Kanhavata, a K¤∑Iaite Sufi Text Attributed to Malik Muhammad Jayasi

KANHAVATA, A K¤∑ıAITE SUFI TEXT ATTRIBUTED TO MALIK MUHAMMAD JAYASI

Kanhavata is a Sufi text in Hindi based on the story of K®Ò∞a. The author of this text is supposed to be Malik Muhammad Jayasi1 the author of Padmavata who composed this work in 947 A.H. (1540 A.D.). san nau sai saiµtaris ahi tahiya saras bacan kabi kahi2 “It was nine hundred forty seven (1540 A.D.) when the poet uttered this sweet narration”. The poet refers to the Mughal king Humayun as his contemporary king Dehli kahaã chatrapati naã badshah bar naã Humayun3 “The name of the great king of Dehli is Humayun. He is a great monarch.” He mentions the name of Shaikh Burhan as his Guru who belonged to the mehdavi4 sect of the Sufis in India. Mahadi ambrit mi†h guru shaikh Burahan pem panth ka di†h Muhamad ehi nicint path5

1 Malik Muhammad Jayasi is the most famous Sufi poet of Hindi literature and his Padmavata which depicts the love of Ratna Sen and Padmavati, in an allegorical manner, is a Sufi text. Padmavata was composed in 947A.H. (1540 A.D.). 2 Malik Muhammad Jayasi, Kanhavata, Vara∞asi, Annapur∞a Prakasan, 1981. There is another edition of the Kanhavata edited by Siv Sahay Pathak, Allahabad, Sahitya bha- van limited, 1981. san nau sai saitaris ahai tahiya saras bacan kavi kahai (verse 13/1). Pathak has ‘ahai' and ‘kahai' instead of ‘ahi' and ‘kahi' as Gupta has reconstructed the text. 3 GUPTA, Kanhavata, verse 5, Pathak verse 4. 4 Mehdavi movement was started was started in India by Saiyid Muhammad Jaunpuri (A.D. 1443-1509). It was a reformist movement. Shaikh Burhan belonged to this sect. He was a great ascetic and lived in Kalpi which is in Uttar Pradesh. For details on Mehdavi movement see ATHAR ABBAS RIZVI, Muslim Revivalist Movement in Northern India, Agra University Press, 1965, p. 68-106. For details on Malik Muhammad Jayasi's teacher, Burhan, see my Madhya Yugin Premakhyan, Allahabad, 1982, p. 97-98. In Citralekha which is attributed to Jayasi, Burhan has been referred to as a Guru who lived in Kalpi. Mahdi Guru Shaikh Burahanu, Kalpi nagar tohik asthanu. Ibid. p. 99. “Mahdi Burhan is my Guru. He lives in the city of Kalpi”. Burhan perhaps lived one hundred years and died in 970 A.H. (1562A.D.). 5 PA™HAK, Kanhavata, verse 5. This doha is not found in Gupta's edition and it seems to be an interpolation because this couplet is an additional one in the text. Pathak has 188 S.M. PANDEY

“Mehdi Shaikh Burhan is my guru. His temperament is as sweet as nectar. He showed me the path of love. Muhammad is without any anxiety on this path”.

The poet remembers Saiyyad Ashraf Jahangir6 as his pir who was a Chishtii saint and who died long before Jayasi in 808 A.H. (1406) during the reign of Ibrahim Shah Sharqi of Jaunpur. kahauµ sariat pir piyara Saiyad Ashraf jag ujiyara7 “My Pir Saiyad Ashraf loves Sariat. He is illuminated in this world”.

The poet mentions his city of Jayas also, where he lived many years kahauµ nagar ba® apan †haã sada sohava Jayas naã8 “I tell you my city, Jayas, is great. Its name always pleases me”.

From all these references it appears that Kanhavata was composed by Jayasi himself or by some one who knew Jayasi well. Shaikh Burhan, Saiyyid Ashraf and the city of Jayas all are mentioned in the Padmavata as well as in the Kanhavata and there are also some other lines common to both texts. However Kanhavata is very inferior in comparison to the Padmavata as far as poetry is concerned. Important manuscripts of the Padmavata refer to the date of its composition as being 947 A.H. (1540 A.D.). Some other manuscrpts allude accepted this doha without critically examining the text. However, in the next verse Pa†hak (verse 6) and Gupta verse (7) Burhan has been referred to as the teacher of the poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi who is supposed to be the author of Kanhavata. Akhara- va†a and Citralekha also mention Shaikh Burhan. These two works are also attributed to Malik Muhammad Jayasi. 6 Saiyyad Ashaf Jahangir: He came from Simnan (Persia) to India. He was a king in Simanan (Persia), but at the age of twenty three he left his kingship. He met many Sufis in India and visited their tombs. He participated in the funeral of Shaikh Yahya Sarfuddin Maneri who died in 782 A.H. (1380) in Bihar. Later he went to Bengal and became the disciple of Shaikh Alaul Haq. His teacher sent him to Jafrabad in Jaunpur. From Jaunpur he went to Kachaucha, now in Faizabad district of U.P. where he died in A.D. 1406 (808 A.H.) during the period of Ibrahim Shah Sharqi. He is said to have lived 120 years which is hard to believe. Disciples generally try to give a long life to their teachers. For details see Madhyayugin Premakhyan, Allahabad 1982, p. 96, also ATHAR ABBAS RIZVI, A History of Sufism in India, Delhi, Munshiram and Manohar Lal, vol. 1 p. 266- 270. 7 GUPTA, Kanhavata, verse 6/1. Pa†hak, verse 5/1. 8 Gupta has some doubts about the reading Jayas (Note 137). His reading is Janas for Jayas. In fact, Jayas seems to be a correct reading. See Pathak verse 7/1. Jayas is a city in Raebareli (Ray bareli) district in Uttar Pradesh near Lakhnau (Lucknow). KANHAVATA, A K¤∑ıAITE SUFI TEXT 189 to 927 A.H. as being the date of composition. Mata Prasad Gupta accepted the date of the composition of the Padmavata9 as 947 A.H. The same date is found for the composition of the Kanhavata in the text although the contemporary king is Humayun here and not Shershah as in Padma- vata. It is unlikely that Jayasi would have started or completed these texts together. The language and style of the Kanhavata does not indicate that this work was composed by a great poet, despite the fact that a Doha meter of 24 Matras, Caupai of 16 Matras and Dohas appearing after seven lines is the same as in Padmavata. The detailed descriptions, imagery and the poetic excellence that we find in the Padmavata are not found in Kanhavata even though they are supposed to be the compositions of the same date 947 A.H. (1540 A.D.). At the end of the Kanhavata the poet says: Muhammad kavi kanhavata gaye ras bhakha kai sabahi sunaye11 “The poet Muhammad sang Kanhavata and made every one hear this sweet vernacular poetry (bhakha rasa)”.

In the end of the Padmavata we also find the same kind of proclamation Muhammad yah kavi jori sunava suna jo pem pir ga pava12 “Muhammad composed and recited the poetry. He who heard it suffered from the pain of love (pem pir)”.

9 san nau sai santalis ahai. katha arambh bain kavi kahai. “It is the year 947 A.H. that the poet is telling the beginning part of the story (poem)”. Jayasi, Padmavata (ed.) Mata Prasad Gupta, Allahabad, Bhararti bhan∂ar 1963, verse 24/1. 10 During the year 947 A.H. (1540 A.D.) Humayun was not perhaps the king of Delhi. He was defeated by Sher Shah and he became a homeless wanderer, first in Sindh and then in Marva®, and finally in Sindh again. In the mist of the misery his son Akbar was born at Umarkot 1542. The author of the Kanhavata mentions Humayu as a contemporary king. In the Padmavata Malik Muhammad Jayasi alludes to Shershah as a contemporary king. But there is no proof that Sher Shah had assumed the kingship of Delhi definitely in 947A.H. Most probably Sher Shah was a crowned king in 948 A.H. P.L. Gupta argues on the basis of the contemporary coins that Humayuun was still the king at that time and Sher Shah formally ascended the throne in 947 A.H. though he had defeated Humayun. (see Gupta's edition of Kanhavata 1981, introduction p. 30-36. If the Kanhavata is the work of malik Muhammad Jayassi it could be argued that Humayun was not perhaps defeated in the earlier part of the year 947 A.H. May 1540). Any way this year was a transitional period, a poet could have his preference for any one of these two kings. 11 Kanhavata (ed.) P.L. Gupta, verse 362/1. 12 Jayasi, Padmavata (ed.) Mata Prasad Gupta, Allahabad, Bharati Bha∞∂ar, 1963, verse 652/1. 190 S.M. PANDEY

Although there are some doubts about the author of the Kanhavata, and we cannot definitely say that Malik Muhammad Jayasi himself composed Kanhavata, still the importance of this work can not be min- imised since this is a work composed by a Muslim poet who adopts the story of K®Ò∞a for his composition. The date of the composition 1540, which is the period of Humayun and Sher Shah, also makes the work important. The K®Ò∞aite poems of Suradasa who lived during the period of Akbar (A.D. 1556-1605) belong to a relatively later date. The author of Kanhavata claims that he has used the ViÒ∞u, Padma, Siva, Agni and Harivµsa Pura∞as. In order to search for the path of love he claims to have also studied and heard the Bhagavata Pura∞a13. He admires Veda Vyasa and says ais prem kahani dosari jag mãh nahi turki arabi farasi sab dekhau avagahi 14 “I went through all the Turkish, Arabic and Persian sources but did not find any Prem Kahani (love story) like this in this world”. It is to be remembered that Jayasi also refers to Veda Vyasa in his books Padmavata and Citralekha.

(2) In the beginning of the story the poet tells about the kingdom of Kaµsa who was ruling the Mathura city in the same way as Rava∞a ruled Lanka. Unlike the Pura∞as he had two ministers Sukra and Narada who used to advise him in all matters. The city of Mathura has been described here in a very conventional style. Most of the things such as the royal palace of the city, fort, gardens various kinds of trees, birds are all described in a traditional manner. Many things that are described here are also found in the Can- dayana of Maulana Daud, a composition of the 1379 A.D. Jyotirisvara's Var∞a Ranakara (14th century) and Kirtilata of Vidyapati (15th century) also describe the city in almost the same conventional style15.

13 Kanhavata (ed.) Pa†hak, verse 14. This verse is not found in P.L. Gupta's edition. It seems that the whole stanza is an interpolation. It is clear that either Tulasidasa imitates Kanhavata or vice versa. It is most likely that the scribe of the manuscript of Kanhavata composed this stanza and put in the text. However, a more thorough investigation is neccessary before arriving at a more definite conclusion. 14 Kanhavata (ed.) Pathak, verse 14 Doha 8,9. 15 For details see shyam Manohar Pandey, Candayana and Lorikayana, in Hindi Oral Epic Lorikayana, Allahabad 1987, p. 52-73. KANHAVATA, A K¤∑ıAITE SUFI TEXT 191

After the description of the city Kaµsa's fear has been described. Just as we find in the Pura∞as Kaµsa wants to have K®Ò∞a killed. But K®Ò∞a who has been described several times as ViÒ∞u with his four arms is saved. Nanda and Yasoda are foster parents here in the same way as in the Pura∞as. K®Ò∞a kills many demons and the demoness Putna, although descriptions are a bit different here. For example when Putana is nursing K®Ò∞a the poison of her breasts spreads all over her body and she dies (Gupta v. 64). People of Gokula burn her body on the banks of Yamuna and perform funeral rites. All these descriptions are the poets own creations and they are very different from the pura∞ic descriptions.

(3) K®Ò∞a as a valiant hero, defeats all the demons sent by Kaµsa to kill him. Just like in the Candayana when Canda falls in love with Lorik at the time of a banquet, Candravali, a milkmaid falls in love with K®Ò∞a when he defeats all the demons and people are celebrating this victory. Like Canda of Candayana Candravali is also a symbol of the moon. Like V®haspati who is Canda's friend and servant, Agastya is a maid servant and a friend who helps Candravali in meeting K®Ò∞a. In fact, Candravali, Radha and sixteen thousand milkmaids are in love with K®Ò∞a here.

(4) K®Ò∞a has been described as ViÒ∞u in the text16 but he is not an incarnation who appears on the earth to protect dharma. He incarnates himself for enjoyment with milkmaids. As has been described in the Kanhavata, K®Ò∞a was reluctant to incarnate himself on earth because he had sufferred greatly in his previos incarnation as Rama17. He requests Brahma to send sixteen thousand milkmaids onto the earth so that he could have a better life. He is most interested in Bhoga bhakti18 rather than Yoga. K®Ò∞a wanders in the forest just as bees hover around flowers in the garden; he steals curd and breaks the milkmaids pots (verse 92). He holds their áncala (borders of Sari). In verse 92 he has been described as embracing the milk maids and touching their breasts. Milk maids come to Yasoda and complain to her about K®Ò∞a but Yasoda protects K®Ò∞a

16 Kanhavata (ed.) Pathak, verse 38,43. 17 Ibid., 42-57. 18 cf. Kanhavata (ed.) Pathak, verse 43. 192 S.M. PANDEY by saying that her son is a small child and these girls were teasing him19. Mother Yasoda is found defending K®Ò∞a in Surasagara and other medieval texts also.

Radha Radha appears in the text subsquently. She is the daughter of Deva- candra and is extremely beautiful. She is a Padmini. Her waist is like the waist of a lioness. Her voice is as sweet as the voice of a cuckoo bird. She presents herself in V®ndavana with other milkmaids. K®Ò∞a beholds her and stops her on her way. Other milkmaids run away from there. Then Radha becomes angry with K®Ò∞a and tells him that she is a pure and a chaste woman. Even Sati has not performed as much Tapa as she has done20. K®Ò∞a then tries to convince her that gods, men, sages and Gandharvas all serve him day and night21 and she should not abandon such a man and go elsewhere. In fact, K®Ò∞a shows her his supernatural power too. First he becomes a child, then a very tall man touching the sky. Later he becomes an old man and then he assumes the form of a handsome young man22. K®Ò∞a makes a proposal for love but Radha does not submit. She suggests that only after marriage when he becomes her husband can they unite23. Before the marriage takes place Radha has been described suffering from profound Viraha in some verses. She can not sleep and the nights have become very long for her24. She remembers K®Ò∞a through- out the night. Afterwards in a typical Sufi style her ‘S®ngar' (beauty from head to foot) has been described. The parting in her hair with ver- milion, her shining forehead, her ears, eyes, nose teeth, neck, breasts, arms, hair on the stomach, waist, feet every thing has been described in a very traditional way. Most of the imageries which are found here are found in the Candayana (A.D. 1379), Miragavati (A.D. 1503) or Pad- mavata (A.D. 1540), the only difference being that in other Sufi texts poets try to suggest the divinity of the heroine. Here in the verses 114 to 125 we find straight forward simple descriptions of Radha's beauty.

19 Kanhavata (ed.) P.L. Gupta, Vara∞asi, verse 92. 20 Ibid., 101. Hereafter all the verses quoted in the text are from the edition of P.L. Gupta unless otherwise quoted. 21 Ibid., 101/5. 22 Ibid., 104. 23 Ibid., 108. 24 Ibid., 110. KANHAVATA, A K¤∑ıAITE SUFI TEXT 193

Then there is a detailed description of Radha's marriage with K®Ò∞a. Mahadeva makes a Man∂apa. Sati Parvati sings congratulatory songs. Brahma recites Vedas and then Radha and K®s∞a are married. The Sun, moon, sages gods all have been invited to this marriage25 After the marriage Radha and K®Ò∞a enjoy themselves together. The two bodies and two hearts are now united. In verse 149 there is a detailed description of how Radha's bodice (Kañcuki) is torn in the play of love with K®Ò∞a and how all her embellishments get disturbed and how her ornaments are broken to pieces (149-150). All these descriptons are found in Can- dayana, Mirgavati, Padmavata and other Sufi texts also. It has to be remembered that this kind of love has been described by many K®Ò∞ite poets as well. For example the Hindi poet Suradasa describes the marriage and her love making with K®Ò∞a. He describes the love of Radha and K®Ò∞a in the Surasagara in the following manner: “K®Ò∞a clasped Radha to his bosom smiling. Lip touched lip, eyes met eyes, heart met with heart in their mutual bliss. K®Ò∞a gathered her in his arms and embraced her; dispelling her worldly woes gave her great pleasure. Happily Syama spoke, “In my arbor home in the dense forest we will meet again. Oh my heart's treasure, go to your home and I shall go to my home also. Give me some indication of when you are coming to me again”. Suradasa says: When K®Ò∞a had given her this thought, he left her side and went to his home amid the arbors”26.

This kind of sensual imagery as a symbol of unity between the Soul and God is not uncommon in Indian classical literature. The Bhagavata Pura∞a and the Gita Govinda are the famous K®Ò∞aite texts depicting the loves of K®Ò∞a although Radha is not referred to in the Bhagavata Pura∞a27. In Kanhavata Radha becomes K®Ò∞a's main queen (Pa†rani). He tells Radha that there was no difference between the two; one is body and the other is its shadow28.

25 Ibid., verse 145. 26 S.M. PANDEY, Norman ZIDE, Poems of Surdas, Chicago, University of Chicago (mimiographed) 1963, Poem 67. 27 S.M. PANDEY, Mirabai and Her Contributions to the Bhakti Movement, in History of Religions, University of Chicago, 1965, vol 5/1, p. 54-73. 28 Kanhavata 140/1. 194 S.M. PANDEY

(5) Now Kaµsa, the king of Mathura invites Nanda, K®Ò∞a and other cowherds to celebrate Divali (festival of lamps) in the month of Kartik (October-November). In fact, Kaµsa wanted to kill K®Ò∞a and so he organises this grand festival. Nanda and K®Ò∞a appear here with all their friends whose names have been given in the text29. Haricanda, Jay- acanda, Sahadeva, Saµvaru are included in this list. Similarly a list of demons has also been given in the verse 173 in which Sahanga, Puhu- padanta, Nabhasu, Kala Bhairava, Kalika Nathasarbhanga have been included. K®Ò∞a assumes here the form of ViÒ∞u with four arms, holding Padma (Lotus) Cakra (disc) Sankha (conch) and DhanuÒa (bow). A battle breaks out between the two groups; then K®Ò∞a invades the demons. They are defeated and they run away. Kaµsa is killed. Most of these names referred to above are not Puanic at all. Some of them appear in the classical texts but very differently. Gokula is filled with joy. People are celebrating this grand victory. Cowherds are singing, playing musical instruments and dancing. Milk- maids are performing Àrati to K®Ò∞a by waiving lamps around him while he is sitting in a chariot. In the meantime Candravali appears on the scene. This milkmaid who is a bit younger than Radha (verse 187), beholds K®Ò∞a from the upper storey of her palace (dhaurahara) and becomes attracted towards him. She calls her maidservant and friend Agassta and asks “Who is this K®Ò∞a, this Murari who has won such a great honour! Who is this great hero who has defeated Kaµsa and beat him so badly. My friend! I would like to see him more intimately30.This passage can be compared with Candayana where Canda falls in love with Lorika when she beholds him after he has defeated Bá†ha. To celebrate this occasion Canda's father arranges a banquet. Candravali's love for K®Ò∞a is very intense. She starts burning in the fire of Viraha31 (pangs of searation) (verse 189/2). Her superb beauty has faded as if a moth has fallen on the lamp. She has been struck by Kaµa. She loses her consciousness. The serpent of love has beaten her. She is intoxicated with love (189). Her maidservant Agasta brought water to cool her body which was burning in Viraha. Candravali requests Agasta to narrate a story of love which could give her peace32. It is to be

29 Ibid., verse 172. 30 Ibid., verse 187, 4 to 9. 31 Ibid., 189. 32 Ibid., 191.3. KANHAVATA, A K¤∑ıAITE SUFI TEXT 195 remembered that Canda in Candayana also suffers from this condition and here V®haspati, a maidservant and the friend of Canda narrates to her a story of love33. The poet describes that Candravali had drunk the wine of love (premsura) and was suffering as if she was a fish out of water34. Her eyes were eager to see K®Ò∞a. On the Caturdasi (fourteenth day of the bright half of the month) when the night was fully bright with moonlight she called all her friends including Agasta and went to the temple to worship. Here K®Ò∞a beholds Candravali who was just like the moon. Her smile pierced K®Ò∞a's heart. He started suffering from unlim- ited pain. The poet adds “Love is very difficult. Only he who can sacrifice his head (life) can play this game. Its path is narrow. Only a valiant per- son can tread this path. The fire of love is hidden, its smoke is invisible. The more you remember it more you suffer. No body knows its secret”35. K®Ò∞a's body had faded; his face had become anguished. This kind of descriptions are found in all the Sufi texts. Candayana (A.D. 1379), M®gavati (A.D. 1503), Padmavata (A.D. 1540), all are filled with such descriptions. Not only the lover and the hero of Candayana, Lorika, or Rajaku- vara of M®gavati or Ratnasena of Padmavata suffer from the pangs of sep- aration but also the divine symbols, the heroines suffer a great deal. Here K®Ò∞a also suffers although he represents the divine. It suggests that the divine being also suffers when devotees love is intense and profound. Like Canda of Candayana Candravali has been described as the moon in the text. Agasta the friend of Candravali tells K®Ò∞a that he can not find Candravali because she is the moon and lives in the sky.

She is pure and bright; She illuminates the four worlds. When she hides herself Amavasya (the last dark night of the month) sets in. Here K®Ò∞a becomes very human and accepts Agasta as his Guru. K®Ò∞a says “O Agasta, if Guru helps a disciple can get Siva Loka (heaven) let alone sky36; If you have affection for me, you can make me reach Cand®avali. You become my Guru and put me on the path to reach her. I am a Cataka bird (partridge) and you are Svati NakÒtra36a. Kindly quench my

33 Maulana Daud, Candayana, (ed.) Mata Prasad Gupta, Agra, 1967, verse 172. 34 Kanhavata 193.6. 35 Ibid., 196. 36 Ibid., verse 203. 36a Name of the star arcturus as forming the 13th and 15th lunar astericism. According to popular belief the rain drops of Svati fulfils the ardent desire of the thirsty Cataka bird. When the Svati rain drop falls into sea shells it produces pearls. See Ch. VAUDEVILLE, Barah Masa, Delhi, Moti Lal Banarasi dass, 1986, p. 126. 196 S.M. PANDEY thirst. Be a Garu®i (magician) and through your magic words (mantra) put life in me, I am dying (verse 203). It is interesting to note here that Agasta tells K®Ò∞a” O Gopala, just as you have been an ascetic and have practiced Yoga in the past, in the same way you should become a G®hi (a house-holder) now and accept the path of Bhoga which is the house holder's path of devotion and enjoyment37. K®Ò∞a meets Candravali in her father's garden where all kinds of trees have been planted. Here in a long conversation K®Ò∞a tells Candravali “I appear to be Gopala or Govinda but if you want to have my secret, I may tell you I am neither a Muslim (Turk) nor a Hindu38. I have my own form and colour. I am a king in one place and a beggar in another. I am a Pa∞∂ita in one place and a fool in another place. I am sometimes a man and sometimes a woman. Just for my own enjoyment, I play different games. I assume different forms and enjoy all the pleasures alone39. Later K®Ò∞a tells Candravali” There is no differnce between the two. I am your body and you are my shadow40. He also explains to Can- dravali how he assumed different forms in different incarnations. K®Ò∞a's meeting witth Candravali and milkmaids has been described in Kanhavata vividly. The poet says that K®Ò∞a gave them Bhoga Bhugati and Rati. A detailed study is needed to explain what is Bhoga Bhugati and Rati here. Most probably worldly pleasure as well as spiri- tual bliss. K®Ò∞a gives satisfaction to all of them41. But there is no description of sexual union here in detail as in other Sufi texts of Hindi. In some verses (247 ff) there is querrel between Radha and Can- dravali. Just as in the Candayana Maina and Canda fight as ordinary women, similarly Radha and Candravali fight here and blame each other. Radha calls Candravali sinful, unstable and devious. She grabs Candravali by the neck also42. In the fight Candravali's ornaments are broken, her embellishments are disturbed and all her jewels and pearls fall to the ground. K®Ò∞a comes and stops them from fighting. Now the main problem remains how to interpret this K®Ò∞aite text written by a Muslim poet in 1540 A.D., which is earlier than Suradasa. One possibility is that perhaps the poet was a recent convert to Islam and

37 Verse 204. 38 Kanhavata verse 217/5. 39 Ibid., verse, 217. 40 Ibid., 218. 41 Ibid., 233/6. 42 verse 57. KANHAVATA, A K¤∑ıAITE SUFI TEXT 197 he did not have that kind of rigid attitude that we find in the periods following Akbar when orthodox revivalist movements of Mujaddid Alfasani and others started and when orthodox and traditional scholars (maulana) became more important after Jahangir's time and later. The second interpretation is the Sufi interpretation in which K®Ò∞a was a god. Radha, Candravali, and other milkmaids were the souls seeking to unite with God. Unlike Candayana, M®gavati and Madhumalati divine is manifested here as a man and not in the form of a woman. The poet himself says that God could assume any form. He could manifest himself in any form of a man or woman. The poet appears to be describ- ing Gopala or Govinda. Nevertheless, according to the secret knowledge, neither he is a Hindu nor a Muslim. paga†a bhesa Gopala Govindu gupta gyana nahi turka na hindu (Gupta, 217/5,6) “In external guise he is Gopala and Govinda but as for the secret knowlege is concerned he is neither a Turk nor a Hindu”.

Obviously, if the poet is not preaching the Hindu doctrine or Muslim doctrine, then the most natural interpretation open to us is the Sufi interpretation. K®Ò∞a is just a name of the divinity and others are devotees seeking to unite with K®Ò∞a. Another possible interpretation of these K®Ò∞aite texts written by Muslim poets could be given on the lines of Haqaiq i Hindi, written by Mir Wahid Bilgrami in 1566 A.D. Wahid Bilgami spent most of his life in Bilgram in Hardoi district near Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh though he was born in a place called San∂i in 915 A.H. (1509A.D) which was not very far from Bilgram. Abdur Qadir Badauni a famous orthodox historian of Akbar's time had met Bilgrami. It is said that Akbar had invited Bilgrami to his court and had given a grant of land also. He died perhaps in 1608 at the age of 102. Haqaiq i Hindi, outlines the important vocabulary of the K®Ò∞ite songs and poems and interprets them in Muslim terminology. K®Ò∞a, Gopi, Gujari, Uddhava, Braja, Gokula, Jamuna, Kalindi, Murali, Básuri, Madhupuri, Kaµsa, SeÒanaga, V®ndavana, Mathura, Dvarika, Yasoda, Nanda Mahara all these words and their Islamic interpretations are found in the Haqaiq i Hindi43.

43 Mir Wahid Bilgrami Haqaiq i Hindi (ed.) ATHAR ABBAS RIZVI, Vara∞asi, Nagari Pracari∞i Sabha, V.S. 2014 (1957). For details on K®Ò∞aite words see also ATHAR ABBAS RIZVI, A History of Sufism in India, Delhi 1986, Vol. 1, p. 359-362. 198 S.M. PANDEY

(1) K®Ò∞a: Mir Wahid Bilgrami says when we find K®Ò∞a in Hindi Texts, it means prophet, sometimes a (perfect) man, sometimes the Unity of God, sometimes a blessed one and sometimes a fire worshipper44. (2) Gopi or Gujari in Hindwi texts means angles. Sometimes it means the human qualities and its unity with God. (3) Uddhava means messenger of God. (4) Kalindi, Yamuna and Ganga refer to the river of unity or ocean of knowlege. (5) Kaµsa in the Hindwi texts means lust and evil. It means sometimes Iblis also. (6) SeÒanaga means lust. (7) Madhupuri or V®ndavana means that valley where you hear the voice “I am the God here”. (8) Dvarika is the last stage on the path which is eternal or permanent. (9) Mathura is the first stop on the path. This is temporary and is alame Nasut. (10) Yasoda means mercy of God. (11) Nanda Mahar: According to Bilgrami he is like prophet Muhammad. (12) Gval: According to Wahid Bilgami Gval means Unity of God or something which has been created45.

There are many other words and their Islamic meanings found in the Haqaiq i Hindi. Bilgrami also interprets the whole of Nakha Sikha (Head to foot description) in his own way. From what has been discussed above it becomes clear that at least in some sections of Muslim scholars Islamic interpretations were given to the K®Ò∞aite texts. These interpretations are based on ViÒ∞u padas or Dhrupadas current among Muslim musicians. they could be partly applicable to Kanhavata also but we are not in a position to tell how far these interpretations were acceptable to the Muslims at large during that period. It may also be possible that these interpretations were just to satisfy orthodox ulema or scholars who were critical of Sufis and their syncretic approach.

I-80134 Napoli (Italy) SHYAM MANOHAR PANDEY Istituto Universitario Orientale Piazza S. Domenico Maggiore, 12

44 Haqaiq i Hindi, p. 73. 45 Ibid., p. 74-85.