Qadiryar

Excerpts from Qissa Puran Bhagat

1. The birth of Puran

In Sialkot
Puran was born to Salwan.
When the news reached him
The Raja consulted the astrologers.
The Pandits forbade him
to see the face of his son for twelve years.
O' Qadiryar ! The father consigned the new-born son
to the underground cell.
The Pandits consulted the scriptures
and interpreted them to the letter.
Puran had come out of one type of darkness
and gone into another.
The Raja provided well for the attendants to Puran
for the period of twelve years.
O' Qadiryar ! The father sent his son to prison
on the day of his birth

2. Puran comes to his Father's Durbar

Puran received his education for twelve years
and was well-versed in many arts.
He, then, on the completion of his training,
got ready to meet Raja Salwan,
he looked forward to the meeting eagerly.
O' Qadiryar ! When the Raja saw the face of his son
he was inebriated, as was the world.
During this period, Raja Salwan had brought
another woman into his household.
She was of low-caste and her name Luna,
The Raja had won her with great flourish.
Her face appeared bright like the moon,
When she decorated herself with ornaments.
O' Qadiryar ! What can I say further ?
The birds swooned on having a glimpse of her. 113
The Raja advised the young Puran to go to the palace
to pay his regards to the ladies.
He should now welcome the joys of life,
after his long sojourn in the dungeon.
He got up on hearing his father's words
and proceeded towards home in the company of attendants.
O' Qadiryar ! What can I say in his praise ?
The women became unmindful of their husbands on
seeing him.

3. Puran's meeting with Luna

Puran reached the mansion of the ladies
with the guidance of the servants.
The one, who had given him birth,
felt elevated when he paid his obeisance to her.
Next he proceeded towards the apartment of Luna
and enteret it with great expectations.
O' Qadiryar ! he told the escort to stay back
and climbed up the stairs to pay his regards.

On seeing the glow on the face of Puran,
the Rani was mesmerised.
She dismissed the Raja from her mind
as passion enveloped her senses.
In her heart the son turned into a lover
and the rope of her rectitude snapped in the middle.
O' Qadiryar ! the cruel woman
intended to reverse the flow of the stream.
'My luck has brought him hither,'
Luna was thinking new thoughts.
I too can hope to attain bliss
If Puran accedes to my request.
' She tried to tear off the sky,
the pillars of her piety cracked in the middle.
O' Qadiryar ! the relentless woman
started breaking rock salt in plates and bowls.

4. The dialogue between Puran and Luna

I say it openly, why should you feel coy ?
Address me not with the prefix of mother.'
I did neither conceive you nor gave you birth,
By which relation do you then call me your mother ?
You are of my age, more or less,
You have made me suffer the pangs of separation.
O' Qadiryar ! Luna did not feel ashamed to say-
'You have strained life out of me^

She did not care for any warning or danger,
Luna got up and caught hold of his sleeves.
Do come to occupy my bed,
this is my earnest request, pay heed to it.
Listen to the nymph-like woman,
as I am, otherwise you are no man, a mere nincompoop.
O' Qadiryar ! Luna did not feel embarrassed to say-
'Share my bed with me, you are my love, my life !'

Be sensible, O' Puran ! Compel me not to be harsh to you,
I am standing beside you, with my arms extended,
Will you not be considerate ?
Do not call me your mother, tell me-
Were you ever fed at my breast ?
Refrain from claiming me your mother
O' Qadiryar ! Luna did not hesitate to say-
' Why do you intend to meet an early death ?

Puran replied- 'I tell you sincerely, dear mother,
Never can I climb up your bed
Nor can I glance back at you
Rather I would prefer to go to th gallows.'
Pulling down his ears, he left the place-
'What would I gain by forsaking my Dharam ?'
Utterly embarrassed, Luna found it hard,
O' Qadiryar, to say-
'Puran ! I want to quaff off a draught of your blood.'

5. The Raja's entry into the palace

What do you ask me, O' Raja !
My grief has burnt me up.
Go and ask your son,
Who has lately come from the dungeon.
Keep him with you and let me go,
You seem to be fed up with me altogether.
O' Qadiryar ! the Rani told a lie to the Raja
as big as a mountain.

6. The Raja's dialogue with Puran

O' Puran ! the Raja said-
Why were you born at all ?
If I knew it beforehand,
I would have slain you
rather than consign you to the dungeon.
You have lacerated my heart,
O' Puran ! On which evil day were you born ?
O' Qadiryar ! the Raja wanted to know
the sinful act he had ventured on at home.

No one dared to disobey the order
The whole family was greatly agitated.
The palace and the domes trembled,
when the Sardar became wrathful.
He gave orders to the executioners
The news raised hue and cry in the town.
O' Qadiryar ! he reprimanded the Vazier-'
Why don't you act in haste ?'

7. Ichhran learns about Puran's punishment

Then the news reached Rani Ichhran,
who had given birth to her son, Puran.
The Rani cracked her bangles and snapped the buttons
She pulled her hair down and poured dust on her head.
Too deep is the filial affection for dear sons !
So the Rani rushed to the Raja.
O' Qadiryar ! She raised her voice and asked-
'What sort of a grudge do you nurse against him ?' 116
The Raja, on his part, did not relent
He called for the executioner.
The Vaziers and the Dewans started weeping
But the Raja remained unmoved.
'Lop off his hands and feel,'
The Raja blurted out.
O' Qadiryar ! Puran Bhagat got up from his place
to pay his regards to his mother.
O' Raja ! do not lose your senses,'
So said Ichhran imploringly,
'The mango tree you are cutting
To provide a hedge to the Akk shrub.
Repent you will, when the time is lost,
You are uprooting your own plant.'
O' Qadiryar ! if you kill Puran,
who will come to call you Bapu ?
Grief-stricken, the Rani went blind
Heaving deep sighs, she visited temples.
Puran was transported to wilderness
By the sons of the parents unknown.
They chopped off his hands
And threw the body into the well.
O' Qadiryar ! they brought home his blood,
That prompted Luna to decorate herself ostentatiously.

8. The arrival of GorakhNath

Time went aflying,
Puran remained in the well for twelve years.
The Lord God took pity at last
and showered his blessings.
Guru Gorakh Nath had a beatific vision
So he decided to proceed towards Sialkot.
O' Qadiryar! he stopped near a well
and asked his disciples to draw water.

9. Guru Gorakh pulls Puran out of the well

The other Sadhus kept quiet,
The Guru himself came up and asked-
Tell me honestly who you are.
Puran replied tearfully from within-
I haven't seen the face of man for twelve years.
O' Qadiryar! I have also been cast in the form of man
you may verify it to your heart's content.

The Nath gave orders
And the Chelas lowered a rope into the well.
The Guru saw the mutilated body of Puran
As if someone had mauled a tiger in wilderness.
The elegant form still retained its charm
The Guru restored on th spot the missing limbs.
O' Qadiryar! he then prayed to the God Almighty
To heal his wounds and cure him of his malady.

Puran told- 'We belong to Ujjain,
Raja Bikramajit was our ancestor.
From that land came my forefathers
and settled at Sialkot,
My name is Puran, son of Salwan,
My father reduced me to this miserable state.
O' Qadiryar! now disclose your identity
So that I may proceed further.

10. The Guru initiates Puran into yoga

Puran expressed his desire imploringly
and bowed his head before the Guru.
The Guru cut a lock of his hair
and inserted mundran (rings) in his pierced ears.
The Nath then accoutred him.
in long ochre robes.
O' Qadiyar! out of his numerous Chelas,
The Guru selected Puran Bhagat as mahant.

11. Puran goes for alms to Rani Sundran's palace

Rani Sundran felt annoyed
and opened the window.

She lost her senses,
when she witnessed the face of the Sadhu.
She told the maid to usher him in,
So enamourd was she of his handsomeness.
O' Qadiryar! The maid tried to usher him in,
with the promise of bounteous alms.

Be generous and stay with me
Listen to my earnest appeal
Step inside the mansion of mine
Take your seat on the velvet-covered floor.
I shall serve you to your entire satisfaction
and regale you with food cooked with my own hands.
O' Qadiryar! the Rani beseeched him to stay awhile,
It would impart to her extreme delight.

12. Puran returns pearls and gems to Rani Sundran

Rani Sundran came out with a smile
To welcome home Puran Bhagat.
He told her to get back the pearls
They were of no use to him.
'We need cooked food only
Bring it up to the Dera, if you can.'
O' Qadiryar! my Guru is angry with me
What is the worth of these rubies, pearls and diamonds?

Puran poured the gems and diamonds
into the scarf of Rani Sundran.
The Rani felt deeply agitated,
When Puran left the palace uninvolved.
Sundran busied herself in cooking food
As Puran was proceeding towards his Dera.
O' Qadiryar! Puran bowed his head, with folded hands,
When he was face to face with his Guru.

13. The Guru allows Puran to go with Rani Sundran

In an expansive mood, the Guru had given his word
But his heart was heavy when Puran departed. 119
The Rani carried along her spouse triumphantly
How could he disobey his Guru's orders?
Rani Sundran mused over the turn of events
She was happy to get what she had desired.
O' Qadiryar! Puran trudged along the path
Indeed, the Rani had separated him from his Guru.

Sundran brought Puran along with her
She regarded herself as a true monarch.
Exalted, she found her dress too tight
and the knots of her bodice snapped.
'The gem that I have purchased today
No one else can possess the like of it.'
O' Qadiryar! she enterted her town triumphantly

14. Rani Sundran feels forlorn when Puran deserts her

Her body having emaciated, the Rani sang a doleful song-
'Never err, as I have erred, to fall in love with an ascetic.
Once gone to the wilderness,
The ycgi did not return to Sundran.
Take it from me, O' folks!
The yogis are the friends of none.'
O' Qadiryar! when I looked back, I discovered
That the happy days had fled away.

The Rani climbed up the roof of the palace
Weeping she said, "Puran! you have robbed me.
The fruits of the garden of passion had just mellowed
You dislodged the plants rudely with your hands.
You did not spare even a few moments for me
Hurriedly you left after professing false love.
O' Qadiryar! like Sassi, You abandoned me lamenting in the desert.

Just as Sundran breathed her last,
Puran reached hastily his Guru's abode. The Guru said,
"You have committed a sin You are the cause of the murder."
Finding his Guru in rage
Puran started weeping bitterly.
O' Qadiryar!! The Guru told him
Go and meet your parents to provide them solace.'

15. Puran's return to Sialkot

Towards the city of Sialkot
The Guru sent him with his blessings.
Puran occupied the selfsame garden
He had abandoned twelve years ago.
The plants had withered in the garden
Its master must have died long ago.
O' Qadiryar!! the grapes are now ripening
A shower of water would do them good.

"O' Raja! tell me frankly-
Why have you come to this place?"
The Raja replied, "It's a fact, O' yogi!
I have not been blessed with a child.
My courtyard is bereft of child's pranks,
My palace is a deserted place."
O' Qadiryar! during the last twenty four years
This house has had no progeny of mine.

"My backward glance reveals to me
You had once been blessed with a son.
To the wilderness was he consigned
And butchered there like a goat.
O' Raja! tell me in full detail-
What sort of torments had he to undergo?"
O' Qadiryar! the Raja remembered the events past
And started shedding tears.

"You are the cause of my evil deeds,"
The Raja pointed an accusing finger to Luna.
"The like of him I would never have
You got him murdered without a cause.
You wavered from the path of virtue
Implicating him falsely to hide your sin.
O' Qadiryar! if I had known it earlier,
I would have dealt with the crafty woman differently.

16. Rani Ichhran meets Puran

The mother Ichhran reached the garden
A Sadhu had come there to stay.
His entry had revived the garden
That had wilted long ago.
She wanted her eyesight restored
Puran's absence had made her life insipid.
O' Qadiryar! it would be a lucky event
If the Faqir could provide her with a remedy.

Puran looked back and saw a vision
The mother was coming in a deplorable state.
Stumblings had made her breathless
She could not see the thorns in the way.
This spectacle was too much for Puran
He started weeping to the amazement of others.
O' Qadiryar! Puran got up from his place
Could he but redress his mother's grief?

The mother recognised the voice-"
Tell me, o' son, from where have you come?
Which is your place and whose son are you?
Name the fortunate mother who gave you birth,
I would have recognised you, if I could see,
Still your voice indicates that you are my son."
O' Qadiryar! she longed to know the reality
Else she might claim someone else's son as hers.

The mother became unmindful of her miserable condition
She got back her lost eyesight.
She clasped Puran to her bosom
God blessed her with joys, taking her woes and sorrows away.
On seeing Puran before her eyes
Milk gushed forth from the nipples of her breasts.
O' Qadiryar! for Rani Ichhran
All the doors of joy and glory had opened wide. 122

Luna was distressed extremely
She felt uneasy whenever she saw Puran.
Her face became sallow and the eyesight dim
She wanted the earth to swallow her up.
Puran noticed her standing forlorn in the rear
While others perceived on his face the divine glow.
O' Qadiryar! when she saw the people making obeisance
Luna was deeply hurt and shaken.

"Do not feel sorrowful, O' mother,"
Puran told Luna, assuring her of an issue.
"You were helpless
I must say-Entertain no more any fears and doubts.
I am still obedient to my father
Though he did never bother to know my condition."
O' Qadiryar! what my father did to me No one does such a thing to his son.

17. Puran rejects Salwan's offer of kingship and leaves Sialkot

The Raja responded at that very time-
"Come back home, like a dutiful son,
To take charge of the treasury
And to occupy the seat of justice.
Your presence has restored my mental poise
The fire of greed is extinguished in my heart."
O' Qadiryar! Salwan said imploringly-
'May my progeny flourish for ages to come !'

Puran replied - "Try not to clip my wings
I have no heart for wordly pleasures.
You may abdicate the throne
If the cares of kingdom are heavy on your head.
The person who really cares for me, I know,
You are merely concerned with your splendour.
O' Qadiryar! I must leave this place immediately,
My stay here is not possible, as you know.