Gorakhnath and the Kanphata Yogis c13: Chapter Nine: Legend

Gorakhnāth and the Kānphaṭa Yogīs c13

Language: English

Chapter Nine: Legend

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FROM medieval times onward, Gorakhnāth (Gorakṣa Nātha) is the well-known wonder-worker and master Yogī of northern and western India; and he, and members of his order, are celebrated in legend and song in countless villages. From Nepāl to Rājputāna, from the Panjab to Bengal, from Sind to the Deccan, tradition and folklore are full of allusions to Gorakhnāth and recount his wonderful deeds. He is the famous saint and worker of miracles; the founder¹ and outstanding teacher of the Śaivite sect of ascetics, practicers of the Haṭha Yoga, who are vulgarly called Kānphaṭas; the great teacher of the Śaivite faith, the Brāhmanical opponent of the Vaiṣṇava reformers of northern India of the school of Rāmānanda;² the patron saint and tutelary of the state of Gorakṣa,³ whose royal house now rules in Nepāl;⁴ and, finally, the rival, and eventually victor over Matsyendranāth, the ancient Buddhist¹ protector of Nepāl.

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¹ BHCS, p. 403.

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² Gr. ERE, vol. VI, p. 329. ‘He appears to have been the Brāhmanical opponent of the free-thinking reformers of mediæval India, headed by Rāmānanda, Kabīr and others who flourished in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.’ Temp., vol. I, pp. 127 ff. This opinion is based upon the view that Gorakhnāth was a contemporary of Kabīr. But Gorakhnāth belongs to an earlier time. See chap. eleven.

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³ Gr. ERE, vol. VI, p. 329; Buchanan in Martin, The History, Antiquities, Topography and Statistics of Eastern India, vol. III, pp. 387, 535; Kirkpatrick, Kingdom of Nepāl, p. 192.

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⁴ Levi, Le Nepāl, vol. I, p. 352. Vincent Smith, Catalogue of the Coins in the Indian Museum, Calcutta, including the Cabinet of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. I, pp. 289-93, records the following: A silver coin of Pṛthvi Nārāyaṇa (A.D. 1768-74); date on obverse 1691 Śāka; reverse, central circle enclosing legend, Śrī Śrī Bhavānī; marginal legend, each character in an ornament, Śrī Śrī Śrī Gorakhnāth. A silver coin of Pratāpa Simha (A.D. 1794-97); obverse, date Śāka 1697 = A.D. 1775); reverse, central circle enclosing legend Śrī Śrī Guheśvarī; marginal legend, Śrī Śrī Śrī Gorakhnātha. Four silver coins of Rāna

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¹ See below. Matsyendranāth is identified with Avalokiteśvara

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Bahādar (A.D. 1777–99); coins of 1787 and 1790 = Śāka 1709 and 1712; reverse central circle enclosing dagger with wreath, and the legend *Śrī Bhavānī*; marginal legend in ornaments *Śrī Śrī Gorakhnātha*. One gold and two silver coins of Gīrvān, Yuddha Vikrama (A.D. 1799–1816); obverse date, 1724 Śāka = A.D. 1802, 1730 Śāka = A.D. 1808, 1737 Śāka = A.D. 1815; reverse, central circle enclosing sword or dagger with wreath and the legend *Śrī Śrī Śrī Bhavānī*; marginal legend in ornaments, *Śrī Śrī Śrī Gorakhnātha*. Four silver coins of Rājendra Vikrama (A.D. 1816–47); dates on obverse 1738, 1742, 1745 and 1746, Śāka = A.D. 1816, 1820, 1823 and 1824; reverse, central circle enclosing dagger with wreath and the legend *Śrī Bhavānī*; marginal legend in ornaments *Śrī Śrī Śrī Gorakhnātha*. Two gold coins, of Surendra Vikrama A.D. 1847; date on obverse, 1794 Śāka = A.D. 1842; reverse central circle enclosing legend *Śrī Śrī Śrī Bhavānī*; marginal legend in ornaments *Śrī Gorakhnātha*. And six silver coins; obverse dates Śāka 1771, 1773, 1775, 1780, 1780 and 1794 = A.D. 1849, 1851, 1853, 1858, 1858, and 1872; reverse *Śrī Śrī Śrī Bhavānī* and as on others *Śrī Śrī Śrī Gorakhnātha*. One silver coin of Pṛthvī Vira Vikrama; obverse, date 1806 Śāka = A.D. 1884; reverse, central circle enclosing dagger with wreath and legend, *Śrī Bhavānī*, and marginal legend in ornaments, *Śrī Śrī Śrī Gorakhnātha*.

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The following coins are described in *The Supplementary Catalogue of the Coins in the Indian Museum, Calcutta, Non-Muhammadan Series*, by Pandit B. B. Bidyabinod, pp. 75–78: a silver coin of about 1771, of Pṛthvī Nārāyaṇa, of the Gorakhati Dynasty (A.D. 1768–74); reverse marginal legend *Śrī Śrī Gorakhnātha*. A silver coin of Pratāpa Siṃha (A.D. 1774–77); reverse outer legend *Śrī Śrī Śrī Gorakhnātha*. A silver coin of Rāna Bahādur (A.D. 1777–99); reverse marginal legend in compartments *Śrī Śrī Śrī Gorashanātha*. Five silver coins of Gīrvān Yuddha Vikrama, (A.D. 1799–1816); reverse marginal legend in compartments *Śrī Śrī Śrī Gorashanātha*, dates 1802, 1811, 1811, 1812, 1809. Six silver coins of Rājendra Vikrama (A.D. 1816–47); reverse marginal legend in compartments *Śrī Śrī Śrī Gorashanātha*, dates 1816, 1819, 1820, 1828, 1846, 1826.

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The writer has seen recent coins (Samvat 1974) of *Śrī Śrī Tribhavānī Bir Vikram Sahadeva Bahādur* which have on the reverse the legend *Śrī Śrī Śrī Gorakhnāthji* enclosing the legend *Śrī Bhavānī*. The armorial bearings of the kings of Nepāl include the *pāduka* (footprints) of *Śrī-108-Gorakhnāth*, the guardian deity of Gorakha whence the kings came. Gorakhnāth’s name is preceded by six *Śrī*’s, those of kings and others by fewer. See Landon’s *Nepal*, vol. I, p. 233 and note 1. Kirkpatrick, *Kingdom of Nepāl*, p. 218 mentions a coin bearing on one side ‘*Śrī Śrī Śrī Goorkhnāth, Śrī Bharvānī*.’

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It is claimed that his followers, who were originally Buddhists, became Śaivites, on the fall of the Sena dynasty in Nepāl, towards the end of the twelfth century,¹ for the purpose of gaining political power by pleasing their heretical rulers.² On the other hand, it is said that he brought about the overthrow of the Newārs by the Gorkhas; and that he gave them the land, having proved his power by a twelve years' period of meditation during which no rain fell.³ It was then that Matsyendra (Macchendar) was called from Saṅgaldip (Ceylon) to break Gorakṣa's long mental concentration.

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¹ *Gr. ERE*, vol. VI, p. 329.

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² Tessitori, *ERE*, vol. XII, p. 834.

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³ Told to the author at Gorakhpur, 14 November, 1924.

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In Buddhist Tibetan tradition, he is described as a magician.⁴

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⁴ Levi, *Le Nepāl*, vol. I, p. 355.

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A bit of record strangely states that he was the foster-father and the teacher of Muhammad;⁵ and another fragment reports him as having taught Gūgā the Muslim creed.⁶ In Sind he is known as Dātar Jāmil Shāh.

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⁵ *Dabistan*, vol. II, p. 129. He is called Bābā Rin Hājī.

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⁶ *Temp*, vol. III, p. 299.

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Gorakhnāth has long since been deified, and, in popular religion, is considered a representative, even an embodiment, of Śiva.⁷ His name is also given to Śiva. He is the creator.⁸ In the dice-throwing ordeal in the Rasālū legend he is petitioned as a god.⁹ In the story of Hīr and Rāñjha he is worshipped with a platter of milk and rice.¹⁰ And he is invoked elsewhere as a god.¹¹

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⁷ *Dabistan*, vol. II, p. 128; *Gr. ERE*, vol. VI, p. 329; also *BHCS*, p. 403; *Panjab Census Report*, 1891, p. 114.

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⁸ *Mac*., vol. I, pp. 173, 174.

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⁹ *Temp*, vol. I, pp. 245, 314.

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¹⁰ *Temp*, vol. II, p. 508.

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¹¹ E.g., *Temp*, vol. I, pp. 314, 425 ff.

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According to some, his name implies his origin; because the formless creator from the sweat of his own breast created in Nepāl. One tradition shows him entering the country from Assam, another from Ceylon. But both of these traditions could indicate non-Buddhist origins. Still, Buddhist Tāntrism is older than the Hindu form and hails from eastern India.

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Gorakhnāth. In ‘Ghor-nāth,’ ‘ghor’ means ‘filth.’¹ More definitely, his name Gorakhṣanātha may mean ‘Lord of Cattle’² or ‘Lord of Gorakṣa,’ thus suggesting Śiva on the one hand and Nepāl on the other.³ Oldfield⁴ says that the country of Gorakṣa derives its name from Gorakhnāth, an eminent saint who resided in a cave which still exists in the hill on which the city of Gorkha is built. According to another tradition, Gorakhnāth found an old shrine of Gorkha, an ancient deity, made the place famous, took the name of the diety of the shrine and gave the name to the city of Gorakhpur. (This must really refer to Gorkha in Nepāl.)

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¹ See *RTCP*, vol. II, p. 390. But *ghor* may mean ‘intense,’ ‘terrific,’ ‘fearful’, and refer to his austerities.

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² Compare Paśupati, a name of Śiva.

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³ *Gr. ERE*, vol. VI, p. 328.

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⁴ *Sketches from Nepāl*, vol. II, p. 189.

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The reference to Gorakhnāth, already made, as having been created from the sweat of the creator’s breast, may be linked with other statements. In the Panjab a legend is current to the effect that Gorakhnāth was born of dung and was found by Matsyendranāth who made him a disciple.⁵ From Nepāl⁶ comes the story that Śiva after he had recited the Yoga doctrine to Pārvatī, standing on the sea shore,⁷ while Matsyendra (in the form of a fish) was listening, gave something to a woman to eat, with a promise that she would obtain a son. The woman did not eat the substance, but cast it upon a dung-hill. Twelve years later, Matsyendra passed by the same spot and asked to see the child. He heard what the woman had done and asked her to search in the dung heap. She there discovered a boy of twelve years. That boy was named Gorakhnāth. Matsyendranāth became his spiritual master and he served as a dutiful disciple.

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⁵ *RTCP*, vol. II, p. 390.

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⁶ Levi, *Le Nepāl*, vol. I, pp. 351, 352.

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⁷ It may be of interest to note that at Dah Pārbatiya, in Assam, in a window in an old brick temple of Śiva, there is a male, four-armed figure, holding in one left hand a *damru*, the peculiar small drum of Śiva. Below the window there is a representation of the waves of the sea. The Śiva is of the form Lakulīśa. The work is probably of the fifth or sixth century. *Archæological Survey of India*, 1924–5, p. 99.

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There are variants of these stories. In the *Tah-qīqāt-i-Chishti*, it is related that a devotee of Śiva, desiring offspring, received, at Pārvatī’s intercession, ashes from Śiva’s dhūnī. The devotee’s wife was to swallow them. She did not, but threw them upon a dung-hill. Eventually a child was found there who was taken to Śiva, and, by him, named Gorakhnāth.

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Another version of this legend relates that, when Gorakhnāth was seeking a teacher, he offered a loaf of bread on a pipal leaf at the seashore. A fish swallowed the offering and, twelve years later, gave a child in return. Śiva named this child Matsyendra, and he afterwards became Gorakhnāth’s guru, or spiritual teacher.

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Another story has it that Gorakhnāth was a son of Śiva by a cow.¹

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¹ RTCP, vol. II, p. 391. And Gorakhnāth fathered Matsyendra by a fish. These are etymological explanations.

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The estimation in which the people hold the deeds and powers of Gorakhnāth may be formed from a study of the more famous of the innumerable traditions and legends describing him and his disciples.²

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² Compare Temp, vol. II, p. 21.

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Many of the legends, some of which have been recorded by Temple, *Legends of the Punjab*; by Synnerton, *Romantic Tales of the Punjab*; by Grierson, *The Story of Manikchandra* and in *The Adi Granth*, are sung even today by Gorakhnāthīs, and by other wandering singers as well, through the villages of the land. Amongst the most famous of them are those of Zahra, or Gūgā Pīr, Puran Bhagat and his brother Rāja Rasālū, Gopicand, Hīr and Rānjha and Rānī Pinglā.

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Gūgā, or Zahra Pīr³ was a Rājput who finally became a Musalmān. His birth and the wonderful deeds which he was able to perform were dependent upon the good offices of the saint, Gorakhnāth, who gave him his name and whose disciple he finally became.¹ He is now worshipped as a snake godling, as one who has power over snakes and saves his followers from snake-bite. He grants boons, especially to barren women. Gūgā finally disappeared, together with his horse, in the bowels of the earth. He is especially revered by low castes, among whom sweepers and leather workers are prominent. In many places in the Panjab there are shrines connected with his worship, and these are often adjacent to shrines of Gorakhnāth.

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³ Briggs, *Chamārs*, pp. 151, 152, 170, 171; *Temp.*, Nos. 6, 52; *Indian Antiquary*, 1895, p. 47; 1897, p. 84; *OCCS*, p. 67; *S.P.G. Quarterly*, 1910; *Indian Witness*, Feb. 21, 1911. *PNQ*, vol. I, para 3; Crooke, *Popular Religion and Folklore of Northern India*, vol. I, pp. 211, 213; *Archæological Survey of India*, 1878-79, vol. XIV; *JASBe*, vol. XVI, pt. 1, pp. 139 ff.; Elliot, *Memoirs on the History, Folklore and Distribution of the Races of the North-Western Provinces of India*, vol. I, p. 255; Tod (Crooke), vol. II, pp. 843, 1,027; vol. III, p. 1,450. See Rose, *RTCP*, vol. I, pp. 171-92 for comprehensive review of the materials on Gūgā.

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¹ *Temp.*, vol. III, p. 296.

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Among the most famous heroes of the Panjab are Puran Bhagat and his half-brother Rasālū.² Puran, the elder, was betrayed by his father's younger queen, and was cast into a dry well to die. He suffered also the loss of his hands and feet. After twelve years he was rescued and healed by Gorakhnāth. Through powers which he obtained by austerities, Puran was able to grant his former betrayer, Queen Lunan, a boon and she bore a son named Rasālū. The exploits of this latter prince form a large body of legends. Rasālū's was a checkered life, full of love, adventure and intrigue. Puran became a Yogī, a follower of Gorakhnāth.³ Rasālū finally became a Gorakhnāthī, and an ardent disciple of the great Yogī. Even Rasālū's parrot considered Gorakhnāth as his *guru* (teacher)!⁴

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² Puran Bhagat, *Swynn*, pp. 230 ff., 51 ff.; *Temp.*, No. 34, and in others also; Rāja Rasālū, *Swynn*, pp. 51–151; *Temp.*, vol. I, pp. 1 ff.; 243 ff.

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³ Puran Bhagat is called also Gyān Sarūpa, Purakhsiddh, Chāurañjwenāth and Chāuraṅgināth. *RTCP*, vol. I, p. 125. Details of the stories of Puran Bhagat vary greatly. *Temp.*, vol. II, pp. 375, 403; Steele, *Tales of the Panjāb*, p. 235.

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⁴ *Temp.*, vol. I, p. 242.

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A current legend concerning Puran Bhagat is as follows: A Khatrānī woman, when bathing in the Āik river, was wooed by a serpent called Bāsak Nāg. She conceived and bore a son who was named Sulivān. He rose to be a man of great power and wealth, and, through the assistance of the serpent, was made a king. His fame became so great that even Vikramāditya visited him at Siālkot. Sulivān refused to go to meet his royal visitor and a severe battle was fought in consequence, in which Vikramāditya lost his life. Rāja Sulivān had two sons, Puran and Rasālū. Puran became a faqīr. Rāja Sulivān had two queens, the older of whom was the mother of Puran. The other queen, who was much younger, was barren. When Puran became a man, this younger queen made improper proposals to him. He refused to yield to her and she, consequently, brought false charges against him. These the king confirmed. Puran was then put to death, his hands and feet being cut off, and his body was thrown into a well in Kārol, a village five miles from Siālkot. (The village is at present called Puranwāla.) After some days a Yogī, who came for water, found the body in the well. Having learned, upon inquiry, the story of Puran’s temptation and death, he pronounced a charm (*mantra*) over the body and Puran was brought back to life, and his hands and feet restored. Puran became a Kānphaṭa Yogī. This well is still known as Puran’s well.¹

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¹ The Hindu version of this account was read by L. Gaṅgā Rām, B.A., LL.B., to Alfred M. Daula in 1925. The statement was sent to the author by Dr. H. D. Griswold, from Lahore. See also *Sialkot Gazetteer*, 1921, p. 14.

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Several stories of Gopicand are available; among them one from the Panjab,² one from Bengal,³ and another from Sind.⁴ The second is told under the title ‘The Song of Manikcandra,’ although Manikcandra’s son, Gopicand, is the hero of the song. The stories recite the struggle and the difficulties that lay between Gopicand and his attainment of sainthood, or, in other words, tell of his renunciation of his throne and his choice of the life of a Yogī.

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² *Temp.*, vol. II, No. 18.

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³ *JASBe*, (1887) vol. XLVII, pt. 1., pp. 135 ff.

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⁴ Supplied by Mr. G. E. L. Carter, Collector of Bandra, through Dr. J. J. Modi. There is reference to this famous story in Buchanan, vol. III, p. 407 f.

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Hīr and Rāñjha are the chief characters of a romantic story famous in the Panjab.⁵ Rāñjha, an indulged son, had to leave home after his father’s death. He finally met Hīr and hired himself out as a herdsman to her father. A long love intrigue led to scandal. Hīr was finally married to another man. Rāñjha then became a faqīr, joining the band of Gorakhnāthī Yogīs at Ṭilla.⁶

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⁵ *IA*, 1921, Supplement; *Swynn.*, No. 1; *Temp.*, vol. II, No. 38 OMAS, pp. 266, 268.

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⁶ *Temp.*, vol. II, p. 546.

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Rāñjha discovered the residence of Hīr and took up his abode on the river bank opposite her. He used to visit her taking with him savoury dishes of flesh food. On one occasion, unable to secure game, he prepared a portion of his own flesh. But Hīr was suspicious of the food and the expression of her doubts led to his confession. Thereupon she resolved to meet him at his place of abode. She used to cross the river on a float of earthen pots. Her female attendants, discovering this, substituted, one night, pots of unbaked clay. As Hīr reached mid-stream, the pots dissolved and she sank in the river. But Rāñjha heard her cry and swam out to her. They disappeared together.

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The following descriptions of Gorakhnāth and of Yogīs of his order, based upon these and other familiar tales, exhibit a popular view of the Kānphaṭas. The references are suggestive, not exhaustive.

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By reason of his perfection in ascetic practices, or Yoga, Gorakhnāth was supposed to have attained to superhuman powers. So great were these that he was even called a greater than Śiva.¹ In speaking of Gorakhnāth, his disciples say to Puran:

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¹ *JASBe*, vol. XLVII, pt. 1, p. 139.

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He is beloved of God and his worship has been accepted by the Almighty. You can ask what you please of him.²

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² *Swynn.*, p. 33.

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In the legend of Manikcand, Gorakhnāth is described as a *vidyādhāra* (‘carrying occult knowledge’)³ a kind of supernatural being dwelling in the Himālayas, attending upon Śiva and possessing magical powers. He is not only superhumanly wise, but also very powerful.⁴ In a contest with Rāñjha over the stolen conch Gorakhnāth calls himself a great magician, and boasts of power exceeding that of the seventy saints combined.⁵

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³ *JASBe*, vol. XLVII, p. 208.

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⁴ E.g. *Temp.*, vol. II, No. 18, the *Legend of Gopicand*; *Temp.*, vol. II, p. 243.

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⁵ *Temp.*, vol. II, p. 551.

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Gorakhnāth exercised great powers over nature.⁶ He gave Mayanā (Gopicand legend) a boon that she would not sink in water.⁷ He turned the water of a well into gold and then into crystal.⁸ In Mewār they still treasure a sword of the hero, Bappa, which is said to have been presented to him by Gorakhnāth, who pronounced over it an incarnation, thereby making it possible for Bappa to sever rocks with it.¹ When Gorakhnāth and his company came into the royal garden at Siālkot (where Puran Bhagat was imprisoned in the well) everything became green,² and the lakes were filled with water.³ And at another time when he came into a dried-up garden, he scattered ashes on it, and it began to bloom.⁴ His having caused a twelve years drought in Nepāl⁵ has become famous. Again, he caused the very walls and all the instruments of a certain place to chant: ‘Awake, Macchendra, Gorakhnāth has come.’⁶ At Śirālā in the Sātāra District in the Bombay Presidency there is a gigantic tamarind tree whose origin was a stick which Gorakhnāth stuck in the ground.⁷ In Kāngra the Kumhārs (potters) say that their wheel sprang from the earning of the saint Gorakhnāth, which he gave them.⁸

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⁶ See also, below.

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⁷ *JASBe*, vol. XLVII, p. 210.

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⁸ *RTCP*, vol. II, 394 note.

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¹ Crooke, Things Indian, p. 25.

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² Steele, Tales of the Panjab, p. 235.

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³ Temp., vol. II, p. 376.

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⁴ RTCP, vol. I, pp. 179-80.

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⁵ Wright, History of Nepāl, pp. 140-4; Levi, Le Nepāl, vol. I, p. 348.

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⁶ RTCP, vol. II, p. 394.

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⁷ The Hindu Religious Year, p. 174.

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⁸ NINQ, vol. III, p. 54. Quoted by Crooke, Religion and Folklore of Northern India (ed. 1926), p. 331.

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Once he took the form of a fly⁹ in order to avoid guards on the border of a certain king’s country; at another time he changed himself into iron, and again into a frog.¹⁰ He transformed certain of his disciples so that half of their bodies became gold and the other half iron.¹¹ He turned himself into a leper before Vāchal.¹² The disciples who were sent by Gorakhnāth to Kārū¹³ to get the thread with which to draw Puran from the well, were turned by magic into bullocks. This was reported to him and took ashes from his bag, charmed them and tossed them into the air. Thereupon the bullocks came to him and he patted them and changed them back into men. In return, being angry, he dried up all the wells, bringing their water into the one near himself. When the women came, all together, at his request to draw water, he took charmed ashes and, in the name of Matsyendranāth, turned the women into asses.

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⁹ RTCP, vol. II, p. 394.

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¹⁰ Dabistan, vol. II, pp. 139 ff.

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¹¹ IA, 1906, p. 21.

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¹² Cunningham, Archæological Survey of India, Reports, vol. XIV, p. 81.

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¹³ Temp., vol. I, p. 180, suggests that Kārū may be Kāmārūp. Chariyāl (Sariyāl) wife of Gūgā was the daughter of Sañja of Kāmārūp in Assam. She is still worshipped at a shrine near Gauhāti.

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Long ears, small hoofs (had they, and) grazed on the dung heaps.¹

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¹ *Temp.*, vol. II, p. 438.

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When their husbands came and appealed to him, he restored them to their human form. Reference has already been made to his having Puran’s hands and feet restored after he had taken him from the well.²

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² Also see Steele, *Tales of the Panjāb*, p. 235.

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Gorakhnāth left his body asleep on his mat, and descended to the under-world of the god of snakes and there obtained the magic incense for Bāchal.³

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³ Cunningham, *Archæological Survey of India*, Reports, vol. XIV, p. 82.

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There are in the legends interesting accounts of his restoring people to life. In the *Bhartṛharinirveda* of Harihara (Act. II) Bharthari made test of his queen, by sending a false report of his death. She became *sati* and the king was distracted. He received news that Gorakhnāth had power to relieve sorrow. The great Yogī came to visit him, and, seeing the situation, broke his bowl and wept over it, treating it with the same despair and sorrow that the king expressed over the body of the dead queen. Bhartṛihari offered the Yogī a better bowl, and Gorakhnāth promised to restore the queen to life. When she stood before him alive, the king refused to embrace her, since, in his despair, he had renounced the world, and he resolved to remain faithful to his vow.⁴ A second version of the story contains other details. It is as follows. The last Chandravati Rāja of the Parmārs was Hūn. One day, while he was out hunting, he saw a Pārdhi, while hunting, killed by a cobra. The wife of the hunter, finding him, placed his body on the funeral pyre, and, after feeding the fire with portions of her flesh, became sati. Impressed with this sight, Hūn decided to test his queen, the Rānī Piṅglā. So he related to her the whole occurrence. She, the daughter of Somachandra, replied that even on news of the death of her consort, she would become sati. Later, Hūn, on an expedition sent word of his own death. Although her Āsso Pāl,¹ plant revealed to her that the king was alive, she decided to prove her faithfulness by dying and being burned. Hūn, anxious about his message, hastened home, arriving in time to see the funeral fire. He wandered around the pyre for days refusing to be comforted. Gorakhnāth, happening at the place, asked the king why such mourning and received the reply that it was because of love for Rānī Piṅglā. Thereupon Gorakhnāth dropped his begging bowl and, as it broke, began to weep in imitation of Hūn. The king reminded the Yogī that his loss was not irreparable as was the loss of the queen. Then Gorakhnāth said that he could restore the Rānī to life. He sprinkled water over the ashes of the funeral pyre and twenty-five queens exactly like² Piṅglā appeared. When he sprinkled water over them a second time, only Piṅglā remained. But, since Hūn had already decided to become a Yogī, he refused to receive her. More water was sprinkled and the queen, casting a reproachful look at Hūn, disappeared. The king then became a Yogī.³

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⁴ *JAOS*, vol. XXV, pp. 197–230. L. D. Gray, *The Bhartṛharinirveda of Harihara*.

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¹ Datatreya, her guru, had given her a seed, which, as a plant, would tell her whether her husband were dead or alive.

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² Another version states that when King Bhartṛhari declared that there never could be another queen such as Rānī Piṅglā had been, Gorakhnāth showed him a hundred like her. RTCP, vol. II, p. 404.

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³ Major J. W. Watson, article, ‘The Story of Rānī Piṅglā,’ IA, 1873, p. 215 f.

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It is reported that Gorakhnāth destroyed the two sons of Matsyendranāth, in the presence of a Bania and afterwards restored them to life.⁴

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⁴ RTCP, vol. II, p. 395 note. The story has already been narrated.

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In one of the Rasālū legends, that hero is described as trying to seduce the wife of his prime minister, Mahitā. In the end there was great trouble. The minister refused to believe his wife, Silā Dāī, innocent, turned ascetic and finally died. Then Silā Dāī became sati. Rasālū burned himself on the pyre with both of them.¹ Through the curiosity of Pārvatī, Śiva was led to go into the garden, where they had been cremated, to see what had happened. And then Gorakhnāth asked for the restoration of all three. Śiva sprinkled the pyre with water drawn from his finger and they were restored to life.² Then Silā Dāī and Mahitā were again married, Gorakhnāth starting the marriage procession.

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¹ Temp., vol. I, p. 361.

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² Temp., vol. I, p. 362, ‘The water of life.’

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Gopicand’s sister was restored to life by the saint Gorakhnāth.³

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³ JASBe, vol. LV, p. 38.

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In another legend it is said that Gorakhnāth killed the two sons of Macchendra, hung their skins on a tree, and then, after his inquiry about them, restored them to life.⁴

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⁴ RTCP, vol. II, p. 394. This has been related above.

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By casting some earth on his body, Gorakhnāth restored to life a disciple, who in the form of a stag, had been shot by Bhartṛhari.⁵

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⁵ RTCP, vol. II, p. 404.

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Mayanā, Manikcand’s widow, though with child, was forced to perform sati but was miraculously preserved through the intervention of Gorakhnāth.⁶

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⁶ JASBe, vol. XLVII, pp. 143, 210.

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On the other hand, the great Yogī is represented as creating persons. In the contest with Jālandharnāth (Gopicand legend) Gorakhnāth turned horse dung into locusts, or dung and a blanket, or a bundle of grass, and then into a human body and infused it with life. This man, who claimed Gopicand, was burned to ashes seven times and to be restored by Gorakhnāth.⁷

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⁷ RTCP, vol. II, p. 395.

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Moreover, like many other great ascetics he was able to grant children to barren women. Vāchal (Gūgā legend) received a son, Gūgā by name,⁸ and Kāchal (Gūgā legend) two sons by favour of Gorakhnāth,⁹ and Mayanā, widow of Manikcand, as a boon, obtained a son eighteen months after her husband’s death,¹⁰ the explanation being that he was given as a seven months’ old foetus and his prolonged confinement in his mother’s womb was due to his exceeding glory.

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⁸ Temp., vol. I, pp. 142, 139.

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⁹ Kānipāo, a senior disciple, advised Vāchel to go to Gorakhnāth; RTCP, vol. I, p. 177.

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¹⁰ JASBe, vol. XLVII, pp. 142, 208.

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Instances may be given to show Gorakhnāth as a great healer. In his youth he was forced to resort to magic to restore his own hands and feet which his stepmother had barbarously cut off.¹ He restored hands and feet to Puran Bhagat after the latter had lived helplessly in the dry well for twelve years.² This he did by the sprinkling of water and prayer.³ He also restored Puran’s sight, by going to Indra and obtaining help.⁴

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¹ Steele, *Tales of the Panjab*, p. 235. Tāranāth in his *History of Buddhism in India*, p. 323, refers to this incident.

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² Steele, *Tales of the Panjab*, p. 235.

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³ Swynn., pp. 51, 230; *Temp.*, vol. I, pp. 2, 430 ff.

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⁴ *Temp.*, vol. II, No. 34.

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Another evidence of Gorakhnāth’s magic powers was in his insight. He was able to discern at a glance that Puran Bhagat was innocent.⁵ Fairies (*pari*) visited Puran in the well and were sent by him to Gorakhnāth with news, and then the Yogī took steps to save ‘my Puran.’ Still, Gorakhnāth’s powers of discernment were sometimes limited. In the *Dabistan* is the record of a contest of power between Gorakhnāth and a sannyāsī, Datateri, in which Gorakhnāth disappeared in the water in the shape of a frog. But the sannyāsī was able to find him and bring him forth. Then Datateri concealed himself in the water and Gorakhnāth in spite of all his searching could not discover him, for he had become water, ‘and water cannot be distinguished from water.’⁶

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⁵ *Temp.*, vol. II, p. 429.

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⁶ *Diabistan*, vol. II, p. 140.

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Again Gorakhnāth exercised such power that King Jewar, intending to slay Vāchal with his sword, was unable to draw it from its scabbard.⁷

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⁷ *Temp.*, No. 6.

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An interesting aspect of the exercise of power is through the use of the Yogī’s name. Thus Chariyāl (Gūgā legend) was healed of snake bite.⁸ And Gūgā, using the name, played on his flute and the sleeping king of snakes was awakened, and all his hosts with him. Then Tātig Nāg went to find out who was playing. Gūgā told him that it was he, the son of Rāja Jewar, and then summoned the snakes to help him to win a bride from Assam (Kāmarūp).¹ And Gūgā, along with Tātig Nāg, was conveyed to that country, miraculously, through Gorakhnāth’s powers.² And, attacked by his half-brothers in the forest, Gūgā was able to defend himself against their murderous assault.³

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⁸ *Temp.*, No. 6.

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¹ *Temp.*, vol. I, pp. 178, 179, 180.

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² *Temp.*, vol. I. p. 192.

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³ *Temp.*, No. 6.

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Moreover, Gorakhnāth was able to exercise power over long distances. Thus he helped Gūgā to win at dice, and Rasālū likewise.⁴ Appealed to by Gūgā from his mother’s womb, Gorakhnāth so ordered events that Gūgā was born in his mother’s father’s palace.⁵

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⁴ *Temp.*, vol. I, p. 243.

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⁵ *Temp.*, No. 6. Otherwise his mother would have been in disgrace.

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In like manner Gorakhnāth exercised such great power on behalf of his disciples that he proved himself superior to other Yogīs. In the *Tuḥfāt-ul-Karam*⁶ it is recorded how Gopicand (Pīr Pathāo)⁷ of Pīr Arr, in Sind, gained possession of the cave in the hill there, which was held by Dayanāth. Gopicand brought Gorakhnāth from Girnār to help him. Dayanāth was a man of superior powers. He had a stable-basket which used of itself to clean the stables and keep alight sufficient fires for the 125,000 faqīrs who used to live on this hill. He also had a bullock which used to fetch water from the river filling his *pakhal* (water bag) himself. His beggar’s bowl used to collect and bring alms from Samahi, by itself, and from it the 125,000 faqīrs maintained themselves. He had a rag-rope and a cudgel, and if he wanted anyone bound and beaten, he said to the rope, ‘Bind that man,’ and to the cudgel, ‘Beat him.’ As soon as he would say these words the rope would bind the man and the stick would beat him. But when Gorakhnāth came into the neighbourhood, all these wonders ceased. Then Dayanāth knew that it was because of the greater power of Gorakhnāth. Thereupon he (Dayanāth)

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⁶ Reported by Mr. G. E. L. Carter, I.C.S.

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⁷ On the road beyond Karāchī is an old building in ruins, called ‘Peer Putta’ by Muslims and ‘Gopee Chand Rāja’ by Hindus.—Hart, *Journey*, p. 136.

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got angry and threw the hill into the sky, and, setting it on fire by a breath, departed to Dhinodhar hill in Kacch. Pīr Pathāo went to Guru Gorakhnāth and reproached him, saying,

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You are sitting here while Dayanāth has set the hill on fire and cleared.

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The guru looked and saw that a fire was indeed burning between heaven and earth. Even while he (Gorakhnāth) looked, through the power of his glance the fire was extinguished and the hill dropped and cracked in two. Gorakhnāth then perceived that Dayanāth was praying at Dhinodhar hill, standing on his head on a betel-nut, and knew that after twelve months’ prayer¹ in this position he could by breathing thrice blast all Sind. Thereupon he extended his hand (to Kacch), though no one else could observe this action, and, seizing Dayanāth by the ear, brought him back to Sind. The guru said to Dayanāth,

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¹ Dayanāth and the number 12 remind us of Dharmnāth and that twelve years’ penance. But this number runs through many legends.

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Don’t trouble the people. I promise you this blessing, that you and your successors shall never lack good horses and white clothes.

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He then made Dayanāth his disciple, cutting his ears and putting ornaments in them; and placing a black thread-turban² on his head, sent him back to Dhinodhar. Then Gorakhnāth and Pīr Pathāo came to this hill with their murīds (disciples). As soon as they reached it, it began to tremble, whereupon Gorakhnāth commanded:

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² Note the turban of sheeps-wool thread worn by the mahant of Kāma.

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Drive a tent-peg and if that goes into the ground it will show that we can stay here; otherwise it must be that the hill is not intended for us and we must go away.

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The peg was driven into the ground (although the place consists of solid rock) and Pīr Pathāo took possession of the cave in the hill.

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Another incident showing Gorakhnāth’s power is that in which he sent an invisible army to the help of Gūgā against Prithavī Rāj.³

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³ RTCP, vol. I, p. 181.

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In the Panjab legend of Śāntināth, Goraknāth overcomes Jālandharanāth of whom Gopicand was afraid. The story relates that at this time there was a great gathering of faqīrs in Gopicand’s city (which was in Bengal) to which came Gorakhnāth. To avoid this crowd Jālandharanāth retired to the bottom of a well and covered himself with horse dung. All efforts at removing this were unavailing because the dung removed by day replaced itself by night. Finally Menavantī, Gopicand’s mother, asked that Jālandharanāth be brought forth from the well; but Macchendranāth pointed out how dangerous this would be for Gopicand,¹ since Jālandharanāth would kill him with the mere sound of his voice. However, Macchendranāth said,

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¹ See also *Temple*, vol. II, p. 23. The story of this contest with Jālandharanāth is told in legend no. 18.

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Let three images (*mūrti*) be made, one of iron, one of silver and one of gold, and I will so arrange that the strength of Jālandharanāth’s wrath will be averted.

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The images were made and Gopicand was ordered to approach the well and summon Jālandharanāth. At the sound of his voice, Jālandharanāth cursed him and bade him die, but only the iron image was destroyed. Again Gopicand called to Jālandharanāth and this time the silver image was destroyed. On the third summons the gold image was shattered. When Gopicand called the fourth time Jālandharanāth, realizing that there was a greater Yogī than himself present outside, came up out of the well.

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It is said that when Bhīmsen, one of the heroes of the *Mahābhārata*,² lay benumbed with cold on the snow-covered Himālayas, Gorakhnāth revived him and made him king over the country stretching from the sources of the Ganges to Bhūtān.³ A similar⁴ tradition has it that, during Yudhisthara’s journey through the Himālayas to heaven, his brethren fell behind and perished one by one. Only Bhimsen survived. He was saved by Gorakhnāth and made king of Nepāl.⁵

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² *Martin, The History, Antiquities, Topography and Statistics of Eastern India*, vol. III, pp. 38, 39, suggests that this was not a Pāṇḍava but a contemporary of Pṛthvī Rāj, one of Belkoth near the Kosi, a powerful chief.

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³ *Cooke, Popular Religion and Folk-Lore of Northern India*, vol. I, p. 91.

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⁴ *Gr., ERE.*, vol. VI, p. 329.

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⁵ *JASBe.*, 1878, p. 138.

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An interesting aspect of his power over nature is found in legends which relate Gorakhnāth with serpent powers and functions. The whole cycle of Gūgā legends illustrates the first; and the various stories told about his control of the serpents in Nepāl, and the consequent failing of the rains, illustrate the second.

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Gūgā received his power over serpents, through discipleship, from Gorakhnāth, and he learned the art of charming snakes likewise from his great guru.¹ Gūgā restored to life the bullocks that had been bitten by serpents while they were conveying his mother, Bāchal (Vācal), to her royal lord’s (his father’s) court.² Gūgā, in the name of Gorakhnāth, in the forest, played on his flute, and the serpents danced about him, although Bāsuk, their king, became angry. Then Tātig Nāg (nāg = serpent) in the form of a Brāhman, was sent to Assam. The snake asked Gorakhnāth’s aid and succeeded in securing Rāja Sañja’s daughter, Chariyāl, for Gūgā. She was bitten by a snake and healed through the power of the name of the Gorakhnāth.³ Rāñjha, another disciple, under pretence of curing snake bite, obtained access to Hir.⁴ In the story of Nirmal Dāi, the Nāga princess who was married to Parāg (Parikṣit) and on whose account the war of extermination of serpents was carried on, Nāg Tātig finally slew Parāg.⁵ When Parāg’s posthumous son, Janmegi, attained the age of twelve he began to reign; and, finding out the cause of his father’s death, sought the life of Tātig. Tātig in going to kill Parāg besought the aid of Macchendranāth (Matsyendranāth) and ‘remembered Gorakhnāth.’ In seeking to escape Janmegi, Tātig appealed for help in turn to ascetics, to Śiva, to Macchendranāth and to Gorakhnāth in vain; but he finally escaped by meditation on Kṛiṣṇa.⁶

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¹ IA, 1882, p. 35.

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² Temp., vol. I, p. 154.

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³ Temp., no. 6.

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⁴ Temp., vol. II, pp. 560–63.

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⁵ Temp., vol. I, pp. 499–500. See FRAS, 1899, p. 313; 1891, p. 378. This is a famous story; its historical significance is not clear.

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⁶ Temp., vol. I, p. 528.

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The Nepalese legend in its various developments is of considerable interest. Here another example of Gorakhnāth’s power over nature is found, in his causing a twelve-years’ drought in Nepāl. The story goes¹ that Gorakhnāth once visited Nepāl. Because he was not received with sufficient respect, he took the clouds, fastened them in one of his bundles and sat on them, remaining motionless, in meditation, for twelve years. During that time there was no rain in Nepāl. Finally, it chanced that Matsyendranāth passed by, and Gorakhnāth, unreflecting, arose, out of respect for his guru. The clouds escaped thereupon and the drought was broken.²

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¹ Levi, *Le Nepāl*, vol. I, pp. 352–57.

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² See also Oldfield, *Sketches from Nepāl*, vol. II, pp, 325–26.

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The illumination of the story, just related, is found in the following, in which his wish to have an interview with Matsyendranāth, who was in an inaccessible part of the mountains, supplies the motive. Gorakhnāth resorted to the device of confining the nine serpents who gave the rain, thereby causing a twelve-years’ drought. At last Macchendranāth was obliged to come to Gorakhnāth to secure the release of the serpents and the return of rain.³ Another version of the Nepalese legend⁴ relates how Gorakhnāth attracted the nine Nāgas into a hillock, and sat down upon it, the twelve years’ drought following. The people finally appealed to their king, who in turn sought Avalokiteśvara (Matsyendranāth) who lived in the Kāpōtal mountain. The rāja’s old father’s prayers were necessary for success. So he was called from retirement and the matter was talked over by the king and his father with a venerable teacher. Worship of a goddess (Jagāmbara Gñānaḍākini, one of the Śaktis) resulted in the release of one of the Nāgas. Taking this serpent with them they made the long and terrible pilgrimage to Kāpōtal.⁵ After a long time, Macchendranāth was sufficiently aroused from his meditation to realize that Gorakhnāth, in Nepāl, wanted to see him, and was making trouble. Thereupon, he decided to go in person to release the Nāgas. Macchendranāth, in the form of a bee, was conveyed into Nepāl in an earthen pot and the drought was brought to an end.

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³ Crooke, *Popular Religion and Folk-Lore of Northern India*, vol. II, pp. 129–30.

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⁴ Wright, *History of Nepāl*, pp. 140–44.

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⁵ Kāpōtal lies beyond Kāmarūp, in the Eastern Himālayas (Levi, *Le Nepāl*, vol., I, p. 353). But, the place is evidently Kāmarūpa itself. See Kirkpatrick’s account (1793), *Kingdom of Nepāl*, p. 190 f.

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Another version of the legends omits the confinement of the snakes and attributes the drought to Gorakhnāth’s power of concentration.¹ Gorakhnāth, an eminent saint, a disciple of Macchendranāth, visited Nepāl. While there he did not receive reverent enough attention. He, therefore, sat immovable for twelve years on a mound, south of Debī Pātan.² A long drought ensued. It was felt that the only relief was to get Gorakhnāth to move. Consequently the king of Bhatgaon and an āchārya (a teacher) made a pilgrimage to Kāpōtal mountain where Macchendranāth resided, and, after much trouble, persuaded him to come to Nepāl. When Macchendranāth arrived in Nepāl, Gorakhnāth constrained by reverence for his spiritual superior, abandoned his posture and went to pay his respects. Thereupon rain fell copiously.³

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¹ Oldfield, Sketches from Nepāl, vol. II, pp. 325–26.

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² The Gurkhas, p. 173.

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³ This account seems to combine elements of two stories related above.

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It may be of interest to refer to the influence which Gorakhnāth was able to exercise over divine beings. This is illustrated by his persuading Brahmā, the ‘God of Fate,’ to change Vāchal’s destiny in order to grant her a son (Gūgā legend).⁴ Previously Bhagavān had refused the request, but Gorakhnāth hung from a tree, head downwards, swinging over a fire, until the smoke of his burning flesh attracted the notice of the god, who then granted Gorakhnāth’s prayer.

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⁴ ‘Legends of Gūgā,’ IA, 1895, p. 51.

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To Gūgā’s wedding he brought a divine company.

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The occult powers of the Yogī are further revealed in his use of innocence tests and ordeals.

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In one version of the story of Puran Bhagat⁵ Gorakhnāth tests Puran’s innocence by drawing him from the well by a thread spun by an unmarried virgin, using it in the name of Macchendranāth.⁶ His innocence was proved by a further test of boiling oil. However, the king, Puran’s father, refused to believe this evidence and accepted the story told by his young queen, Lunan, claiming that Gorakhnāth, by magic, had saved Puran. Consequently, Puran was punished with the loss of hands, feet and sight, and was cast into a dry well.

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⁵ Temp., vol. II, no. 34.

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⁶ Temp., vol. II, p. 433.

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When Mahitā accused Silā Dāī, his wife, of intrigue with Rasālū, the name of Gorakhnāth was called and she was proved innocent by dice.¹ In another ordeal by boiling oil she was likewise proved innocent. But Mahitā, insisting that Gorakhnāth had worked a charm to save her, straightway became a Yogī, i.e., turned celibate.

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¹ *Temp.*, vol. I, p. 243.

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His superhuman powers found expression in other ways; for Gorakhnāth was able to do terrible things, and people were in fear of him and his curses. He sent a terrifying dream to Jewar (Gūgā legend) who then sent for Bāchal² his queen, whom he had driven from his palace. When he found Puran Bhagat in the well, the great Yogī threatened to sink the well to hell should Puran turn to be a wicked man, or an evil spirit.³ And he threatened Rāñjha that he would cause the earth to sink and the Chenāb river to dry up, should the conch not be restored.⁴

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² *Temp.*, vol. I, p. 158.

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³ *Temp.*, vol. II, no. 34.

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⁴ *Temp.*, vol. II, p. 551.

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Through prayer to Gorakhnāth, Gūgā was able to shoot an arrow into a Brāhmanī's pitcher and she was drenched. She had refused to give him water.⁵

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⁵ *RTCP*, vol. I, p. 174. *Temp.*, vol. I, p. 167.

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In the legends of Gopicand,⁶ Gorakhnāth contested the power and the place of his rival, Jālandharnāth, and sent a follower to break the cooking pots of his opponents, to break their boxes and ‘to blow them away.’ He set fire to their bodies.

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⁶ Wright, *History of Nepāl*, pp. 140–44.

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Allusion has already been made to the humiliation of the women of Kārū.⁷

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⁷ See pp. 187, 188.

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Popular descriptions of the Yogīs extend to departments of magic and to a knowledge of tenets of the Yoga.

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Gorakhnāth had a magic bag, or wallet, of wonderful potency, from which he drew gifts of various kinds. He took out of it the barley grains,¹ or the apple,² or the flowers,³ or the ashes⁴ which conferred the gift of sons; and also the ashes which he transmuted into gems, and supplies of goods and clothing for Gūgā’s betrothal.⁵ Similarly, he lent glory to the wedding in Assam.⁶ From this bag came the wonderful ear-rings which Puran Bhagat received at his initiation,⁷ and from the same sort of bag Puran Bhagat took the grapes and rice which Luman, his father’s queen, swallowed whole in order to obtain a son.⁸

Linked texts (7)

Mahābhārata — Vyāsa, Sanskrit
Dah Parbatiya
Gorakhpur
Granth Sāhib — Gurū Arjun 1579, Hindi
Bījak — Kabīr 1550, Hindi
Sākhī — Kabīr, Hindi
Bhartṛharinirveda — Harihara, Sanskrit