, 1340). The results of the study clarify the place of Farrokhi Dictionary‎ in the history of Persian dictionary writing in the subcontinent (Ṣādeqī, 1393; Rādfar, ‎1329).
2. Literature Review
The present study is in line with studies on the history of Persian lexicography in the subcontinent. The authors have shown that although the general aspects of Persian lexicography in India and Pakistan and its development have been examined in numerous works (Naqavī, 1341/1962; Ṣādeqī, 1393/2014), Farrokhi Dictionary‎ has not been known as it should be, and the available information about it has been scanty and often inaccurate. The only previous references to this work are in the introduction of its manuscript and some bibliographical reports (Hāshempour Sobḥānī & Naṣīrī, 1379/2000; Perti, 1989). Therefore, there was no room for an independent study to introduce the author, manuscript, sources, structure, and position of this dictionary in the Persian lexicography tradition.
3. Methodology
The present study employs a descriptive-analytical and comparative methodology grounded in manuscript examination, content analysis, and textual comparison. First, the authors use the only known manuscript of Farrokhi Dictionary, preserved under no. 502 in the National Archives of India, as the primary source of investigation. They examine the manuscript’s codicological features, scribe, date of transcription, ownership notes, and physical characteristics in detail (Nā’eṭi, 1245/1966 AH: 1, p. 467; Hāshempour Sobḥānī & Naṣīrī, 1379/ 2000, p. 38). Additional bibliographical and manuscript-catalogue sources are consulted to verify information concerning the manuscript and its scribe (Derāyatī, 1390/2011, pp. 24/711, 27/376; Perti, 1989, p. 41).
In the next stage, the structure and content of the dictionary are analyzed through a close reading of the manuscript itself. The authors identify and evaluate the preface, arrangement of entries, methods of definition, approximate number of headwords, and the compiler’s views on lexicography (Nā’eṭi, 1245 AH: 2–10). To determine the sources used by Nā’eṭi, statements made in the preface are systematically compared with the actual content of the entries (Nā’eṭi, 1245 AH: 10).
The core of the research consists of a comparative analysis of Farrokhi Dictionary and earlier lexicographical works, particularly Farhang-e Jahāngīrī, Montakhab al-Lughat-e Shāhjahānī, and Kashf al-Lughat wa al-Iṣṭilāḥāt. By selecting numerous sample entries and comparing them closely with corresponding passages in these dictionaries, the authors assess the extent of borrowing, abridgment, and textual dependence (Anjū Shīrāzī, 1351/1972; Tatavī, 1340/1961; Nā’eṭi, 1245 AH: 10). Furthermore, the study investigates the position of Farrokhi Dictionary within the broader tradition of Persian lexicography by examining its relationship with later works, especially Āṣaf al-Lughat (Nā’eṭi, 1325 AH, pp. 1/3–13, 1/10). Through this approach, the study evaluates the originality, sources, and scholarly significance of Farrokhi Dictionary.
4. Conclusion
A careful examination of Farrokhi Dictionary and a comparison of its contents with authoritative Persian lexicons lead to the conclusion that its compiler drew the vast majority of its material from earlier dictionaries, particularly Farhang-e Jahāngīrī and Montakhab al-Lughat-e Shāhjahānī. Not only did he add little or nothing to the information provided in those sources, but he also omitted their textual citations and illustrative examples, which constitute one of the most valuable components of any lexicographical work. It appears that Moḥyī al-Dīn‎ Nā’eṭi did not intend to undertake original research or extensive philological investigation; rather, he sought to compile a concise digest of several well-known dictionaries and produce a practical handbook capable of meeting the basic needs of readers seeking the meanings of commonly used Persian words and expressions.
The resulting work is essentially an abridgment and compilation of earlier lexicographical materials and lacks independent scholarly value. Consequently, Farrokhi Dictionary cannot be regarded as a significant contribution to the history of Persian lexicography, nor does it occupy an important position within the development of Persian dictionary-making. From this perspective, the dictionary does not appear to warrant critical editing and publication as an independent scholarly text.
Nevertheless, the present study demonstrates that Farrokhi Dictionary remains of some interest for comparative research on Persian lexicons produced in the Indian subcontinent and for investigations into the historical evolution of Persian lexicography in South Asia. Although the dictionary itself contributes little original linguistic or lexicographical material, its examination helps clarify patterns of textual borrowing, compilation practices, and the transmission of lexicographical knowledge among later Persian dictionaries of the subcontinent. As such, the work retains a limited but meaningful value within the broader context of lexicographical history and manuscript studies.
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