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1
THE DEVOTIONAL POETRY OF SVAMl HARIDAS:
A STUDY OF EARLY BRAJ BHASA VERSE
Ludmila Lupu Rosenstein
Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
April, 1996
The 16th-century North Indian bhakta, poet and musician, Svami Haridas, composed lyrics inBraj Bhasa, devoted to the divine couple Radha and Krsna. 128 of them were later compiled in two anthologies: the didactic Astadas siddhanta and the rapturous Kelimal, and became the theological basis of the Haridasi sampradaya, a sect, which still flourishes in Vrindaban, U.P. Neither of these important works has hitherto been edited, properly translated or studied academically.
For this reason the focus of this dissertation is the text of Haridas’s poetry: its transmission, edition and interpretation. The chapter on textual criticism assesses sixteen 18th-19th century manuscripts which were collected during a field-trip in Vrindaban, and discusses the editorial procedure. The manuscript material is analysed with the help of computer programmes originally employed in taxonomy. The apparatus criticus is followed by an annotated English translation in which readings are assessed, points of linguistic interest discussed and commentarial glosses analysed. The language of Haridas5s text is examined in detail in chapter III.
Chapters I, VI and VII put Haridas’s lyrics into a larger context. The introductoiy chapter discusses the theological views of the Haridasi sampradaya against the background of bhakti, analyses the sources of information about Haridas, and attempts to reconstruct his life. Chapter VI examines some musical characteristics of Haridas’s lyrics: the raga distribution of his padas, the structure of the chapa and the association of Svami Haridas with the musical style of dhivpada. Chapter VII describes the main commentaries and analyses the sectarian concerns they reflect and metaphorical mechanisms they use.
The general conclusions are followed by a comprehensive etymological glossary, a discussion and listing of extra verses attributed to Haridas, extracts from the main commentaries, and a list of chapa in Haridas’s works.
3 Table o f contents
Tables, figures and illustrations 6
Acknowledgements 7
Preface 9
I Svami H aridas and the Haridasi sam pradaya
1. The Sectarian background 12
Materials relating to the life of Svami Haridas
Summary of primary sources 18
2. Primary sources 19
3. Secondary Sources 30
4. Areas of dispute in the hagiography of Svami Haridas 1. The dates of Haridas’s birth and death 31
2. Haridas’s parentage and caste 34
3. Haridas ’ s guru 3 5
4. Haridas’s place of birth 36
5. Haridas * s marriage 3 6
6. Haridas’s renunciation 37
7. Haridas and Tansen 38
8. Haridas and Akbar 40
5. Conclusions 41
II Textual criticism
Manuscripts of the Kelimal and the Astadas siddhanta
1. Manuscripts collated for the scholarly edition 43 2. MSS not collated for the scholarly edition 64 Textual analysis of the devotional poetry of Svami Haridas
3. Existent editions of Haridas’s padas 68
4. Editorial procedure 69
5. Heuristics 72
6. Exegesis on the basis of KM 73
7. Exegesis on the basis of AS 76
8. Computer analysi s 77
9. Recensio 80
10. Conclusions 81
III The language o f Astada§ siddhanta and K e lim a l 1. Relative-correlative constructions
1.1 Problematic and salient usages 88
1.2 Pleonastic use of jo 89
1.3 ais-/jais- 89
1.4 Unabridged relative-correlative constructions 90 2. Rhyme-forms
2.1 Changed medial and/or final vowel 90
2.2 Nasality lost or gained 90
2.3 Loss of geminate 90
2.4 Suffocation 91
2.5 Grammatically incorrect forms 91
3. Perso-Arabic vocabulary
3.1 Words of Persian origin 91
3.2 Words of Arabic origin 91
3.3 Hybrids 91
4. Repetitions
4.1 Repetitions with emphatic force 92 4.2 Repetitions with reiterative force 92 4.3 Repetitions with distributive force 92 5. Phonology
5.1 Final short vowels 93
5.2 Medial short vowels 95
5.3 Stressed vowels 96
5.4 r 96
5.5 ai/e and au/o 96
5.6 Nasality 97
5.7 h 98
5.8 Voiced/voiceless consonants 98
5.9 ks>ch 98
5.10 m 98
5.11s 99
5.12 s 99
5.13 h 99
5.14 Aspirates 99
5.15 Geminates 100
5.16 Clusters 100
6. Morphology and syntax
6.1 Nouns 101
6.2 Pronouns 102
6.3 Verbs 105
6.4 Numerals 112
6.5 Postpositions 112
5 IV A p p a ra tu s
Notes on the conventions used in the apparatus criticus 113 V A sta d a i siddhanta and K elim al:
A nnotated translation 245
VI Astadag siddhanta and K elim al:
Text in a singing tradition
1. Ragas in KM and AS 3 75
2. The chapa in KM and AS 379
3. Svami Haridas and dhrupada 382
4. Conclusions 385
VII C om m entaries
1. Main commentaries o f KM 391
2. Commentaries and sectarian dogma 392
3. Metaphorical interpretation in the commentaries 395
VIII In conclusion 401
APPENDIX I Glossary 404
APPENDIX II Extra padas 448
APPENDIX III Examples of PC, RC, NC and BC 456
APPENDIX IV List of chapa in AS and KM 458
REFERENCES
MSS 465
Printed books 465
Dictionaries 469
L ist o f illustrations, figures and tables
Illu s tra tio n s
1 The meeting of Akbar and Tansen with Svami Haridas 42
2 Sample of the graph jh and a, MS G 83
3 Sample of the graph u, MS G 83
4 Sample of the graph dh, MS BR 83
F ig u re s
la Cladogram KM 84
lb Cladogram AS 85
2a Principal Coordinates KM 86
2b Principal Coordinates AS 86
3 a Distance matrix KM 8 7
3b Distance matrix AS 87
T ables
1 Summary of the manuscript material used for the edition 67
2 Demonstrative pronouns 103
3 Relative and correlative pronouns 104
4 Personal pronouns 104
5 Indefinite and interrogative pronouns 104
6 Concordance of time of the day and ragas 377
Legend to tables 7, 8 and 9 386
7 Concordance showing raga and stanza order for AS 386 8 Concordance showing raga and stanza order for extra verses in AS 386 9 Concordance showing raga and stanza order for KM 387 10 Metaphorical interpretations in the commentaries 397
11 pada-sahgrahas 455
7 A cknow ledgem ents
I would like to begin this list with all the people who have generously shared their knowledge with me. Undoubtedly, the champion among them is my supervisor, Dr. R.
Snell, who confidently and patiently guided me through the mysteries of Haridas’s poetry. He read through the whole text of my dissertation twice, and made innumerable invaluable comments in order to improve it. He was not only an academic guide, but also a land and considerate friend, and it is my privilege to offer him my wholehearted gratitude.
I also owe thanks to other members of SOAS’s staff: to Prof. J. Wright for his help and advice on establishing the etymology of the lexis included in the glossary, and to Dr. H. Pauwels for sharing her knowledge about Haridas’s fellow-bhakta, Hariram Vyas. Dr. R. Widdess and Selina Thielemann helped me to clarify some of the musical terminology used in Kelimal. I am also grateful to Dr. R. D. Gupta for our discussions on the translation of Kelimal, and for his support during my stay in Vrindaban.
It is my privilege to be able to add to this list the names of all the people in Vrindaban who provided me with indigenous understanding of Haridas’s poetry and its cultural background. First and foremost, my guruji and ‘pitajV, Dr. Buddhi PrakaS generously made his knowledge available to me and was a never failing source of materials. His kindness and care turned Vrindaban into my home. The stuff of the Vrindaban Research Institute helped me to establish contacts with local people and made my stay there comfortable and pleasant. My very special thanks go to the Dr. D.
Panigrahi for his unfailing support, help and companionship. Dr. N. C. Bamsal provided me with some materials from his private collection. JayeS Khandelval allowed me to consult and copy all relevant MSS from the private collection of Ras Bharati Samsthan. Dr. Saran Bihari GosvamI discussed with me some difficult passages of Kelimal. Baba Ratnadas shared with me his indigenous experience of a sadhu of the Haridasi sampradaya.
I would also like to offer my wholehearted gratitude to Prof. Richard Gombrich who has been an excellent editor and a wonderful friend. I am also grateful to Dr.
Francoise Delvoye ‘Nalini’ for her kindness and generosity, and for making her research available to me before its publication, and to Dr. Sanjukta Gupta for enriching my general knowledge of bhakti and helping me with the translation of some Bengali sources. Francesca Orsini read through large parts of the dissertation and made very useful comments.
My special thanks go also to John Pannell and his colleagues at the Department of Plant Sciences, Oxford, who suggested the use of computer programmes for the analysis of the manuscript data and made the realisation of this idea possible.
This research has been a long journey in sometimes precarious circumstances, and only the kindness and generosity of people and organisations has made its completion possible.
I am very grateful to Ian and Mildred Karten for their continuous financial support and for their kindness and care. Thanks to the scholarship of the International Foundation ‘Open society’ I was able to complete my work. The Michael Coulson Research Fellowship of Wolfson College enabled me to explore academic life in Oxford. I owe thanks also to the Anglo-Jewish Association, The CBF World Jewish Relief and the Spalding Trust for their financial help. The support of SOAS ensured the positive outcome of my ORS Award application.
My very special thanks go to the Indian community in Britain and America who generously made personal contributions to help me out in a very critical moment. The humanness and generosity of Mr. H. Patel, Mr. V. K. Kargathra, Mr. Vasant V. Patel, Mr. S. Patel, Mr. R. B. Patel, Mr. J. C. Patel, Mr. H. M. Patel, Mr. J. M. Patel, Mr.
Natwar Patel, Mr. Himat Laldiani, Mr. Mukesh Patel, Mr. Harry Patel, Mr.
Mukundbhai Patel, Mr. M. C. Patel and Mr. K. IC. Mehta, and those of my benefactor and friend, Mr. Mahesh Patel, touched me deeply.
The last three and a half years enriched my life not only with the wondrous rasa of Haridas’s poetry but also with the unforgettable experience to be a recipient of the kindness and generosity of all the people mentioned in this list.
9 N ote on transcription, references, dates and abbreviations
The standard method for transliterating Devanagari has been adopted throughout the text. The font used is Normyn. The inherent vowel is written in Braj texts: Haridas’s poetry and its old Braj commentaries (NC, PC, RC), and in all technical terms, names of images and sects. It is omitted in modern Braj (HE, TC) and Hindi (BC, SMC) commentaries, in the names of NIA poets and their works and in Hindi words kept in the translation which are not technical terms. (However, an exception to this rule are the cases where the inherent -a follows a conjunct or when the name of a Sanskrit work is cited.) In this way I have tried to find a compromise between unifying the NIA and Sanskrit spelling of terms, and following the generally accepted model of McGregor 1984. Names of places have been anglicized. Names of places and epithets in the translation are sanskritized. Vrindaban is anglicized when referring to the geographical place and sanskritized (=Vrndavana) when referring to the theological concept and in the English translation of Braj works. All Indian and other non-English terms, which are not widely accepted in English, are italicized. Throughout the text the Devanagari graph z is transcribed as s, regardless of its representation of etymological s or kli.
Vowel nasalisation is indicated with a tilde above the vowel, consonant nasalisation with the relevant nasal.
References give author’s name, year of publication and page number. References to McGregors’s The language o f Indrajit o f Orcha give paragraph numbers rather than page numbers. Full publication details are found in the bibliography. Dictionaries are referred to by the abbreviations listed below. Crossreferences give chapter number and paragraph number (III 6.1: chapter III, paragraph 6.1).
All dates are given according to the Gregorian calendar unless otherwise indicated.
Where the CE date is missing, conversion of the date from the Hindu calendar in Vikram Samvat (VS) to CE has been done by subtracting 57 from the VS date.
Abbreviations of works
AS Astadas siddhanta
BC Buddhi PrakaS’s commentary on KM
CP Caurasipad of Hit Harivamsa
HE Hargulal’s edition
KM Kelimal
NC Nagarldas’s commentary (used as a general term and when NCP and NCM agree in their readings)
NCP Nagarldas’s commentary (pada)
N CM Nagaridas ’ s commentary (m ula)
PC Pitambardas’s commentary
PE printed edition
RC Radhasarandas’s commentary
SMC Svami Sri Haridas Sangit Mahotsav’s commentary TC T ulsidas ’ s commentary
Dictionaries and glossaries
BBhSK Braj Bhasa Sur kos
CDIAL A comparative dictionary o f the Indo-Aiyan languages COD Concise Oxford dictionary
DEDR Dravidian Etymological Dictionary (revised edn.) Entwistle The Rasa mana ke pada o f Kevalarama
HSS Hindi sabdasagar
LMK Lokokti muhavra kos
Mathur Padmavata: an etymological study McGregor Th e language o f Indrajit o f Orcha
MTH Crossing the ocean o f existence: Braj Bhasa religious poetry from Rajasthan
MW A Sanski'i f English dictionary OHED Oxford Hindi-English dictionary
Platts A dictionary o f Urdu, classical Hindi and English
RKK RItikavya sabdakos
SBBhK Sahityik Braj Bhasa kos
S K Braj Bhasa Sur kos
Snell The Hindi classical tradition: A Braj Bhasa reader Smith The VIsaladevarasa: a restoration o f the text S & Sur Sabdasagar
TK Tulsl-sabdasagar
11
Other abbreviations
A Arabic
abl. ablative
abs. absolutive
ace. accusative
Add2 Turner 1985
adj. adjective, adjectival
adv. adverb
agen. agentive
anal. analogical
Ap. Apabhramsa
aux. auxiliary
cat. catalogue
caus. causative
cf. compare
conj. conjunction
conn. connected with
dat. dative
DObj. direct object
e.g. for example
emph. emphatic
encl. enclitic
f. feminine
f. (in ‘Description of
MSS’) folio
f r . from
fut. future
gen. genitive
H Hindi
hon. honorific
imp. imperative
imperf. imperfective
indef. pr. indefinite pronoun
instr. instrumental
inteij. inteij ection
interr. interrogative
KliB Khaii Boll
loc. locative
m. masculine
mis. missing
MS manuscript
MSH Modern standard
Hindi
n. noun
na. nasalised
neg. negative
no. number
nom. nominative
NomC nominal
complement
num. numeral
Obj. object
obj. objective
obi. oblique
P- person
part. particle
perf. perfective
Pers. Persian
Pk Prakrit
pi. plural
ppn. postposition
pr. pronoun
pref. prefix
pres. cont. present continuous
ptc. participle
r.f. rhyme-form
S Sanskrit
sg- singular
sj. subject
subj.-pres. subj unctive-present
sub st. substantive
vi. intransitive verb
voc. vocative
VS vikram samvat
vt transitive verb
w. with
Chapter I
Svami Haridas and the Haridasi sa m p ra d a ya
1. The Sectarian Background
1.1 The 16th century was a ‘golden age’ in the history of North Indian religious thought and literature. A rapturous style of devotion (bhakti) inspired a flowering of Vaisnava vernacular poetry. Two principal varieties of bhakti had been established - the nirguna type, which perceived God as an impersonal and immutable Reality, and the saguna type, dedicated to God as the supreme Personality (Rama and Krsna in the Vaisnava context). Many sectarian communities (sampradayas) appeared; in Krishnaism they put the emphasis on one or other aspect of the devotional teachings of the Bhagavata purana. These differences were also seen in the light of the variant emotional approaches to Krsna elaborated in the bhakti-rasa theory of Rup Gosvami.
A theology based upon the desire either to participate in the divine love-play or to observe it from the intimate position of the milkmaids (gopis) found its expression in the teachings of the Sahajiyas, the Sakhi bhavas and the Gaudiya sampradaya. They inherited the intensely emotional mode of devotion of the Tamil Alvars (later popularised by the Bhagavata purana) the sensuality of the Harivamia and the eroticism of Jayadeva’s Gitagovinda. These trends reached their apogee in the theology of the rasikas, aesthetes of the spirit, whose devotion was focused on the love-sports of the divine couple Radha and Krsna.
Such rasikas were the Hari-triumvirate (Hari-trayf)1: Hariram Vyas, Hit Harivam6a, the founder of the Radhavallabha sampradaya, and Svami Haridas, whose two works, Kelimal (KM) and Astadas siddhanta (AS), form the theological basis of the Haridasi sampradaya (HS).
1.2 In common with other rasika traditions the HS worships a joint form (yugala svarupa) of Radha and Krsna. It concentrates exclusively on the eternal amours (nitya vihara) of Krsna and his consort Radha. The HS claims that this single-minded dedication to the nikuhja vihara is a major characteristic which distinguishes Haridas from other similar poets - HarivamSa for example. An analysis of the epithets of Radha and Krsna used in the canonized version of Haridas’s poetry would support this claim:
their names either refer to their love sports - Kunjabihari (one who sports in the grove)/BiharinI (one engaged in sports) or generally descriptive - Syama (dark one)/Syama (consort of the dark one), whereas Harivamsa sometimes calls Krsna
1 Hari- trayi (rasika trayi) is a 20th century conceptualisation. The term does not occur in the hagiographies of the three poets; however, often they are either mentioned together or in successive verses. Pauwels (1995, p. 23) points out that this concept was probably invented by Vasudev Gosvami by analogy to the asta-chapa.
1 3 nanda ke lala (son of Nanda) CP 13.1 (Snell 1991a, p. 124) and Radha brsbhana kisori (daughter of Vrsbhanu) CP 9.4 (Snell 1991a, p. 121), referring in this way to their childhood. However, some manuscript readings of KM show epithets which are not connected with Krsna’s and Radha’s nikunja lila (see KM 52, note 9 and KM 100, note 5), and this suggests that the total concentration on the nikunja lila is probably a later development in the sect. The canonized version of Haridas’s poetry2 not only excludes other aspects of the Krsna myth (e.g. Krsna’s childhood, Krsna’s dancing with the gopls, Krsna’s adult life) but moreover, in its portrayal of the dalliance between Radha and Krsna, it shows the union (samyoga) side of love only, and never mentions love in separation (viyoga Iviraha), an important topic in the poetry of other bhakti poets like Surdas, Mira etc.3 In the padas of the main poets of the sect the only time when the couple is separated are the moments in which Syama displays her sulking (mana). Despite the eternal samyoga, the love of the divine couple is characterised by a constant craving and insatiable desire for each other. As Lalitkisorldas writes: ‘In their constant union there is extreme desire, having united they are restless to unite’4.
1.3 The HS adopts the madhurya bhava as its preferred devotional approach.5 The role of a sakhi in promoting (but not participating in) the nikunja vihara is to be emulated by the devotee whose highest aim is not liberation (moksa) but the obtaining of the vicarious delight of being an onlooker in the grove (nikunja). An other-worldly (alaukika) Vrndavana is the setting for the nitya vihara. It takes the place of other Vaisnava concepts of paradise such asVaikuntha and Goloka6. Vrndavana, together with Radha, Krsna and the sakhis constitute the four forms of prema (cf. Sarma 1978, p. 113). These components have the same essence - Biharinidas calls Radha, Krsna and the sakhis ‘three peas in a pod’: tmi cana ika cholika aisau artha bicara (rasa k i sakhi 115, Hargulal 1971, p. 112). The sameness or abhinnatva of the couple is further
2There are strong reasons for believing that Haridas’s poetry has undergone a process o f sectarian editing, with regard to the content of the accepted padas and perhaps to the actual verses recognised as genuinely Haridas’s (see II4. and the appendix on extra verses).
3The only poet o f the HS who speaks of viiaha is Narharidas. This motif might have been instigated by his exile from Vrindaban, caused by the religious persecution carried out by the emperor Aurangzeb.
4milata, milata me caha ati mile milai akulahi.
(rasa Id sakM 207, Hargulal 1971, p. 821).
5There are some examples of misnomer of the main bhava adopted by the HS. In the terminology of Rup Gosvami’s Bhakthasamrtasindhu the rati applicable to the HS is madhura. Since the meaning
‘consorthood’ o f madhura rati does not discriminate between Radha and the gopis, some authors (e.g.
Gupta 1974, p. 204) use the term sakhi bhava when referring to the HS, and thus draw a line between Radha who participates in the love sports and the sakhis, who only promote them. Other scholars (e.g.
Haynes 1974, p. 216) interpret sakhi-bhava as synonymous with sakhya bhava and use this as the term relevant to the HS. sakhya bhava, however, as defined by Rup Gosvami, can be applied only to the male friends of Krsna, not to the female companions of Radha (Bon Maharaj 1965, p. XXV).
6 Vaikuntha is great, Goloka is an abode beyond Vaikuntha;
All of them serve Vrndavana, where Syama and Syama sport.
baikuntha malm baikuntha tai goloka parai hai dhama;
e saba sevata brndabanahl jaha biharal syama syama.
(Lalitkisorldas, siddhanta ki sakhi 111, HargulSl 1971, p. 678).
underlined by the non-existence of a separate image for Radha in the sect7. In his poetry Haridas stresses this identity of the divine lovers both lexically (in naming them Syama/Syama) and in ingenious metaphors.
1.4 A distinction is maintained between nikunja lila, in which the sublimated passion of Radha and Krsna provides the focus of the devotee’s attention, and vraja lila, the generality of puranic Krsna mythology8. The latter is considered inferior as a source of rasa since its diversity is detrimental to the experiencing of single-minded absorption (ananya bhava) in the sport of the joint deity. Aimed at the accomplishment of specific tasks (e.g. the maintenance of dharma, the victory over tyrants) vraja lila finishes when they are achieved; it is perceptible. In contrast with this, nikunja lila is eternal and imperceptible; its sole raison d'etre is the nitya vihara. None of the four components of the nikunja lila is identical to the corresponding component of vraja lila. Kunjabihari is not an avatara of Visnu. Biharinidas writes: ‘The king of Vraja was four-armed and six
armed, the peerless Kunjabihari is two-armed’9. Neither is Syama the Radha of Braj, Vrsbhanu’s daughter, Krsna’s wife (svakiya) or lover (parakiya):
‘One makes dung-cakes, another canies water,
yet another is the happily-married darling who is too languid even to speak.’10
Similarly the gopis of Krsna’s vraja lila are different from the sakhis of Kunjabihari’s nikunja lila. Their role shifts from that of ‘co-wives’ who are seeking selfish happiness (svasukha) in their personal union with Krsna, to companions who promote the couple’s love play, enjoying their happiness (tatsukha). The distinction between vraja lila and nikunja lila is elaborated by later poets of the sect who see the nikunja vihara as the sole expression of divine reality, dismissing all sense of Krsna as an avatara or a mythological personage:
‘Sri Kunjabihari was manifested
of matchless beauty, the limit of all qualities, source of all incarnations.’11
Not only Visnu but the Braj Krsna too is excluded from the nitya vihara:
The husband of Laksmi longs for the sports of Sri Biharidasa [sic];
...[even] Rama and Krsna are not accommodated here.12
7Similarly, in the principle temple of another rasika sect, the Radhavallabha sampradaya, there is no image for Radha.
8A detailed discussion o f this distinction can be found in Corcoran 1995, pp. 38-52.
9catiabhuja chaibhuja bhaye brajabhupa, kuiijabihaii dubhuja anupa.
(caubola 28, Hargulal 1971, p. 264) 10kou gobara pathani kou dhauvai pai;
kou suhagina ladili bolata hu alasai.
(Biharinidas, siddhanta Id sakhi 145, Hargulal 1971, p. 120).
1 lpragata bhaye Sri kunjabihaii;
rupa anupa sakala guna siva saba avataiina ke avataii.
(Lalitki£oridas, siddhanta ke pada 25, Hargulal 1971, p. 773).
i2sri biharidasa bihara kau iachamipati lalacai;
... Iiya ramakrsnana samai.
1 5
1.5 Other ideas which the HS has developed are the elevation of Radha to a position which, for some members, is higher than Krsna’s13, and a concept of prema (cosmic love), which rules both Radha and Krsna and makes them powerless before their love for each other (cf. Haynes 1974, p. 259).
1.6 The precise theological views of Haridas are elusive. The essence of .his poetry is rasa, not a theological doctrine. Thus Haridas does not claim a link to the ‘classical’
Vaisnava catuhsampradaya. However, later speculations have found expression in two different opinions on Svami Haridas’s own sectarian affiliation. The sadhus’ branch of HS maintains that Haridas was initiated in the Nimbarka sampradaya, while the gosvamis ’ branch insists he belonged to the Visnusvami sampradaya. The view of the sadhus is adopted by a number of scholars, including McGregor (1984, p. 91), Tomar (1964, p. 230), Garg (1986, p. 212), Varma (1963, p. 972). Pitambardas and his disciple KiSordas (both 18th-century poets of the HS) were the first to develop the theory of the affiliation of the HS to the Nimbarka sampradaya. However, neither Haridas himself nor any of his contemporaries or followers during the two centuries before KiSordas speaks of such a link. Hariram Vyas, the contemporary and apparent associate of Haridas, mentions his name a number of times in his poetry, but never in connection with any of the ‘classical’ Vaisnava sects (cf. PrakaS 1979, p. 68). Haridas’s contemporary and disciple Biharinidas talks about Haridas as the founder of their tradition of worship: hama ananya irisvami haridasa-basi (siddhanta ke kavitta-savaiya 24, Hargulal 1971, p. 289), not as a teacher of the Nimbarka sampradaya.
An argument given in favour of the affiliation of HS to the Nimbarka sampradaya is the existence of pictures in the Benares Hindu University and the Museum of the Maharajah of Kishangarh, in which Haridas is portrayed with the tilaka of the Nimbarka sampradaya. However, these pictures date from the 18th century, and thus cannot be used as conclusive evidence for the earlier history of the sect.
The argument about the affiliation of HS to the Visnusvami sampradaya is similar.
The testimony of pictures depicting Haridas with the tilaka of the Visnusvami sampradaya should likewise be dismissed as inconclusive. The main evidence for the affiliation of the HS to the Visnusvami sampradaya is chappay 48 of Bhaktamal, which mentions the name of Haridas among other famous members of Visnusvami sampradaya14. But to which Haridas is this poem referring? The name is
(Biharinidas, siddhanta M sakhi 236, Hargulal 1971, p. 143).
13‘The lord of all lords is Hari, the lord o f this lord is his lordly wife.’
saba thakma kau thakma hah ta thakma kau thakma thakuraini.
(Biharinidas, rasa ke savaiya 1, Hargulal 1971, p. 478).
i4bisnusvamisampradaya ckrha jnanadeva gambhimmati;
nama tilocana iisya sura ia ii sadr&a ujagaia;
ghaganga unahaii kabyaracana premakara;
acaraja haiidasa atula bala anandadayana;
tehi maraga ballabha bidita prthupadbati parayana;
commonplace15. Is Haridas (servant of Hari) here a name at all, or is it just an epithet to the other names quoted by this padal In view of these questions chappay 48 cannot be considered conclusive either. The same doubt is raised by the records of the Visnusvami sampradaya, which mention ‘Haridas5 among the line of preceptors.
Since a clear theological orientation appears in the history of the HS only in the 18th centuiy, the most reasonable answer to the problem of its affiliation would be that originally it was an independent sect which claimed its autonomy as a sampradaya in its own right on the grounds that it followed a particular mode of bhakti, and maintained a distinct line of authority descending from Svami Haridas himself. If this is the case we are faced with the question: why did the 18th-century leaders feel the need to give up this autonomy and recognise the authority of one of the four main Vaisnava sects (ca tnhsampra day a) ? The answer can be found in the history of the region. This was the time when Jai Singh, who became governor of Agra in 1722 (Burn 1937, p. 348), made an attempt to stop the proliferation of religious movements. He sanctioned four groups which possessed a commentary on the Veda: the Nimbarka sampradaya, the Visnusvami sampradaya, the $ri Vaisnavas and the Gaudiya sampradaya. The other sects were subjected to persecution16. The link of the HS to the Nimbarka sampradaya was not unanimously accepted even by the sadhus and this shows that it was not a common belief before Kisordas’s time. Bhagavatrasik, a contemporary of KiSordas, openly
expressed his disagreement with this affiliation:
‘Hari is not dualistic monism and not qualified monism
he is not tied in doctrinal disputes, our lord is monism of desire.’17
By the same line of argument he established in further verses the autonomy of the HS, as a sect which had its own ‘instigator’, deity, mode of worship, chapa, mantra, and even name:
‘Our preceptor is the sakhi Lalita, our seal is rasika;
We worship the eternal youth, we repeat the mantia of the couple;
we repeat the mantia of the couple, our Vedas are the utterances of the rasikas;
our abode is Sri Vrndavana, we revere Syama, the great queen.’ 18
‘May Rasik always remain near to the excellent sakhi sampradaya.'19
navadha pradhana seva sudrrha mana baca krarm haricaranarati;
bisnusvami sampradai dirha jnanadeva gambhiramati (Prasad 1962, p. 386).
15For example 16 different poets called Haridas are mentioned in the list of manuscripts of the Nagari PracarinI Sabha (Agraval 1964, pp. 621-624).
16About the activities of Jai Singh see Entwistle 1987, pp. 191-194 and Thiel-Hortsmann 1990, pp. 480- 483.
17na/if dvaitadvaita hari nah! bisistadvaita;
badhe nahl matabada me idvara icchadvaita.
(kundali 6, Sastri 1975, p. 72).
^acaraja lalita sakhi rasika hamari chapa;
nitya kisora upasana jugala mantra kau japa.
jugala mantra kau japa beda rasikana ki bani;
sri vrndavana dhama ista syama maharani.
(kundali 6, Sastri 1975, p. 38).
17
The claims for affiliation of the HS to the Nimbarka sampradaya or the Visnusvami sampradaya show that there are certain similarities between them. Close to the doctrines of the Nimbarka sampradaya, Haridas’s Kelimal speaks of the worship of the yugala svarupa and concentrates on the dalliance between Radha and Krsna, giving much prominence to Radha. Similarly, Haridas’s other work, Astadag siddhanta, which promotes general bhakti ideas such as the omnipotence of Hari (in Vaisnava bhakti), Hari’s may a (illusion), the transience of worldly things, Hari’s grace and the importance of bhakti as the single path to salvation, inevitably has similarities with the doctrines of other bhakti sects, among them the Visnusvami sampradaya. Haridas’s concept of maya as a positive force, which appears to have a degree of independence from Hari (AS 5), and of Hari’s control of all one’s actions (AS 1, 2 etc.) resemble the doctrines of maya and pusti in the Visnusvami sampradaya.
1.7 Two branches of the sect were established in the time of the first generation of Haridas’s followers. From Jagannath (whom the gosvamis consider to have been Haridas’s brother) descends the hereditaiy right to be a priest in the main temple of the sect. From Vlthal Vipul stems the spiritual lineage of the sadhus. An unsuccessful attempt carried out by Halvar and Bhudar (17-18th-century followers of the sect) to steal the image of Bake Bihari from the gosvamis and give it to the sadhus was the starting point of a long-lasting hostility between the two branches (Haynes 1974, p.
106-107).
1.8 The HS has three main centres of sectarian activity (all of them in Vrindaban):
the Bake Bihari Mandir, the Nidhiban and the Tatfi Asthan. The first two belong to the gosvamis, the latter to the sadhus. The 19th-centuiy Bake Bihari Mandir is the principal shrine of the sect, and houses the image of Bake Bihari (originally worshipped by Haridas). The Nidhiban is a garden that contains samadhis of Svami Haridas (who is said to have lived in this grove) and other Haridasi ascetics. A marble platform marks the spot where the deity of Bake Bihari appeared before Haridas. Tatfi Asthan was founded by LalitkiSorldas in the 18th century. It derives its name from the bamboo fences which were put up when it was established. A big samaja is held there at the anniversaries of the birth of Svami Haridas (radhastmi) and of the other most important acaryas of the sect.
1 9ra/ie nirantara pasa rasika barn sakhi samprada.
(kundali9, Sastri 1975, p. 41).
M aterials relating to the life o f Svami H aridas
2. Summary of primary sources
16th century 2.1 Note, allegedly written by Haridas.
2.2 Document about Haridas’s, Jagannath’s Govinda’s visit to a temple in Mathura.
and
16th-17 th century 2.3 Mirate Sikandari va mirate Akbaif?
2.4 Eulogies:
2.4.1 Hariram Vyas links Haridas with Hit Harivamsa in his padas.
2.4.2 A verse by GovindasvamI 2.4.3 Dhruvdas’s Bhaktanamavall 2.4.4 A kavitta by Agradas
17th century 2.5 Nabhadas’s Bhaktamal outlines the nature of Haridas’s bhakti and mentions his musical prowess.
2.6 Uttamadas’s Hit caritra sets a model for later partisan sectarian works and mentions an episode about perfume.
18th century 2.7 Priyadas’s Bhaktaras bodhini refers to a story about philosopher’s stone and elaborates the incident about the perfume.
2.8 Nagaridas’s Padprasangamal gives an account of meeting between Akbar and Haridas.
2.9 KiSordas writes Nijmat siddhanta, the sadhus’
authoritative hagiography of Svami Haridas.
19th-20th century Numerous rewritings of Bhaktamal and sectarian works further develop Haridas’s hagiography.
General acceptance of Haridas’s hagiography in Indian academic writing (see Mital 1959; Gupta D. 1974; Sarma G. 1959, Sarma G. D. 1959;
Caturvedi 1959, Saksena 1990, Gosvami 1966 etc.)
1 9
2. Prim ary sources
The first problem we face in discussing Svami Haridas is that there are many individuals called Haridas in the history of the Indian bhakti movement. Meaning simply ‘servant of Visnu’, it is one of the commonest names adopted by Visnu devotees. The number of devotees by the name of Haridas in works narrating the life of famous bhaktas prove this point: there are seven in Nabhadas’s Bhaktamal, four in Dhruvdas’s Bhaktanamavall (Gosvami 1971), and three in Gokulnath’s Do sau bavana vaisnavana ki varta (Sarma 1951-53). There is also another Haridas in the lineage of Haridas’s disciples20.
The second difficulty is the lack of reliable historical evidence. The hagiographic nature of all the data relating to Haridas’s life precludes the possibility of writing an authoritative biography. Therefore the main aim of this section will be to collect the major references to Haridas’s life and to trace the development of Haridas’s hagiography.
The earliest references to Haridas are two 16th-century documents.
2.1 The first one is a note allegedly written by Haridas, dated 1567, which is in the keeping of a priest of the Ujjain piligrimage centre. It is said to be a souvenir brought back when one of the ancestors of the Ujjain priests visited Svami Haridas.
Unfortunately, this text is very fragmentary, and if this document is of any importance it is because of its date21.
2.2 An 1806 copy of a 16th-century document is kept among the records of the Caube Brahmans of Mathura. The transcription speaks of a visit by Haridas, Jagannath and Govinda to the temples in Mathura in 1548 (Gosvami 1966, pp. 437-438).
2.3 Sudarsansimha Cakra speaks in his article ‘Svami ji ka jivan caritra’ (Cakra, £ri Kelimal, p. 20 in Mital 1961, p. 7) about the existence of a Persian book, called Mirate Sikandari va mirate Akban, part of which was written in VS 1526 (AD 1469) and which was completed during the time of the emperor Akbar. It consisted of several parts and described contemporaneous events in great detail. Its sixth section gives information about Svami Haridas, his date and place of birth, his caste, father etc.
According to this book Svami Haridas was bom on the 13th day of the light fortnight of the month pausa (the 10th month in the Hindu calendar) VS 1569 (AD 1512).
20&'sya svami haiidasaji kejehi;
sii haridasa bhakta hai tehi.
(Krsnapriyacarya, Sundarsagar, chapter 18 in Sarma 1977, p. 101).
21A photograph of this note is published in Gosvami 1966, p. 437; its text is quoted and translated in Haynes 1974, p. 51. I have not seen the original of this text myself, and I have refrained from giving it on the basis o f secondary sources, because both the transliteration and the translation of Haynes seem to be problematic.
Although this sounds very convincing, the problem is that Mirate Sikandari va mirate Akbari no longer exists (if it ever did). We do not even know if Cakra had seen it himself or was quoting somebody’s description. There is a work called Mirate Sikandari, written by Fajalulla Lutafulla FaridI, but it consists of only one part, and it does not mention Svami Haridas (Mital 1961, p. 8; Sarma 1959, p. 46). Is Mirate Sikandari only the first section of Mirate Sikandari va mirate Akbari, whose other parts have been lost, or is it a work on its own? Like many of the questions concerned with Indian historical biography, this one remains unanswered.
Apart from these quasi-historical documents the earliest references to Svami Haridas are not biographical but eulogistic - salutations written by his contemporaries and followers.
2.4.1 Hariram Vyas, a Braj Bhasa poet of the 16th century, wrote a number of eulogistic padas relating to Svami Haridas. The most famous among them is:
‘Sri Svami Haridas is the king of single-mindedness;
Who served Kunjabihari every moment without any other desire;
Alert and knowledgeable in his service he sings every day in the rasa dance beautifully;
There has never been such a rasika before and will never be either on earth or in heaven;
He transcended the corporeal state while alive, he forgot worldly enjoyments;
Worshipping the earth of Vrndavana with his mind and his body, he abandons the desires of worldly propriety and scriptural injunctions;
He established the ways o f love with everyone, he did not attend [anybody] in a special way;
Firm in his vow, he maintained it until the end, as long as there was breath in his body;
The lord o f gods and kings, gold, beautiful women were like a mere blade of grass to him;
The ascetics o f nowadays are like me, Vyas, and the world mocks us.’22
2 .4 .2 Another 16th century Braj author who eulogizes Haridas is the asta chapa poet GovindasvamI23:
‘The path o f the single-minded rasikas is devious;
The path, to take which great ascetics close their eyes and hold their breath for ever;
The path, the secret of which the Vedas regret not to have obtained, and remain dismayed;
This path Haridas has obtained, he has fearlessly established the love o f the way o f rnsa;
With banging and thundering drums, [says] Govinda, the path of the single-minded rasikas is devious.’24
22ananya mpati £ri svami haridasa;
§ri kunjabihari seye bmu,jina china na kaii kahu ki asa.
seva savadhana ati jana, sughara gavata dina rasa;
aisau rasika bhayau na hvaihai, bhuvamandala akasa.
deha videha bhaye jivata hi, bisare visva-vilasa;
§ri brndavana-raja tana-mana bhaji, taji loka-beda ki asa.
priti-iiti kinisaba M so, kiye na khasa khavasa;
apanau brata hathi ora nibahyau, jaba lagi kantha usasa.
surapati bhupati kahcana kamini, jinake bhayaighasa;
aba ke sadhu vyasa hama hu se, jagata karata upahasa.
(Gosvami 1952, p. 193).
23For more information on GovindasvamI see McGregor 1984, p. 87.
24rasika ananyani kau patha bakau;
ja patha ko patha leta mahamuni, mudata nena gahainita nakau;
ja patha kau pachitata hai beda, lahai nahi bheda rahai jaki jakau;
so patha grihaiidasa lahyau, rasa-nti id piiti calai nisakau;
nisanani bajata gajata govinda, rasika ananyani kau patha bakau.
(Astacaiydki vain"MS, BI, f. 69).
2 1
2.4.3 Another text from the 16th-17th centuries referring to Haridas is the Bhaktanamavall of the Radhavallabhi poet Dhruvdas. 42 short works and a collection of padas are attributed to Dhruvdas. Five of these texts are dated, defining a floruit of at least 48 years - VS 1650-1698 (AD 1593-1641). As Snell convincingly suggests:
‘since a floruit significantly longer than this already lengthy span would seem unlikely, the Bhaktanamavall also may be reasonably allocated to this period’ (1991a, p. 8).
dohas 12 to 14 (incl.) of Bhaktanamavall are dedicated to Svami Haridas:
‘The single minded rasika Haridas sang about the eternal sports;
In his service he removed the chain o f precepts and prohibitions.
He constantly lived in a thick forest, his love grew;
Applying his love to Bihari only, he abandoned the house of comforts.
He did not care about anyone - pauper or king;
He remained immersed in rasa worship, having taken an earthen pot in his hand.’25
2.4.4 Agradas, teacher of Nabhadas, praises Svami Haridas, who was probably his contemporary, in one of his kavittas:
‘Salutation to §ri Haridas, inhabitant of the forest of vrnda, the whole essence of whose life was the handsome Bake Bihari;
rasika of the charming joint form of Syama and Syama, incarnation of captivating love;
Treasury o f utmost asceticism, he lives in Nidhivana, always absorbed in emotions, [of which] he is a great expert;
Wishgiving tree of all desires, remover of all unhappiness, benefactor o f the confidante Agradas.’26
Sarma (1977, p. 99) asserts that the imperfective participle in the third line suggests that Haridas was still alive when this kavitta was written; however, vasata may be construed as a historic present.
2.5 Bhaktamal by Nabhadas, probably dating from the early years of the 17th century (Snell 1991a, p. 12), speaks of seven devotees by the name of Haridas:
chappaya 98 lists 18 bhaktas of the kaliyuga and Haridas is 13 th among them.
Nothing in this list suggests which Haridas Nabhadas is talking about in this pada.
Similar is the problem with chappaya 99, which gives a list of 27 devotees (Haridas being 19th), and with chappaya 179. Verse 103 mentions Haridas Misra in a list of 21 bhaktas. chappaya 151 uses the name Haridas as an epithet for Hanuman. Stanza 156 is dedicated to the santa Haridasji Baniye from Benares. Poem 91 describes Haridas rasikaji, the epithet Nabhadas uses for Svami Haridas:
25rasika ananya haridasa ju, gayau nitya biham;
seva hum e durikiye, bidhi niseda jahjara. (12) saghana nikuhjani inhata dina, badhyau adhika saneha;
elm bihari heta lagi, chaii diye sukha geha. (13) rahka chatrapati kihu Id, dharina mana paravSha;
ralie bhiji rasa bhajana me, line kara karavaha. (14) (Gosvami 1971, pp. 27-28).
26namo namo £ri haridasa vmdavipina vasa vam prana sarvasa bakebihaii;
syama syama jugala rupa madhurya ke rasika lijhavam prema avatail;
parama vairaga nidhi vasata nidhivana sada bhavana Una su pmvina bhaii;
kamana kalpatani sakala santapaharu agradasa ali kalyanakaii.
(Hargulal 1971, p. 1).
‘Of the splendour of Asudhir, Haridas is rasika by chapa;
Bound by a vow to the name of the couple, he repeats Kunjabihari forever;
He watches their play constantly, he has rights to happiness of the sakhis;
Singing with the skill of gandharvas he pleases Syama and Syama;
He offers them the daintiest food, he feeds peacocks, monkeys and fish;
Kings stand by his door in the hope of seeing him;
Of the splendour of Asudhir, Haridas is rasika by chapa.''27
2.7 The most important commentary on Bhaktamal is the Bhaktiras bodhini written by Priyadas in VS 1769 (AD 1712) (see Gupta 1967, p. 24). kavitta 367 of Bhaktiras bodhini adds two more references to Svami Haridas:
‘Who can describe the mass of rasa of Svami Haridas, who, in repeating [the Lord’s name]
acquired the chapa of being a rasika;
Someone brought him perfume valued highly, he took it and threw it down on the bank; [the other thought it] wasted [anger] came into his heart;
Knowing this the wise one said ‘take and show him Lalapyare’, when the curtain was opened the clothes were drenched with perfume;
He cast the philosopher’s stone into the water, then made [him] a disciple; many songs like this are sung [of him].’28
2.6 A probable source for Priyadas’s Bhaktiras bodhini is a text of uncertain title attributed to Uttamdas. It usually follows Bhagvat Mudit’s Rasik ananya mal in manuscripts, and has consequently been considered by some as a part of that work.
Rasik ananya mal is dedicated almost entirely to accounts of the lives of Radhavallabhi devotees. It is undated, but Mudit’s other work - a translation from the Sanskrit Vrndavanamahimamrta of VS 1707 (AD 1650) - gives an indication of Bhagvat Mudit’s floruit. Uttamdas’s text was probably written to complement the Rasik ananya mal by adding the caritra of HarivamSa himself (Gosvami 1957, p. 22). The dates of Uttamdas are not known. Lalita Caran Gosvami claims that Uttamdas was a disciple of Gosvami Kunjalal, who was born in VS 1696 (AD 1639), and argues that his work must therefore date from VS 1740-45 (AD 1683-88) (Gosvami 1957, p. 24). The section about Haridas suggests his affiliation to the Radhavallabha sampradaya:
‘One day, coming back from his bathing in the Yamuna, [Hit HarivamSa] heard that someone was singing beneath the bowers;
[Hit HarivamSa] approached him to find out; [he said] ‘you sing delightfully, your body is beautiful;
but if you sing about the beautiful form, you will obtain extreme splendour in this forest;
Listen, said Svami Haridas, my hope is in knowledge, asceticism and Santa rasa;
27 asadhira udyota kara rasika chapa haridasa ki.
jugala naina sau nema japata nita kunjabihari;
avalokata lahai keh sakhi sukha ke adhikaii.
gana kala gandharva, syama syama ko tosal;
uttama bhoga lagaya, mora marakata timiposai.
nipati dvara thadhe rahai, daiasana asa jasa ki;
asadhira udyota kara rasika chapa haridasa ki.
(Prasad 1962, pp. 601-602).
28 svami haridasa rasarasa ko bakhana sakai, msikata chapa joijapa madhi paiyai;
lyayaukou cova, vakau ad mana bhova vamai daryo lai pulina yaha, khova hiyeaiyai;
janikai sujana kahi lai dikhavau lala pyai'e, naisuku ughare pata sugadha buraiye;
parasa pasana kari jala daravaya diyau, kiyau taba Sisya aise nana bidhi gaiyai.
(Prasad 1962, p. 602).'
2 3
Hita sang about Santa, dasya and sakhya rasa as well, but he said that Srhgara rasa was the highest;
Knowing in his heart the Svami to be a wise man among the great [he said] abandon everything and sing of this rasa',
He acquired from Hita all the practices o f service established by the ascetic;
He kept in his heart Hita’s path to &rl KunjabiharinI and Bihari;
The delicate-limbed one was seated on the throne, [sitting] on the bank [Haridas] constantly watches Bihari;
With his song he pleases Syama and Syama, he sings prankish melodies and prankish padas;
When a king comes near, seeing in him an obstruction, he does not look at him;
6ri Haridas is endowed with many excellent stories;
He cast the perfume on the bank and the fragrance was in the abode of the couple.’29
The standard hagiography of the Vallabh sampradaya, CaurasI vaisnavan k i varta,, includes a reference to Haridas. The text is attributed to Gokulnath (AD 1551-1716), but its present form has been created by Hariray (AD 1591-1716) (Barz 1976, p. 102).
The fifth prasanga of the varta of Kumbhandas describes how Haridas, Harivamsa and other saints from Vrindaban went to meet Kumbhandas at Govardhan in order to discuss with him the description of Sri Svamimji (Radha) in verses dedicated to her (Barz 1976, pp. 183-184).
2.8 Pad prasangamala by Nagaridas (Savanta Simha, maharajah of Kishangarh), written around VS 1800 (AD 1743) elaborates Nabhadas’s and Uttamdas’s reference to king(s) coming to see Haridas:
‘Once the emperor Akbar asked Tansen: from whom did you learn singing? Can anyone sing even better than you? Then he answered: I do not count: in Vrindavana there is a Vaisnava called Haridas, I am a pupil of his in singing. Having heard this the emperor accompanied by Tansen took a waterjar and went to Svami ji in Vrndavana. First Tansen went, then he entreated Haridas to utter something. Then Haridas started the prelude of Malara raga. It was the month of caita- baisakha [March-May]. At this very moment thick clouds started to gather. Peacocks began to sing. Then he composed and sang a new visnupada. At that very moment it started raining. This is the pada.’30
2.9 The authoritative work on Haridas’s life for the sadhu branch of the HS, Nijmat siddhanta, was written by KiSordas probably around VS 1820 (AD 1763) (Mital 1961, p. 11). The arguments in the Nijmat siddhanta are of two sorts:
29ika dina jamuna nhaye avata, sunyo kunjataia koi ikagavata. (1) nikata jaike bujhi bata, gavata suthi tuma simdai'a gata. (2) paljau sundam rupahi gavau, tau ya vana me ati chavipavau. (3) suni bole svami haiidasa, gyana bkaga santa rasa asa. (4)
hita ju santa dasya sasya laugayau, sarvopari srngara batayau. (5) svami badena jam mana jana, saba taji soi rasa kijai gam. (6) he birakta seva padharai, so saba bidhi hita j i te pai. (7) Sri kuhjabiharani saiiga bihari hitaji Id paddhati um dhaii, (8) gadi madhya thapi sukavm, sadana pidina me lase bihrni. (9) syama syamahi gaya rijhavai, bahke sura banke pada gavai. (10) prathvipati avai taba nere, antaraya Iasi tinihi na here. (11) uttama caiitra aneka juta Sri svami haiidasa.
cova daryo pulina mal dampati bhavana subasa. (12) (Uttamdas MS, 1760, fs. 14-15).
30eka samai akabarapatsaha tansaina sau bujhiju tai kauna sd gaibo sikhyo, kou tohu tai adhika gavai hai.
taba yanai kahi ju mai kauna ganatl mar hu. Sri brndabana mai haiidasa j i namai vaisnava hai, tinake gayabe ko hu Sisya hu. yaha suni patasaha tanasaina kai sahga jaladhaii lai Sii vfndavana svami ju pai ayd. pahilai tanasaina gayo, binati kaii maharaja kachu boliye. taba Sri haridasa ju alapacaii kail malara raga ki. caita baisakha ko mahinau huto. taba tahi bera ghatha [sic] ghumaii ai. morn bolani lage. taba nayo banai bisnupada gayo. taba tahi bera barasa hauna lagi so vaha yaha pada (followed by KM 89) (Gupta 1965, pp. 385-6).
1. Contradiction of the gosvamls’ claim about the life and lineage of Haridas;
2. Establishing of the succession of the sadhu line, from leader to leader, since the time of Haridas. Therefore the most likely force behind its creation would be a growing consciousness on the part of the sadhus of their institutional identity vis-a-vis the gosvamls. The Nijmat siddhanta is probably a collection of the oral traditions of the sadhus of the eighteenth century, and it betrays its composite origin by great internal inconsistency. Its middle part (madhya khanda) is dedicated to a detailed account of the legends about Haridas. It says that Svami Haridas was born on the 8th day of the light fortnight of the month bhadd (the 6th month of the Hindu calendar) VS 1537 (AD 1480), that he became an ascetic at the age of 25, after which he lived for 70 more years31.
Nijmat siddhanta states that Haridas had twelve disciples32 (KiSordas 1915, p.
163). Four of them, Vithal Vipul, the younger brother of Asudhlr, KiSordas, the son of Hariram Vyas, Dayaldas and Praka6das were his major disciples. Dayaldas, the third, is the acting figure in the story about the philosopher’s stone mentioned in the Bhaktiras bodhini. According to the Nijmat siddhanta Dayaldas was a sarasvat brahman from Jasarauta, a village in Punjab, and his real name was Dayaram (Kisordas 1915, p. 57).
He obtained the philosopher’s stone and gave it to Svami Haridas, who tossed it away into the water of the Yamuna.Then, seeing the giver’s vexation, Haridas took him to the edge of the stream and asked him to pick up a handful of sand out of the water. When he had done so, each single grain became a replica of the stone that had been thrown away, and, when tested, was found to possess precisely the same power of alchemy.
Thus he was made to understand that the saints stand in no need of gold or earthly riches, and he joined the number of Haridas’s disciples (KiSordas 1915, pp. 76-77).
The Nijmat siddhanta develops not only the reference to the philosopher’s stone, but the story of Tansen and Akbar as well (KiSordas 1915, pp. 89-95). It narrates how the court-musician Tansen was ordered to sing the raga Dipaka, famous for burning the person who performs it. Tansen sang it and his body started burning. The only cure for this fever was the performance of raga Malara, causing rain. Tansen went to an old woman, who sang for him raga Malara, but told him that the only person who could teach him how to perform it himself was Svami Haridas. Tansen became Haridas’s student. When the emperor Akbar heard his skilful performance, following his studentship under Haridas, he praised him as the best musician on the earth, but Tansen corrected him that Haridas was superior to him. Akbar, accompanied by Tansen and
31 samvata pandraha sai saitisa, bhadau §ukla astami disa.
buddhbara madhyanha bicaryao, M handasa pragata tanu dharyo.
giha me varsa pacisa bitaye, pbiri vairaga-tyaga upajaye.
sattai'a vaiaa klnha banabasa, gupta bhava kinha parakasa.
(KiSordas 1915, p. 54).
32Since 12 is a sacred number, we often find that this is the figure quoted for the number of disciples of religious preceptors, e. g. Ramananda, Gorakhnath etc. (see Burghart 1978, p. 16).
