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Jhulelal (Hinduism)

January 08, 2023

This article is about the Hindu deity. For the Muslim mystic, see Jhulelal (Sufism).

A folkloric hero among the sect of Daryapanthi Sindhis, Jhulelal is the most revered deity of Sindhi Hindus in modern South Asia.[1][2][a]

Bhagwan Jhulelal
Jhulelal, incarnation of Varuna, sitting on a lotus flower in the middle of a river and surrounded by a couple of silver fish (palla fish)
AffiliationVaruna Deva
AbodeSea & River Indus
MantraOm Jhulelalaya Namah
WeaponSword
MountHilsa & Horse
Personal information
SiblingsArhastra

Legends converge upon that Jhulelal was born during the rule of one Islamic despot "Mirkshah", who had issued an ultimatum to local Hindus for converting to Islam.[1][4] The reincarnation of a Hindu deity, Jhulelal exhibited supernatural powers since childhood; he preached about how the Hindus as well as Muslims believed in the same God, and emphasized that the Koran forbade forced conversion.[1][2] Ultimately, Jhulelal convinced the King to spare the Hindus and even gained devotees among the Muslims.[1][2]

Devotion towards Jhulelal was not uniform in pre-partition Sindh; many Sindhi Hindus had never heard of him and he was one of the many deities belonging to the Sindhi cultural pantheon.[1][2] However, in 1950 an emigrant section of Sindhi Hindus, led by Ram Panjwani in Bombay, decided to transform Jhulelal into the iṣṭa-devatā of all Sindhi Hindus and unify the diaspora.[1][2] Devotional songs were penned, pamphlets printed, statues installed, festivals celebrated, and cultural events organized in thousands for the cause of Jhulelal.[1] Over the course of decades, Jhulelal has successfully become the representative God of Hindu Sindhis.[1]

Iconography of Jhulelal varies widely.[1][5] Sindhi Hindus worship Jhulelal at the Shrine at Odero Lal in Pakistan's Sindh province, which is jointly used by Hindus, and Sindhi Muslims who revere the shrine as the tomb of Sheikh Tahir. A second shrine named Jhulelal Tirthdham exists in India at Narayan Sarovar, Kutch, Gujarat.[6]

Folklore

Rough summary

After a long period of harmonious existence between the Hindus and Muslims, one Mirkshah of Thatta ascended the throne.[2] Instigated by his advisors, he ordered that all local Hindus convert to Islam or be put to death.[2] The Hindus prayed to Indus, who promised that Varuna will take the form of a child and avert the impending catastrophe.[2]

In 1007, the day of Cheti Chand in Chaitra, one Uderolal was born to a local Hindu family.[2] As he began to be worshiped, Mirkshah sent his ministers to investigate who witnessed various strange events.[2] The child metamorphosed into a young warrior, then into an old man, before back to child; at other times, he swam upstream on a fish.[2][b] Mirkshah grew afraid but his advisors coerced him to hold stead.[2]

Soon, he went to meet Uderolal and was impressed by his understanding of Islam — Uderolal preached about how the Hindus and Muslims believed in the same God, and the Koran forbade conversion.[2][1] However, his advisors suggested that his teachings be disregarded and Uderolal imprisoned.[2] When the guards proceeded to arrest him, an inferno and a flood engulfed his palaces.[2][1] Mirkshah relented, abolished his decree, and asked for forgiveness from Uderolal.[2]

As the palace was saved and harmony restored, Jhulelal gained devotees even among the Muslims (including Mirkshah).[2] Jhulelal requested that a flame be burnt for eternity, in the memory of his deeds, before leaving his earthly avatar.[1]

Variant readings

The myth of Jhulelal is not seen in regional histories written prior to the 20th century. While all Jhulelal legends broadly revolve around two themes — the valorization of Sindhi communal harmony and the intrinsic superiority of tolerant and devout Hindus over Muslims who weren't even able to interpret their own religious texts — the specifics vary widely and have even been a site of internal contestation among Sindhi Hindus.[2] Moreover Sindhi Muslims have forged their own legends concerning Jhulelal.[2]

Hindus

The birth-name varies from Uderolal to Amarlal to Daryasahib; the event of his first appearance is either noted to be from a human birth or from the Indus, riding on a fish.[2] He is variously noted as an avatara of Vishnu or a manifestation of Varuna; one conflates the two to deem him as the Varuna avatara of Vishnu.[2] How he came to be known as Jhulelal attracts another set of fascinating claims.[2] The transpirings that arose out of his encounter with Mirkshah varies — some claim that the King had submitted long ago in the face of his supernatural powers while others claim that Jhule Lal led a secretly gathered force to victory in an old-school war.[2]

The presentation of the narrative differs too.[2] Many renderings choose to emphasize on the cruelty of Muslim rulers against Brahmins (and Hindus, by extension) — a column in Indian Express had projected contemporary Hindu Nationalism onto the narrative with Jhule Lal "fill[ing] the shrinking Hindus with courage" and "put[ting] holy terror into the persecuting Muslims" while some Sindhis have transplanted Jhulelal into the reign of Aurangzeb, a ruler notoriously renowned in public memory for being the worst persecutor of Hindus.[2] Some choose to emphasize on the Hinduness of Jhulelal drawing tenuous connections with Vedic corpus.[2]

Muslims

Jhulelal is declared to be Khwaja Khizr.[2][7][8]

Festivals

Main articles: Cheti Chand and Chalio

Cheti Chand

The Cheti Chand festival in the month of Chaitra, marks the arrival of spring and harvest, as well as the mythical birth of Uderolal in the year 1007.[1][2] Uderolal morphed into a warrior and old man who preached and reprimanded Mirkhshah that Muslims and Hindus deserve the same religious freedoms. He, as Jhulelal,[2] became the saviour of the Sindhi Hindus, who according to this legend, celebrate the new year as Uderolal's birthday.[2][1]

Chaliya saheb

Chalio or Chaliho, also called Chaliho Sahib, is a forty-day-long festival celebrated by Sindhi Hindus[9][10][11] to express their gratitude to Jhulelal for saving them from their impending conversion to Islam. The festival is observed every year in the months of July to August; dates vary according to Hindu calendar.[9][10] It is a thanksgiving celebration in honor of Varuna Deva for listening to their prayers.[9][10]

Shrines

Odero Lal Shrine

 
Odero Lal Shrine
 
Visitors have to ring the bell before entering Jhulelal's shrine in order to mark their attendance

The Jhulelal Shrine at Odero Lal is situated in Matiari District, almost 40 kilometers away from the Sanghar District of Sindh; The Hindus and the Muslims can pray here at the same place simultaneously.[12][13] Nawabshah, Hyderabad, Matiari, Sanghar and Mirpur Khas are the nearby major cities to reach at the Shrine near Tando Adam.[14]

It forms the seat of the Daryapanthis, originally a subsect of the followers of Gorakhnath, who belong to the Nath tradition.[15][16]

Jhulelal Tirthdham

Sindhi Hindus in India built a religious shrine and cultural complex in Kutch, near the border of Sindh Province.[17][6] The 100-acre complex includes a 100-foot statue of Lord Jhulelal, a museum, meditation centre, an auditorium, and a cultural and arts-and-crafts centre with 100 accommodations.[17][6] Aiming to be the "a centre for global Sindhi identity",[6] the project costs an estimated ₹100 crore and was built on the donations from wealthy Indian Sindhis.[17][6] Harish Fabiani, one of the key promoters of the project, stated regarding the cultural complex, "The younger generation is aware they are Sindhis, but they do not know their language. We must learn our language and culture. We should have a place we can call our own."[17]

 
Picture of Jhule Lal in Hindu temple

Iconography

  • In the most common form, Jhulelal is represented as a bearded man sitting cross-legged on a lotus flower that rests on a palla fish.[18] The fish is seen floating on the Sindhu river. He holds a sacred text and sometimes even a rosary. He wears a golden crown with a peacock feather and wears regal clothes. Generally, temple idols represent him in this form.[1][19]
  • In another form, he is shown standing on a palla fish or the lotus flower, holding a staff with both hands to indicate leadership.[1]

Notes

  1. ^ The chant Aayo Laal Sabhainjo Jhulelal is considered the "clarion call" of Sindhi Hindus.[3]
  2. ^ Jhulelal is also believed by Sindhis to have performed other miracles, such as entering the Indus river at Nasirpur and coming up at Bukkur, at the northernmost extent of Sindh.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Mark-Anthony Falzon (2004). Cosmopolitan Connections: The Sindhi Diaspora, 1860–2000. BRILL. pp. 58–60. ISBN 90-04-14008-5.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad Ramey, Steven W. (2008), Ramey, Steven W. (ed.), "Presenting Sacred Figures", Hindu, Sufi, or Sikh: Contested Practices and Identifications of Sindhi Hindus in India and Beyond, New York: Palgrave Macmillan US, pp. 105–124, doi:10.1057/9780230616226_5, ISBN 978-0-230-61622-6, retrieved 2021-08-24
  3. ^ a b Lari, Suhail Zaheer (1994). A history of Sindh. Oxford. ISBN 0195775015. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  4. ^ Bhavnani, Nandita (2014). The Making of Exile: Sindhi Sindhis and the Partition of India. Westland. ISBN 9789384030339.
  5. ^ "Jhulay Lal's full circle". 20 December 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Coming up in Gujarat, Sindhis' own sacred shrine - Times of India". Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  7. ^ Jatt, Zahida Rehman (2017-10-24). "Khwaja Khizr: The saint who 'saved' Rohri, Sukkur and Lansdowne Bridge during the 1965 War". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  8. ^ "Khwaja Khizr and River Cult in Medieval Sindh". Sahapedia. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  9. ^ a b c Chaliho festival September 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ a b c Sindhis celebrate Chalio festival
  11. ^ Sindhi Festivals > Chaliho April 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Zahida Rehman Jatt (June 3, 2015). "Jhulay Lal's cradle of tolerance". Dawn. Dawn. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  13. ^ Claude Markovits (22 June 2000). The Global World of Indian Merchants, 1750–1947: Traders of Sind from Bukhara to Panama. Cambridge University Press, 2000. p. 48. ISBN 9781139431279. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  14. ^ "List of Cities near Udero Lāl in Sindh, Pakistan". GoMapper. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  15. ^ Story of Jhulelal Archived 2011-05-01 at WebCite
  16. ^ Jatt, Zahida Rehman (2017-03-07). "How this lesser known festival is celebrated annually by Hindus in Sindh". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  17. ^ a b c d Shradha Shahani (5 June 2019). "Sindhis are building a Jhulelal Tirthdham—their own holy city". Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  18. ^ Nadeem F. Paracha (December 20, 2015). "Jhulay Lal's full circle". Dawn. Dawn. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  19. ^ Boivin, Michel (15 Oct 2008). Sindh through History and Representations: French Contributions to Sindhi Studies. Oxford University Press. p. 76. ISBN 9780195475036.

External links

  • All About Sindhis
  • Jhule Lal

January 08, 2023
jhulelal, hinduism, this, article, about, hindu, deity, muslim, mystic, jhulelal, sufism, folkloric, hero, among, sect, daryapanthi, sindhis, jhulelal, most, revered, deity, sindhi, hindus, modern, south, asia, bhagwan, jhulelaljhulelal, incarnation, varuna, s. This article is about the Hindu deity For the Muslim mystic see Jhulelal Sufism A folkloric hero among the sect of Daryapanthi Sindhis Jhulelal is the most revered deity of Sindhi Hindus in modern South Asia 1 2 a Bhagwan JhulelalJhulelal incarnation of Varuna sitting on a lotus flower in the middle of a river and surrounded by a couple of silver fish palla fish AffiliationVaruna DevaAbodeSea amp River IndusMantraOm Jhulelalaya NamahWeaponSwordMountHilsa amp HorsePersonal informationSiblingsArhastraLegends converge upon that Jhulelal was born during the rule of one Islamic despot Mirkshah who had issued an ultimatum to local Hindus for converting to Islam 1 4 The reincarnation of a Hindu deity Jhulelal exhibited supernatural powers since childhood he preached about how the Hindus as well as Muslims believed in the same God and emphasized that the Koran forbade forced conversion 1 2 Ultimately Jhulelal convinced the King to spare the Hindus and even gained devotees among the Muslims 1 2 Devotion towards Jhulelal was not uniform in pre partition Sindh many Sindhi Hindus had never heard of him and he was one of the many deities belonging to the Sindhi cultural pantheon 1 2 However in 1950 an emigrant section of Sindhi Hindus led by Ram Panjwani in Bombay decided to transform Jhulelal into the iṣṭa devata of all Sindhi Hindus and unify the diaspora 1 2 Devotional songs were penned pamphlets printed statues installed festivals celebrated and cultural events organized in thousands for the cause of Jhulelal 1 Over the course of decades Jhulelal has successfully become the representative God of Hindu Sindhis 1 Iconography of Jhulelal varies widely 1 5 Sindhi Hindus worship Jhulelal at the Shrine at Odero Lal in Pakistan s Sindh province which is jointly used by Hindus and Sindhi Muslims who revere the shrine as the tomb of Sheikh Tahir A second shrine named Jhulelal Tirthdham exists in India at Narayan Sarovar Kutch Gujarat 6 Contents 1 Folklore 1 1 Rough summary 1 2 Variant readings 1 2 1 Hindus 1 2 2 Muslims 2 Festivals 2 1 Cheti Chand 2 2 Chaliya saheb 3 Shrines 3 1 Odero Lal Shrine 3 2 Jhulelal Tirthdham 4 Iconography 5 Notes 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksFolklore EditRough summary Edit After a long period of harmonious existence between the Hindus and Muslims one Mirkshah of Thatta ascended the throne 2 Instigated by his advisors he ordered that all local Hindus convert to Islam or be put to death 2 The Hindus prayed to Indus who promised that Varuna will take the form of a child and avert the impending catastrophe 2 In 1007 the day of Cheti Chand in Chaitra one Uderolal was born to a local Hindu family 2 As he began to be worshiped Mirkshah sent his ministers to investigate who witnessed various strange events 2 The child metamorphosed into a young warrior then into an old man before back to child at other times he swam upstream on a fish 2 b Mirkshah grew afraid but his advisors coerced him to hold stead 2 Soon he went to meet Uderolal and was impressed by his understanding of Islam Uderolal preached about how the Hindus and Muslims believed in the same God and the Koran forbade conversion 2 1 However his advisors suggested that his teachings be disregarded and Uderolal imprisoned 2 When the guards proceeded to arrest him an inferno and a flood engulfed his palaces 2 1 Mirkshah relented abolished his decree and asked for forgiveness from Uderolal 2 As the palace was saved and harmony restored Jhulelal gained devotees even among the Muslims including Mirkshah 2 Jhulelal requested that a flame be burnt for eternity in the memory of his deeds before leaving his earthly avatar 1 Variant readings Edit The myth of Jhulelal is not seen in regional histories written prior to the 20th century While all Jhulelal legends broadly revolve around two themes the valorization of Sindhi communal harmony and the intrinsic superiority of tolerant and devout Hindus over Muslims who weren t even able to interpret their own religious texts the specifics vary widely and have even been a site of internal contestation among Sindhi Hindus 2 Moreover Sindhi Muslims have forged their own legends concerning Jhulelal 2 Hindus Edit The birth name varies from Uderolal to Amarlal to Daryasahib the event of his first appearance is either noted to be from a human birth or from the Indus riding on a fish 2 He is variously noted as an avatara of Vishnu or a manifestation of Varuna one conflates the two to deem him as the Varuna avatara of Vishnu 2 How he came to be known as Jhulelal attracts another set of fascinating claims 2 The transpirings that arose out of his encounter with Mirkshah varies some claim that the King had submitted long ago in the face of his supernatural powers while others claim that Jhule Lal led a secretly gathered force to victory in an old school war 2 The presentation of the narrative differs too 2 Many renderings choose to emphasize on the cruelty of Muslim rulers against Brahmins and Hindus by extension a column in Indian Express had projected contemporary Hindu Nationalism onto the narrative with Jhule Lal fill ing the shrinking Hindus with courage and put ting holy terror into the persecuting Muslims while some Sindhis have transplanted Jhulelal into the reign of Aurangzeb a ruler notoriously renowned in public memory for being the worst persecutor of Hindus 2 Some choose to emphasize on the Hinduness of Jhulelal drawing tenuous connections with Vedic corpus 2 Muslims Edit Jhulelal is declared to be Khwaja Khizr 2 7 8 Festivals EditMain articles Cheti Chand and Chalio Cheti Chand Edit The Cheti Chand festival in the month of Chaitra marks the arrival of spring and harvest as well as the mythical birth of Uderolal in the year 1007 1 2 Uderolal morphed into a warrior and old man who preached and reprimanded Mirkhshah that Muslims and Hindus deserve the same religious freedoms He as Jhulelal 2 became the saviour of the Sindhi Hindus who according to this legend celebrate the new year as Uderolal s birthday 2 1 Chaliya saheb Edit Chalio or Chaliho also called Chaliho Sahib is a forty day long festival celebrated by Sindhi Hindus 9 10 11 to express their gratitude to Jhulelal for saving them from their impending conversion to Islam The festival is observed every year in the months of July to August dates vary according to Hindu calendar 9 10 It is a thanksgiving celebration in honor of Varuna Deva for listening to their prayers 9 10 Shrines EditOdero Lal Shrine Edit Odero Lal Shrine Visitors have to ring the bell before entering Jhulelal s shrine in order to mark their attendance The Jhulelal Shrine at Odero Lal is situated in Matiari District almost 40 kilometers away from the Sanghar District of Sindh The Hindus and the Muslims can pray here at the same place simultaneously 12 13 Nawabshah Hyderabad Matiari Sanghar and Mirpur Khas are the nearby major cities to reach at the Shrine near Tando Adam 14 It forms the seat of the Daryapanthis originally a subsect of the followers of Gorakhnath who belong to the Nath tradition 15 16 Jhulelal Tirthdham Edit Sindhi Hindus in India built a religious shrine and cultural complex in Kutch near the border of Sindh Province 17 6 The 100 acre complex includes a 100 foot statue of Lord Jhulelal a museum meditation centre an auditorium and a cultural and arts and crafts centre with 100 accommodations 17 6 Aiming to be the a centre for global Sindhi identity 6 the project costs an estimated 100 crore and was built on the donations from wealthy Indian Sindhis 17 6 Harish Fabiani one of the key promoters of the project stated regarding the cultural complex The younger generation is aware they are Sindhis but they do not know their language We must learn our language and culture We should have a place we can call our own 17 Picture of Jhule Lal in Hindu templeIconography EditIn the most common form Jhulelal is represented as a bearded man sitting cross legged on a lotus flower that rests on a palla fish 18 The fish is seen floating on the Sindhu river He holds a sacred text and sometimes even a rosary He wears a golden crown with a peacock feather and wears regal clothes Generally temple idols represent him in this form 1 19 In another form he is shown standing on a palla fish or the lotus flower holding a staff with both hands to indicate leadership 1 Notes Edit The chant Aayo Laal Sabhainjo Jhulelal is considered the clarion call of Sindhi Hindus 3 Jhulelal is also believed by Sindhis to have performed other miracles such as entering the Indus river at Nasirpur and coming up at Bukkur at the northernmost extent of Sindh 3 See also EditCheti Chand Darya Lal Mandir Shri Varun Dev MandirReferences Edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Mark Anthony Falzon 2004 Cosmopolitan Connections The Sindhi Diaspora 1860 2000 BRILL pp 58 60 ISBN 90 04 14008 5 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad Ramey Steven W 2008 Ramey Steven W ed Presenting Sacred Figures Hindu Sufi or Sikh Contested Practices and Identifications of Sindhi Hindus in India and Beyond New York Palgrave Macmillan US pp 105 124 doi 10 1057 9780230616226 5 ISBN 978 0 230 61622 6 retrieved 2021 08 24 a b Lari Suhail Zaheer 1994 A history of Sindh Oxford ISBN 0195775015 Retrieved 19 December 2017 Bhavnani Nandita 2014 The Making of Exile Sindhi Sindhis and the Partition of India Westland ISBN 9789384030339 Jhulay Lal s full circle 20 December 2015 a b c d e Coming up in Gujarat Sindhis own sacred shrine Times of India Retrieved 12 May 2019 Jatt Zahida Rehman 2017 10 24 Khwaja Khizr The saint who saved Rohri Sukkur and Lansdowne Bridge during the 1965 War DAWN COM Retrieved 2021 08 25 Khwaja Khizr and River Cult in Medieval Sindh Sahapedia Retrieved 2021 08 25 a b c Chaliho festival Archived September 16 2011 at the Wayback Machine a b c Sindhis celebrate Chalio festival Sindhi Festivals gt Chaliho Archived April 25 2012 at the Wayback Machine Zahida Rehman Jatt June 3 2015 Jhulay Lal s cradle of tolerance Dawn Dawn Retrieved 22 December 2015 Claude Markovits 22 June 2000 The Global World of Indian Merchants 1750 1947 Traders of Sind from Bukhara to Panama Cambridge University Press 2000 p 48 ISBN 9781139431279 Retrieved 22 December 2015 List of Cities near Udero Lal in Sindh Pakistan GoMapper Retrieved 22 December 2015 Story of Jhulelal Archived 2011 05 01 at WebCite Jatt Zahida Rehman 2017 03 07 How this lesser known festival is celebrated annually by Hindus in Sindh DAWN COM Retrieved 2018 09 16 a b c d Shradha Shahani 5 June 2019 Sindhis are building a Jhulelal Tirthdham their own holy city Retrieved 5 June 2019 Nadeem F Paracha December 20 2015 Jhulay Lal s full circle Dawn Dawn Retrieved 22 December 2015 Boivin Michel 15 Oct 2008 Sindh through History and Representations French Contributions to Sindhi Studies Oxford University Press p 76 ISBN 9780195475036 External links EditAll About Sindhis Jhule Lal Sindhi Deity Jhulelal Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jhulelal Hinduism amp oldid 1131675362, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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