PANCHASTAVI AND PANDIT JIA LAL SARAF

                                             

                                           

                                       

PANDIT JIA LAL DHAR SARAF ( 1901-1975)

 

" Aas sharan tse paadan

vinaya kin chhuss namithaai

Vyaakultai manz mata rachhtam tsei "

 

(Having surrendered at your feet,

I bow with all my humility,

In my distraughtness,

protect me, mother )

 

This is a line from Panchastavi, a collection of hymns divided into five cantos sung in the praise of Mother Goddess Tripura, translated into Kashmiri by Pandit Jia Lal Dhar Saraf. He was an ardent devotee of the goddess Sharika. Every Saturday, he would go to Hari Parbat Shrine of Devi Sharika for night-long Keertan and Bhajan singing. Along with his friends(Neel Kanth Gurtoo, Jia Lal Trisal and many more see it), he would perform Prabhat Pheri and Parikrama of the Hari Parbat hill daily entering from Bachhi Darwaza. After performing daily Pooja at the Ganesh Temple, he would go up the Chakreshwari Temple on the hill with his select friends in a Prabhat Pheri style. Such was his punctuality that many residents on his way felt no need to look at their watches to know the time. Finally, the Prabhat Pheri would visit the Pokhribal shrine and complete the Parikrama of the Hari Parbat hill. Apart from a Devi Bhakt, he was a poet, Sanskrit scholar and an astrologer. He was also a Kathavachak ( religious storyteller) and had a melodious voice with fairly good knowledge of the Sufiana music of Kashmir. The Kashmiri Panchastavi sung in every Kashmiri Pandit household is a gift from Pandit Jia Lal Saraf to the community. His Kashmiri translation of Panchastavi is soulful and full of spiritual flavour that touches the inner chords of every listener. Whenever the Kashmiri translation of Panchastavi was recited in our family, my mother was always in tears. This happened with most of our womenfolk. It was usually sung by Kashmiri Pandits at Shaktipeeths like Kheer Bhawani Shrine Tulamula and Chakreshwari Shrine Hari Parbat in Kashmir. Sri Gopi Krishna has also translated Panchastavi into English and it was published by Rama Krishna Mission, Srinagar. In his foreword, Sri Gopi Krishna writes this:-

 

"Like a priceless gem, lying hidden in the cavernous interior of a mountain, Panchastavi, a peerless hymn of praise addressed to Kundalini, has lain shielded from the eyes of the world by the snow-capped mountain peaks that surround the beautiful vale of Kashmir, once said to be a lake known by the charming name of Sati-Sar. The only other work in the whole gamut of Shakti-Shastra in India comparable to Panchastavi is the famous work, Saundarya Lahari, ascribed to by some scholars to the far-famed mystic philosopher Shankaracharya who, it is said, flourished in the 8th century AD. "

About Panchastavi, Prof Kashi Nath Dhar writes this:-

 

" Panchastavi is the quintessence of Tantric scriptures of non-dualistic school. The earliest extant reference to its verses used as quotations is found in the Saraswati Kanthabharana of King Bhoja. The probable date of the composition of Saraswati Kanthabharan is between 1030 and 1040 AD. Hence Panchastavi must have been composed much earlier than it; by the time of Bhoja its poetic merit (leaving devotional apart) must have been established on firm footing, only then it could deserve a place in this work on poetics."

 

Pandit Jia Lal Saraf's book of Leelas called Bhajan Mala became quite popular. Many Leelas from the book were popular in Kashmiri Pandit households. Later, he added some more Leelas to Bhajan Mala and authorised Shri Prakash Koul to publish a second edition. 1000 copies of the second edition were immediately sold.I quote some Leelas from Bhajan Mala :-

(1)

"Om shrimat hi bhawani chhum me aasha chyani"

 

( O venerable one. O bhawani,

You are my only hope)

 

(2)

"Aesh-vaani saet paadh chhalaye

Saal karyey deevi "

 

( I shall wash your feet with my tears

O mother goddess I invite you to the feast )

 

(3)

" Om namah Bhagwati vasudevaye yusa ha pari tas ha lagi bhavsar taar"

 

( 'Om namah Bhagwati vasudevaye'

Whosoever recites this mantra, shall cross happily this worldly bhavsagara)  Found in the Vishnu Purana, ‘Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevay’  can be translated as “I bow to Lord Vasudeva (Lord Krishna)”. However, this mantra is recited as much for the benefits of the sacred sound vibrations as for any specific meaning.

 

(4)

Aashutosh Shanker kartam me yaari

Paadan lagai paer paari ye

 

( O Ashutosh, O Shiva, be kind to me,

let me die at your feet )

 

Jia Lal Saraf was born in Reshi Peer Mohalla of downtown Srinagar city in a family that was into business. Once upon a time, Pandit Jia Lal Saraf owned 'Naya Kashmir Hotel' near the Clock Tower at Lal Chowk, in Srinagar city. During my recent visit to Srinagar in September 2023, I saw the hotel with the same name still functional. I was told that the hotel is now being run by its new owner. About Pandit Jia Lal Saraf, noted journalist S N Gurkha writes this:-

 

“ Reshi Peer Mohalla is named after the great saint, Reshi Peer who lived here. A prominent personality of this Mohalla was Sh. Jia Lal Saraf, a renowned Sanskrit scholar with great proficiency in astrology. He has authored many religious texts. A leading Kathawachak of his times and gifted with a melodious voice, Pt. Jia Lal Saraf translated Panchastavi and other religious books into the Kashmiri language. He was involved in his family business which was run under the title of M/s H R Jia Lal and Co. Later on, he started his hotel 'Naya Kashmir Hotel' at Lal Chowk, Srinagar. Sh Saraf and Pt Nilakanth Nehru would go to Hari Parbat every Saturday evening and recite Bhajans and Leelas the whole night in praise of Mata Sharika. Subsequently, the two parted company. While Sh Saraf shifted his venue to Pokhribal, Pt. Nilakanth Nehru continued to go to Chakreshwar”

 

 Pandit Jia Lal Saraf lived a happy family life. He died peacefully in 1975. 

 

 

( Avtar Mota )

 

CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.