Rupa Bhawani (Alakh Sahiba) of Kashmir

Dr Rajendra Dhar

dharrajshree@gmail.com

Kashmir has a long and chequered history spanning more than 5,000 years. Great historian Kalhana, author of Rajatarangini (History of Kashmir), beautifully described the valley: "Kashmira is studded with high cliffs and cannot be conquered even by the strength of a good army... It is a country where the sun shines mildly, being the place created by Kashyapa as if for his glory. High houses, saffron, iced water and grapes which are rare even in heaven are common here. Kailasa is the best place in the three worlds, Himalaya the best part of Kailasa and Kashmira the best place in Himalayas."

In this beautiful valley, as in other parts of India, a rich tradition of mysticism continued during the Muslim period. Among Kashmir's most celebrated mystic poetesses were Lalleshwari and Rupa Bhawani. Lalleshwari lived during the early Muslim period, while Rupa Bhawani lived from 1621 to 1721 AD, including about half of her life during the reign of Aurangzeb.

Rupa Bhawani was devoted to truth and divinity from childhood. Renouncing worldly pleasures and eventually the comforts of family life, she devoted herself to meditation and spiritual discipline. She is said to have undertaken rigorous Sadhana and penance for nearly 48 years.

Her father, Madhava Dhar, a man of integrity and deep faith, lived on the banks of the Vitasta (River Jhelum), in present-day Nawa Kadal, Srinagar. During meditation he reportedly had a dazzling vision of a celestial woman seated on a lion, believed to be Goddess Sharika, who declared that she would incarnate as his daughter. A daughter was born to Madhava Dhar and his wife on the auspicious day of Jyeshta Purnima, after a long pregnancy of one year and eleven months. Pandits, on examining her horoscope, predicted that she would become a spiritual teacher. She was named Rupa because of her extraordinary beauty.

Rupa was deeply attached to her father and to God from childhood. By the age of sixteen, she had attained a remarkable degree of spiritual awareness. Her sense of individual self was said to have dissolved, and she spoke with great spiritual authority. On one occasion, when a defeated Pandit came to her, she advised him: "Go and discuss in the name of God-forget your ego and speak." He followed her advice and returned to win recognition in the discussion.

Rupa was married to Hiranand Sapru, although she was already deeply absorbed in spiritual life. Her in-laws reportedly mistreated her, and she eventually returned permanently to her father's house. One incident illustrates the traditions surrounding her spiritual powers. Madhava Dhar once prepared kheer and sent a pitcher to his daughter's in-laws as prasad. Her mother-in-law complained that it was insufficient for the family. Rupa asked her to distribute it without looking into the container. According to tradition, the kheer sufficed for everyone and the vessel remained full.

Rupa would often go to Hari Parbat in the morning, and tradition says that she was sometimes seen seated on a lion. Her husband and mother-in-law became convinced that she possessed supernatural powers. Finding life at her in-laws' home unbearable, she eventually returned to her father.

She remained there for several years, spending much of her time in meditation. Eventually, she left her father's house as well and went to Kheer Bhawani at Tullamulla, associated with Goddess Sharika. There she is said to have had a dazzling vision of the divine court of Raj Rajeshwari. After three days, she proceeded towards the Manigam mountain near Utshan. In a dense pine forest, she made her abode in a cave with a narrow entrance and remained there for about twelve years.

Lalchand, the Numberdar of a nearby village, learned about the Divine Mother through a shepherd and requested her to stay at his house. She warned him that adversity followed her and that her presence might make him destitute. After three years, Rupa instructed him to bring a khirwar of rice in a large vessel. She told him that the vessel would never become empty but instructed him to keep the matter secret. Lalchand became prosperous and used the abundance to help the needy. His house gradually became a place of pilgrimage, where villagers came to hear Rupa's spiritual discourses and seek help with their worldly difficulties.

When the secret of the vessel began to spread, Rupa left during the night and went to Lar, where she continued her tapasya for about seven years. A Muslim saint, Shah Sadak Qalandhar, who lived across the river, recognised her spiritual power. Their meeting became part of the traditions surrounding Rupa Bhawani and is remembered as an example of spiritual respect transcending religious boundaries.

Rupa later moved to Vaskura, a village near Srinagar. Tradition records that a blind man came to her seeking sight. She told him to dig a well and said that his vision would return when water appeared. He followed her instructions and, when water emerged, his sight was restored. Her fame spread, and people of different faiths began visiting her for blessings.

Her nephews, Lal Dhar and Bal Dhar, eventually persuaded her to come to their house at Safakadal. The house became a place of pilgrimage. She gave discourses on God, wisdom and Yoga. Although many people were attracted by the miracles attributed to her, her deeper teachings were preserved through her vakyas or spiritual sayings.

Pandit Anand Koul published a short biography in 1932 containing 96 vakyas, while Jyotishi Keshav Bhat of Rainawari recorded about 146. These sayings were transmitted orally, but their meaning was not always understood. They therefore came to be known as Rahasyopadesh-Secret Sermons. For nearly 250 years, their interpretation remained difficult because they were written in old Sanskritised Kashmiri, with words drawn from Persian, Arabic, Hindi and Urdu.

In 1977, Triloki Nath Dhar, a Kashmiri Pandit from Rupa Bhawani's own clan, published Rupa Bhawani (Life, Teachings & Philosophy), providing an English explanation of the verses. He described his objective as bringing the meaning of each verse "into a clear stream" from its terse, aphoristic and sometimes obscure expressions. His work was preceded by lectures at research centres and seminars and discussions with scholars of Kashmir and Indology.

Rupa Bhawani believed in reform, one God and spiritual union with God. According to her teachings, the four pillars of Dharma are the Grace of God, True Knowledge, Understanding of Cause, and Belief in Action. She preached self-control, complete surrender to God, a life of Dharma, pursuit of knowledge, practice of Yoga, Manasi Yajna, brotherhood of mankind and God-realisation. She taught that God is not merely a product of human thought and that the objective universe is not simply a projection of the mind. All existence is governed by divine power and will.

Rupa Bhawani passed away in 1721 after completing one hundred years. Tradition holds that she left the world with her body, leaving behind only a tuft of golden hair and her head covering-a final miracle associated with her life.

Her last two vakyas beautifully summarise the essence of Yoga and the Vedas:

"Vow, Truth, Comprehension of Reality

And Pure Character-

This is the essence of Yoga & Vedas……

Who art thou, who am I,

And whose affair all this is?....

Correct form of reality is

Uninterrupted Continuum,

Wrapping this form, that form and other form,

Brings to comprehension

The form of Niranjana….

Verily it brings good fortune, well-being,

Pure Person,…. sans decay, sans mortality."

The life and teachings of Rupa Bhawani thus represent a remarkable chapter in Kashmir's spiritual and literary heritage. Her emphasis on truth, self-realisation, Yoga, knowledge, surrender and the unity of mankind continues to give her teachings significance beyond the religious and historical circumstances in which she lived.

(The author is Senior Professor and Head of the Department of General Medicine, NIMS Medical College and Hospital in Jaipur, Rajasthan.)