Lalleshwari (1320-1392) is a Kashmiri mystic. Commonly known as Lal Ded, the mystic adhered to the Kashmiri Shaivism school. In the Hindu philosophy, Shaivism is a philosophical tradition which is non-dualistic in nature. The dichotomies are questioned and so is our perception giving shape to our reality. Originally from Kashmir, the philosophical tradition is known as ‘Kashmiri Shaivism’. Later on, the great scholar Abhinavagupta helped it spread as ‘Trika’, trinity. Lalleshwari, the mystic as she is called infused the altered state of consciousness, the absolute unity with the one in her vatsun, derived from vachan meaning word or speech in Sanskrit. Vatsun, the Kashmiri literary form has iambic pentameter as its equivalent in the English poetry.
Vatsun, in poetry dates back to the 14th century. Lal Ded along with Nund Rishi wrote devotional poetry portraying mystical experience in the Kashmiri language. The equivalent of Lal Ded in the Mughal period was Meera during the Akbar rule, collectively known as Bhakti saints. Lal Ded’s compositions are also known as Lal Vakhs, some of which are a product of an unhappy marriage. She left her home to become a Shaivite, the path that required her to go through the rigors of surviving on alms. A religious figure, a saint or a spiritual leader, Lalleshwari’s life is recorded in Tadhkirat-ul-Arifin (1587) by Mulla Ali Raina. In the year 1914, Sir George Grierson, the Superintendent of the Linguistic Survey of India sought a copy of Lalleshwari’s vakhs. Later, the copy was partially translated in English by Grierson as Lalla-Vakhyani or The Wise Sayings of Lal Ded.
The poetess was a rebel. Breaking away from the norms of the society, she is read and admired by the factions hitherto divided. A fountain bearing the miseries rejected the baggage of culture and conventional society. Her vakhs are an act of defiance. Poet Ranjit Hoskote translated her works and has put together an anthology. Her body of works where 250 vakhs are attributed to her are an important part of Kashmiri culture and tradition.
IMAGE SOURCE: KASHMIRICA