Guest post by Man Mohan Munshi Ji. Towards the end I am adding an old photograph of the place and a bit about a Kashmiri proverb related to the place.
The present Vitasta -Sindhu -Samgama the conflunce of Jhelum and Sind rivers at Naranbagh near Shadipur. The river in the left foreground with greyish coloured water is the Sind river and the other with the bluish green coloured water in the right background is the Jhelum. Suyya the able engineer of King Avantivarman by his skill shifted the position of Vitastasindhusamgama from Parihaspura Trigami area to its present location in the vicinity of Sundribhavana (Naran Bagh) by forcing the course of Vitasta north east wards by blocking its original course with embankments to reclaim the cultivable land from flood prone areas and marshes. A Vishnu temple by the name of Yogavasmin was also built by Suyya at the instance of Avantivarman.
The solitary Chinar standing in water in the immediate vicinity of the confluence is considered holy and compared to the holy fig tree at Triveni near Allahbad
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The Chinar tree at Shadipore in a photograph by Fred Bremner. 1905
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Preyaghuch buni nah thadan nah lokan nah badan.
The chinar of preyag neither become taller, nor shorter, nor bigger.
A poor sickly child, who does not grow or become fat.
An explanation about the Chinar tree of prayag that can be found in the book ‘A Dictionary of Kashmiri Proverbs and Sayings’ by James Hinton Knowles (1885):
This chinar tree is in the middle of a little island just big enough to pitch your tent on, in the midst of the Jhelum river by the village Shadipur. The Hindus have consecrated the place, and a Brahman is to be seen twice every day paddling himself along in a little boat to the spot, to worship and to make his offerings.
This chinar tree at Shadipur is believed to be the (sangam) confluence of rivers Indus (Sind) and Jhelum (Vitasta) and is called `Prayag’ by Kashmiri pandits – alluding to Prayag that is Allahabad where Yamuna and Ganga meet up. Kashmiri Pandits used to immerse the ashes and remains of their dead at this spot.
The following six images pertain to the temple of Govardanahara, built and dedicated by Laltaditya Mukhpida of Karkota Dynasty in 8th century AD, one of the greatest Monarchs who ever ruled Kashmir. The great Monarch founded his capital at Parihaspura and built numerous temples of Vishnu, Shiva and Bhudha. He built Viharas, Agarharas and palaces at and around
Parihaspura. According to Kalhana a silver image of Vishnu was installed in the Govardanahara temple. But the capital did not survive for long as the royal residence was removed by his son Vajradatya. The Vitastasindhusamgama which during Laldatiya existed between Parihaspura and Trigami (Trigom) karewas was shifted to its present location opposite Naranbagh by Soyya, the able engineer of King Avantivarman in 9th century who shifted the capital to Avantipura. Later the temples were vandalised during the Muslim rule during 14th-15th century.
Distant view of Govardanadhara temple
Closer view of the ruins only staircases and plinth is left
Only surviving statues
ASI Notice Board
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To these images I am adding following notes:
Note on the ancient site by Pandit Anand Koul from his book ‘Archaeological Remains In Kashmir’ (1935) . [You can read the complete book here]:
Ruins at Paraspur
The site of ancient Paraspur (Parihasapura) lies nearly 2 1/2 miles south-west from Shadipur. On leaving the boat one crosses some corn field and, after ascending a gradual slope and passing through Trigam, reaches the plateau on which the ancient mounds rise. This city, says Kalhana, was founded by Lalitaditya Muktapida (A.D. 701-37) one of the greatest sovereigns of Kashmir, and a brief account is given of the five large buildings he erected here viz.,(1) the temple of Mukta-keshva with a golden image of Vishnu, (2) the temple of Parihasa-keshava with a silver image of Vishnu.(3) the temple of Mahavaraha with its image of Vishnu clad in golden armour, (4) the temple of Govardhanadhara with a silver image and (5) the so-called Rajavihara with a large quadrangle.
Here was a colossal statue of Buddha in copper. The confluences of the Sindhu and Vitasta was at this place inn ancient times. It was a very renowned place in by-gone days. There are many ruins of ancient temples still found in and near it, e.g.(1) temple ruins at Paraspur, (2) well preserved foundation of the temple of Vainya-swamin on the Paraspur Udar, near Ekmanpur, and (3) ruins at Malikpur. Of the temples to the west of Divar village there remains only a confused mass of huge blocks. The quadrangle too is utterly ruined and traceable only by wall foundations and broken pillars, etc. The large dimensions of these temples are indicated by the fact that the peristyle of the one further to the west formed a square of about2 75 feet. and that of the other an oblong of 230 feet by 170 feet. There are other ruined temples at this place, but they are all in a state of destruction. On the top of the mound lies a block remarkable for its size, being 8 1/2 feet square and 4 1/2 feet in height which, to judge from the large circular hole cut in its centre, must evidently have formed the base of a high column, or of a colossal image. The character of the ruins at Divar agrees exactly with that of the shrines mentioned in Kalhana’s account.The shrine Vainya-swamin can be recognized with certainty in the ruined temple at Malikpur, one mile from the northern group of the Divar ruins. Sir Aurel Stein writes in the Rajatarangini about this place: –
“The vicissitudes, through which Parihaspura has passed after the reign of Lalitaditya, explain sufficiently the condition of utter decay exhibited by the Divar ruins. The royal residence, which Lalitaditya had placed at Parihasapura, was removed from there already by his son Vajraditya. The great change of the Vitasta, removed the junction of this river with the Sindhu from Parihasapura to the present Shadipur,nearly three miles away. This must have seriously impaired the importance of Parihasapura. Scarcely a century and a half after Lalitadiya’s death,King Shankaravarman (A.D. 883-901) used materials from Parihasapura for the construction of his new town and temples at Pattan. Some of the shrines, however, must have survived to a later period, as we find the Purohitas of Parihasapura referred to as an apparently influential body in the reign of Samgramaraja (A.D. 1003-28). Under King Harsha the colossal Buddha image of Parihasapura is mentioned among the few sacred statues which escaped being seized and melted down by that king. The silver image of Vishnu Parihasakeshava was subsequently carried away and broken up by King Harsha. The final destruction of the temple of Parihasapora is attributed to Sikandar But-Shikan (A.D. 1394-1416).Even up to the year 1727 A.D. the Paraspur plateau showed architectural fragments of great size, which have since been carried away as building materials.It is interesting to find that these ruins were yet at a comparatively so recent time generally attributed to Lalitaditya’s building”
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Aurel Stein made a spot visit to Paraspora in Sept. 1892. There he traced the actual ruins of the building describedin the Rajatarangini. These remains were situated near the village Sambal on a small plateau (Udar) between themarshes of Panznor and village Haratrath. Stein identidied five great buildings which Lalitaditya had erected at Parihaspura. These were identified as Parihasakeswa, Mukatakeswa, Mahavaraha, Govardhanadhara and Rajavihara.The first four were temples dedicated to worship of Vishnu and the last named was a Buddhist convent. However whenrevisiting the site in May 1896, Stein found many of the stones missing that existed in 1892. On inquiry heleared that these stones were taken away by the contractors engaged in building the new Tonga road to Srinagar.To prevent such callous damage that was being caused to these relics of past, Stein made a representation to theResident Sir Adelbert Talbot for urgent need of protecting the remains. The Resident supposted his petition andeffective steps were ordered by the Maharaja to prevent repetion of similar vandalism
Note on the site from ‘Ancient Monuments of Kashmir’ (1933) by Ram Chandra Kak.[Read the complete book here at KOA]:
Plate LV
The karewas of Paraspor and Divar are situated at a distance of fourteen miles from Srinagar on the Baramula road. They were chosen by King Lalitaditya (c. A.D. 750) for the erection of a new capital city, and it is certain that, given a sufficient supply of drinking water, the high and dry Plateaus of Parihasapura have every advantage over the low, swampy Srinagar as a building site. Lalitaditya and his ministers seem to have vied with each other in embellishing the new city with magnificent edifices which were intended to be worthy alike of the king’s glory and the ministers’ affluence. The Plateau is studded with heaps of ruins of which a few have been excavated. Among these the most important are three Buddhist structures, a stupaj a monastery, and a chaitya. Their common features are the enormous size of the blocks of limestone used in their construction, the smoothness of their dressing, and the fineness of their joints. The immense pile at the north-eastern corner of the Plateau is the stupa (Plate LV) of Chankuna, the Turkoman (?) minister of Lalitaditya. Its superstructure has entirely disappeared, leaving behind a huge mass of scorched boulders which completely cover the top of the base. There is a large massive block in the middle of this debris, which has a circular hole in the middle, 5′ deep. It is probable that this stone belonged to the hti (finial) of the stupa, and that the hole is the mortice in which was embedded the lower end of the staff of the stone umbrellas which crowned the drum.
The base is 128′ 2″ square in plan, with offsets and a flight of steps on each side. Its mouldings are of the usual type, a round torus in the middle and a filleted torus as the cornice. The steps were flanked by plain rails and side walls which had pilasters in front decorated with carved figures of seated and standing atlantes. Some of these are in position, while others, which were lying about loose, have been transported to the Srinagar Museum. They are not grotesque creatures like those so commonly seen in Gandhara, but have the appearance of ordinary respectable gentlemen, whose placid features seem to indicate that the superincumbent weight sits lightly upon them. The top surface of each of the two plinths is broad and affords adequate space for circumambulation. Among the loose architectural stones lying scattered about the site are a few curious blocks in the south-eastern and south-western corners. They are round torus stones adorned with four slanting bands or fillets running round the body. As this type of torus moulding is not used in either of the bases, it is probable that it belonged to the string-course on the drum of the stupa. There are fragments of trefoiled arches also, which contained images of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas.
The large square structure to the south of the stupa is the rajavihara, or royal monastery. A flight of steps in the east wall gives access to one of its cells which served as a verandah. The monastery is a quadrangle of twenty-six cells enclosing a square courtyard which was originally paved with stone flags, some of which are extant. In front of the cells was a broad verandah, which was probably covered, the roof being supported by a colonnade which ran along the edge of the plinth. A flight of steps corresponding to the one mentioned above leads down to the courtyard. Exactly opposite to this, in the middle of the west wall, are three cells preceded by a vestibule, which is built on a plinth projected into the courtyard. It is probable that these were the apartments occupied by the abbot of the monastery. Near a corner of it is a large stone trough, which may have served as a water reservoir for bathing purposes. A couple of stone drains passing underneath cells Nos. 18 and 21 (if we begin counting from the cell to the south of the entrance chamber) carry off the rain and other surplus water from the courtyard. Externally the plinth is about 10′ high. In cell No. 25 (that is the one to the north of the entrance chamber) was found a small earthen jug which contained forty-four silver coins in excellent preservation. They belonged to the time of kings Vinayaditya, Vigraha, and Durlabha. They are now exhibited in the Numismatic Section of the Srinagar Museum. The monastery was repaired at a subsequent period. The repairs are plainly distinguishable in the exterior of the wall on the eastern and western sides.
The building next to it on the south side is the chaitya built by Lalitaditya. It stands on a double base of the usual type. A flight of steps on the east side leads to the entrance, which must originally have been covered by a large trefoil-arch, fragments of which are Iying about the site. This building possesses some of the most massive blocks of stone that have ever been used in Kashmiri temples, and which compare favourably with those used in ancient Egyptian buildings. The floor of the sanctum is a single block 14′ by 12′ 6″ by 5′ 2″.
The sanctum is 27′ square surrounded by a circumambulatory passage. It is probable that its ceiling was supported on four columns, the bases only of which survive at the four corners. The roof, which was probably supported on the massive stone walls of the pradakshina, may have been of the pyramidal type.
The courtyard is enclosed by a rubble-stone wall which has nothing remarkable about it. In front of the temple steps is the base of a column which probably supported the dhvaja, or banner, bearing the special emblem of the deity enshrined in the sanctuary.
The flank walls of the stair were adorned with atlantes similar to those of the stupa.
Near the chaitya is the foundation of a small building of the diaper-rubble style.
While this Plateau was reserved for the erection of Buddhist buildings only, the other two were exclusively appropriated by Hindus. Perhaps the arrangement was intentional, to avoid possible friction between the two powerful religious bodies. On the karewa locally known as Gordan there are ruins of a Hindu temple which are probably all that remain of Lalitaditya’s temple of Govardhanadhara. Crossing the ravine in which nestles the little village of Diwar- Yakmanpura, and ascending the Plateau opposite, are seen the immense ruins of two extraordinarily large temples – one of them has a peristyle larger than that of Martand – which may represent Lalitaditya’s favourite shrines of Parihasakesava and Muktakesava.
Man Mohan Munshi Ji shares photograph of Submerged ancient temple at Manasaras (Manasbal). It is an ancient spot recently re-discovered and re-claimed. About the place he says:
The temple is an ancient one but not much is known about its antiquity. Some time back it was reported in the print media that it was recently uncovered. I visited the place last month and found that a parapet and fence was built around it but the level of water has remained the same and water was oozing out from an underground spring. I took a plunge inside the water logged temple and felt with my hands about one foot tall Shivling inside the temple.
I do not believe that the Manasbal temple was built under water. Probably the submergence of the temple was caused by (i) silting of the outlet of the lake near Sumbal, subsequent rising of the level of the lake or by (ii) the sinking of an underground cavern below the temple.
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To these photographs I am adding following old note:
“One of the most attractive places in the valley is the Manasbal lake. Being absolutely free from disturbance of any kind, and nestling in an oval basin surrounded on all sides by hills and uplands, the lake is an ideal abode for the happy lotus-eater, who dreams away his days reclining under the shady chinar, and passes his evenings in watching the long streaks of moonlight flitting across the mirror-like surface of the water. Naturally, such a delightful spot would not have been overlooked either by the devout Hindu or the nature- adoring Mughal. The former have left a small temple, now partially submerged during the greater part of the year. It is a very small structure, and only its two pyramidal roofs are visible in the driest seasons. The cornice of the lower roof, and the horizontal band which divides it from the upper storey, are decorated with series of dentils and metopes. Only the upper part of the pediment of the entrance is visible. It faces west.
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Miniature Temple at Manasbal
At the south-east cornner of the lake of Manasbal is a miniature temple built of stone, standing in the water.
The temple appears to be a square of about six feet and has only one doorway to the west covered by a pyramidal pediment, which is divided into two portions by a horizontal return of the said mouldings as in the case of the Martanda colonnade. The upper portian is occupied by the head and shoulder of a figure holding a sort of staff in the left hand. The angles of the lower portion of the doorway pediment, below the horizontal moulding and above the trefoil, are occupied each with a naked figure leaning against the head of the trfoil, and holding up over the arch a sort of waving scarf which is passed on through the other hand.
Man Mohan Munshi Ji is back after a month and a half long tour of Kashmir Valley visiting remote inaccessible glens, valleys, mountain tops and holy places. He will be sharing his photographs from the tour here at this blog. First in this series is his photographs of Naran Nag. About the place he says:
A number of ruins of ancient temples exist at Narang Nag near Wangat locted by the side of Kankahini (Krenk Nadi) above the township of Kangan in Sind valley. It is believed that these temples were built by well to do Pilgrims as a thanks giving for successful yatra of Haramukh above Utrasaras (Gangabal).
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To these photographs I am adding a note on Naran Nag temple complex by Pandit Anand Koul from his book ‘Archaeological Remains In Kashmir’ (1935) . [You can read the complete book here]:
“Five miles to the east of Vangat (Vasishtbashrama) higer up in the Sindh Valley, there are some
ruined temples near the spring called Naran Nag, at the foot of the Bhutsher or Bhuteshvara spur of
the Haramukuta peaks. They are in two groups, situated at a distance of about 100 yards from each other.
The locality of these temple nearer Vangat is known by the name of Rajdhani, or metropolis.
This group consists of six buildings, all more or lss ruined, and the remains of an enclosing wall, measuring
176 feet by 130 feet, may still be traced, although there is no evidence of the form it originally had.
The largest temple of the group measures 24 feet square and has a projection on each of its four sides, measuring
3 feet by 15 1/2 feet 6 in. The main blovk is surmounted by a pyramidal roof of rubble formerly, no doubt, faced with stone; and
the gables which terminated the porch-like projections on all four sides, can still be traced. Ther are two entrances facing east
and west. Not far from the group is a platform, rectangular in shape, (100 feet by 67 feet) which appears to have been
the basement of some building or temple. A colonnade once existed all round it – numerous bases of pillars are to be seen in their
places on one of the longer sides of the rectangle, and several fragments of fluted columns are lying about, their average diameter being
two feet.
About 20 yards to the north-east of the platform are the ruins of the second group of temples, eleven in number, with the remains of a gateway
in the centre about 22 feer wide, similar to that belonging to the first group. The principal one among them is 25 feet square with projections
on each face.
A mass of stone measuring 22 feet by 7 feet shaped into a tank for water, exists on the south face of the principal temples.
The whole group is encircled by the remains of a rectangular wall of which the foundation can be traced, together with several bases of pillars;
and at the N.W. corner is a large tank of stone, full of cold and clear water. The dome of the chief temple is of rubble masonry, but all the other
parts of the building are of sculptured stones.
The chief peculiarities of these ruins are the number of temples contained withing the same enclosing wall, and the absence of symmetry in their
arrangement. There is a rock in the middle of the Kankanadi stream, half a mile from here, with a room cut into it which is sufficient to accommodate
four persons. In its centre there is a linga and there is also a niche in one wall.
In antiquity these ruins are supposed to rank next to those on the Shankracharya hill. Major Cole assigned the age of these building to about the commencement of
the Christian era.
The worship of Shiva Bhutesha, the Lord of Beings, localised near the sacred mountain-lake of Haramukuta-Ganga, has played an important part in the ancient religion of
Kashmir. Sir Aurel Stein has been able to show the identity of these temples with the buildings which the Kashmir kings had, at the different periods, raised in honour of
Shiva Bhutesha and the neighouring lings of Shiva Jyeshtesha. The small tank above the ruins, which is now known as Naran Nag, is, according to him, identical with the Sodara
spring mentioned in connection with King Jalauka, son of Asoka, and king Samdhimat-Aryaraja (35 B.C.). A large store pith or seat, 15 feet long 8 feet broad and 6 feet high,
has been recently unearthed near Naran Nag. The eastern group clusters round a temple, which Sir Aurel Stein identifies with the Bhutesha shrine and which, according to Kalhana,
was situated close to that of Bhairava. The western group is, therefore, identical with the temple dedicated to Shiva Jyeshtesa. King Jalauka erected here a stone temple to
Shiva Bhutesha, and made donations to the shrine of Shiva Jyeshtesha.
King Narendraditya Khinnkhila (250-214 B.C.) consecrated shrines to Shiva Bhuteshvara here. If he is identical with Khinkhila, whose reign is known from a coin, he probably
belonged to the 5th or 6th century, so says Dr. Sten Konow. Lalitaditya Muktapida (700-36 A.D.) erected a temple for Shiva Jyeshtesha here, which Sir Aurel Stein thinks is the
is the existing principal shrine in the western group. Kalhana inform us that King Avantivarman (855-83 A.D.) visited this place and made a pedestal with silver conduit for bathing
at Bhutesha. He further relates how the temple was plundered in the days of Jyasimha in Kalhana’s time (1128-49, the date when the Rajatarangini was written). No important additions
were believed to have been made to the building there, and the conclusion one arrives at is that the central shrine of the western group belongs to the 8th century A.D., while others
are older.”
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Update: P. Parimoo Ji sends in photographs of the place shot around a year ago on 14th June 2011.
He is intrigued by absence of GI Sheets in the recent photographs.
Man Mohan Munshi Ji adds:
“No sheets were not there during my visit to the place in August but entrances to some of the temples were blocked with wooden planks and crude stone masonry.”
If you know a Kashmiri who you would, just out of common courtesy, ask a question about Kashmir, a simple ‘Aur Aaj Kal Waha Kay Halaat Kaisay Hai?’ but then end-up praying to your God may guy please drop dead because he wouldn’t just shut up going on and on about Kashmir until you have learn’t by heart all the clauses and sub-clauses in article 370 and the exact chronology of signing of the Instrument of Accession, before you even get a chance to offer your sympathies or apologies, leave alone a solution, that there, that crazy Kashmiri guy with possible terrorist looks, would have been me. Back when I was in college, the ignorance of Indians about Kashmir infuriated me and like any other good Kashmir, I took upon the charge of educating Indians about the real Kashmir. I became the resident Kashmir expert of the college, of Chai ki Dukan, of Cinema Hall, of train, of bus. You could ask m anything you want but the problem was that a question asked at around 11 P.M. would often end-up in a session lasting till 5 A.M., with at least last 2 hours of the session often ending-up with me talking to myself. After a few such sessions with Indians from all corners of the country, I soon learnt that there are basically two type of Indian listeners to ‘Kashmir Ki Kahani’. First Type, Sympathizers: those who mean good, who do want to know it all, but because of reasons beyond their control, can’t stay awake beyond 11:30 P.M.. Note to self: the story has to be short, precise, not too much details but juicy all the time. Second Type, Antagonizers: they just want in on dirty details. These otherwise normal human beings on usage of some specific keywords like ‘Muslims’, ‘Islam’, ‘Pakistan’, ‘Hindus’ transform into raging chimpanzees from Space Odyssey, even maybe a bit more advanced because at times they actually beg to be deliberately fed these magic words. I once was made to tell the story in a train. Ten minutes into the story the guys cut me off, ‘Yaar, Maza Nahi Aa raha‘. Why? Because not enough people were dying in the story (and I had only told them about exploits of Lalitaditya yet!). I made another note to self: Some Indian have seen and known much more violence than Kashmiris, your stories won’t move even a hair inside their ear, not unless your Kashmir story involves a neutron bomb accidently going off in Kangri of a Kashmiri terrorist who was going to bring it to Delhi, and the blast taking out entire Kashmir and half of Pakistan, problem solved. But how many nuclear explosions can one have. But, I did not lose hope in humanity I continued to bore people with stories of Kashmir. And just so that Kashmiris don’t feel left out I even started a blog to bore Kashmiris with stories of Kashmir. This blog. Do you realize the efforts it takes to bore Kashmiris with Kashmir story. Ask me. It became such an effort that I forgot all about educating Indians.
But that was until a couple of months back when Sumit Kumar e-mailed me to inform that it was an old post of mine that led him to Andrew Whitehead’s ‘A Mission in Kashmir’ which went on to be one of the sources for his comic take on events around 1947 in Kashmir, the freakishly funny Kashmir Ki Kahani Part – 1. Part 1 involved story about the genesis of the problem. Part 2 was going to be about rise of Sheikh Abdullah. He asked me if I could help him a bit with that. A chance to mess with…eer… re-educate the two type of Indians about Kashmir in an entirely fun new way. I was in. What followed was a series of emails on the subject.
The King of Kashmir dispenses justice, late 13th century, (early 15th century). Marco Polo (1254-1324). Here the king of Kashmir watches a beheading by sword. On the right scholars teach and meditate in the hills.
Came across it in “Le Livre des Merveilles de Marco Polo” (Book of Marvels of Marco Polo). Can be found at gallica.bnf.fr
For short diminutive women of my grandmother’s generation. Most things in this world do have a clear reason.
In school we all must have read about Vitamin D, its relation with sunlight and how lack of it causes Rickets and Osteomalacia. What we not told in school books is how these simple associations were arrived at and how Kashmir, its socio-environmental conditions, played a vital part in human understanding of this biological association.
In 1920s, a Superintendent of H.H. Maharajah of Yammu & Kashmir’s Diamond Jubilee Zenana Hospital, obstetrician Kathleen Olga Vaughan noticed an interesting phenomena among Kashmiri women. She found that women of rich high-born families were more likely to develop weak bones as compared to poor women of boatmen tribe. Kathleen Vaughan was able to deduct a reason for this strange phenomena. She linked it to diet, place, season, to the presence of veil and to the lack of sunlight.
These were some of her observations:
There is a marked seasonal incidence; the disease is worse in winter and early spring, during and after confinement to the house in the cold weather, and improves markedly during summer and autumn. A common history is that of confinement to the house at 8 or 9 years of age, marriage at 10 or 11, menstruation at 12 or 14, and close confinement in the husband’s house until after the first child is born; in the most high-class families the women hardly leave the house till they die. The ordinary woman has more freedom, and when she has borne two or three children she goes out with other women.
[…]
Purdah, which means a curtain, is used of the system which ensures the seclusion of the woman from all men except her husband and her brothers. It varies in strictness, and is much less strict in Kashmir than in India. In Kashmir it really only affects the women of marriageable and child-bearing age. Among the better classes they are more or less confined to the house.
Girls of 9 are not allowed out alone, and if brought to hospital are often closely veiled. The Hindus, who in theory do not observe this custom, do so in practice. The young girls from 8 or 10 to 15 rarely go out until married, and then not till after the birth of one or two children. Marriage takes place before puberty in many cases, because in order to ensure early marriage the younger the bride the less are the fees to the priests. One of the greatest sins a father can commit is not to have married his daughter at puberty. After marriage she is confined to her husband’s house, and her food and happiness depend entirely upon her mother-in-law, who often keeps her short of food, from an idea that she will have an easier confinement if the foetus is kept small by spare diet. It has been pointed out by other observers that much tuberculosis originates in these girls during the first year of married life owing to these miserable conditions.
[…]
The women wear but one garment and go out in the winter as little as possible. They live in the lowest rooms of the high wooden houses in the winter, so as to be on the same floor as the water supply and the fire.The ground floor is the warmest. The windows are sometimes less than half a yard square, and protected against thieves by being near the ceiling and closed by wooden lattice-work. All windows are so made, but on the upper floor are larger. In winter they are covered with oiled paper to keep out the cold. The minimum of available light is thus admitted, and some rooms, specially liked for warmth, have no window at all.
That the light supply is sufficient for health in all ordinary life is proved by the rarity of rickets and the healthiness of the boat women and the country women working in the fields, but a degree of seclusion which would have little effect on the plains of India produces osteomalacia in Kashmir. A photographer who lived for many years in Kashmir said that he always gave twice the exposure he would in England to get a good result in Kashmir, which looks as if the actinic rays might be deficient. most of the oblique rays of the sun in mid-winter are cut off by the mountains encircling the valley.
[…]
Anaemia and debility characterize pregnancy, with vague pains in the ribs, back, and legs, increasing until walking is difficult or impossible at term.
[…]
Anaemia is always present, and unfortunately is admired, as a fair complexion is considered as a sign of being well bred.
[…]
Rickets is not common in Kashmir. The few cases I have seen were in female children who had lost their mothers in infancy, belonged to wealthy Kashmiri families and had been kept indoors with the women, Usually even infants go out, and male infants are taken out by the men and boys to show to their friends when very young. A girl child is never made so much of.
[…]
The water of the river is considered sacred that it cannot be defiled. It can hardly be matter for surprise that everyone suffers from intestinal worms. Large round white ones are the commonest, and their leaving the body is often a sign of the impending death of a patient, as a house-surgeon with long Indian experience once pointed out to me.
[…]
There are three indigenous Kashmir cures for “trouble in the bones”: (1) a special clay called baramulla earth; (2) pills made of fish liver; (3) rubbing with mustard oil and exposing to sunlight.
1. Baramulla earth is a greyish-white fire-clay used for making fireplaces in wooden boats, and for portable fire-pots on which to cook food. A lump of this earth taken from a patient with osteomalacia, who ate pieces of it, was analysed for me by the Clinical Research Association, which reported that it was a ferruginous clay containing high percentage of calcium phosphate (calcium phosphate 16.2 per cent., ferric oxide 11.8 per cent., hydrated aluminium silicate (in clay) 71.2 per cent., and undetermined residue 0.8 per cent.). Sulphates were present to a very small extent. The radio-activity of the sample was not more than is usually found in any natural earth; arsenic and similar metals were not detected.
2. The fish-liver pills were sold by a Panditani (Hindu woman) living at the city fish market. She makes them herself. The analogy with cod-liver oil is interesting.
3. The mustard oil and sunlight cure is chiefly used by the men for their rheumatic pains.
[…]
Sunlight alone can cure the disease, and cod-liver oil without sunshine is of very little use.
[…]
Many when pregnant are suckling one or two previous children. A man in Srinagar once said to me:”The reason I am so small is that when I was a baby my elder brother took all my mother’s milk because he was a strong boy; and then my mother had another baby and gave her mild to him, so I got none” – a common history.
From ‘Osteomalacia in Kashmir’ by Kathleen Olga Vaughan, for British Medical Journal, 1926 March 6. Via: US National Library of Medicine. A more detailed study on the subject was later published by her titled ‘The purdah system and its effect on motherhood : osteomalacia caused by absence of light in India’ by (Cambridge : W. Heffer, 1928).
One of the response of British to the events of 1857 was to try and better categorize the people they ruled. They went around with their cameras and shot all kind of natives, all tribes, castes, races, religions, belonging to places all across the length and breadth of this land and put them in books and added neatly brief captions to these photographs describing in brief the ‘must remember’ of each native type. All this in hope that it would help them govern these people and more importantly the land better. One of the gigantic product of such an exercise was the eight volume series titled ‘The People of India‘ published between 1868 and 1875. It’s a pretty plain book, a book of colonial pen. But it is a picture book. And a picture book is always interesting. Interestingly, there are essentially two type of tribals captured in this famous colonial work: those natives that were still tied to their heathen faith, all looking, well, tribal, and those that had crossed over to Christ, looking like they have just had a fresh scrubbing and headed straight for their study desk.
Anyway, from various volumes of ‘The people of India : a series of photographic illustrations, with descriptive letterpress, of the races and tribes of Hindustan’ (1868) by John William Kaye, Meadows Taylor, J. Forbes Watson, here are photographs of some of the Kashmiris that one could come across in India back then.
“Zahore Begum is a Cashmere Mussulmani, and follows the profession of a courtezan. As may be supposed, her charecter is not very respectable. She belongs to the Soonee sect of Mussulmans.
She has a very fair complexion, black hair and eyes; she wears a black silk dress and yellow shawl; a diamond ring on her left thumb, cloth shoes, embroidered with gold and set with precious stones, and her silver anklets have small bells attached to them.”
“Aftab Rae, like Ramnarain, is a Pundit, or expounder of the Hindoo scared books. He is a Brahmin of Cashmerian origin, but his family have lived at Lucknow for more than a century. He has himself resided in Allyghur and the neighbouring districts for nearly fifty years. Persons of this class are rarely to be met with in this part of Hindoostan. They are for the most part shrewd, clever, and designing. Their habits are migratory, generally seeking employment in the civil department under Government. They go any distance to obtain it. They are Brahmins by caste, and a keen-eyed, crafty race. Their food is mutton, fish, vegetables, and grain, but not beef; and they generally live to the age of seventy or eighty years. Aftab Rae is seventy years of age; his height is five feet six inches, complexion fair, hair and eyes grey.”
“The gentleman here represented is a fine specimen of his class, a secular Brahmin, in the service of Government. Well educated and liberal in their ideas, they are for the most part above the narrpw-minded and exclusive sectarianism of Brahmins of religious or priestly profession, and prove most intelligent and valuable public officers. The Pundit is, or was, tehsildar, or collector of revenue of the Roorkee district. He is a native of the valley of Cashmere; and as will be evident from the Photograph, his features are of the highest class of Aryan charecter – identical, in fact, with the European; and the difference between them, and those of other Brahmins represented in this work, will be at once evident on comparison. Pundit Jowalla Natli is a person of essentially European mind. He has mastered the English language, which he both writes and speaks with a fluency and correctness rarely attamed by a foreigner ; and his honorary title of Pundit could only be assumed upon a high standard of proficiency in the Sanscrit literature of his own country.
His costume is a richly embroidered robe or choga of Cashmere cloth, trimmed with fur, with an under vest of cloth. His trowsers and shoes are of Enghsh fashion, and the embroidered cap is perhaps an invention of his own, since it is not common among his people. Notwithstanding his English habits and manners, the Pundit preserves the rules of his own caste inviolate; while he, and his class generally, are free from those gross superstitions and idolatrous observances, which are followed by Brahmins of other and less enlightened professions. There is no doubt that educated natives of India, in the class to
which the Pundit belongs, are increasing in numbers and in influence ; but they can do little as yet, perhaps, to affect the ignorance and bigotry of their countrymen. “
Cashmiri From Cashmere. Mussulman. Simla.
[from Volume 4]
“MAHOMEDAN merchants from Cashmere are very commonly met -with at Simla, and, indeed, in all the northern stations of India. They bring shawls, scarves, embroidered cloths, and other local manufactures for sale, as well as dried fruits, which are readily disposed of. The costume of the Cashmiris differs from that of ordinary Mahomedans of India. Instead of the tight and often ungraceful tunic, the garment shown in the Photograph, which is called chogha, is almost universally worn, especially in winter. The best are made of soft serge, or cloth, woven from the fine wool of the shawl goat, and the natural colours, brown, grey, or white, are preserved. These garments are frequently handsomely embroidered on the chest and shoulders, as also down the back, by silk or woollen braid in remarkably chaste patterns; and there is no class of Cashmere manufacture, perhaps, which more perfectly exhibits the exquisite taste of the artizans of the country, than these embroideries. They are never in varied colours, and the best effects are produced by braids in monotone, crimson upon white, dark grey upon light grey, and other combinations. These manufactures, both in shawls, scarves, cloaks, and even choghas, are now becoming known in Europe, and are to be found for sale in the shops of London and Paris shawl merchants; while in the beautiful collections of the India Museum, many specimens of the finest descriptions of work can be examined by those interested in Indian productions.
The Mahomedans of Cashmere are in no wise different from their brethren of Northern India. They are, for the most part, Soonnies, and have a strong admixture of Aftghan blood; but, as a rule, they are not a military class, nor have they ever been remarkable for the military spirit so abundantly displayed by Mahomedans elsewhere. They are, however, a fine, handsome race of people, and their women, who have not unfrequently fair, ruddy complexions, are esteemed very beautiful — the Circassians, as it were, of India. Since the sale of Cashmere to Golab Sing, the Rajah of Jummoo, by Sh H. Hardinge, in 1846, the oppressive character of the local administration has induced many of the shawl weavers and embroiderers to leave their native country, and settle in the northern cities of India ; and in most of them, colonies of native Cashmiris have been established, which subsist upon the manufacture of articles in local estimation; but the shawls have not the softness or beauty of those produced in Cashmere, and the best articles produced are perhaps the embroidered shawls, scarves, and choghas, before alluded to.
Cashmere was originally an independent Mahomedan kmgdom, but was conquered and attached to the imperial dommions by the Emperor Akbur in 1587, and was used by him and by his successors as a place of retreat from the summer heats of India. It passed from the Mahomedan rule to that of the Sikhs in 1818, and remained in then- possession till its sale to the Rajahs of Jummoo. Could the entire possession of the Punjab have been foreseen, it is not improbable that the beautiful valley might now have been a British province. “
-0- Some shawl bearers:
Diljan. Bazar woman. Saharunpoor.
[from Volume 3]
“Diljan, the “heart of life,” is like Wuzeerun, a Mahomedan courtezan. Her dress is black tunic, black silk trowsers, and Cashmere shawl.”
Wuzeerun. Bazar woman. Mahomedan. Saharunpoor.
[from Volume 3 ]
“THIS photograph represents a Mahomedan bazar woman, or professional courtezan. Her dress is a yellow tunic, green silk trowsers, and red Cashmere shawl. There is little to be said for women of this class, who exist under many denominations all over India, and the nature of their profession debars description of them. Many are dancing women, Mahomedans as well as Hindoos. They can never contract real marriage, though some of them avail themselves of the form ” Nika,” under the Mahomedan law, the offspring of which is legitimate, though in a secondary degree. In such cases those married and secluded become honourable women. Public coutezans are devoted by their families to the profession from their early youth ; and, on attaining a fit age, they are married to a dagger, or a tree, with all the ceremonies of a real marriage. This custom obtains as well among Hindoos as Mahomedans. Many of the great Hindoo temples have bands of courtezans attached to them, who are maintained by the revenues of the establishment, and who follow then trade without public shame. It is a strange anomaly that, while a courtezan, born of, or adopted into, a courtezan family, is not held to pursue a shameless vocation, other women who have fallen from good repute are esteemed disgraceful. The practice of purchasing children to be instructed as courtezans was commonly practised some years ago, even in British territories, and is frequent at the present time in those of native Princes; but the stringent nature of the laws existent under the British rule against all practice of slavery, however it may be disguised, prevents any open violation of them, and the customs formerly existent can hardly now escape punishment. “
-0-
Thus, Cannabis Indica grows higher, stronger, and more luxuriantly in Cashmere than in the plains of India, and has been monopolized by the Cashmerean government. The churrus is prepared from it, and sold in India, where it is mixed with tomakoo (tobacco), and used for the purpose of producing intoxication, principally by the faqueers, who smoke it through the hooka. Besides the hemp-plant, two other valuable productions of the country, saffron (Crocus sat.) and the putchuk-root (Costis nigr. Cashm.) have been monopolized by the government. Notwithstanding this fact, and the proximity of the country, it is stated in the Bengal Dispensatory,p.692 [O’Shaughnessy. 1841],”Putchuk-root is brought from Lahore, where it is called koot, it is of unknown origin; it is chiefly exported to China, where it is used as incense,”
~ ‘Thirty-five Years in the East: Adventures, Discoveries, Experiments, and Historical Sketches, Relating to the Punjab and Cashmere; in Connection with Medicine, Botany, Pharmacy, Etc.’ (1852) by John Martin Honigberger, physician in the court of Ranjeet Singh at Lahore.
-0- Apropos a place called Mujgund, and a good samaritan Charsi at Tsrar. -0-
The temple is an ancient one but not much is known about its antiquity. Some time back it was reported in the print media that it was recently uncovered. I visited the place last month and found that a parapet and fence was built around it but the level of water has remained the same and water was oozing out from an underground spring. I took a plunge inside the water logged temple and felt with my hands about one foot tall Shivling inside the temple.
