What the Rose did to the Cypress

Did You Know?

• Professor Mahomed-Nuri Osmanovich Osmanov translated the word "Gul" as 'rose, flower', and "Sanaubar" as 'cypress'.
• The tale is described as having "Hindustani" origin, and scholar Christine Goldberg, in her book Turandot's Sisters, indicated that it belongs to a literary tradition that migrated to Europe in the Middle Ages.
• A number of films have been made in India based on the fable, including Gul Sanobar (1928) silent film by Homi Master, Gul Sanobar (1934) remade in sound by Homi Master, and Gul Sanobar (1953) by Aspi Irani.

Synopsis

A king had three sons. The eldest son went hunting, got lost in the desert, and encountered a faqir. The faqir spoke of a princess who could only be married by someone who solved the riddle, "What did the rose do to the cypress?" He added that his own seven sons had tried and were killed for failing. The prince traveled to the princess's city, could not answer the riddle, and was executed. The second brother followed the same path and suffered the same fate.

The youngest brother then left home. At the city gates, he saw the severed heads of his brothers on display. He hid his identity and stayed in a nearby village. In disguise, he entered the city and got into the princess's garden by pretending to be mad, which made the princess protect him. A maid named Dil-aram fell in love with him and told him that an African man from Waq of the Caucasus had once given the princess the answer to the riddle.

The prince began a dangerous journey to Waq. Along the way, he met sorceresses, demons, enchanted lands, and magical helpers. He was turned into a deer but later changed back. A lion-king helped him, he saved a princess from the Castle of Clashing Swords, and he killed a dragon to rescue the young of the Simurgh. Out of gratitude, the Simurgh carried him to Waq.

In Waq, the king explained that he was the cypress and his wife was the rose. The riddle referred to her betrayal after their marriage, which had been arranged by the peris. The king had killed her lover, and that lover's surviving companion later brought the riddle to the princess.

The prince was sentenced to death but escaped by calling the Simurgh. He returned to the princess's city and used the African's testimony to reveal the truth. He refused to marry the princess, instead taking her captive and arranging proper burials for his brothers. He went home, married Dil-aram, the rescued princess, the woman who freed him from enchantment, and finally the princess herself. He lived peacefully with his four wives.

Variants

By 1868, the orientalist Garcin de Tassy had identified at least six versions of this story. One was translated in 1860 by a man named either Nem Chand or Prem Chand for the Revue orientale et américaine. Another was supposedly rendered from Persian. At least two more were written by the scribe Ahmad Ali.

Other versions appear in Armenia and Turkestan, and one was collected by Haxthausen. Scholars Ulrich Marzolph and Richard van Leewen note that the Persian tale parallels two stories from The Arabian Nights: The Splendid Tale of Prince Diamond and The Tender Tale of Prince Yasamîn and Princess Almond. The linguist Adolf Dirr published a Caucasian variant called Von Balai und von Boti. In a Georgian variant titled Gulambara and Sulambara, a prince is banished by his father and meets a mysterious, helpful boy during his travels.

They eventually reach a city. One day the prince sees a tower with a row of spiked heads nearby. He asks about this gruesome sight and learns that the princess poses a riddle to every suitor: “Who are Gulambara and Sulambara?” The prince knows these are names of flowers, and he is given a chance to answer correctly.

Analysis

This story, featuring a princess who poses fatal riddles to her suitors, aligns with folktales like Turandot. It also includes a prince who aids a mythical creature, which later returns the favor—a motif reminiscent of the Roman fable Androcles and the Lion. Scholar Angelo de Gubernatis interpreted the rose and cypress symbols, suggesting the cypress represents the male prince as a phallic symbol, while the rose symbolizes the female beloved.