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Obscure Religious Cults as Background of Bengali Literature c26: Appendix (B): General Informations about the Literature of the Nāth Cult

Obscure Religious Cults as Background of Bengali Literature c26

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English

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Appendix (B): General Informations about the Literature of the Nāth Cult

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The Nāth literature of Bengal consists mainly of longer narrative poems and stray songs. Thanks are due to the scholarly enthusiasm and literary taste of Dr. Grierson, who, when a civilian in the district of Rangpur in North-Bengal, collected for the first time some versions of the songs concerning Māṇik-candra and his son Gopī-candra or Govinda-candra. In course of the narration of the eventful stories of the royal family the poets described the supernatural power attained by some of the Nāths, who are generally spoken of as the *Siddhas* or yogins who have attained perfection. The first publication of these narrative poems in the *Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal* in 1878 under the caption of *Māṇik-candra Rājār Gān* (song of king Māṇik-candra) readily attracted the notice of the Bengali scholars to such narrative poems, generally sung by the illiterate villagers in the interiors of Bengal and different versions of the song were soon discovered in different parts of North-Bengal as well as of East-Bengal.¹

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¹ Mr. Śivnāth Śil discovered a manuscript of one version of the song ascribed to the authorship of Durllabh Mallik and it was published in 1902 under the caption of *Govinda-candra Git* and in the sub-heading the text was described by the editor as embodying the doctrine of the Tāntric Buddhists. Mr. Viśveśvar Bhaṭṭācārya soon collected a rather complete version of the song of Māṇik-candra and Gopī-candra from the district of Rangpur. Some manuscripts of some versions of the poem composed by Bhavānī-dās were discovered in the districts of Tippera and Chittagong and a version of the poem composed by the Mahomadan poet Sukura Mamud was discovered in North Bengal. Dr. N. K. Bhaṭṭaśāli has a'so edited a version of the song, which was published under the caption of *Maynāmatir Gān* under the auspices of the Sāhitya-pariṣat of Dacca.

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The Māṇik-candra Rājār Gān, collected and published by Dr. Grierson and the versions of the song collected by Mr. Bhaṭṭācārya are substantially the same and the Besides the different versions of the ballads concerning king Māṇik-candra, his wife Mayanāmatī, and his son Gopī-candra or Govinda-candra, the other important discovery is the different versions of the songs on Gorakṣa-nāth (popularly known as Gorakh-nāth), mainly based on the story of the down-fall of the great yogin Matsyendra-nāth or Mīna-nāth as a result of the curse of goddess Durgā, and the rescue of the preceptor by his worthy disciple Gorakh-nāth through his yogic strength.¹

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¹ A version of the song ascribed to Śyāmdās Sen was edited by Dr. N. K. Bhaṭṭaśāli (published under the auspices of the Dacca Sāhitya-pariṣat) under the caption of Mīna-cetana. Many versions of the song, which, in spite of the difference in details, are substantially the same, have been discovered in different parts of the Chittagong Division of East-Bengal. In the manuscripts four names are found for the author of the song, viz., Kavīndra-dās, Sekh Fayzulla, Bhīm-dās and Śyām-dās Sen. A version of the song has been edited by Munsi Abdul Karim Sāhitya-viśārada. He has prepared the text by comparing the available manuscripts (the alternative readings, omissions and additions being noted in the foot-notes and the appendix). The text has been published by the Vaṅgiya Sāhitya-pariṣat under the heading of Gorakṣa-vijaya.

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Gopī-candrer Git edited by Mr. Śil is rather a concise version of the same song with omissions and additions here and there. All the songs on Māṇik-candra, Mayanāmatī and Gopī-candra have been published by the University of Calcutta under the joint editorship of Messrs. Viśveśvar Bhaṭṭācārya, D. C. Sen and Basanta Rañjan Rāy in two volumes

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In the Dharma-maṅgala of Sahadev Cakravartī the story of the fall of Mīna-nāth and his rescue by Gorakh-nāth has been incorporated within the general story of the Dharma-maṅgalas. There we find that the consort of Śiva once became desirous of knowing the truth behind the world and entreated the lord to explain all secrets to her. Śiva agreed and went with her to the bank of the sacred river Vallakā, where he instructed her in all the secrets of the physical and spiritual life. Mīna-nāth heard these instructions from the womb of a fish; then follow Mīna-nāth's uncharitable remarks on Gaurī (the consort of Śiva),—her curse on him—his fall in the land of Kadalī-pāṭan and transformation into a sheep through the charm of the women of that country—his rescue by Gorakh—the meeting of the five Nāths, viz., Kāḷupā, Hāḍipā, Mīna-nāth, Gorakṣa-nāth and Cauraṅgī-nāth—their obeisance to Hara-Gaurī and the installation of Mīna-nāth as a king in Mahānada (vide B.S.P.P., B.S 1304, p. 286). The secret of the Nātha cult has best been explained (of course enigmatically) in the text Gorakṣa-vijay. There are, however, some other unpublished yogic texts dealing with the general tenets of yoga akin to that of the Nāth cult, and of these mention may be made of the Anādi-purāṇa or the Anādi-caritra, Hāḍa-mālā-grantha, Yogi-tantra-kalā and Veda-mālā-grantha. (Vide, B.S.P.P., B.S. 1331, No. 2, and B.S.P.P., B.S. 1341, No. 4).

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The literature of the Nāth cult of Bengal, like most other types of literature of Bengal, consists practically of songs. All the big and small versions of the poems on Gopī-candra and Gorakh-nāth were, and still are sung mainly by the Yogi-sects and also by the Sūfī-istic Muslims in North-Bengal and East-Bengal. The Yogi-castes of Bengal¹ somehow associate themselves with the Nāth sect that spread almost throughout the whole length and breadth of India sometime during the tenth to twelfth century A.C.; and in fact, though the Yogis of Bengal are now being gradually assimilated within the composite fold of Hinduism, they retain some old social customs as the characteristic features of their caste. The Yogis (or rather the Jugis) generally sing these songs in accompaniment with a musical instrument known as the Gopī-yantra, which is a simple instrument made with the bottle-gourd, a bamboo stick and a string attached to them.² These songs, particularly the songs of Mina-nāth and Gorakh-nāth, are very popular also among the Muslims of East-Bengal and some of the versions of the story of Mina-nāth and Gorakh-nāth have been collected from them.³ The currency and popularity of such versified stories among the Muslims of Bengal has historical reasons behind it. The Muslims of Bengal are mainly converts from the people of Bengal (both Hindu and non-Hindu), and formerly constituted an integral part of the Bengalees both racially and culturally. The stories of Gorakh-nāth and Gopi-cānd, at least the skeleton of such stories, had been, in all probability, current in Bengal (and not only in Bengal, but in many other parts of India) before the time of the conquest of Bengal by the Muslims in the thirteenth century. Such stories were, therefore, common heritage of the Muslims and the non-Muslims of Bengal. The gradual revival of Hinduism in Bengal, however, introduced Sanskritic and Purāṇic stories among the public, and the mind of the Caste-Hindus readily responded to this Sanskritic and Purāṇic influence. As a result the popular vernacular stories were naturally pushed in the corner, and were preserved only by the Muslims and the low-class Hindus, who did not come directly under the pale of the Sanskritic and Purāṇic influence of revived Hinduism. Moreover, the Caitanya-movement of Bengal over-flooded the soil of the province with innumerable Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa songs and soon it became proverbial in Bengal that there is no song without Kānu (i.e., Kṛṣṇa). So strong was this Vaiṣṇava movement in Bengal and so immense was the lyrical appeal of the Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa songs that its influence was felt even by the low-class illiterate section of the Hindus. It is for all these reasons that the indigenous vernacular songs of Bengal, such as the songs of the Nāth literature, practically became obsolete among the Hindus and they are preserved as an ancient heritage largely by the Bengali Muslims and sometimes by the people of the lower substrata of the Hindu community. It may also be noted in this connection that the Nāth cult and the Nāth literature of Bengal with its salient features have inspired the Muslims more than the Hindus in composing a large number of yoga-literature in Bengali. To such a type belong the Jñāna-sāgara of Āli Rājā, Jñāna-pradipa and Jñāna-cautisā of Syed Sultan, Nur- Kandila of Mohammad Safi, Vāra-māsyā, Yoga-Kalandar and Satya-jñāna-pradipa of Mursid.¹ These texts represent a popular mixture of the different kinds of yoga, the yoga of the Sahajiyās and of the Nāths and the Sūfi-istic yogic system. In the course of its evolution Indian Sūfi-ism was variously influenced by the different yoga systems of India,² and it was for this reason that Sūfi-istic Islam of India could easily compromise, or rather harmonise itself with the minor religious sects of India which have largely influenced the growth of modern Indian literatures. The Muslim yogic literature of Bengal is but the out-come of such a compromise.

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¹ The Yogis of Bengal are about four and a half lac in number and they reside mostly in East-Bengal and North-Bengal. As a caste they bear the title Nāth with their name, and are mostly weavers, and sometimes dealers in betel-leaves and lime and sometimes cultivators. The Yogis generally bury the dead (though now-a-days they are adopting the purely Hindu process of cremating the dead with the Hindu ceremonials) and are in some places untouchables to the Caste Hindus.

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² This is, however, a very popular musical instrument of Bengal. At the suggestion of Sister Nivedita Dr. D. C. Sen was convinced of the fact that this Gopī-yantra owes its name to king Gopi-candra of the ballads; but we are not quite sure of the fact. Even at the present time the Bāuls and other Vaiṣṇava beggars of Bengal sing songs from door to door in accompaniment with this instrument.

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³ In the United Provinces the yogi singers are generally called Bhartharis or Bhartriharis. They sing the song of Gopī-candra and Maigan-nāth and the teachings of Bhartṛhari. No Hindu domestic festival is complete unless these Bhartharis come and sing their songs. They use ochre coloured clothes of the Sannyasins. But they are by religion Mahomedans. They seem to be the descendants of their yogi forefathers and have inherited their yogi songs as well.

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¹ Vide introduction to Gorakṣa-vijaya by Munshi Abdul Karim.

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² See Vaṅge Sūphi-prabhāva by Dr. Enamul Haq.

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Besides the stories of Gorakh-nāth and Gopi-cānd, stray songs of the Nātha-gurus, emphasising the vanity of life and the pernicious effect of worldly enjoyment and stressing side by side the importance of yoga as the only path for escaping death and decay and for attaining liberation, are found among the Yogis and the Muslims of North-Bengal and East-Bengal. Munshi Abdul Karim quotes a poem as a specimen in his introduction to the Gorakṣa-vijaya. The present writer had occasions to listen to such songs in the interior of the district of Bakergunge, and such songs are invariably couched in an unintelligible enigmatic style, which generally characterises yogic songs in all the vernaculars of India. The enigmatic song in the Dharma-maṅgala of Sahadev Cakravarti³ is a typical song of this class. The Nāths became gods or demi-gods in later times in Bengal as well as in other parts of India, and such is specially the case with Gorakh-nāth. There are many popular beliefs in the divinity of Gorakh-nāth. A typical tale of this nature is associated with a custom of East-Bengal, which is known as the "paying off the debt of Gorakh." Gorakh is here depicted as the cattle-god and Māṇik-pīr is his disciple. The ceremony consists in offering milk-made sweetmeats to Gorakh and Māṇik. A song is sung in this connection, in which we find that Māṇik-pīr, the Fakir (or the mendicant), comes to the house of Kālu-ghoṣ with his usual cry of *Vam, Vam* (which is the general custom with the yogi-mendicants); at the sound of *Vam, Vam* Kālu-ghoṣ's mother understands that the Fakir has come to beg for something,—and in consultation with the daughter of Beku Bānu she offers the Fakir five pice (in the name of the five Fakirs, or rather the five Pīrs of the Muslims). Māṇik refuses to accept cash-payment and asks for milk curd; but out of her foolishness Kālu's mother deceives the Fakir and disappoints him. As a result thereof all the cows, calves and even the milk-maid of Kālu-ghoṣ die within a very short time. Kālu's mother realises her folly, solicits the mercy of the Fakir,—and the Fakir takes pity on her; strikes his stick against the ground with the usual sound of *Vam, Vam* and everything becomes all right instantaneously.¹ In some places of North-Bengal Gorakṣa-nāth is taken to be the god of the cow and songs are sung of him in an annual festival.² In this transformation of Gorakṣa-nāth to a cow-god the word *gorakṣa* was popularly confused to mean what the word *go-rakṣaka* (i.e. the protector of the cows) means and hence was probably the deification of Gorakṣa-nāth to a god associated with the cow, as Mīna-nāth was with fish. The confused etymological meaning of the word *gorakṣa* seems to be responsible also for the tradition that Gorakṣa-nāth was the son of Śiva by a cow.³ There are the Punjabi and Nepalese traditions of Gorakh-nāth's being born in cowdung or upon the dunghill.¹ According to some Tibetan tradition Gorakṣa-nāth was a cowherd.

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³ Vide, B.S.P P., B.S. 1304.

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¹ Bāmlār Śakti, vol. iii., No. 3. Cf. also:—Rājśāhir Sonā-pīr Gān by Mr. S. N. Das, Vaṅga-lakṣmī Baiśākh, 1347.

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² See Gorakṣadār Gita—Pravāsī, B. S. 1329.

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³ Vide Briggs' Gorakhnāth And The Kānphaṭa Yogis, p. 183.

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¹ *Ibid*, pp. 182-183.

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In the Vaiṣṇava love-lyrics of Bengal we find occasional references to the yogins of the Gorakh order. In a well-known poem of Govinda-dās we find that Kṛṣṇa once disguised himself as a Kānaphaṭ yogin to propitiate Rādhā who had got angry with him. He went as a yogin to Rādhā’s house exclaiming the name of Gorakh and blowing the horn (as is the general custom with such yogins).² We also find occasional references to Rādhā’s expressing the desire to assume the form of a yoginī with shaven head and rings in the ears (just like the yoginīs of the Kānaphaṭ order) and to wander from place to place in quest of her lover Kṛṣṇa.³

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² > gorakh jāgāi siṅgā-dhvani karatahi

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³ > e g. muḍāva māthār kes dhariva yoginī-bes

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It will not be out of place to say a few words about the time and authorship of the long narrative poems that constitute the main portion of Bengali Nāth literature. As for the time of composition of these poems what we can at most say is that the skeleton of the stories may be as old as the eleventh or the twelfth century; but surely the versions of the songs, which are available to us either in manuscript, or in the oral reproduction of the singers, are not very old. There is sometimes a tendency, however, to take account of the linguistic evidence in this connection;

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jaṭilā bhikha āni dei | etc.
*Sri-srī-pada-kalpa-taru*, edited by S. Roy, Song No. 398.

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yadi soi piyā nāhi aila |
* * *
geruyā basana aṅgete pariva
śaṅkhera kuṇḍala pari |
yoginī bese yāva sei dese etc.
*Vaiṣṇava-padāvali*, Vasumati edition, p. 234.
Also :—keha bale cala ghare dvāre agni diyā |
kāne pari kuṇḍal caliva yogī hañā ||
*Caitanya-bhāgavata*, Madhya—Ch. xxvii.

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but in the examination of the linguistic evidence provincialism is more often than not confused with archaism. It is difficult to determine at this late period of the history of our literature who the original composers of the songs of Gorakh-nāth and Gopī-cānd were; but it seems that these songs were handed down from singer to singer from sometimes near about the twelfth century A.D. In course of such transmission the skeleton of the story was supplied with new flesh and blood by different singers and poets in different times and localities. Munshi Abdul Karim in his introduction to the Gorakṣa-vijaya argues from the frequency and the prominence of the name of Sekh Fayjulla in the colophons, and also from the evidence of some Sūfistic Islamic influence in the version of the Gorakṣa-vijaya, that Sekh Fayjulla is the original poet of the Gorakṣa-vijaya. But it seems that all the poets, including Sekh Fayjulla himself, received some versions of the poem from earlier sources and to the version they received they made sufficient additions and alterations.

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The Nāth literature of Bengal, far from being an isolated phenomenon, is closely connected with the history of the Nāth literature of most of the Indo-Aryan vernaculars, viz., Panjabi, Marathi, Midland Hindi and Eastern Hindi and also Oḍiyā. Besides the vernacular texts on Gorakh-nāth and those ascribed to the authorship of Gorakh-nāth there are as many as thirty Sanskrit texts on yoga, ascribed to the authorship of Gorakh.¹ Besides these Sanskrit texts Gorakhnāth is claimed to have been an early writer of Hindi poetry and he is further claimed to have been the first known Hindi (or Panjabi) prose-writer.¹ Dr. Mohan Singh gives the list of as many as twenty-five Hindi works about Gorakh-nāth and his cult mentioned in the State Library, Jodhpur.² He also gives illustrations from other poetical works embodying the sayings of Gorakh and of these the Gorakh-bodh, which is taken to be a Hindi work of the fourteenth century, deserves special mention. There are poetical works with the Gopī-cānd legend in old Panjabi, of which mention may be made of the Udās-Gopi-cand.³ The Gopī-cānd legend is very popular also in the Marathi literature, particularly in the folk-lore. The Marathi legends on the Nāths (including Gopī-cānd) can be gathered from the concluding portions of the Jñāneśvarī⁴ of Śrī-jñāneśvara and also from the widely mythical accounts given in the Yogi-sampradāyāviṣkṛti⁵. There is a Hindi version of the Gopī-cānd song by Lakṣaṇa-dāsa.⁶ Even at the present day dramas are composed in Marathi and Hindi with the legend of Gopī-cānd, and it is also a popular story of modern Hindi cinema. Dr. D. C. Sen quotes in his *Typical Selections From Old Bengali Literature* a version of the Gopī-cānd song (in a mixed Oḍiyā-Bengali dialect) from the yogis of Mayurbhanj.¹ Stray songs on Gopī-cānd and Gorakh-nāth are popular even at the present day among the yogis of the Punjab, Bombay and Maraṭha. Songs of Gopī-cānd, similar to those that are found in Bengal, are current as popular folk-lore also in Magahi and in the Bhoj-puri dialect.²

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¹ Of these mention may be made of the following :— (1) Amaraugha-śāsana, (2) Amara-nātha-saṃvāda, (3) Gorakṣa-siddhānta-saṃgraha, (4) Caturaśīty-āsana, (5) Jñānāmṛta, (6) Yoga-cintāmaṇi, (7) Yoga-mahimā, (8) Yoga-mārtaṇḍa, (9) Yoga-siddhānta-paddhati, (10) Viveka-mārtaṇḍa, (11) Siddha-siddhānta-paddhati, (12) Gorakṣa-saṃhitā, (13) Gorakṣa-śataka or Jñāna-śataka, (14) Gorakṣa-kalpa, (15) Gorakṣa-gītā, (16) Nātha-līlāmṛta, (17) Gorakṣopaniṣad, (18) Kāya-bōdha, (19) Yoga-vija, (20) Amanaska-vivaraṇa, (21) Siddha siddhānta-saṃgraha, etc. Vide Gorakṣanāth and Mediaeval Hindu Mysticism, by Dr. Mohan Singh, and Gorakhnāth and The Kānphaṭa Yogis, by G. W. Briggs, Ch. XII.

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¹ Vide Gorakhanāth and Mediaeval Hindu Mysticism, by Dr. Mohan Singh. Also, History of Panjabi Literature by Dr. Mohan Singh.

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² The list is as follows :-Gan Bodh, Gorakh-Ganesh Gosthi, Mahadev-Gorakh-samvad, Gorakh-Datt Gosthi, Kanthad-bodh, Asht-Mudra, Panchmatri Jog, Abhai Matra, Daya-bodh, Narve-bodh, Ankalishalok, Kafar-vodh, Gorakhnath Ki Satra-Kala, Atam-bodh, Pran Sankhi, Gyan Chautisi, Sankhya Darshan, Rahras, Nathji Ki Tithali, Battris Lecchan, Granth Homavari, Chhand Gorakhnath Ji ka, Kisan Astuti-Kari, Siddh Ikbis Gorakh, Sist Praman Granth. Besides these the following texts are also said to belong to the sect; e.g., Tattva-sāra, Brahma-jñāna, Svarūpa-jñāna, etc., attributed to Gorakh-nāth, Asaṅga-vākya of Bāla-nāth, Mahāyoga-vākya of Māṇḍukī-pāva, Mukti-sarala-vākya of Vakra-nāth, Amṛta-prayoga of Hālika-pāva, etc.

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³ The MS. of the text is preserved in the Library of the University of the Punjab (No. 374). Dr. Singh in his work on Gorakh-nāth quotes some portions of the text.

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⁴ A Marathi commentary on the Gītā by Jñāneśvara.

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⁵ A Hindi work said to be a translation by Candra-nāth yogī, and published by Śiva-nāth Śāstri, Ahmedabad.

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⁶ B. S. P. P., B.S., 1928, No. 2.

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¹ Mr. G. C. Halder, M.A., has given a short sketch of the Panjabi, Hindustani, Gujrati, Maraṭhi and Bengali versions of the story of Gopī-cānd under the caption of *The Legend of Raja Gopī-cānd* in a paper read in the sixth Oriental Conference. (*Vide Proceedings of the Sixth Oriental Conference*).

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² *Vide* J. A. S. B., Vol. liv, Part 1, 1886. Also, J. A. S. B., Vol. lii, 1883, *Folk-lore from Eastern Gorakhpur* by Fraser.

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The historical reason for this wide-spread popularity of the Nāth literature throughout India is that the Nāth movement was, and still is, an all-Indian movement. The followers of this sect, who are now best known as the Kānphaṭ yogins (because of the peculiar custom of having the ears pierced through before being initiated into the order and also of wearing ear-rings) are found widely scattered all over India. They are occasionally met with separately as wandering mendicants in towns and villages and also in groups in their headquarters. Such Yogins are found abundantly in the Northern Deccan, in the Central Provinces, in Gujrat and Maraṭha, in U. P., Bihar and Bengal, and also in some Himalayan regions, particularly in Nepal. Even at the present day the Kānphaṭ yogins have their quarters and sacred places of pilgrimage all over India, the headquarters of Ṭilla in the Punjab and that of Gorakhpur and Dinodar being the most important.³ Whoever might have been the original exponent of the cult, Gorakh-nāth, of all the Nāths, enjoys the most widespread celebrity and popularity, and it will be very clear from the heaps of traditions and legends that have gathered round the figure of this great Yogin that, wherever might have been the birth-place of Gorakh-nāth, the field of his activities spread from the Frontier Provinces in the west to Bengal in the east including the Himalayan regions. It is for this reason that literary accounts of Gorakh-nāth’s life and activities are found in almost all parts of India. Another point to note is that, though the Kānphaṭ Yogins have their quarters and headquarters, where they generally reside in groups, the custom of going on long pilgrimage to the sacred places scattered all over the country is very popular among them, and it is natural that with their long wanderings they have spread the legends and traditions of their sect to all parts of the country, and this may be recognised as a plausible explanation for the inter-mingling of the stories and and traditions. In spite of the legendary and mythical nature of the story of king Gopi-cānd, we have reasons to believe that he was a historical person and that his native land was Bengal;¹ but it is because of the reasons stated above that this story of Gopi-cānd plays a very important part in the folk-literature of the different vernaculars. There is a large number of wandering yogins belonging to the Kānphaṭ sect, who beg from door to door, from one part of India to the other part, singing songs on Gorakh-nāth and Gopi-cānd. In Bengal we occasionally find such a class of Hindu Yogins and Muslim Fakirs still singing songs of the Nāths.

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³ For the numerical strength of the Kānphaṭ yogins in the different provinces of India and for their sects, sub-sects, vows, customs, quarters and sacred places of pilgrimage see the work of Mr. Briggs. As Mr. Briggs has dealt with these things in detail, the present writer does not propose to enter into the details of the question here.

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¹ Vide Infra, Appendix (c).

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We have given before an exposition of the religious background of the Nāth literature of Bengal and some other problems, which are associated with the origin and development of the cult. Now we shall give a short sketch of the stories with which the Nāth literature of Bengal flourished. The story of Gorakh-nāth runs as follows :—

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At the time of the creation of the universe Śiva came out of the mouth of the primordial Lord in the form of a Yogin with matted hair and ear-rings; Mīna-nāth was born as a Siddha and from the bone (hāḍa) of the Lord was born Hāḍiphā (i.e., Jālandharipā); from the ear (karṇa) of the Lord was born Kānphā, and Gorakh-nāth with his long hanging bag of mystic importance (siddha-jhuli) and his outer garment of patched cloth (kanthā) came from the matted hair of the Lord. A beautiful girl of the name of Gauri was the mother of the world. The Lord then asked some one of the Yogins (including Śiva, who here represents none but Ādi-nāth, traditionally said to be the original Nāth of the Nāth cult) to accept Gauri as his wife, to which all bent their heads in disapproval. At the suggestion of the Lord then Śiva or Hara accepted Gauri and came down on earth with her, and all the Siddhas followed them. Mīna-nāth and Hāḍiphā became attendants of (i.e., disciples of) Hara-Gaurī, Gorakh became the attendant of Mīna-nāth and Kānphā of Hāḍiphā, and all of these began to practise austere yoga. Then Gauri wanted to know from her Lord the supreme truth (tattva). For this purpose both the Lord and his consort repaired to the Kṣiroda sea where there was a small beautiful castle raised on the surface of water (ṭaṅgi). There the Lord began to explain to his consort all the secret truths, but the goddess fell asleep. Mīna-nāth, however, in the form of a fish (mīna) lay beneath the castle and heard all truth from the mouth of the Lord. The Lord came to know of it and cursed Mīna-nāth saying that there would be a time when he would forget all Tattva.

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Thereafter once in Kailāsa the goddess proposed to Śiva that the Siddhas should marry and lead a domestic life; but the Lord replied that the Siddhas were perfect yogins and above all worldly emotions. The goddess then proposed to put the Siddhas to a test in the form of a beautiful damsel. All the Siddhas, excepting Gorakh, fell victims to the amorous charm of the goddess and every one except Gorakh felt within a desire to enjoy her,—and the desire of the Siddhas was all approved of by her.¹ Mina-nāth, as he desired, was destined for the land of Kadali, where he would keep company to the amorous girls of the land; Hāḍiphā was destined for the country of Mayanāmatī, where he would serve as a sweeper and enjoy the company of Mayanāmatī, the queen;—and Kānphā was destined for the city of Ḍāhukā. Consequently Mina-nāth, the great yogin, went to the country of Kadali, where he got enamoured with six hundred women and was passing his days with them in erotic dalliances.² Gorakh-nāth, however, came to know of the sad and shameful plight of his Guru and entered the city of Kadali as a dancing girl. In course of his dancing and singing Gorakh rebuked the preceptor in enigmatic words (so that the women of the country could make no sense out of them) and also explained to him the importance and the processes of yoga. The preceptor gradually came to his senses, recollected his own history and came out of the land with his worthy disciple Gorakh and once more engaged himself in austere practices of yoga.

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¹ Here we find that the goddess adopted all the vilest means to seduce Gorakh but was sadly defeated in all her attempts. Similar legends are also found in the Dharma-maṅgalas, where the goddess tries to captivate the mind of the hero Lāusen by her charm of body in the form of a beautiful woman; but Lāusen, like Gorakh, could put the goddess to shame by the strength of his character.

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² In the Dharma-maṅgalas also we find mention of such a country inhabited mainly by women full of carnal desire and it was only through the grace o Lord Dharma that the hero Lāusen could get the upper hand over all the allurements. The country is called in the Nāth literature the Kadalir Deśa. Various attempts have been made to identify this land of Kadali, the general tendency being to identify it with Kāma-rūpa, which is noted as one of the original centres of Tāntricism, and the yoni-pīṭha of the Goddess. But we should also consider another fact in this connection. In the Sanskrit dramas we find occasional reference to the Kadali-gṛha (i.e., a house in the plantain garden) of the kings for love-making with women other than the married ones. The tradition is also continued in the Bengali Maṅgala-kāvyas, where ordinary women, assembled on the occasion of any marriage ceremony get enamoured with the beauty of the bridegroom and wishes to have him allured in the Kalā-van (plantain garden). May the name Kadali for the country where Mina-nāth got allured by vile women have something to do with the above fact?

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The other story, viz., the story of Gopī-cānd (or Gopī-candra, Govi-candra, or Govinda-candra), which in its complete version includes also the story of his father Māṇik-candra, runs as follows (the differences in the different versions being here ignored) :—

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Māṇik-candra was a renowned and pious king of Bengal. He had many wives, including Mayanāmatī, the daughter of Tilak-candra. To avoid family quarrels Mayanā was decreed to live separately in the city of Pherusā away from the royal family. In the reign of the pious king the happiness and prosperity of the people knew no bounds; but unfortunately a tyrant with a long beard hailed from East-Bengal and occupied the post of Minister for Revenue. His oppression soon led the subjects to join together in worshipping Dharma with mystic religious rites with a view to putting the king to death. The attempt of the people became fruitful and the future longevity of the king was reduced from eighteen years to six months. Citra Govinda (i.e., Citra-gupta, the record-keeper of the king of death and also something like a personal assistant) opened his record-book and issued summons to the king and Godā-yama was sent to bring the life (prāṇa) of the king. Mayanā came to know of the mishap and hastened to the king. She requested the king to get himself initiated into the great mystic wisdom (mahā-jñāna) of yoga, so that he might be able to challenge the decree of Death; but the king felt it beneath his dignity to be initiated by his wife and refused the proposal indignantly; as a result death befell the king and he was brought to the city of the dead. But Mayanā at once seized the city of the dead through her mystic power and inflicted all sorts of torment on the officers.

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The king in charge of the dead was in a fix; but Gorakh-nāth, who was the Guru of Mayanā, brought about some compromise and accordingly Mayanā was endowed with the boon of a son to be born to her. Mayanā came to learn that the life-span of the child was destined to be only eighteen years; she grumbled and it was arranged that the son would be immortal, if he would accept Hāḍi-siddhā as his Guru and attend upon him. The corpse of the king was then cremated in a truly royal manner; Mayanā became Satī by placing herself on the funeral pyre by the side of her husband; but she came back unburnt and in due time gave birth to a son, who was the king Gopi-cānd in question. The prince grew in age and married Adunā, the daughter of king Hariścandra, at the age of twelve (according to some versions at the age of nine), and received his other daughter Padunā as present.¹ The prince ascended the throne and began to enjoy his life to his heart's content in company of the young wives. Mayanā felt that if Gopi-cānd was thus allowed to plunge into worldly enjoyment he would soon die at the age of eighteen. She proposed the king's renunciation of all wealth and beauty, and the acceptance of Hāḍipā as his Guru after taking the vow of a yogin. The king first refused the proposal stoutly and indignantly, and he even went so far as to suspect the character of his mother in connection with Hāḍipā.

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The mother was shocked and Gorakh, her Guru, cursed Gopi-cānd for uttering such calumny against his mother and decreed afflictions during the period of his Sannyāsa. The queen-mother, however, made fresh attempts to convince her son of the vanity of the world and the excellence of the immortal life, which can be attained only through renunciation and yoga. The son was convinced; but when he entered the harem he was once more tutored by the queens and instigated against the mother. The king at the instance of the wives asked his mother to demonstrate her yogic power by standing the ordeals to which she would be put, and the mother agreed. She was put into fire and drowned into water, she was given poison to swallow and made to walk on the edge of a knife and was put under various other direful ordeals of the type; but she came out successful in all cases. According to some of the versions the king, at the instance of the queens, dug a hole under the floor of the stable where Hāḍipā was buried alive; the Siddha resorted to his yogic power and remained absorbed in yogic meditation for a long time and was later on rescued by his disciple Kānupā.¹ Mayanā also asked the Hāḍi-siddhā to demonstrate his supernatural power of yoga before her son and the Siddha performed unbelievable miracles and thereby commanded respect and obeisance from the king.

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The king ultimately accepted Hāḍipā as his preceptor, renounced the world at the age of eighteen,² got his head shaved and ears split, bore the beggar's *Jhuli* and the patched outer garment (*kānthā*) and took to the vow of the yogin. The Guru, however, put the disciple under various trials and tribulations through his magical power, and the worst of all was that the new yogin was sold to a prostitute of the name of Hīrā, who compelled him (the king) to serve her as the humblest menial as a punishment for his refusal to yield to her amorous desires. However, the king bore all these trials with infinite patience and implicit obedience towards the Guru. Mayanā eventually came to know of the sad plight of her son, rebuked Hāḍipā for this maltreatment of her son and demanded the release of her son at once. After long twelve years Hāḍipā came back to the king, cursed the prostitute and all her female attendants to be transformed instantaneously into bats, and conferred the secret wisdom on the king. The king then returned home. He could not first be recognised by the queens; but when recognised, he was welcomed by all and the king began to lead a happy life once more.

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¹ According to the version of Bhavāni-dās Gopi-cānd had four queens, Adunā, Padunā, Ratan-mālā and Kāñcā-sonā (Kāñcan-mālā?). See Gopi-candrer Gān, Part II, C. U., p. 332). According to Sukur Mahmmad the four queens were Adunā, Padunā, Candanā and Phandanā.

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¹ Such is the tradition also in the Marathi versions of the story. See *Yogi-sampradāya viṣkṛti*.

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² In the *Udās Gopi-cānd*, a Panjabi version of the story of Gopi-cānd, we find that Gopi-cānd was made a king at the age of twelve and took *Sannyāsa* at the age of sixteen (*solo barisi kā jogi huā*), and that Gorakh-nāth, and not Hāḍipā, was his Guru. See some portions of the text of *Udās Gopi-cānd* quoted from a MS. at the end of the work of Dr. Mohan Singh.

Cites (15)