SYMBOLIC SEMANTICS OF ANTHROPONYMS IN YUSUF KHOS HAJIB’S KUTADGU BILIG

Abstract

This article examines the symbolic and semantic significance of the anthroponyms of the main characters in Yusuf Khos Hajib’s Kutadgu Bilig as reflections of the cultural, ethical, and philosophical worldview of the medieval Turkic peoples. Using interpretative and contextual analysis, the study explores the names Kuntogdy, Aytoldy, Ogdulmish, and Odgurmish, demonstrating how each anthroponym embodies a key moral and social principle: justice, happiness, reason, and spiritual awakening, respectively. The analysis reveals that the deliberate selection of these names is deeply rooted in Turkic mythological thinking, cosmological symbolism (particularly solar and lunar imagery), and ethical doctrines influenced by early religious and philosophical traditions, including Zoroastrianism and Sufism. The article argues that Yusuf Khos Hajib employs anthroponyms not merely as identifiers of characters but as conceptual instruments through which his vision of ideal governance, moral responsibility, and social harmony is articulated. The interaction between justice and reason, alongside the transient nature of happiness and detachment, underscores the author’s model of a balanced state governed by ethical leadership and collective well-being. The findings contribute to onomastic studies and Turkic literary scholarship by highlighting the integrative function of names as carriers of ideological and cultural meaning in classical Turkic literature.