INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

vented Jhulelal as the prime God of the Sindhi people in the 1950s under leadership
of the singer and professor Ram Panjwami. Temples to the patron saint were constructed
and narratives, pictures, songs, prayers, and rituals were recreated and distributed
worldwide to forge a shared “Sindhiness”. 162 The revival of the cult of Jhulelal
occurred in times of social unrest when it was perceived crucial to maintain culture
and ethnic borders. The patron saint came to stand as a marker of an ethnic and
cultural Sindhi identity.
At a turning away from Luxa Road, not far from Gurubagh Gurdwara, the local
Sindhi community in Varanasi has constructed a temple called Jhulelal Mandir Sindhi,
which holds a sizeable statue of Jhulelal in the sacrosanct centre. The iconography of
Jhulelal commonly depicts him as bearded old man who is either standing on a fish in
the Indus River, or sitting cross-legged on a lotus placed on a fish. Sometimes Jhulelal
will hold a rosary, read a sacred text, and has one hand risen in a protective gesture
towards the observer. The myths of Jhulelal exist in many variations. Local Sindhis
will say Jhulelal is either a saint or a deity, more specifically venerated as the Vedic
God of waters ‒ Varuna ‒ or an incarnation of Vishnu. A young businessman in Varanasi
rendered a legend, according to which goddess Durga gave birth to two sons:
one was Jhulelal, from whom the Sindhi castes originated, and the other was Guru
Nanak who created the Sikhs. A more popular myth, which is printed in Devanagri
script in small-sized pamphlets and distributed free of charge at Jhulelal Mandir
Sindhi, takes place in the eleventh century when Sindh was under Muslim rule. 163 The
legend tells how Jhulelal appeared from the Sindh River and saved the Hindus from
Muslim oppression ‒ a theme which appeals to the modern history of the partition
and migration from the homeland in Pakistan. A young Sindhi woman said the story
about Jhulelal’s rescue of Hindus in the past has helped Sindhis to restore their lives
and culture in foreign countries. ”We pray to all Gods, but when we think of our
grandfathers and grandmothers we pray to Jhulelal”, she said. For Sindhi communities
scattered all over India and the world the cult of Jhulelal is able to unite them in a
162
Falzon 2004: 60.
163
As this myth narrates, the tyrannical ruler Markshah, based in the town Thete, decided to
convert all Hindus in the province of Sindh to Islam. If he succeeded in this task, he was promised
an easier passage to heaven. The Hindus asked for a respite of three days, promising that
they would convert by free will if no supernatural power inferred within these days. Markshah
accepted their condition. When all the Hindus gathered at the bank of river Sind in prayer,
Jhulelal appeared from the water, sitting on fish, adorned with a crown, holding a rosary in his
hand, and promised that he would be born as a son in the home of name Ratanray in Nazarpur
to save them. A child with supernatural powers called Uderolal was born and when the ruler
Markshah found out from astrologers that the baby was a divine being he decided to convert all
Hindus to Islam and ordered his minister Yusuf to poison and imprison the child. The minister
realized the divineness of the child and sought help from Jhulelal, who appeared as a warrior
and accompanied the minister when he confronted Markshah. With the help of the god of winds
and fire Jhulelal created terrible disasters and finally conquered the Muslim army and ruler,
who were forced to humbly ask for forgiveness. The Hindus were spared and freedom of religion
was established in Sindh. The story is published in Hindi by Tripathi 1995.
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008