Shankar
Ramayana by Swami
Shankar Razdan
- M.K. Raina
Over the ages Kashmir
has had its compliment of Rishi, Munis, Saints and
Sufis who helped common people discover the truth.
Among them lived in the middle of the last
century, Swami Shankar Razdan, who was revered by
all for his spiritual attainments. Swamiji was not
only a saint, but also had great literary
attainments. One of his more important
contributions to the Kashmiri literature is his
Ramayana in Kashmiri verse which he wrote in
Sharada script. He has left behind many Vakyas,
Leelas which are a source of inspiration to the
faithful.
It is unfortunate that
his Ramayana has not been printed. It should not
be difficult at present to transcribe the text
from Sharda into Devanagari script for the benefit
of the readers. After some time this task may
become impossible with the passing away of those
people who know the Sharda script.
VAAKH SIDHI
Born in a middle class
family at Kania Kadal, Srinagar, Shankar, even in
his childhood, had displayed a remarkable Vaakh
Siddhi i.e. what he said would come true. As a
child he would be absorbed in contemplation. As
such he had not much attachment to the family. His
father a revenue official, was posted in Kulgam,
an area abounding in natural beauty. Shankar spent
his early days there which brought him closer to
nature. The surroundings were in tune with his
spiritual make-up and he started his Tapasya in
Uttarsu, at a shrine of Umma Bhagwati. He later
wanted to shift his place of contemplation to
Khirbhavani shrine in Manzgam (Kulgam).
On his way to Manzgarn,
Swamiji encountered a strange phenomenon. All of a
sudden dark clouds started gathering overhead and
there followed lighting and thunderstorms which
uprooted trees. Rocks started rolling down the
Vishaw river and along with it was swept away
Shankar Razdan. Being a man of presence, Swamiji
was not afraid of this extraordinary phenomenon.
On the contrary, he took it as an indication of
some supernatural happening. In a flash he saw the
Devi on a rock beckoning to him. The Devi extended
a corner of Her 'Longi' to the Swami; he caught
hold of it and the Devi pulled him to herself,
applied Tilak on the forehead of the Swami and
gave him Khir and other Prashad with Her own
hands. The Devi admonished him for frittering away
his energies in search of the Divine without a
Guru. He should go to one of Her devotees, Swami
Zanardan Dhar of Srinagar, to whose care, she had
given him for future. "He will give you Updesh,"
said the Devi, and disappeared.
In a short while the
storm subsided, the sky cleared, the sun shone and
the Swami found his way to safety. This was a
clear indication to the Swami that the Devite whom
he was going had met him half way, given him
Darshan and confined him to the care of Swami
Zanardan. No sooner did Shankar Razdan reach
Srinagar, Swami Zanardai came out to greet him and
since then Shankar Razdan continued to be a
Shishya of Swami Zanardan.
A few instances of the
miracles that were performed by the Swami may be
narrated here. Once he, along with his other
fellow students, was studying at night. There
being no other means of lighting those days they
were studying under an oil lamp. The oil of the
lamp dried up and the lamp started to flicker. The
students felt disappointed because it was not
possible to go out to fetch oil at that late hour
to refill the lamp. Shanker told them not to mind
and the lamp started to light up brightly to the
wonder of his fellow-students. It went on well
beyond their requirement. It is possible that it
was in rememberance of this event that when a
Samadhi was built in the memory of the Swami, it
was named the temple of Ratanjot.
Swami Shankar Razdan used
to carry axe with him and worship it. Once on
Sawan Poornmashi thousands of people were on
pilgrimage to the holy Amarnath Cave. The Swai was
at his home. He had not gone on pilgrirmage. At
Amarnath there was a thunderstorm. People were in
distress and there was danger of large scale death
and devastation. All of a sudden Swamiji appeared
near the cave deep in Tapasya. The sky cleared and
the people were happy at the sight of the Swami.
On their return from the cave they did not find
the Swami at his place. When they reached Srinagar
and narrated their tribulations and mentioned the
presence of the Swami there , his disciples were
puzzled and asserted that the Swami had never
stepped out of his hut. He had twelve years Tapsya.
ADOPTS CHILD
Swamiji was a celibate
and had no family. Once a widow came to him with
the limp body of a child stricken with small pox
in her arms who, she thought had breathed his
last. She cried and wailed.
before the Swami and told
him that it was her only child who was no more.
She implored him to do something to bring the
child back to life. Everyone present was moved by
the pleadings of the widow And implored the
Mahatma to grant her a boon. After some
contemplation Swami Shankar Razdan told the widow
that her son might return to life but she should
have to part with him. He offered to adopt the
child. The widow, for the sake of the life of her
child, agreed readily to have nothing to do with
him if he came back to life and the Mahatma could
adopt him if he liked.
The Mahatma sprinkled
some holy water from his Puja on the child who
started opening his eyes and making movements.
There was great excitement and happiness among the
devotees and they fell at the feet of Mahatma. The
child recovered and was named Ramjoo by the
Mahatma and adopted by him. He brought up Ramjoo
with great care, gave him good education, secular
as well as religious.
SPURNED
The Maharaja of Kashmir
out of consideration for Mahatma wanted to give a
prize post to young Ramjoo but Swami Shankar
Razdan would have none of it. Aftcr grrat
persuasion, he allowed his adopted son to take
Government service which was the only means of
livelihood for Kashmiri Pandits those days. Shri
Ramjoo rose step by step to become Military
Secretary in the Government and later adviser to
Raja Amar Singh, father of late Maharaja Hari
Singh.
Sawmi Shankar Razdan
lived and died in his humble Kutia. The Swami was
a man of learning. He wrote extensively, and, as
mentioned above, his Ramayana in Kashmiri is a
unique piece of religious literature which awaits
publication. When he attained Mukhti the Maharaja
got a Samadhi built in his name. It was named
Mandir Ratanjot. Though the Mandir is in private
hands, it is open to, all - Hindus, Muslims,
Christians and othersEveryone in Chattahal reveres
the memory of Swami Shanker Razdan. In the temple
are placed the personal effects of the Mahatma,
the axe which he worshipped and the offerings made
by the Maharajas and other humbler folk. There are
mazy books in the temple, some in Kashmiri Sharda
which need to be researched upon.
It is the first Ramayana
written by Swami Ji when Maharaja Ranbir Singh was
ruling the state who was devotee of Swamiji. This
Ramayana is written in Sharda lipi and the
language is Kashmiri. Some Sanskrit words are also
used. This Ramayana has been written in Saptrishi
Samwat 4945 in 18 century. It is also unpublished.
Its original Manuscript copy is with me. It is in
verse. Some events are depicted in art colours.
The colours are not chemical but are prepared from
original flowers. These paintings resemble the
Basholi Art Printers. As per one verse, the said
date of completion of Ramayana is Samwat 4945. So
it is safe to consider it as the first Ramayana of
the century and not the second one as mentioned by
some writers.
The original manuscript
is lying safe and is in Sharda Script. I am trying
my best to get it translated into Devnagri from
Sharda, but I am not able to find any person who
knows Sharda written in Kashmiri. My friend late
Dr. Pushap Ji had promised to do the job,
unfortunately he was snatched away from us. I
appeal to any Sharda knowing personality in
getting this Ramayana translated. I am even
prepared to pay for this job. The complete life of
the saint has been published in book form in
Hindi, Urdu and articles in English from time to
time by me. It will not be out of place to mention
here that there are seven Ramayanas in Kashmiri
Sharda and Persian in 19th Century by different
saints and poets. This was the period of Dogra
Rule in the J&K State from 1846 to 1947 A.D.
Maharaja Ranbir Singh and
Partap Singh were ruling the state from 1856 to
1940 A.D. It is believed that many more Ramayanas
have been written by learned saints and poets
before the 11th century, but there is only one
Ramayana of this century available which is
written by Acharya Khemander. It is also believed
that after the spread of Islamic culture in
Kashmir such literature appears to have been
destroyed in this period due to Islamic rule since
1914 and thereafter no one might have tried to
compose further Ramayanas. If any one had tried,
that too appears to have been destroyed. It is in
Dogra period that there are seven Ramayanas
written. They are:
- Parkash Ramayana by
Pt. Parkash Ram Tarigami who lived from 1819 to
1886. This Ramayana was published in 1910 in
Persian at Partap Steam press in Srinagar and
has been translated by Dr. Shiban Krishan Raina
in Devnagri and has been published by Bhawani
trust in Lucknow in 1975.
Anand Ramayana, written
by Anand Razdan in 1888 and this has not seen
the light of day as yet.
-
Partap Ramayana by
Vishva Kaul in 1930.
-
Sharma Ramayana written
by Pt. Nilkant Sharma written in 1919 and
completed in 1926. This too is unpublished.
-
Tarachand Ramayana
written by Pt. Tarachand in 1926 AD. It is also
not published as yet.
-
Amar Ramayana, written
by Pt. Amar Nath in 1940. This too is
unpublished.
Source:
Vitasta
Annual Number
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