Lalleshwari

Lal Ded
Native name

लल्लेश्वरी

لل دید
Born 1320
Pandrethan, Kashmir
Died 1392
Other names Lalla, Lal Ded, Lal Diddi
Known for Vatsun poetry

Lalleshwari (Kashmiri: للء ایشوری) born;1320, died;1392, was a mystic of the Kashmiri Shaivite sect.[1] She was a creator of the mystic poetry called vatsun or Vakhs, literally "speech" (Voice). Known as Lal Vakhs, her verses are the earliest compositions in the Kashmiri language and are an important part in history of modern Kashmiri literature.[2][3] She inspired and interacted with many Sufis of Kashmir.[4]

She is also known by various other names, including Lal Ded, Lalla Aarifa, Lal Diddi, Laleshwari, Lalla Yogishwari and Lalishri.[5][6][7]

Life

Lalleshwari was born in Pandrethan (ancient Puranadhisthana) some four and a half miles to the southeast of Srinagar in a Kashmiri Pandit family.[8] She married at age twelve, but her marriage was unhappy and she left home at twenty-four to take sanyas (renunciation) and become a disciple of the Shaivite guru Siddha Srikantha (Sed Bayu). She continued the mystic tradition of Shaivism in Kashmir, which was known as Trika before 1900.[9]

Literary works

Her poems (called vakhs) have been translated into English by Richard Temple, Jaylal Kaul, Coleman Barks,[10] Jaishree Odin, and Ranjit Hoskote.[11][12][13][14][15]

An example of Lal Vakh in Kashmiri:

yi yi karu'm suy artsun
yi rasini vichoarum thi mantar
yihay lagamo dhahas partsun
suy Parasivun tanthar −138

English translation:

Whatever work I did became worship of the Lord;
Whatever word I uttered became a prayer;
Whatever this body of mine experienced became
the sadhana of Saiva Tantra
illumining my path to Parmasiva. -138

Legacy

The leading Kashmiri Sufi figure, Sheikh Noor-ud-din Wali, also known as Nooruddin Rishi or Nunda Rishi, was highly influenced by Lal Ded who ultimately led to formation of Rishi order of saints and later gave rise to many Rishi saints like Resh Mir Sàeb .[1] One Kashmiri folk story recounts that as a baby, Nunda Rishi refused to be breast-fed by his mother. It was Lal Ded who breast-fed him.[16]

Lal Ded and her mystic musings continue to have a deep impact on the psyche of Kashmiri common man, and the 2000 National Seminar on her held at New Delhi led to the release of the book Remembering Lal Ded in Modern Times.[17] A solo play in English, Hindi and Kashmiri titled 'Lal Ded' (based on her life), has been performed by actress Mita Vashisht all over India since 2004.[18][19]

Further reading

See also

References

  1. 1 2 M. G. Chitkara (1 January 2002). Kashmir Shaivism: Under Siege. APH Publishing. pp. 14–. ISBN 978-81-7648-360-5.
  2. ↑ Lal Vakh online
  3. ↑ Lal Ded's Vakhs
  4. ↑ Triloki Nath Dhar (1 January 2006). Kashmiri Pandit Community: A Profile. Mittal Publications. p. 7. ISBN 978-81-8324-177-9.
  5. ↑ Richard Carnac Temple (1 August 2003). Word of Lalla the Prophetess. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7661-8119-9.
  6. ↑ Lal Ded www.poetry-chaikhana.com.
  7. ↑ Lal Ded www.radiokashmir.org.
  8. ↑ Lalleshwari: Forerunner of Medieval Mystics Kashmiri Herald, Volume 1, No. 1 – June 2001.
  9. ↑ Toshkhani, S.S. (2002). Lal Ded : the great Kashmiri saint-poetess. New Delhi: A.P.H. Pub. Corp. ISBN 81-7648-381-8.
  10. ↑ Barks, Coleman (1992). Naked Song. Maypop Books. ISBN 0-9618916-4-5.
  11. ↑ Kashmir's wise old Grandmother Lal Aditi De's review of I, Lalla by Ranjit Hoskote in The Hindu/ Business Line
  12. ↑ Mystic insights Abdullah Khan's review of I, Lalla by Ranjit Hoskote in The Hindu
  13. ↑ Words are floating Jerry Pinto's review of I, Lalla by Ranjit Hoskote in Hindustan Times
  14. ↑ Lalla and Kabir, resurrected Nilanjana S. Roy's article on Ranjit Hoskote's I, Lalla and Arvind Krishna Mehrotra's Songs of Kabir
  15. ↑ I, Lalla/ Songs of Kabir Extracts from Ranjit Hoskote's I, Lalla and Arvind Krishna Mehrotra's Songs of Kabir in The Caravan
  16. ↑ K. Warikoo (1 January 2009). Cultural Heritage of Jammu And Kashmir. Pentagon Press. pp. 140–. ISBN 978-81-8274-376-2.
  17. ↑ Remembering Lal Ded in Modern Times National Seminar by Kashmir Education, Culture and Science Society, 2000.
  18. ↑ Songs of a mystic The Hindu, 1 May 2005.
  19. ↑ Bhumika K. All for theatre. The Hindu, 7 November 2011.

External links

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