(Tale of Gugga Chattri or Kashatriya
dates back a millennium. He was a Rajput hero
of Rajasthan whose saga is still alive
and well amongst the Rajput community
in the various hamlets of Kangra
including Pirsaluhi.)
Likeness of Gugga Chattari at Pirsaluhi (HP)
When Naani arrived next time, there was a huge
excitement amongst the children. They were eager to hear a story or two from
her hence were looking forward to her visit.
As she entered the porch, all the kids mobbed her
saying, "Naani, Naani Naani ….. which story are you going to tell us
today?"
To this, the Naani replied, "I am coming after visiting the Gugga Chattari's shrine
hence I am going to relate that story to you". The whole courtyard was
full with excitement although everybody knew where Gugga Chattri's shrine was
but did not know the story behind it. The kids began to wait for the nightfall
so that they could hear this new story.
At nightfall, Naani began to relate the
story:
Gugga Chattari - Then
"The Rajputs of this area worship their
venerated religious leader and mighty warrior, Gugga Chohan (Kashatriya -
Chattri) as their patron saint and hold a festival to honour his memory on the
9th day of Bhadon month (August end)".
"This warrior had a very mystic past. One has
to go with the word of mouth stories, which have descended thru the centuries.
Hence there are many versions of the same. They all relate to one Gugga Chohan,
a contemporary of Prithvi Raj Chohan of Ajmer (including Delhi), who fought
Mahmud Ghori at the two battles of Tarraian in 1191 & 1192 AD. Other accounts date, Gugga Chohan's
existence back by about a hundred years when Mahmud of Ghazni devastated north
India with 17 invasions from 997 - 1030 AD. Gugga Chohan fought many battles
against him with his 36 sons and countless other relatives and lost the
battles."
"Children" said Naani, "your
neighbour Numbardars (popularly called Lumbars) are his descendants hence hold
him holy and venerate his likeness in his memory. The
above shrine and similar one elsewhere had been erected at many places
including one next door to you. At the shrines, he is always with his mount - the
blue horse, Guru Gorakhnath and his companion/mother".
She continued, "I have no idea when this
local shrine, so close to your homes, was consecrated. It probably was here
when your ancestors moved into this area. One of the conditions of land grant was
that this "Sathapna"- shrine of Gugga be not disturbed. It has stayed
like this ever since. This Gugga shrine has its origin from the likeness of
Gugga of Saloh[1]. This
Gugga has extraordinary power to cure the snakebite".
"As I just said, there are many major shrines
of Gugga at different locations. More popular one is at Saloh, popularly called
"Gugga of Saloh". Others are "Gugga Jaharvir", "Gugga
Marhi" etc. "
The kids had understood nothing so far. It was
history lesson; the kids were searching for a story. Then after this long
introduction the Naani began to relate the story.
Gugga Chohan - Now
"Many generations back Rana Sukhu (Sukh Ram)
was a powerful land owner and a Jagirdar in this area. He owned much of the
land in Mararh and also some in Thapal area of Pirsaluhi.
Rana Sukhu and other hardworking landowners took
good care of their land. Although they had quite bit of it but much of it was a
hilly tract. Over generations, the hills had been terraced to grow as much crop
as they could. In-spite of their large landholdings they still sent their sons
to join the armies of Raja of Kangra or Jaswan or other Rajas in the plains of
Punjab for extra cash. They also maintained a large flock of cattle. The grain
crop together with milk and butter (ghee) they produced was not enough to meet
all the requirements of life for Rana Sukhu's extended family. Hence money from
their son's jobs was a welcomed gift. They literally depended on it for
clothing and buying other services needed.
Everybody in Rana Sukhu's family worked in the
fields doing one chore or the other. During the summer when they were waiting
for the rains, they took care of their cattle. Working in the fields for them
was their second nature. Generation after generation they would terrace one
hill after another and reclaim some additional land to grow more crops. For the
current three generations, including him and his brothers, two cousins and
their wives and a host of children, tilling the land was the only profession
they knew. Living in a joint family had prevented the division of the land
holdings, as there was not enough to go around. They all lived in the small
hutments four of them in all in row at the Mararh, their ancestral residential
area.
Men, women and Children when they were old enough
to work went to work in the fields very early in the morning. Their daytime
meals consisted of plenty of buttermilk, rotis (bread) with sometime added
benefits of vegetables, which they grew in their own fields, Daal (pulses) and
ghee (butter milk) etc. Older women of the family usually cooked the meals and
took care of other chores at home. Younger children when they were six or seven
years old carried the day's meals to their parents working in the fields at
different locations. As soon as the young boys and girls were old enough to go
to the water hole, they took care of the cattle as their parents worked in the
fields. The eldest brother of the family was considered as the leader and he
made all the decision for the welfare of the extended family.
This year they had planned to extend one of their
fields, an improvement, and had brought their oxen and bulls to the fields to
help in the earthwork. Otherwise, summer was the time for rest and feed the
cattle, to get them fat to improve the milk yield. Bulls & oxen were fed to
get them ready for the sowing season.
To extend one of their fields they had to dig up
part of the earth mound to terrace it. They used picks and shovels together
with animal power to move the earth. This was a very strenuous work. They
undertook this type of work during the summer only and the whole family joined
in. This type of work was finished before the start of the sowing season.
Unknown to the family working with hands, shovel
and picks, there was a snake's pit on the grounds where they were digging.
Usually working for generations they always knew where the snake's pits were,
hence avoided it. They worked around it and left the snake and its pit alone.
This snake pit was unknown to them. Had they known it, they would have worked
around it.
As they were digging, they disturbed the snake
from its lazy slumber. It hid further and further in the ground to avoid being
hit by shovel and pick, but of no avail. Hence the snake was left with no
choice but to move, which it did. Unaware of the snake pit, the men & women
continued to dig hence the stage was set for a confrontation between humans and
the snake.
Usually the snakes and the farmers coexist well.
The snakes understand food cultivation hence avoid habitation
in the tillable land. Human on the other hand do not disturb it, if they find
one. This co-existence had been around from time immemorial. But if the snake
persists to habitat closer to homes or gets in the way in the fields, the
farmers have had no recourse except to kill it. At times, if the snake gets the
upper hand then it does strike. Their usual recourse during such emergencies
was to suck the snake venom out or take the victim to the shrine of Gugga
Chattari's and wait for the divine intervention. The latter as per well-known
legend in the area had mystical power over the snakes and cured the snakebites.
This was one reason that Gugga Chattari shrines were located in rural Himachal
Pradesh hamlets.
As the men folks were digging with picks and
shovels, the women folks helped to move the earth and filling up the uneven
ground. The animals did the heavier work.
As Sukhu's wife picked up the shovel to scoop some of the earth, that
snake got into her shovel. It immediately stretched its hood to scare her away
and she threw the shovel to the ground and stepped backward. The snake saw this
action as a threat; it immediately moved to protect itself. It began to slither
away from her, that is when Sukhu's wife struck it with a pick, but she missed.
The snake turned around and in a second bit her on her arm.
She cried hard as it bit her and then slithered
away. Her family working not to far away ran to the rescue but of no avail. The
snake had already done its job. They all shouted around for help. There was no
help other than her family working in the fields. If anything needed to be done
it was they who would do it. They took her headgear and tied securely on her
arm, almost to a level to stop the blood flow in the arm.
Rana Sukhu, who was working in the next fields,
also came running. Realising the gravity of the situation and without wasting
any more time, he began to suck the venom out of his wife's arm. The rest of
the family although gathered around watched. He sucked the blood a few times
and spit it out, each time he would rinse his mouth with water. His scared wife
lying in the fields motionless either had fainted unconscious or was letting
them do whatever was necessary to do. After sucking the venom out many times,
they immediately picked her up on their shoulders and brought her to the Gugga
Chattari's shrine, not far from those fields. There they let her lay on the
ground and began to sing songs in praise of the Gugga Chattari.
The world of a snakebite spread thru the
settlement like a wild fire. Everybody came to help out, and watch their next
move. Also came the Mahant, who acted as the unofficial priest of this shrine.
He on a daily basis cleaned the area, maintained the surroundings and pocketed
if any gift or cash were left as offering.
The Mahant in his usual way carried out his ritual
to placate the deity three times and then shook the lady. She immediately began
to stir. The whole audience of 20 people watched in amazement as she lifted her
injured arm up in the air. The family's joy knew no bound, seeing her arm up in
the air. Now they knew that that she was alive".
The joy on kid's faces listening to the
story was overwhelming. Some of them began to cry. Others jumped with joy.
"A short while later, the family brought warm
milk. Some was offered to the deity and rest they tried to feed to the snake
bitten lady. She may be aware of the surroundings but was unable to eat and
drink. The state of shock had left her mind totally paralysed. Although she was
not out of danger, but the prognosis was good. The rest of the family and other
neighbours and the priest began to sing praises of the Gugga Chohan.
Four hours passed with the above ritual still in
progress when the lady started to move her head, arms and legs. That was a good
sign. The poisonous snake venom usually paralyses the central nervous system
first, which prevents movement. If she was moving her limbs then it meant that
Rana Sukhu had either sucked the venom out when he gave her the first aid in
the fields or their belief in the deity who was known to have mystical powers
over snakes, was great.
By the evening with the whole party still there,
the lady opened her eyes. It was still a better sign. Soon she opened her mouth
and the priest administered a bit of "Ganga-Jal" - holy water. A
little later he administered a little more.
Now the whole family began to watch the miracle of
faith. The chanting and songs praising Gugga Chohan increased in tempo. From
the neighbourhood a drummer had also arrived. He began to beat the drum to
placate the deity to do its magic. In the villager's mind the deity held the
power of life and death over the lady who lay there in front of the shrine.
Miracle happened late in the evenings when the
moon was overhead and stars were twinkling in the sky. The lady opened her
mouth and asked for her son, who was sitting nearby. She asked him to prop her
head up. Seeing this, a cheer went all around the assembled people. Several
times, shouts went around praising the Gugga Chohan. She also looked around and
saw all the people assembled. She asked her son to cover her head with her
headgear. Her daughter-in-law also came to help and they all propped her to the
sitting position. The priest administered more Ganga Jal and this time she swallowed
it. It was another good sign. Now she was ready for a bit of nourishment. The
warm milk was brought and she took three or four gulps of it. By all accounts,
she was not out of the woods but all signs point to recovery. Full impact would
not be known for a day or two. The last traces of the venom had to be
neutralized by the body's natural defences before she could be pronounced fit.
The drum beat and ritual singing continued all
night. She occasionally asked for more Ganga-Jal. The singing and the drumbeat
prevented her from falling into an unconscious state. That would be worst in
her nervous state. She occasionally looked at her husband, thanking him for
sucking the venom out. She probably in her own mind was worried about his state
of health lest the poison began to impact him as he may have swallowed some. He
appeared to be fine.
All these were good signs of recovery.
As the morning came, the drumbeat stopped and the
cool breeze awakened everybody from their gentle doze. They began to look for
signs of further recovery in her. As the morning sun rose she lifted her arms
up and folded her hands in front of the deity and thanked him for saving her
life. That was the best sign so far of her recovery. Joy on family's face knew
no bound. They began to dance in front of the deity's shrine with offering of
coconut, dhoop and paan patta (Indian prayer offerings). Now they were
confident that a day had passed since the incident and if venom had not acted
by then, it would not act at all. Still they wished not to leave the presence
of their deity who miraculously had saved her.
They stayed at the shrine for one more day. During
this period she occasionally began to converse, a few words at a time. The
latter were signs of fuller recovery. On the second day, Rana Sukhu made
offerings to the Gods and Gugga deity and made yet another dramatic
announcement. He owned all the lands around the Shrine. He enlarged those land
holdings. With additional gift of land, people in future would have easier
access to the place and would have a place to sit down and prey at the shrine.
Mysterious are God's ways!!! The lady lived for 30 more years after that
incident until the ripe old age of eighty-five. The villager's belief in Gugga
Chohan multiplied several times over. By the times, Suds/Soods arrived in
Pirsaluhi, Gugga Chohan already was an important deity. They began to do what
the Rajputs were doing, that is, to invoke his assistance during difficult
times. As the time passed they built their housing around it without disturbing
the deity".
That day Rana Sukhu with his brave
act of sucking the venom out proved that brave men rewrite their fate. The
deity and their faith in it have sustained that community to this day.
With that, the Naani ended her story and we all
went to sleep knowing that we were neighbours of a very powerful deity, who
would cure snakebites.
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Gugga Chohan - Forever (Facts)
Gugga
Chohan story had many versions in the history books. Most books agree on one
aspect that he was born in the house of a Rajput Chieftain of Dadrewa named
Jewar Chohan and his Rani, Bachal[2] in about 900 AD. He was known to have married
another chieftain's daughter in the area. He had many sons. He inherited his
father's Jagir after a major dispute with his half brothers Surjan & Arjun.
It is the latter part of the story, which gives differing account.
The chain of events, which, followed, were
different in different texts. One
version says that he fought and died during Mohammedans invasion of 997 -1030
AD. His birth and his battles with Mohammedans, both
recorded by Hindu & Muslim text proves his existence[3].
There is a
Mohammedans version of the Gugga's latter story. This version has no mention of
fighting the invaders but relate his half brothers Surjan & Arjun fighting
to unseat him as chieftain. He slays them in battle and cuts off their heads
and present them to his mother as trophies. She did not like this act and
forced him to repent. He went to Mecca on Hajj for repentance. There he converted
into Muslim religion and on his return asked for mother earth to accept his
penance. The mother earth opened up and swallowed him along with his horse.
Since he was a brave Rajput, the Mohammedans believe that he had converted;
hence they designated him as a "Pir" - saint. Their version of the
legend refers him to be Gugga Pir.
That is not
what Hindus believe. The Hindu and Rajput version is that he fell fighting the
invading Muslim. For them he was a Gugga "Vir" also referred as Gugga
Jahar Vir. It is possible that over centuries Muslim Rajputs followers made
trifling change from Vir to Pir.
On the
likenesses, which are at Gugga of Saloh at Palampur (HP) as well as at
Pirsaluhi, he is with Guru Gorakhnath, who blessed his mother to conceive him
and his mother Bachal. Other likenesses at one of the shrines at Pirsaluhi
include Surjan & Arjun.
The story,
which goes around at Pirsaluhi and probably at Saloh, is that Surjan and Arjun
with deceit cut off Gugga's head when he was not watching. They wished him dead
because they were his half brothers and wished to inherit the Jagir. The headless Gugga continued to fight and
defeat his enemies. He killed both his half brothers. He later fell and was
swallowed up by the mother earth.
Gugga Chattari's Power with the snakes
His
mystical powers with the snakes are well known. According to a folklore in and around his birthplace of
Dadrewa, it is believed that if someone picks up even a stick from Johra ( a
barren land which has a sacred pond), it would turn into a snake. Devotees of
Gugga ji worship him when they get a snake bite and apply sacred ash (bhabhoot)
on the bite as an immediate remedy. Others have another story to tell, that as
a child, he swallowed a whole snake and the snake's poison mingled with his
body and did not affect him. Since then, they assumed that he had supernatural
powers over the snakes. Since then in Rajasthan & Kangra there is a sacred
belief that if you sing praises of Gugga, the snake poison does not impact.
Gugga Di Marhi - Ludhiana
In Ludhiana district in the village of Chappar,
there is a shrine - Gugga Di Marhi. It is a shrine dedicated to the same to
Gugga. A fair (Mela) is held in the month of Bhadon (August) to celebrate his
acts. But this Gugga story has a further twist. The legend has it that it was
in the Chappar village that a boy and a snake were born in a noble family of
landowners (this place is far away from Rajasthan - Bikaner where the other
legends originated). The snake and the boy were so intimate that each suffered
the other's pain. The snake would prevent any harm coming to the boy and vice
versa. Once unknown to travellers passing by, they saw an unnatural phenomenon
in the fields where a serpent and a boy were playing together. Realising that
the boy could be in grave danger, the travellers killed the snake. The child
also died instantly. It led the villagers to believe that the child and the
snake were not ordinary beings. They were "Sidhs" or saints. The
villagers began to hold a fair in their memory at that spot. A later day Rajah
built a shrine in their memory about a hundred and fifty years back. This
tradition of holding a yearly fair continues to-date.
When the author was paying respect to the
Lumbardars of the village at Pirsaluhi, one of the elder related this very
story to us (me and my wife). It amused us a lot. That elderly lady offered to
take us to the spot where the child and the snake were buried in Pirsaluhi. We
declined the offer. The point here is
that it is common story, probably of the same person, who had power over the
snakes. His sagas of bravery are told together with his other powers to keep
the faith alive.
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