Kutadgu Bilig, which is considered one of the most ancient works of Turkish language and Turkish literature, is an instructive policy book that still sheds light on our day, although it was written a thousand years ago. Let’s take a closer look at the meaning of Kutadgu Bilig, its characteristics and why it is so important.
The oldest records of the thousands of years old Turkish language are the 7th century Çoyr Inscription and the 8th century Orkhon Inscription. Of course, these are limited texts written on stone. When we talk about a Turkish literature in the real sense, we come across it. Kutadgu Bilig, written by Yusuf Has hacip in the 11th century coming out. Kutadgu Bilig is one of the first works written after the spread of Islam among the Turks.
Kutadgu Bilig, written in the Hakaniye dialect, gives the readers the secrets of being happy in this world and the next. Another feature of it is that it is the first example of its kind. The work, which has a narrative in the form of couplets based on four main characters, manages to illuminate the present even though it was written a thousand years ago. Let’s take a closer look at the features, meaning and importance of Kutadgu Bilig.
First of all, let’s get to know Yusuf Has Hacib, the author of Kutadgu Bilig:
It is estimated that Yusuf Has Hacib, also known as Yusuf of Balasagun, was born in 1017 or 1019 during the Karakhanid period. It is thought that he received a good education because he knew Arabic and Persian in addition to Turkish. There is not much information about Yusuf Has Hacib, who died in Kashgar in 1077, but we get some information about his worldview and outlook on life from the Kutadgu Bilig work that is left of him.
What is Kutadgu Bilig, what does it mean?
Kutadgu Bilig, written by Yusuf Has Hacib on behalf of Tabgaç Uluğ Buğra Kara Han, who was the ruler of Eastern Karahanlı and the Prince of Kashgar in the 11th century, dedicated to him. with the Turkish of the Middle Ages It was written in the Hakaniye dialect known as Karahanlıca.
Kutadgu Bilig meaning to today’s Turkish Knowledge That Brings Happiness or Knowledge of Statehood possible to convert. Written in couplets, the work has an instructive feature and is accepted as the first policy book of Turkish literature. It contains encyclopedic information as well as a narrative narrative.
Yusuf Has Hacib actually talks about the meaning of the name of the book with the following sentence in the 350th verse,
“I named the book Kutadgu Bilig; Congratulations to the reader and may he guide him.”
In the 351st couplet, it is said why the work was written,
“I spoke my word and wrote the book; This book is a hand reaching out and holding both worlds.”
Kutadgu Bilig guides those who read it with the following sentence in the 352nd verse:
“If man holds both worlds in his hands with the state; Mas’ud will be, this is true of my word.”
Let’s briefly look at the main features of Kutadgu Bilig:
- Written in Mesnevi style.
- It is an allegorical and didactic work.
- Written in aruz prosody.
- Contains encyclopedic definitions.
- It is the first policy example in Turkish literature.
- Its writing was completed in exactly 18 months.
- It is written in the verse unit of redif and rhymed couplet.
- The story is told through four main characters.
- It is the first work known to have been written after the Turks accepted Islam.
- It consists of 6645 couplets.
- It consists of 85 chapters, namely main titles.
- Although it contains Arabic and Persian words, there are no Arabic Islamic terms
Kutadgu Bilig is based on four main symbolic characters:
Those who read the work of Kutadgu Bilig meets four main characters; Kün Togdı meaning Sunrise, Moon Toldı meaning Full Moon, Ögdülü meaning Praised, Odgurmış meaning Awakened. Kün Togdı symbolizes justice as a ruler, Ay Toldı symbolizes happiness as a vizier, Odgurmış symbolizes wisdom as the son of the vizier, and the end of life as a dervish related to the Odgurmış vizier.
Throughout the book, we read the conversations of these four characters. In speeches, Islamic figures are praised, reason is praised, the adjectives of the state are defined, it is mentioned that the world is an empty place, the importance of humane behaviors is explained.
Of course, there are many more details about the topics that Kutadgu Bilig tells, but to make a general summary. that worldly things are empty, It is said that we should help each other and that we should be good servants of Allah. In other words, those who read this book and apply what is said will be happy both in this world and in the hereafter.
There are three main copies of the work that have survived;
The Herat copy was found for the first time in 1439 in Herat, Afghanistan. It was brought to Istanbul from here. In 1839, the Turkologist and historian Von Hammer took the copy and took it to the Vienna Imperial Palace Library. The work, which was also translated into German, was only published in 1942 by the Turkish Language Association.
The Fergana copy was found in Turkestan by the famous Turkish historian Zeki Velidi Togan. The work, which seems to have been written in gold water, was in disarray, later gathered. There are some old ones in the first and last parts of the copy. It was only published in our country in 1943 by the Turkish Language Association.
The Egyptian copy was found in 1896 in Cairo, which is today the capital of Egypt. Many pages of the work, which was in disarray, were damaged. The work has been reviewed and the missing parts have been added as footnotes. It was only published as a facsimile by the Turkish Language Institution in 1943 in our country.
Why is Kutadgu Bilig important?
Unfortunately, the science of history is somewhat ungrateful about languages. Even if you say that we have been speaking a language for thousands of years, we have a culture. looks at historical written sources. Unfortunately, this is our biggest problem regarding the language and culture of the Turkish nation. Even though we are there at every stage of world history, we have to learn what happened from secondary and even tertiary sources because we do not leave our own works.
Fortunately, there are the Çoyr Inscriptions and the Orkhon Inscriptions. Thanks to these, we have information about the First Turkish period. Kutadgu Bilig gives information about the next Middle Turkish period. Kutadgu Bilig, of which one of the three copies is written in Uyghur and the other two in Arabic letters, gives us unprecedented information about the Turkish language of the period.
Another importance is It reveals the social change experienced by the Turks after meeting with Islam. It shows us that Islam does not mean Arab culture and that Turks who are Muslims remain Turks despite everything. Moreover, it is the biggest sign that Turkish literature, which is called with strange names such as local literature, Turkish literature, Turkish literature, actually started a thousand years ago.
One of the first and most important works of Turkish literature. Kutadgu Bilig meaning, features, author and importance We talked about the details you need to know about it. We’ve only given the basics here, but we recommend everyone to read it in order to truly understand the work.