Culture | Attar's Parable of the Moths, Part 3
Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation
Chai & Conversation
4.9 • 548 Ratings
🗓️ 2 June 2025
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation, we continue to the third part of The Parable of the Moths by Attar, taken from his masterpiece Conference of the Birds.
I'm joined by the brilliant Omid Arabian of YOUniversal Center, who walks us through the next 4 lines of the poem—exploring its language, imagery, and deeper meaning.
This lesson is perfect for those with some background in Persian who want to experience the richness of mystical poetry and engage with timeless questions of love, longing, and transformation.
📄 Download the accompanying PDF guide: chaiandconversation.com
🎧 Listen to the third episode of our podcast: Spotify link
🔗 Learn more about Omid’s work: YOUniversal Center
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Learn Persian with Chayan Conversation, Atar's Parable of the Moths who wanted to know their beloved with Omid Arabian. Hello, my God, Salom Omeijan, thanks again for joining. |
| 0:40.3 | Of course, totally my pleasure. |
| 0:42.5 | Today we're going to be going over the third part of this parable of the Moths that wanted to know their beloved. |
| 0:50.5 | And so I thought today let's start off. |
| 0:53.0 | It might be a little while before you've listened to the first two episodes. We recorded them a week ago. So I know for me it would be great to get that fresh on our mind. So we're going to read lines one through eight. And hopefully with the discussions of the first two parts, you will understand it a lot better., as we're reading, you know, feel these words |
| 1:11.8 | and see what images they evoke for you and remember, you know, all the things that we talked |
| 1:17.5 | about in the last lessons. So with that, Omni, John, if you can read the Persian and I'll read |
| 1:21.7 | the English after. Absolutely. |
| 1:23.4 | A year, parvanigan jam am jamb Amid, On the Mautz gathered together in an enclosure, |
| 1:33.3 | They came seeking the candle. |
| 1:36.3 | Jobl me goth, |
| 1:38.3 | Kuhabar Arad Zematlu and Daki. |
| 1:42.3 | They all were saying, |
| 1:43.3 | We need one of us to go and bring back a little news information about our beloved object of desire, meaning the candle. |
| 1:52.1 | Shod yekir-ah-dur, in the fzae-gastryze-dur. In the fazaa-gast, did as sham noor. |
| 1:59.7 | One of the moths went out, flew to a palace, and from a distance saw candlelight glowing in the interior space of the palace. |
| 2:08.6 | Beas gash to, the d'oftar of the |
| 2:10.6 | wazkka, waftho, by the fahm, it was to fhack. |
| 2:14.6 | The moth returned and opened up its notebook and began to describe the candle to the limited extent of its own understanding. |
| 2:24.3 | Naghidy kudas in a jacmah, |
| 2:28.2 | Gouf, Bura nisth, Shem, Agahy. |
| 2:32.2 | A pundit, sage, who had a position of authority oner among them said this moth does not have a true |
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