Tales of King Bharthari and King Gopi Chand

7/23/2019 Tales of King Bharthari and King Gopi Chand

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A Carnival of Parting

The Tales of King Bharthari and King

Gopi Chand as Sung and Told byMadhu Natisar Nath of Ghatiyali,

Rajasthan

Translated with anIntroduction and Afterword by

ANN GRODZIN GO!D

"NI#$RIT% O& CA!I&ORNIA PR$

Berkeley os !ngeles "#ford

' ())* The Regents of the "niversity of California

For Adam, Jonah, Eli, and Daniel

Preferred Citation: Gold, Ann Grodzins.A Carnival of Parting: The Tales of KingBharthari and King Gopi Chand as Sung and Told by Madhu Natisar Nath of Ghatiyali,

a!asthan" Berkeley: University of California Press, !""# !""#.htt$:%%ark.dli&.or'%ark:%!()()%ft('*))*+(%

For Adam, Jonah, Eli, and Daniel

PR$&AC$

adh- atisar ath, /hose /ords in translation form the s-&stane of this &ook, is a0a1asthani farmer, no/ in his midseventies, /ith no formal shoolin'. 2e is also asin'er, a m-siian, and a storyteller. adh- /ears in his ears the distintive thik rin'sassoiated /ith the set of reno-ners alled, amon' other thin's, 3s$lit4ear3 yo'is. Amarried lando/ner, adh- is not a reno-ner, nor is he a yo'i in the sense of

$ratiin' esoteri self4disi$lines. Born into the aste of aths 5also alled Jo'is67ho-seholders /hose olletive identity is linked to reno-ner anestors7adh- /as$ers-aded in his early teens to have his ears rit-ally s$lit &y a /ealthy landlord /ho/anted to s$onsor the eremony.

At the enter of this &ook are adh- ath8s oral $erformanes, /hih 9 haverendered into /ritten En'lish, of t/o linked tales a&o-t the le'endary kin's Go$i Chandand Bharthari. Both these haraters, /hile in their $rime, leave thrones and familiesto &e initiated as yo'is. Go$i Chand and Bharthari are -s-ally rekoned amon' the


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3ine aths3 /hose &io'ra$hies are ma1or feat-res in $o$-lar traditions of orth9ndian yo'is. At some -ndetermina&le $oint in the develo$ment of this lore, the t/oreno-ner4kin's &eame linked as sister8s son to mother8s &rother. he -nleBharthari8s tale $reedes the ne$he/ Go$i Chand8s in strit hronolo'y. 9n $erformane

and, 9 &elieve, in si'nifiane, Go$i Chand8s story takes $reedene. adh-akno/led'es that it is more $o$-lar /ith his $atrons. ;hen the t/o are s$oken of asa $air, /hih they often are, it is as Go$i Chand4Bharthari, not vie versa. For me, also,Go$i Chand8s tale ame first in several /ays.

< =iiir 0ihard em$le as a 3/earisome a''lomerate of intermina&le$latit-des3 5em$le ?!@@ !"#, #:!6, and &y G. A. Grierson as an e$i ontainin'3here and there a tiny $earl of interest, hidden amidst the r-&&ish3 5Grierson !@+@,!6, the tale of Go$i Chand /as immediately en'rossin' and /holly deli'htf-l to me/hen 9 first eno-ntered it in em$le8s #egends of the Pun!ab. his eno-nter took$lae lon' &efore 9 met adh- ath or kne/ of his aste8s oral traditions. em$le8sversion had harmed me in Chia'o /hen 9 read it for a o-rse to meet it a'ain as alivin' $erformane tradition in a 0a1asthan villa'e /as for me a momento-s &-t $-relyserendi$ito-s event.

9 have devoted the &etter $arts of several $reio-s fello/shi$ years to raftin' thetranslations, researhin' the ori'ins, and thinkin' and /ritin' a&o-t the meanin's ofthe 0a1asthani versions of Go$i Chand and the om$anion tale of his -nle Bharthari.oreover, 9 have la&ored th-s not for the reord, as did em$le, nor for the tiny $earl,as did Grierson, &-t &ea-se 9 love the /hole yle and am onvined that many other

$eo$le /ill also find it 'ri$$in', movin', and f-nny.

;hat e=$lains the diver'ene &et/een my aestheti sensi&ilities and those of theearly British folklorists 2istorial ir-mstanes, no do-&t, ao-nt for m-h. em$leand Grierson /ere re$resentatives of a olonial $o/er as ertain of its enli'htened'ood taste as it /as of its ri'ht to ta= and r-le. 9 ame of a'e in the United >tates ofthe late si=ties, $art of a 'eneration that ro-tinely em&raed and elevated the /isdomof other -lt-res in its -est for $eae of mind, 'ood health, and vital omm-nity.

y 'eneration lived in anvas te$ees s$rayed /ith hemial /ater$roofin'aordin' to instr-tions in a ho/4to4do4it &ook. ;e so-'ht /isdom relevant to o-ro/n lives in te=ts as -lt-rally diverse as the Songs of Milarepa5$oems of a i&etanB-ddhist saint6 and G. 9. G-rd1ieff8sAll and $verything5a t/entieth4ent-ry Armenianmysti8s eentri history of the osmos6. ;e massa'ed o-r &a&ies aordin' to a$hoto'ra$hi man-al reommendin' this time4honored >o-th Asian tehni-e as thekey to satisfyin' $arent4hild relationshi$s. 9 have seleted these e=am$les from my$ersonal history, &-t they are fairly re$resentative. ;hile fe/ s-h vent-res /ere f-llys-essf-l, -m-latively they &roadened o-r olletive horizons. 9f my friends and 9had never heard the e=$ression 3anthro$olo'y as -lt-ral riti-e37indeed 9 s-$$ose ithad not &een oined7/e /ere


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< =iiiaints7thatele&rated eternal family -nity. Feelin' irrevoa&ly alienated, 9 fled &ak to my o/nroots, /hih ha$$ened to &e the University of Chia'o. 9 /as ertainly dra/n to thest-dy of anthro$olo'y and of 9ndian reli'ion in $art &ea-se &oth offered l-=-riantvistas of fl-id -lt-ral and osmi relativities 9 had fo-nd so 'allin'ly a&sent from myh-s&and8s &eliefs.

9 s-$$ose 9 also n-rsed the s-s$iion, or ho$e, that val-in' God and salvationmore than one8s stron'est attahments /as not a morally ertain vent-re. he Go$iChand le'end onfirmed this int-ition to my satisfation. Altho-'h em$le8s version issi'nifiantly less laden /ith e=$ressions of misery than the one 9 /as later to reord, itnonetheless de$its the $roess of Go$i Chand8s ren-niation as diffi-lt. hesediffi-lties all derive from the 'en-ine laims on Go$i Chand of /ife, da-'hter, andsister. Altho-'h ath &ards7to the e=tent of my kno/led'e7have al/ays &een males,9 sensed hints of a /omen8s $ers$etive in Go$i Chand8s story. any years later 9,alon' /ith a n-m&er of others, &e'an to form-late some ideas a&o-t

< =ivansthan, /here 9 /as affiliated, /asone a'ain a terrifi so-re of advie and kno/led'e.


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As /ill &e lear to anyone /ho reads this &ook, it /o-ld never have ome intoe=istene /itho-t the lon'4term, $atient, dediated, and intelli'ent assistane of Bho1-0am G-1ar /ho has made my /ork his o/n in a /ay that 9 do not kno/ ho/ toakno/led'e /ith s-ffiient ardor. As sri&e for &oth e$is in their entirety, ath- ath

m-st one more &e thanked and $raised. his &ook is adh- ath8s &efore it is mine.2is name is on the over, and his kno/led'e and art &ear their o/n testimony. 2ere 9thank him only for his ordiality and 'enero-s oo$eration.

9 have &een /ritin' and talkin' a&o-t these tales for a n-m&er of years, &oth$-&lily and $rivately. any friends, kin, ollea'-es, and

< =viio-th Asia >eminar, at the University of ihi'an8s >o-th and>o-theast Asian Center, and as $art of a University of ;isonsin let-re series onethno'ra$hy and narrative. 9 thank all /ho hel$f-lly ommented, $ro&ed, anda$$la-ded in those settin's.

Daniel Gold /as al/ays the first to read a ne/ly finished $iee and has saved meem&arrassment more than one &y $ointin' o-t sna's in my synta=, lo'i, ands$ellin'. All told, he has s-$$orted this $ro1et, ho/ever d-&io-s its merits seemed tohim, /ith 'reat $atiene and affetion. 0-th Grodzins one a'ain $-t in her share ofla&or, ontri&-tin' val-a&le onsisteny and l-idity to the lan'-a'e.

Kery $arti-lar thanks 'o to >andra in' -lholland, Franes Prithett, and David

;hite for lose, ritial, and kindly readin's of the first three ha$ters in draft. Frannie/ent on to read the entire man-sri$t, in installments, and 9 have ated on thema1ority of her a-tely 2indi4sensitive s-''estions, /hile st-&&ornly resistin' a fe/ ofthem. At Berkeley, Hynne ;ithey has eno-ra'ed and s-$$orted this endeavor sine itsine$tion Pamela aFarland 2ol/ay oversa/ the &ook8s $rod-tion /ith are, heer,and ener'y. Co$y editor Edith Gladstone &rilliantly traked, and hel$ed to eliminate,inonsistenies &oth 'ross and s-&tle 9 thank her /holeheartedly for her $ainstakin'attentiveness7and es$eially for tellin' me she en1oyed the stories.

thers /hose omments and ritiisms have s-stained, ins$ired, and $rodded meat vario-s sta'es inl-de 0o=anne G-$ta, Phili$ H-t'endorf, irin arayan, Gloria0ahe1a, A. . 0aman-1an, ilton >in'er, and es$eially ar'aret ra/ik7the one$erson in 9thaa /ith /hom 9 an talk a&o-t everythin' that interests me. >-san

;adley has &een a 'enero-s mentor and 'entle riti over the $ast si= years ino-ntless /ays she has hel$ed this $ro1et -nfold, and its a-thor s-rvive. one of thea&ove4mentioned instit-tions or $ersons, &-t 9 alone, &ear res$onsi&ility for remainin'errors and infeliities.

he Go$i Chand and Bharthari e$is s-stain from start to finish a tension &et/eenthe moral res$onsi&ilities and $assionate attahments that make family life so val-a&leto h-man &ein's, and the o$$osin' fasination of solitary -ests for kno/led'e, $o/er,and


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< =viiihankar79ndesri&a&leL 9ndestr-ti&leL

< =i=t-dies8 Centre for Ethnom-siolo'y ine/ Delhi.

< !in'h !"@(6.

Daniel e=$ressed his desire to talk /ith $ersons learned in ath traditions, and myresearh assistant ath- ath introd-ed to him several mem&ers of his family andset. he last $erson he &ro-'ht to -s /as adh-, and that evenin'7Daniel8s last inthe villa'e7adh- $erformed, and 9 d-ly reorded, Go$i Chand8s!an%patrior &irth


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story. 9 /as immediately intri'-ed and deli'hted: here /as a livin' &ard sin'in' a storythat /as o&vio-sly a&o-t the same harater as em$le8s P-n1a&i version, yet evidentlystartlin'ly different in ertain $rominent details. 9 realled from em$le nothin' a&o-tGo$i Chand8s &ein' /on as a &oon &y his mother8s aseti $ro/ess or &orro/ed from

the yo'i Jalindar. Met these /ere the dominant elements that framed the $lot ofadh-8s 3Birth >tory.31(2

Until that first evenin' /ith adh- ath 9 had lar'ely onfined my reordin's offolklore to m-h &riefer $erformanes: /omen8s /orshi$ tales and son's, and men8shymns. Met no/ 9 felt om$elled to o&tain the /hole story of Go$i Chand, des$ite itslak of diret relevane to my $il'rima'e researh, and the $ere$ti&le tikin' a/ay ofmy finite time in 9ndia. y reordin' sessions /ere not ontin-o-s adh- made a tri$to >adara to look after his fields /hen he had finished the 3Birth >tory3 5in one ni'ht6and the 3Jo-rney to Ben'al3 5in t/o6. Pers-aded to ret-rn so that 9 o-ld have theom$lete tale of Go$i Chand, he ne=t 'ave me 3Go$i Chand Be's from N-een

?! 9n ha$ter ( 9 dis-ss ho/ Go$i Chand varies from re'ion to re'ion.

< *even years later 9 ret-rned to0a1asthan /ith the e=$ress $-r$ose of reordin' from adh- the tale of Go$i Chand8smaternal -nle, Bharthari of U11ain. Des$ite the 'a$ in time, the ir-mstanes of thereordin' sessions in !"@@ /ere not very different from those of !"@!, e=e$t that thelo-dest ryin' &a&y on the seond set of ta$es &elon'ed not to my host8s ho-sehold ornei'h&ors &-t to me.

9n Jan-ary !"@! /hen 9 ame to kno/ adh- ath he did not strike me as a man-ndone &y loss and mo-rnin', altho-'h in !"@) he had &-ried first one of his t/o sonsand then his /ife. he son had s-ffered a lon' and de&ilitatin' illness thro-'h /hih he/as intensively and devotedly n-rsed &y his mother. >he had, 9 /as told, ke$t herselfalive only to serve her hild and had not lon' o-tlived him. Aom$anyin' this do-&le$ersonal loss, adh- had in-rred the 'reat eonomi stress of s$onsorin' t/o f-neralfeasts. 9 sa/ others driven to or &eyond the &rink of nervo-s olla$se &y 1-st s-ha-m-lated $ress-res.

Met adh- ath /as alm, onfident of his $o/er /ith /ords, al/ays entertainin',and sometimes very h-moro-s. 0etros$etively, 9 /onder if he did not derive some of

his solidity, follo/in' this very diffi-lt $eriod of his life, from the teahin's of thestories that he told so /ell a'ain and a'ain7stories /ith the &itters/eet messa'e thath-man life is 3a arnival of $artin'.3 Another fator in his e-ili&ri-m o-ld have &eenthe ath -lt8s $romise of release from the $ain of endless ro-nds of death and &irth,and th-s ertainty of his /ife8s and son8s li&eration.

9t is also tr-e, ho/ever, that 9 a$$roahed adh- ath as a so-re of art andkno/led'e rather than as a man /ho had reently s-ffered m-h 'rief. ;e nevers$oke of his family indeed, /e hardly e=han'ed any $ersonal o-rtesies of the kind


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that onstit-te m-h of normal villa'e soial intero-rse. adh- teased me sometimes7makin' 1okes at my e=$ense d-rin' the s$oken $arts of his $erformane7&-to-tside the $erformane itself /e did not talk very m-h in !"@!. 9n short, altho-'h he/as a /onderf-lly e=$ansive storyteller, adh- seemed to me a reserved and veiled

$erson.

9 did not attem$t to o&tain even a skethy life history from adh- ath -ntil my!"@@ visit. y e=$eriene then onfirmed in $art the int-ition that o-r lak of $ersonalrelationshi$ o-ld &e attri&-ted to

< hiva tem$les. he ath -lt and their lore are stron'ly, &-t not -niversally, identified/ith >haivism see ha$ter #.


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?( Hike %ahara!or 3'reat kin',3 baba!i,literally 3res$eted father,3 is a ommone$ithet and term of address for ath and other reno-ners. 9t has onnotations ofintimay that other terms for 3father3 lak and may also &e -sed affetionately forhildren.

< +-khaath, /ho /as already an aom$lished $erformer. adh- &e'an &y informallyaom$anyin' and makin' himself -sef-l to >-kha. Event-ally they a'reed on ana$$rentieshi$. adh- said, 398ll 'o /ith yo-,3 and >-kha said, 3Come if yo- /ant tolearn.3 adh- then so-'ht $ermission from his 'randmother in Ghatiyali, tellin' her7as he realled it for me7398!! /ash his lothes, 98ll serve him, 98ll live /ith him.3

adh- a$$eared to remem&er the years of his disi$leshi$ fondly, and no do-&tseletively. 2e desri&ed eatin' t/o meals a day of festive treats for /eeks at a streth/hen he and his o-sin /ere ommissioned to $erform for relatively /ealthy $atrons.9t /as $arti-larly at s-h s$eial events7the only oasions /hen the stories arenarrated from &e'innin' to end rather than in fra'ments as is the -s-al -stom7thathe mastered >-kha ath8s re$ertoire. his om$rised the three e$is adh- himself$erforms: Go$i Chand, Bharthari, and the


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< @adara $ro$erty ame f-lly into adh-8s $ossession, as did theservie at the >adara >hiva tem$le. 2e seems then to have settled into a life divided&et/een a'ri-lt-ral and $riestly tasks in >adara and e=erise of his &ardi art in a'ro-$ of nine s-rro-ndin' villa'es, inl-din' Ghatiyali.

/adhu Nath5s Perfor0ance

em&ers of the ath aste in adh-8s area of 0a1asthan inherit and divide the ri'ht to3make ro-nds3 5pheri lagan*a+and to ollet 'rain donations, 1-st as they do any otheranestral $ro$erty. ;hen a father8s ri'ht m-st &e $areled o-t amon' several sons,they reeive it as 3t-rns.3 he 0a1asthani /ord for these t-rns is ausaro,&-t En'lish3n-m&er3 is also ommonly -sed to refer to them. f o-rse, some /ho inherit theri'ht to $erform have no talent to 'o /ith it. For e=am$le, adh- e=$lained to -s,/hen his o-sin Gok-l ath8s 3n-m&er3 omes, Gok-l seeks adh-8s assistane andthey make sin'in' ro-nds to'ether, for /hih adh- reeives a $art of Gok-l8sdonations.

Besides /hat a $erformer ollets /hile makin' ro-nds, desi'nated athho-sehold heads also reeive a re'-lar &iann-al share of the harvest7alled dharo7inthe villa'es /ith /hih they are affiliated. 9n !"") this share, for Ghatiyali8s atisaraths, amo-nted to t/o and one4half kilos of 'rain at &oth the s$rin' and fall harvestsfrom every landed ho-sehold in ei'ht villa'es. 9n Ghatiyali itself, /here the atisaraths are landed residents, they do not ollet dharo,altho-'h they reeive donationson their $erformane ro-nds. adh- e=$lained that dharo/as not allotted to aths for

sin'in', &-t rather for the 3/ork3 of removin' lo-sts7a ma'ial $o/er that the astelaims. o/adays, he onl-ded, they sin' &ea-se there are no

? 9 reorded adh-8s $erformane of the 3;eddin' >on' of Hord >hiva3 in !"@@ theta$es are arhived /ith the Amerian 9nstit-te of 9ndian >t-dies, Centre forEthnom-siolo'y, in e/ Delhi.

< "ee'er !"@+.

< !(on' of Hord>hiva3 5Siv!i &a byavala6 it seems lear that he has named the others aordin'ly.ost villa'ers do not -se the term byavalato refer to adh- ath8s $erformanes andoften sim$ly all them varta. his la&el reveals their kinshi$ /ith other e$i tales of0a1asthani hero'ods /hose sin'in' and reitation may &e alled varta, too.1*2

Aordin' to the sensi&le, informed, and fle=i&le definitions $roffered in the reentim$ortant vol-me ral $pi(s in -ndia, the Bharthari4Go$i Chand tales fall &eyonddo-&t in the e$i 'enre. E$is in 'eneral are haraterized as narrative, lon', heroi,and s-n' 5Blak&-rn and Fl-eki'er !"@", #I ;adley !"@", +6. 9n the >o-th Asian

onte=t, Blak&-rn and Fl-eki'er s-''est, the -ality 3heroi3 may &e -nderstood inthree distint /ays. An e$i may e=hi&it martial, sarifiial, or romanti heroism. Boththe martial and sarifiial ty$es 3t-rn on themes of reven'e, re'ainin' lost land, orrestorin' lost ri'hts,3 and stress 3'ro-$ solidarity37all of /hih /o-ld a$$ly to other0a1asthani e$i4len'th tales. 0omanti e$is, &y ontrast, 3ele&rate individ-al ationsthat threaten that solidarity3 5!"@", I*6. Clearly the tales of Bharthari and Go$iChand &elon' in the 3romanti3 ate'ory if they &elon' any/here. Met o-r heroes arehardly traditional, -nda-nted lovers.


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9t mi'ht seem that the tales ele&rate individ-al ation that threatens 'ro-$solidarity, &-t as 9 /ill dis-ss in more detail in the after/ord, yo'is 'ain nothin' froma dama'ed soial order. 0ather, they mane-ver for an intat soial order that s-$$ortsyo'is. ;hat then makes these tales romanti Unless /e onsider them as stories of

the -nion &et/een '-r- and disi$le, Bharthari and Go$i Chand are romanes of$artin'. he theme of love in se$aration is a $ervasive

?@ >ee Pande !"( for the so$e of varta.

< !ee, ho/ever, othari !"@" on the -ns-ita&ility of many folk e$i heroes andheroines as role models.

?!! >ee Goldstein !"+ for the 3ind-ed nat-ral onte=t3 in folklore field/ork.

< !+tory3 5$art !6 o$ens /ith anavati 5Bharthari8s sister,

married into 3Ga-r Ben'al36 instr-tin' her only son, Go$i Chand: 3Be a yo'i.3 >hethen reveals in a lon' flash&ak ho/ she o&tained the &oon of a son from Hord >hivaaltho-'h no son /as /ritten in her fate. 9n order not to &reak his $romise, >hivaallo/s her to &orro/ one of the yo'i Jalindar ath8s disi$les, and she hooses Go$iChand. he loan has a limit: after t/elve years of r-lin' the kin'dom, Go$i Chandm-st &eome a yo'i or die. As a /anderin' aseti, ho/ever, he /ill 'ain immortality.Go$i Chand, $ossessin' eleven h-ndred /ives and si=teen h-ndred slave 'irls, is not$leased /ith his mother8s &ar'ain.

9n $art # Go$i Chand tries to 'et rid of the '-r- &y $-ttin' him do/n a /ell. B-t itis Go$i Chand /ho dies, and only the $o/er of yo'is saves him. 0estored to his $alae,he follo/s his mother8s instr-tions and has his ears -t &y Jalindar. he '-r- thensends him to &e' alms from N-een Patam De, his hief /ife, and to all her 3other.3

Altho-'h Patam De finally fills his alms &o/l, /hen her mother4in4la/ literally t/istsher arm, Jalindar has to res-e Go$i Chand from the $alae, /here he is s-rro-nded&y /ee$in' /omen.

A'ainst his mother8s and '-r-8s advie, Go$i Chand heads for Dhaka in Ben'al tosay 'ood&ye to his sister, Cham$a De 0ani 5$art (6. n the /ay he is harassed &yseven lady ma'iians /ho transform him into vario-s animals and a&-se him. Jalindarsends a $arty of yo'is to res-e him &-t it fails. he '-r- himself then aom$anies

< #)everal 'ro-$s ofstran'ers knoked at my door, a n-m&er of /hom anno-ned their a$a&ility and/illin'ness to $erform Go$i Chand4Bharthari. Even ath-, /ho seemed to &e annoyed

/ith adh- for reasons that never &eame lear to me, stron'ly s-''ested that 9sho-ld reord someone else8s version. B-t 9 held o-t for adh-, feelin' that theontin-ity of my translation $ro1et re-ired the same &ard and that all these other$otential sin'ers $resented an almost fri'htenin' distration.

9t /as o-t of the -estion to reord in ath-8s ho-se, as /e had in !"@!, &ea-sethe rooms /ere virt-ally overflo/in' /ith '-ests and all seatin' and tea4makin'reso-res /ere serio-sly overta=ed. 9nstead, /e s$read a ar$et on the ne/ly$lastered o-rtyard of the 0a1$-t ho-se that had &een my home in !"+"I@! and /asmy am$ this tri$. ;e th-s had loistered 0a1$-t /omen in the a-diene, and 9 /asa&le to om$ensate for an old in1-ry done to my former landlady. >he had &een an'ry/ith me ei'ht years a'o for not invitin' and esortin' her to the Go$i Chand sessions.o/ she /as a&le to savor Bharthari in the omfort of her o/n home.

A'ain, it /as /inter and /e /ra$$ed o-rselves in sha/ls, savored o-r tea &reaks,and s-ked on gur. adh-8s $erformane 'ot off to a some/hat slo/ start Bharthari8s&irth story has more re$etition in it than any other se'ment of either te=t. B-t soonadh- /armed to his themes. 2is rendition of the entral $art of Bharthari7ontainin'the &est4loved lima= /hen the kin' madly irles Pin'ala8s $yre7/as $erfetlydeli'htf-l and aro-sed m-h a-diene a$$reiation. Besides myself, Daniel, and o-rt/o inattentive sons, o-r 'atherin' al/ays inl-ded my researh assistant Bho1- mylandlady her da-'hter4in4la/, 'randhildren, and niees and a varia&le n-m&er


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< #ometimes he em&ellished his ver&al

desri$tions /ith skethes, demonstratin', for e=am$le, the desi'n of a kind of earrin'or the sha$e of a $arti-lar lay $ot.

9n midafternoon sri&e and translators all took a lon' tea &reak to'ether andoften talked and 1oked in terms of the stories and the &ard8s lan'-a'e. 9f ath-, /hoseaste identity /as ath or Mo'i, had to 'o some/here, Bho1- /o-ld reite the &ard8sfavorite o-$let: 3A seated yo'i8s a stake in the 'ro-nd &-t a yo'i one -$ is a fistf-l of/ind.3 Gossi$in' a&o-t the $assion of an illiit lover /hen aro-sed &y his /oman,ath- mi'ht say, 39t /as 1-st as if a /ik /ere lit to one h-ndred ma-nds of'-n$o/der37$arrotin' the &ard8s stok meta$hor for Go$i Chand8s emotional rises.h-s the te=t8s s$eial lan'-a'e mer'ed as 9 learned it /ith everyday life.

9 had not the sli'htest sense of /hat 9 /o-ld do /ith the res-lts of all this effort.B-t 9 fo-nd the $rotrated ro-tinized translation /ork to &e very soothin'. 9t filled my

days and ke$t my mind from d/ellin' on all the thin's 9 /o-ld never &e a&le to finish,or even &e'in, as time ran o-t. 9nevita&ly &-t nonetheless a&r-$tly, /hen /e /ere &-ta fe/ $a'es into $art , 9 at last had to leave Ghatiyali. 9 did not s$end any time /iththe te=t a'ain -ntil !"@+7si= years later. he s-mmary of Go$i Chand8s story, /hih 9inl-ded in my dissertation 5Gold !"@6 and ens-in' &ook 5Gold !"@@6 as /ell as in theartile that 9 oa-thored /ith my h-s&and 5Gold and Gold !"@6, /as done frommemory. As 9 disovered to my ha'rin /hen 9 did ret-rn to the te=t, it ontains a fe/errors, the res-lt of my im$erfet om$re4

< #+hiv1i, &efore

res$ondin'.o/ard the end of this -n$leasant and la&orio-s $eriod, another translator and 9

/ere a&le to &rin' Bho1- to Ameria. 9 had the -nanny e=$eriene of sittin' in my9thaa offie, s-&zero tem$erat-res o-tside, /ith a villa'e voie in my ears. By thenmy involvement in these stories and the tradition that 'enerated them e=tended&eyond firsthand ethno'ra$hi e=$eriene 9 had read n-mero-s variants from otherre'ions and times and /as /orkin' o-t my inter$retations. o lon'er did 9 $assivelytake ditation from Bho1- oasionally 9 fo-nd myself ar'-in' /ith him.

;hen Go$i Chand8s /ife re$roahes him for &eomin' a yo'i, she says: 3Grain4'iver, 9 taste &itter to yo-, &-t yo- think that yo'i8s 1-st s/ell. 2e shoved a loinloth -$yo-r ass and $-t these earrin's on yo-. 2e $iered yo-r ears and $-t these 'reat &i'earrin's in them.3 9n the villa'e in !"@! Bho1- told me that the /ord the -een -sed

for 3earrin'3 meant 3yo'is8 earrin'3 &ea-se of o-rse that8s /hat she /as referrin' to7the yo'is8 earrin's her h-s&and /ore. B-t the /ord itself, %ura&a, refers to a smallearrin' /orn &y ordinary men. 9t is not one of the several s$eial /ords for yo'is8earrin's, most often alled darsaior 3divine visions.3 9 tho-'ht the -een /as &ein'deli&erately disres$etf-l &y -sin' this /ord, as she s-rely /as a&o-t the loinloth -$the ass7em$loyin' a r-de term for an-s. Bho1-, ho/ever, said she /as 1-st ani'norant /oman /ho didn8t kno/ the ri'ht /ord for yo'is8 earrin'.


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Hater in the sene Go$i Chand alls on his '-r- for hel$ and threatens that if the'-r- doesn8t ome he8ll 'o &ak to takin' are of his kin'dom and 'et rid of his3earrin's4and4st-ff37allin' them %ura&yan vura&an7th-s f-rther e=a''eratin' the-een8s dis$ara'in' terminolo'y. he eho4/ord formation readily im$lies 3earrin's

and all the rest of this yo'i $ara$hernalia.3 o me it seems to onfirm

< #"-rrenderin' m-si and lar'ely s-rrenderin' a-diene interation, in a sense 9'ave -$ on s-stainin' an oral mode readers /ill have to s-$$ly that from mydesri$tions and their o/n ima'inations. ;hat 9 tried to re$rod-e is the ro-'h harmand s$ontaneo-s flo/ of adh-8s s$eeh, /itho-t falsely em&ellishin' it. he fo-rthro-nd /as literally o-ntless ro-nds, for 9 o-ld not say ho/ many times 9 /ent overthe En'lish version, rearran'in', re/ordin', and -ttin'.


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< ()-h senes are limited.he &i''est red-tion from the ori'inal involved the eno-nter &et/een a &e''in' yo'iand a 'ro-$ of slave 'irls that o-rs one in Bharthari and three times in Go$i Chand.f these fo-r instanes, t/o /ere s-&stantially ondensed as noted /ithin the te=t.Another hi'hly re$etitive moment is the ontest &et/een yo'is and lady ma'iians 9'ave Go$i Chand8s initial eno-nter f-lly &-t ondensed /henever $ossi&le, and sonoted, the s-&se-ent eno-nters &et/een Char$at ath, follo/ed &y 2ada ath, andtheir Ben'ali enemies.

he third level of -ttin' is the one that makes me as a folklorist most -neasy, &-tits e=e-tion may ontri&-te most to makin' this te=t 'enerally aessi&le. his is thee=ision of inn-mera&le internal re$etitions7re$etitions that 'ive the oral $erformertime to think, that 'ive his a-diene time to take it all in, &-t that on the $rinted $a'e&eome ra$idly tedio-s. y aim /as to retain eno-'h of these to leave the En'lish /itha ollo-ial, oral 3flavor,3 &-t to remove eno-'h to kee$ the story movin' at anae$ta&le $ae.

Het me 'ive an e=am$le, from the o$enin' sene of Go$i Chand. he -een has1-st told her son to &e a yo'i, and he is -estionin' her kno/led'e of yo'a. ytranslation in this &ook is as follo/s:

< (!anskrit sa%praday. Barz, follo/in' ;ah, sho/s etymolo'iallythat sa%pradayrefers $ositively to a 3vehile for transmission of dotrine3 /hereas3set3 has ne'ative im$liations of a s$linter 'ro-$. 2o/ever, sa%pradayalso s-''estsa 3ref-'e3 from the ordinary /orld, as set may Barz ontin-es to -se it 5Barz !"+,("I)6. ore reently, van der Keer $refers 3order3 or 3monasti order3 to set&ea-se the 3h-rh4set dihotomy3 is so alien to 2ind-ism 5van der Keer !"@@, I+!6. Hike Barz, 9 find it onvenient to -se 3set3 here like van der Keer, 9 /arn a'ainsta false 1-m$ to Christian $arallels.

< (+ides referrin' to asetarian identity, the term ath evokes a $arti-lar set of ideas onernin' themer'ed $hysial and s$irit-al $erfetion $ossi&le for h-mans, and ho/ to ahieve it.And, not the least im$ortant in relation to o-r tales, aths are stron'ly assoiated in$o$-lar tho-'ht /ith ertain visi&le em&lems, a$$-rtenanes, and &ehaviors.

9 t-rn then to the $henomenon of ho-seholder aths: astes /hose 'ro-$ identityis rooted in ren-niation. >-h is adh- ath8s &irth 'ro-$ 5!ati6, and it is not -ni-e.>imilar astes are $resent thro-'ho-t 9ndia and e$al.182he distintion &et/een athas set or $ath and ath as aste is $rono-ned and ritial in indi'eno-s ao-nts.2o/ever, as /ill soon &eome a$$arent, it is also im$reise, $lasti, and s-&1et toolla$se at several levels.

Nath Renunciatory Traditions in tory and ,istory

Nathmay &e sim$ly defined as 3master3 and the aths as 38asters8 5of yo'i $o/ers635Ka-deville !"+, @*6. ther so-res re$ort vario-s om$le= etymolo'ies derivin' from$ossi&le sylla&i deonstr-tions of the /ord nath, $rod-in' meanin's s-h as 3formof &liss esta&lished in three /orlds3 or 3he /ho removes i'norane of Brahm and isa&sor&ed in tr-th4onsio-sness4&liss3 5Halas !"#[email protected];2A yo'i is an ade$t, a

$ratitioner of yo'a7derivin' from a >anskrit root meanin' 3yoke,3 arryin'im$liations of self4disi$line as /ell as -nion. Mo'a

? Classifiations and desri$tions of vario-s and vario-sly or'anized 'ro-$s of athreno-ners are availa&le else/here 5Bri''s !"+( Dvivedi !"@! man !")*, !@I@>inha and >aras/ati !"+@, !!(I! ri$athi !"+@, +!I+6 ath traditions, rather thanmonasti or'anization, are my fo-s here.


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?+ For t/o interestin' e=am$les see Bradford !"@*, a dis-ssion of ho/ the >o-th9ndian Hin'ayat aste maintains its reno-ner identity thro-'h historial and soialhan'es and Bo-illier !"+", an ethno'ra$hi st-dy of a reno-ner aste in e$al. nrelatively reent field/ork /ith other orth 9ndian Jo'i $erformers see Cham$ion

!"@" 2enry !"@@ Ha$oint !"+@. hat a n-m&er of Jo'i 'ro-$s are nominally -slimis a $henomenon /ell /orth investi'atin', &-t 9 lak data and s$ae to do it 1-stiehere.

?@ For other definitions and etymolo'ies of ath see also Dvivedi !"@!, ( >in'h!"(+, ! U$adhyay !"+, !I.

< (@en !"*,+>in'h !"(+, ##6 and his lore ertainly flo-rished in P-n1a&, mer'in' /ith indi'eno-stales m-h as it has done in 0a1asthan, most -lt-ral historians a'ree that the realGorakh ame from the east. Bri''s, /ho m-stered most of the so-res availa&le in histime in admira&ly systemati fashion, onl-des that 3Gorakhnath lived not laterthan A.D. !#)), $ro&a&ly early in the !!th

?" >o-res for yo'a as $hiloso$hy inl-de Das'-$ta !"#, !"+ ;oods !"+# 0a1-!"@*, ((I+.

?!) >ee Eliade !"+( Karenne !"+ >inh !"+*.


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?!! Mo'i, of o-rse, may and often does have myriad assoiations -nonneted /ithaths.

?!# Gh-rye -ses 31o'i3 5Gh-rye !", !!I)6 and man 3yo'i3 5man !")*, !@6

Das'-$ta $refers ath 5Das'-$ta !"", !"!I#!)6.

?!( 9 follo/ Dvivedi !"@! and >-ndardas !"* in s$ellin' the set name others-se &aphata5Bri''s !"+(6 or &anphata5Gh-rye !"6.

?! For a f-ll ha'io'ra$hy of Gorakh ath 5also Gorakhnath Goraksanath6 in sim$le2indi see Ga-tam !"@ see also Bri''s !"+(, !+"I#)+ Dikshit n.d. Pandey !"@)>en !"), #I*.

< ("-k-mar >en haraterizes the ath -lt as 3an esoteri yo'a -lt &ased ona-stere self4ne'ation and om$lete ontrol over the vital, mental and emotionalf-ntions3 5>en !",#6. B-t as ath teahin's s$read /ithin $o$-lar 2ind-ism, &oththeir ontent and mode of transmission han'ed. From seret instr-tions im$arted &y'-r- ade$t to selet disi$le, ath ideas $assed into folklore. here, these teahin'sare stron'ly assoiated /ith the 3$erfetion of the &ody3 5&aya siddhi6 and the -estfor immortality 5Eliade !"+( ahesh/ari !"@), !)!6.1(62

here e=ist n-mero-s and onflitin' stories of the ori'ins and '-r-4disi$lelinea'es of the early ath '-r-s. ne $o$-lar version /ith /hih adh- ath8s talesoinide is that Gorakh /as a disi$le of ahhindar ath /ho o&tained his kno/led'ediretly from >hiva 5kno/n as theAdi/Nathor ori'inal ath6, altho-'h he did it &ytrikery.1(72his assoiation of the fo-ndin' ath '-r- /ith a /ily oo$tin' of divine$o/er fits /ell /ith the 'eneral harater of most ath '-r-s in $o$-lar lore. 9n $art of adh- ath8s Go$i Chand /e see Gorakh $layin' all kinds of triks on his o/n '-r-,ahhindar himself. Altho-'h he ats th-s for the '-r-8s 'ood, s-h &ehaviornonetheless r-ns o-nter to ordinary 2ind- $iety that $resri&es nothin' &-t dili'ento&ediene in the disi$le role. ost strikin' of all in the Go$i Chand tale, Go$i Chandand Bharthari o&tain immortality only thro-'h Gorakh8s devio-s trikin' of Go$iChand8s an'ry '-r- Jalindar.1(82

here e=ist te=ts, inl-din' tehnial man-als of esoteri yo'i $ratie in >anskritand the verna-lars, /hose a-thorshi$ is attri&-ted to Gorakh ath himself, and toothers losely assoiated /ith his teahin's.1(;2he onnetion &et/een Gorakh the folktrikster

?!* >ome e=$o-nders of athism as $hiloso$hy e=$liitly &ar s-h v-l'ar $hysialas$irations 5>in'h !"(+, #@6.


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?! For s-mmary versions of the story of ahhindar ath 5also ahendranath,inanath atsyendranath6 see Bhattaharyya !"@#, #@* aha$atra !"+#, @#I@(>en !"), (I.

?!+ Jalandhar.

?!@ For e=tensive atalo's and dis-ssions of literary /orks attri&-ted to Gorakh athand his disi$les see Bri''s !"+(, #*!I*+ >in'h !"(+, (*I(" U$adhyay !"+, !(I+". An En'lish translation of one im$ortant te=t is >inh !"+*. For the Gora&saSa%hitain >anskrit verse /ith a sim$le 2indi e=$lanation see Ga-tam !"+.

< )hivL GorakhL3 or3Kitory to ahadevL3 at the lose of eah s-n' $ortion of his $erformane, th-sframin' it in devotion, referenes to divine 'rae and reli'io-s emotions are sant/ithin the stories. Met like the framin' $rayers, $res-$$ositions of s$irit-al disi$line,h-man4divine relationshi$s, devotional feelin's, and 'rae form the &akdro$ &efore/hih a-diene mem&ers see and eval-ate the yo'is8 ations. his eval-ation is learly&ased on moral standards different from those a$$ro$riate to ho-seholders7or$erha$s more a-rately, on a learly defined &-t -nresolved tension &et/eenho-seholders8 dharma and reno-ners8 $aths.13(2

eahin's of yo'a $hiloso$hy and tehni-es, attri&-ted to Gorakh ath and his

follo/ers, are not of immediate relevane in -nderstandin' ath folk e$is. n thelevel of alle'ory, $o$-lar ath stories may indeed ontain some mysti messa'es. Fore=am$le, the -n-s-al name of Bharthari8s -een, Pin'ala, s-''ests an assoiation /ithyo'i $hysiolo'y /here the s-&tle hannel alled Pin'ala re$resents the ri'ht side, thes-n, and violent ation.1332>-h an assoiation, ho/ever, never s-rfaes in adh-8se=$lanations or in any villa'ers8 ree$tion of the tales, to the e=tent that 9 haveinvesti'ated these.13*2

he stream of 2ind- tho-'ht most stron'ly and onsio-sly assoiated /ith athteahin's in r-ral 0a1asthan is not esoteri yo'a &-t nirgun bha&tior devotion to a God$ereived as 3/itho-t -alities.3 Nirgun bha&tiis im$ortant to villa'e reli'ion, and oneof the sets that $romotes it is led &y aths 5Gold !"@@6. he diff-sion of ath yo'isand their lore antedates &y several ent-ries the emer'ene of nirgun bha&tias

$reahed and s-n' &y medieval $oet4saints alled sants.

?#! 9 dis-ss this irresol-tion more f-lly in the after/ord.

?## David ;hite 5$ersonal omm-niation !"")6 s-''ests that Go$i Chand8s many/omen and his str-''les to ome to terms /ith them may have to do /ith the3a/akenin', tamin' and s-&limation of the female ener'y /ithin the yo'i &ody.3

?#( em&ers of ath bha!an$arties and their listeners /ill, &y ontrast, readilydis-ss esoteri, mystial, or s-&tle inter$retations of the lan'-a'e of hymns.

< (ants.


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he e=ternal tra$$in's and $ost-res of aths /ere deni'rated &y >ant $oets, /hofo-nd them as false as any other e=terior forms of reli'ion.1342ost sholars ofmedieval 2indi literat-re akno/led'e, ho/ever, that early >ant $oets s-h as a&ir/ere onversant /ith ath teahin's, and that ath esoteri ima'ery is im$ortant in

>ant $oetry 5Barth/al !"+@ Gold !"@+ >homer !"@+ Ka-deville !"+, @@I@"6.Barth/al ites a res$etf-l referene to Go$i Chand and Bharthari in a&ir8s verses5Barth/al !"+@, !!6.

9n the villa'e /here 9 reorded adh-8s tale, the sit-ation is -rio-sly reversed.0ather than an ative >ant tradition retainin' traes of ath infl-ene, in Ghatiyali theaths as aste, as leaders of a loal set, and as mem&ers of loosely or'anized hymn4sin'in' 'ro-$s, seem to have a$$ro$riated and &eome the $-rveyors of a some/hataltered >ant tradition. heir 3bha!an$arties3 have an e=tensive re$ertoire of hymnsinl-din' many /ith the si'nat-re of a&ir others are stam$ed &y Gorakh andahhindar. >ometimes, the same bha!an/ill &ear on different oasions either a >antor a ath si'nat-re, $ro&a&ly de$endin' on the orientation of the lead sin'er. adh-,livin' as he did in another villa'e, /as not often a $artii$ant in the nirgun

bha!ansessions in Ghatiyali. 2o/ever, several times d-rin' his Go$i Chand$erformane he $resented interl-des of nirgun bha!ans. Clearly he felt his re$ertoireof ath tales and >ant om$ositions to &e -nitary.

B-t ath and >ant traditions an seem $rofo-ndly different. >ants teah s-rrenderto divine 'rae aths, altho-'h they invoke >hiva as the ori'inal ath and first '-r-,stress not devotional feelin' &-t a-stere $ratie and a transformation of the $hysial&ein'. he -est for &odily immortality /ith /hih $o$-lar athism is stron'lyassoiated /o-ld a$$ear to &e a very different enter$rise from the s$irit-aldevelo$ment fostered &y the >ants. Met in villa'e traditions ath and

?# >ee for e=am$le a&ir8s $oem translated &y 2ess and >in'h, that &e'ins 32o/ /illyo- ross, ath, ho/ /ill yo- ross, so f-ll of rookedness3 52ess and >in'h !"@(,

+6. Cent-ries earlier than a&ir, the >o-th 9ndian $oet4saint Allama is said to havedemonstrated to Gorakh ath the s-$eriority of his inner devotion to the yo'i8s 3soliddiamond4&ody3 50aman-1an !"+(, !I+ thanks to David ;hite for remindin' me ofthis e=am$le6.

< ant teahin's &lend to'ether, are referred to loosely as nirgun bha&ti, and are ta-'ht&y ath '-r-s.

>everal si'nifiant osmolo'ial and $ratial elements ommon to the t/otraditions hel$ e=$lain their lose mer'in' in $o$-lar tho-'ht. Foremost amon' these/o-ld &e the one$t of divinity as formless and indesri&a&le 5niran!an0 nira&ar0ala&h6, and the idea that only a '-r- an hel$ h-man &ein's to realize their identity/ith that -nkno/a&le divinity. he reliane on a '-r- is 'reatly stressed inath nirgunhymns, /here the 3tr-e '-r- /ithin3 may &e invoked as in >ant $oetry.0eliane on and s-&mission to an e=ternal '-r- inform the $lot str-t-re of &oth of


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adh- ath8s tales. he sin'le element of $ratie stressed in the e$i tales, thatof sa%aranor divine reitation, is also an im$ortant $art of the meditative $ratie that>ant $oets ta-'ht and follo/ed.

adh- ath and $artii$ants in his set identify themselves sim-ltaneo-sly as/orshi$ers of >hiva and follo/ers of nirgun bha&ti. hey do not see these t/o$ers-asions as inom$ati&le. And indeed, aths8 /orshi$ is iono'ra$hially andmytholo'ially -nela&orated, in kee$in' /ith nirgunideas. >hiva does a$$ear as aminor harater in &oth Bharthari8s and Go$i Chand8s e$is, &-t he a$$ears as a yo'i,or 1-st another '-r-, a ste$ hi'her -$ in the $o/er hierarhy and hain of ommandfrom Gorakh or Jalindar ath, and lo/er than an -nnamed bhagvan7the Hord.1362

Both ath and >ant traditions disdain soial norms and aste rankin', at least inrelation to God.1372Gorakh, like most of the early >ant $oets, is said to have ome froma lo/ level of soiety.13822o/ever, teahin's of h-man e-ality are nota&ly a&sent fromvilla'e ath lore. Killa'e soiety in the !"@)s /as still aste4r-led in many res$ets,and radial messa'es, $-&lily $rolaimed, /o-ld $ro&a&ly not have &een /elomed.Altho-'h Ben'ali traditions e=$liitly identify Go$i Chand8s '-r- as a s/ee$er,

0a1asthani versions 'ive no indiation

?#* he third lon' tale in adh-8s re$ertoire, 3he ;eddin' >on' of Hord >hiva,3 isalmost solely onerned /ith deities in mythi time. his tale is not -s-ally inl-ded in'eneral ath traditions, &-t many versions fi'-re in >haivite mytholo'y 58Flaherty!"+(6. ;hen s$eakin' of or invokin' >hiva, adh- ath often alls him Hord >hankarless fre-ently he says ahadev or Bhola ath.

?# For e=am$les see Gokhale4-rner !"@! elliot !"@!.

?#+ >ee >in'h !"(+, #(I#. he $ervasive le'end that Gorakh /as &orn from a $ile ofo/ d-n' testifies, some s-''est, to h-m&le ori'ins.

< *temmin' from their re$-ted $o/ers as reli'io-s ade$ts, mirale /orkers, and'-r-s &-t o&vio-sly s-$$orted also &y a skillf-l ommand of stateraft and di$lomay,some mem&ers of the ath set have a-ired onsidera&le infl-ene over r-lin'families and have &een diretly involved in affairs of state. he most notorio-s instane

of aths8 $olitial ativities in 0a1asthan -nfolded d-rin' the r-le of 0a1a an >in'h ofJodh$-r.

an >in'h, the ahara1a of ar/ar in /estern 0a1asthan from !@)( to !@#,initially o&tained the Jodh$-r throne /ith the $o/erf-l aid of the yo'i Ayas Dev ath.;hether this aid /as effeted &y $rayer or &y $oison is -nlear. ;hatever the asemay &e, an >in'h8s 'ratef-l resolve /as to 3r-le ar/ar stritly in aordane /iththe advie of the aths3 5>harma !"+#, !**6. D-rin' an >in'h8s rei'n, mem&ers ofthe ath set a-ired -n$reedented /ealth and $o/er in his kin'dom, and theirn-m&ers s/elled 5!"+#, !++6. hat some at times a&-sed their $rivile'ed $osition,ind-l'in' in l-=-ry and sens-ality, is history. he story of ho/ the British attem$ted todiminish ath infl-ene in Jodh$-r, even as the ahara1a8s o/n &ehavior

?#@ 2istorial st-dies dis-ss /orldly $arts $layed &y many reno-ner sets, inl-din'aths these inl-de ative $artii$ations in trade, $olitis, and di$lomay as /ell asmilitary vent-res 5Bayly !"@(, !@(I@* Ghosh !"() >arkar n.d. >in'h !"(+, #(I#6.

< in'h8s rei'n is that yo'is are s-se$ti&le to orr-$tion, and this o-ld serveas a a-tionary tale a&o-t the all-rin' /orld of ill-sion to /hih yo'is are not imm-ne

5the theme o-rs too in Go$i Chand $art 6. ;ith the a-m-lation of /ealth and$ro$erty ome /orries over inheritane7inreasin' the tem$tation to a&andoneli&ay, &e'et a linea'e, and ret-rn, even if only $artially, to a ho-seholder8se=istene.1*92

2orae 0ose om$lains in his dis-ssion of Jo'i divisions and s-&divisions 5in anethno'ra$hi s-rvey of P-n1a& and the north/estern $rovines om$iled at the end ofthe nineteenth ent-ry6 that 3ho-'h $rofessin' Jo'is are for&idden to marry, many ofthem do so, and it is im$ossi&le to disentan'le the 1o'is /ho a&andon eli&ay from


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those /ho do not $rofess it at all and form a aste3 50ose !"!, !)6. 0ose, as as-rveyor /ho m-st $rod-e a neat al$ha&etially or'anized 'lossary of astes /ithinhis a$$ointed re'ion, is evidently $eevish over these &l-rred ate'ories. B-t his fail-reto 3disentan'le3 yo'is /ho form a aste from reno-ners /ho have a&andoned eli&ay

hi'hli'hts one of the $er$et-ally shiftin' &o-ndaries &et/een ho-seholdin' andren-niation.

?#" At one $oint a British offier, H-dlo/, o&served that 3the ahara1a /o-ld have$assed any/here for a 8reli'io-s mendiant83 5>in'h !"+(, @#I@(6. >ee D. Gold !""#for a f-ll dis-ssion of this revealin' drama of -lt-ral onfrontations.

?() For $roesses of 3sedentarization3 amon' a%anandimonks of Ayodhya see vander Keer !"@@, !#I().

< +-h $artii$ation an &e a$o/erf-l fore in the lives of ho-seholders. ne /ay the ath set rer-its mem&ers isthro-'h the offerin' of hildren &y devotees /ho have reeived favor, and ho-seholderaths are $erha$s more dis$osed than other astes to offer their hildren -$ in thisfashion to &eome ath reno-ners. 9n adh-8s ase 5ha$ter !6

?(+ he effiay of these s$ells is not sim$ly in their /ords &-t m-st &e -ltivated &ythe $erson /ho /ields them thro-'h an initial $eriod of onstant re$etitionaom$anied &y aseti self4disi$line.

< *(tories that are $art of the aths8 o/n $erformane re$ertoires,

?( Franes Prithett $oints o-t that the sorro/s of an a&andoned or ne'leteds-fferin' /oman are $ervasive in 9ndian literat-re 5$ersonal omm-niation !"")6.he ath tales8 s$eial t/ist is that neither /ar8s 'lories nor a o-rtesan8s favors &-trather a '-r-8s teahin's and an aseti life are the a-se of males8 defetions.

< *+-h elements are m-ted, &-t not im$ere$ti&le, in adh-8s Go$i Chand4Bharthari yle. adh-8s tales 'ive $reedene to emotions rather than se=-ality, tofamilial res$onsi&ilities rather than royal or military d-ties. 9n ommon /ith most$o$-lar traditions, these tales too reveal the am&i'-ities that s-rro-nd any attem$t &yh-man haraters to free themselves from /orldly entan'lements.


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=harthari and Go.i Chand

9 t-rn no/ to a loser e=amination of the $arti-lar ori'ins of Bharthari and Go$iChand. For adh- ath, &oth tales are $art of a -nified, inte'rated re$ertoire. he t/o

are linked not only in the similar $atterns of their stories7&oth are kin's /ho t-rn yo'i7&-t 'enealo'ially, as sister8s son to mother8s &rother 5see fi'-re !6. 9ndeedthe!an%patriof Bharthari re$orts the &irth not only of Bharthari &-t also

? G-r- G-'a8s life story is little kno/n in adh- ath8s area of 0a1asthan &-t isfo-nd else/here in that state as /ell as in Uttar Pradesh and P-n1a& 5othari !"@"Ha$oint !"+@ em$le !@@, !: !#!I#)", (:#!I())6.

?* For e=am$le, in the 0a1asthani Pa&-1i e$i one harater, 2armal, t-rns yo'i inorder to om$lete a dan'ero-s 1o-rney and another, 0-$nath, is raised as a reno-ner&-t -ses his $o/er to s-$$ort a &attle for family ven'eane 5>mith !"@, !""!Blak&-rn et al., eds. !"@", #)I(6. 9n the P-n1a&i 2ir40an1ha tale 5>hah !"+

>/ynnerton !")(, (I+ em$le !@@, #:*)+I@)6 and in the &allad of al-shahi and0a1-la from 2imalayan -ma-n 5eissner !"@*6, fr-strated lovers &eome yo'is inreation to the ho$elessness of their romanti -ests &-t also in order to f-rther these-ests.

? Kan B-itenen8s lassi essay on the Kidyadhara hero in >anskrit stories 5!"*"6made this $oint see Hynh !"") for some reform-lations. >ee also olff !"@+ for avery interestin' and om$rehensive dis-ssion of tem$orary ren-niation as anim$ortant as$et of the 0a1$-t /arrior8s identity.

< *@o-th 9ndian lan'-a'es 5Cho/dh-ry !"+, !@I@+ >en

!"*, +(I+ >en !"+, @67none of /hih 9 dis-ss here.

< )yan,1(92-rsed &y his father to enter a donkey /om&.

Bharthari, the le'endary kin' of U11ain /ho t-rns ath yo'i, is 'enerallyonsidered to &e idential /ith the >anskrit $oet Bhartrihari, reno/ned for three sets ofelo-ent verse on /orldly life, eroti $assion, and ren-niation.1((2he le'endss-rro-ndin' the $oet Bhartrihari

?!) As ath- transri&ed adh-8s $ron-niation, this $rine8s name issometimes Gandarapand sometimes Gandaraph, sometimes Syanandsometimes Sen. 9 re'-larize this.

?!! ;hereas &ooks a&o-t the >anskrit $oet often refer to the le'endary kin', thele'ends of Bharthari rarely refer to the >anskrit $oet7an e=e$tion &ein' D-''al8sretellin' 5D-''al !"+"6. iller, /ho 'ives -s some &ea-tif-l translations of Bhartrihari8s$oems, notes, 39n s$ite of the le'end, the ontent of the verses s-''ests that thea-thor ... /as not a kin', &-t a o-rtier4$oet in the servie of a kin'3 5iller !"+,

=vii6. Bhartrihari the $oet may &e the same as Bhartrihari the >anskrit 'rammarian,a-thor of a famo-s treatise, the1a&yapadiya. Co/ard !"+ and 9yer !"", !)I!*,&oth favor this identifiation iller !"+ is more ske$tial.

< !anskrit stories s-rro-ndin' Kikramaditya. hese have &een translated and retold inEn'lish and are often s-mmarized in introd-tions to olletions of the >anskrit $oet8s/ork.1(*2he $lot involves a ir-lar hain of dee$tion that /ill inevita&ly reall to;estern readers the Frenh fare and o$era $lot evoked &y the title #a onde.

A Brahman, as a re/ard for his intense a-sterities, reeives the fr-it ofimmortality from God he $resents this $rize to in' Bhartrihari, /ho 'ives it to hisadored /ife, Pin'ala.1(42>he, ho/ever, $asses it on to her $aramo-r, and he to a$rostit-te /ho offers it one more to the kin'. 2avin' e=trated the tr-th from eah

link in this hain, and st-nned not only &y his -een8s $erfidy &-t &y the 'enerallyfikle /ays of the /orld, Bhartrihari deides then and there to $-rs-e a more sta&lereality, t-rnin' the r-le of his kin'dom over to Kikramaditya. 1(62

adh- ath8s version of Bharthari8s story does not inl-de any

?!# For the historiity of in' Kikramaditya see Ed'erton !"# >irar !"".


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?!( >ee Ed'erton !"# for translations from the >anskrit see also Bhoothalin'am!"@# /ho ada$ted a amil version of the >anskrit for yo-n' readers in En'lish. For anela&orate, em&ellished retellin' in 2indi see Kaidya !"@, +I#. Kersions of the storyare also referred to in iller !"+ ale !"+! ;ortham !@@.

?! As a /oman8s name, Pingalais rare. he SKlists a variant, Pingalaas a name ofthe 'oddess Hakshmi as /ell as the name of Bhartrihari8s /ife. 9ts $rimary meanin',ho/ever, is one of three main, s-&tle hannels in the h-man &ody desri&ed &y yo'i$hysiolo'y.

?!* >ome ela&orations on the story have Bhartrihari first e=ilin' Kikramaditya afterthe de&a-hed -een a-ses him of assa-ltin' her honor in order to over -$ her realindisretion. hen Bhartrihari m-st reall Kikramaditya and e=onerate him &eforefollo/in' the '-r- Gorakh ath to a reno-ner8s life 5D-''al !"+"6.

< #-h familiar senes or sit-ations may, moreover, &e s-ddenly s$ied /ithma'ial o-rrenes or divine intervention: donkeys talk to villa'e elders, a '-r-8s $lay

s$oils the aref-lly rafted $ots messen'ers ome from heaven to strai'hten o-t thekin' and save his s-&1ets. 9t /o-ld seem that adh- and his teahers, in ada$tin' atraditional tale for villa'e $atrons, ela&orate &oth the familiar and the ma'ial to strikea a$tivatin' &lend. And yet, as /e /ill see, altho-'h Go$i Chand8s story ertainlyshares some stylisti and themati -alities /ith Bharthari8s, it follo/s a differentrei$e.


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Go.i Chand

9n adh-8s version as /ell as all others e=e$t those ori'inatin' in Ben'al, Go$i Chandis desri&ed as the kin' of3Ga-r3 Ben'al. Ga-r /as an anient Ben'ali kin'dom that

fell to -slim invaders in the thirteenth ent-ry 5>arkar !"@, @6. Altho-'h there is noevidene $ointin' to an assoiation of a historial Go$i Chand /ith the kin'dom ofGa-r, attem$ts have &een made to link Go$i Chand /ith vario-s

< irar n.d.,!(6.13*2

Chief amon' the distintive as$ets of adh- ath8s ao-nt are a ritial $lotfeat-re and an attendant emotional tim&re. adh-8s is the only te=t that e=$lains Go$iChand8s &irth as a loan to his mother 5altho-'h others do asri&e it to his mother8sdevotions or asetiisms6.1342Altho-'h all the versions have Go$i Chand initially resistthe idea of reno-nin' the /orld, adh-8s is the only one in /hih Go$i Chand$er$et-ally laments and sorro/s, allin' on his '-r- like a hild at every diffi-ltmoment. hese t/o fators are in onstant inter$lay in adh-8s te=t. By $ortrayin'Go$i Chand as doomed to yo'ahood &-t attahed to the /orld, &y havin' his feelin'so$$ose his destiny, adh-8s tale reates a s$ae for resistane and 'enerates theh-man drama 5or melodrama6 that made me /ish to translate this tale as ao-nter$oint to $revailin' ima'es of resol-te reno-ners.

9n other versions it is /omen /ho dis$lay most of the emotion Go$i Chand

$asses thro-'h their $leas and re$roahes /ith a ertain di'nified detahment 5m-has adh-8s Bharthari hears o-t and denies Pin'ala6. B-t adh- ath ela&orates on thekin'8s inner t-rmoil, not only &y ret-rnin' a'ain and a'ain to the rainstorm of tears inhis eyes, &-t also &y $rovidin' trains of onsio-sness 5veg6 or reveries /hen Go$iChand e=$resses his re'ret, des$air, and sim$le shame.

Hike his tellin' of Bharthari8s story, adh-8s Go$i Chand tale inor$orates somefamiliar details of daily r-ral life: the /ays that &arren /omen seek divine remediesthe /asher/oman8s ro-nds to

?#( >ee 8Flaherty !"@, !, #@)I@!, for a ase from >anskrit mytholo'y ratherthan ath folklore in /hih a /ise /ife m-st resort to e=treme s-&terf-'e in order toat as her h-s&and8s '-r-.

?# David ;hite 5$ersonal omm-niation !"")6 $ointed o-t to me that the idea of ah-man life as a loan is a very anient one in 2ind- tho-'ht. >ee alamo-d for aom$rehensive dis-ssion of 3a theory of de&t as onstit-tive of h-man nat-re3 in>anskrit te=ts 5alamo-d !"@", !!*I(6.


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< +harma


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!"@(, !@I@*6. As o-nter&alane to all the variations /e have 1-st o&served in thetales of Bharthari and Go$i Chand, it is instr-tive to onsider Pi$a8s areer.

Hike Go$i Chand, Pi$a has several /ives. ;hen he deides to &eome a reno-nerthey first try to sto$ him and then &e' to aom$any him. ;here Pi$a8s story f-llydiver'es &oth from Bharthari8s and Go$i Chand8s is that one of his /ives, >ita, is sodevoted and virt-o-s that she s-&mits to the do-&le re-irement to ome /itho-t&elon'in's and naked, and does 'o /ith him. o'ether, Jak 2a/ley s-''ests, in atho-'ht4$rovokin' analysis, they $oint to a $ossi&le han'e in the soial order derivin'from bha&tior devotion. As 2a/ley $-ts it: 3;hat is /anted instead is a ne/-nderstandin' of /hat one already is, and a 'en-inely ne/ soiety in /hih the rolesof ho-se4holder and ren-niation are not $olarized. ... Pi$a and >ita form the n-le-sof that soiety.3 hey remain married &-t devote their lives to others7a kind of3m-t-al self4ren-niation3 52a/ley !"@+, 6.

;hatever the variety and reli'io-s dediation of their female haraters, athtales do not allo/ /omen to aom$any men in ren-niation. 9ndeed, the men m-st &erid of them at all osts. ;henever a /oman does &e' to 'o alon' 5as do Bharthari8s

/ife, Pin'ala, and Go$i Chand8s sister, Cham$a De6, she is admonished in many /aysthat /omen have no $lae in the /anderin' life of a yo'i. Met /omen in these talesoften an and do 'o se$arately, 'ainin' $o/er as inde$endent &ein's rather than asom$anions to males.

9t is not, therefore, that adh-8s tales deny s$irit-al $ro'ress to /omen -ite theo$$osite. B-t they do indeed deny s$irit-al $ro'ress to o-$les. Follo/in' 2a/ley8s$oint, it /o-ld seem that to ae$t a o-$le8s a$aity for s$irit-al selflessness mi'ht&e to &reak thro-'h to a redefined soial order s-h as bha&ti$ro$oses. his /o-ld &ea /orld /here h-man relationshi$s other than the $rivile'ed '-r-disi$le &ond /erenot so thoro-'hly deval-ed as they are in ath

< +)ee Blak&-rn !"@@, !"@" fordis-ssions of &irth stories in and &eyond >o-th 9ndian oral e$i tradition.

?# his is Gandara$h >yan8s name in his donkey &irth, also$rono-ned Khu&anyaand, /hen -sed affetionately or intimately, Khu&anyu.

< +yan8s father o&1et to the $rine /athin' his $lays &ein' $erformed hisviolent eno-nter &et/een a defiant re&ellio-s son and a strit re$ressive father$-shes even a non&eliever in Fre-dian readin's to/ard $syhoanalyti e=$lanations.>-rely, s-h intense /rath on the father8s $art /o-ld not &e evoked merely &y hisson8s /itnessin' a $-&li theatrial $erformane. >-rely, he m-st have /itnessed and,as he forthri'htly avo/s, fo-nd 3/ondro-s,3 /hat Fre-d alls a 3$rimal sene.3 nevariant of the tale 5see ha$ter (6 s-$$orts an inter$retation of Gandara$h >yan8soffense as intr-din' on his $arents8 se=-al domain. 9t $resents the Gandara$h fi'-re as


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a Gandharva in heaven /ho em&raes one of in' 9ndra8s danin' 'irls and is $-nished/ith a donkey &irth for 'ivin' /ay so shamef-lly to -nontrolled se=-al -r'es.1*2

;hen 9 asked my researh assistant, and thro-'h him the &ard and his son,/hether the 3$lay3 o-ld in fat &e an all-sion to se=-al ativity on the $art ofGandara$h8s father, 9 fo-nd them dediated to a fae4val-e inter$retation. Bho1-e=$lained to me that filial diso&ediene is the entral iss-e here. 9t doesn8t matter /hat/as for&idden the $oint is that a son m-st o&ey his $arent.

;hether Gandara$h >yan8s rime /as diso&ediene or voye-rism, his $-nishmentis to 'o into a 3donkey8s va'ina3 7 that is, to &e &orn from a donkey. ;hy a donkey,/e may as /ell ask no/, for that h-m&le &east of &-rden a$$ears /ith s-r$risin'fre-eny in adh- ath8s tales7often as the transformation of a h-man &ein', eithermale or female. Bharthari8s father is a donkey Go$i Chand is t-rned into a donkey 5GC(6 Char$at ath8s fo-rteen h-ndred disi$les are t-rned into donkeys 5GC (6 2adaath t-rns all the /omen 5and later, men6 of Ben'al into donkeys 5GC (6 Gorakh ath'razes a $otter8s donkey and later fores one of ahhindar ath8s -eens to remain adonkey forever 5GC 6.

he donkey is, on the one hand, a $atheti, over&-rdened, mistreated reat-re.his is s-intly s-mmed -$ &y Gorakh ath8s instr-tions /hen he hands over his'-r-8s former a$tor and /ife, in the form of a donkey, to the $otters /ho /ill kee$her: 3Hoad her heavily and feed her little.3 >-h is the donkey8s destiny. 9ts $laintive

?( Both that variant and the $resent te=t $ortray a m-rdero-s ener'y direted froman elder to a yo-n'er male. >ee A. . 0aman-1an8s s-''estions on the -lt-ralonto-rs of an 39ndian edi$-s3 om$le= 50aman-1an !"@(6.

< +*yan, em&odied in the donkey h-kanyo, is not /holly a fi'-re off-n. 2e /ants a /ife, and event-ally he 'ets one. Peo$le are fri'htened /hen hethreatens to t-rn the ity -$side do/n /ith his hoofs and s$are no livin' reat-re. heam&ivalene /ith /hih villa'ers a$$roah yo'is8 $o/er may &e $art of /hat motivates

the donkey4transformation motif in 'eneral, and Gandara$h >yan%h-kanyo8sharater in $arti-lar. here is a /ay in /hih it is a$$ro$riate as /ell as ridi-lo-s tosee yo'is 5and lady ma'iians6 as asses. he donkey8s -nintelli'i&le &rayin'7inGandara$h >yan8s ase a $rel-de to his demands, threats, and manifestations of $o/er7may resonate /ith $o$-lar do-&le o$inions a&o-t yo'is8 ma'i s$ells. hese arerefleted in the term %antra/tantra, /hih may mean, aordin' to onte=t, either3m-m&o 1-m&o3 or 3$o/erf-l ver&al s$ells.3 he handsome, desira&le, and fertile


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$rine emer'in' from the skin of a donkey o-ld also relate to the e=traordinaryse=-ality that yo'i ade$ts may hide &eneath their ohre ro&es.

hat the donkey8s ally sho-ld &e a $otter is $redita&le in the -lt-ral onte=t ofr-ral 0a1asthan. Donkeys as &easts of &-rden are traditionally assoiated /ith $otters,/ho fi'-re almost as fre-ently as donkeys in adh- ath8s tales 5Bh !, Bh #, and GC6. Potters, like donkeys, are lo/&orn. Met they $ossess and manifest reative $o/er in/ays that demand res$et, and they $lay im$ortant $arts in omm-nity and domestirit-al life. 2o/ hi'hly the villa'ers val-e their $otter8s servies is im$ressivelydramatized in Bharthari8s &irth story.

Bharthari 9 may not arry -s to the heart of the h-man dilemmas onernin' loveand ren-niation a&o-t /hih the or$-s of adh- ath8s tales revolves. Met, des$iteall the e=traordinary and ma'ial o-rrenes in the narrative, the &irth story takes -ssome /ay into the heart of traditional villa'e soiety. A 'ood e=am$le /o-ld &e thefri'htened $otter8s attem$t to leave the ity and his nei'h&ors8 mo&ilization to $reventhis -nto/ard de$art-re. 2ere /e see vividly the inte'ration and interde$endene ofmem&ers of a omm-nity, the $o/er of individ-al resistane, and event-ally the kin'8s

o/n de$en4

< +yan,yo- s$oiled my $lay.h yes ...


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3Mo- m-st 'o ri'ht no/in a donkey8s va'ina.31(32h yes ...he father -rsed the son.h yes ...As soon as he -rsed him, Gandara$h >yan

fell over and died.h yes ...Ahead is Gan'a City.9n that ity lived a Potter1(*2and that Potter had a she4ass.9n that she4ass8s &ellythe yo-n' $rine fell.h yes ...ne month $assed for the she4ass,h yes ...hen the seond and third months $assed,he fifth month $assed for the she4ass.h yes ...o/ nine months $assed for the she4ass1(42and her Prine h-kanyo /as &orn.h yes ...3i&h- ti&h-,31(62the $rine &rayed.h yes ...>hivL GorakhL1(72 5Bh !.!.s6

?!# hat is, take &irth as a donkey.

?!( ;ithin adh- ath8s tales 9 a$italize aste names s-h as Potter they o-r&oth as soial ty$es and as s-rnames.

?! >-h reo-ntin' of the $assa'e of months d-rin' h-man 'estation is ommon intales and son's. 9t re$eats &elo/ for all three $re'nanies of Bharthari8s mother.

?!* his so-nd is al/ays a &it omial $arti-larly linked /ith 3$rine3 as it is here, or3yo'i3 or 3kin'3 as it /ill &e in Go$i Chand.

?! adh- often loses a s-n' $ortion /ith a hanted invoation to deities or '-r-s.

< @!yan. he yo-n' $rine/as a &oy often or t/elve years. hat kin'8s ha&it /as to have $lays $erformed in the'arden. he father didn8t let his son /ath his $lays. And the yo-n' $rine had $lays$erformed that he didn8t let the kin' see.

>o matters /ent alon' in this /ay. B-t one the r-ler /as havin' a $lay$erformed in the Cha$ala Garden7a $lay that he /o-ldn8t let his son see.

And it haned that the yo-n' $rine tho-'ht to himself, 3;hat kind of $lays doesmy father have $erformed Het me 1-st sneak in and see today.3

9n the 'arden, a little distane a/ay from /here the $lay /as $roeedin', theyo-n' $rine fo-nd a &am&oo l-m$, and he sli$$ed into it and sat do/n.


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>o over there the kin' /as seated on his hair, and over here the yo-n' $rine/as /athin', and the $lay /as 'oin' on. B-t the kin' 'ot s-s$iio-s. 3Uh ohL ;hato&stale is interferin' /ith my $lay he $lay is no 'ood today. he $lay is s$oiled.3

3Grain4'iver,1(82the $lay is 1-st fine,3 the $layers said. 39t8s fine, it8s 'reat.3

3o, today the $lay is s$oiledL3

he kin' said to his 0oyal >ervants,1(;23 0oyal >ervants, r-n into the 'arden andsee if the yo-n' $rine is /athin' the $lay.3

he 0oyal >ervants ran off. Five or ten of them /ent lookin'. 2e had sli$$ed intoa l-m$ of &am&oo and /as /athin'. ;ho he yo-n' $rine. As soon as they fo-ndhim, they 'ra&&ed him &y the arm and took him to 2is a1esty.

2is a1esty said, 3;hy /ere yo- /athin' my $lay3

3Father, 9 liked it, 9 liked it. 9 said to myself, 8;hat are my father8s $lays like 2o/does he have them $erformed8 9 fo-nd it very &ea-tif-l. >o that8s /hy 9 sneaked inand /athed.3

3All ri'ht, sister4f-kerL1()2Mo- 'o into a donkey8s va'inaL3

>o the father -rsed his son7his son, /hose name /as Prine

?!+ annata0a term of address -sed for any master, kin', 'od, s-$erior $erson, or$o/er.

?!@ daroga09 translate this aste name al/ays as 30oyal >ervant.3 9n the s-n' setiona&ove, the kin' -sed a term for servant 5(ha&ar6 that is not aste4linked.

?!" bahin/(hod0this is adh- ath8s favorite ins-lt. 9t does not have -ite the shok$o/er in 2indi or 0a1asthani, /here it is ommon, that it does in En'lish.

< @#yan. 2e -rsed that &oy, and as soon as he -ttered the -rse, his sondro$$ed dead on the s$ot. As soon as the father -rsed, 3Go to a donkey8s va'ina, 'oL3the son &reathed his last.

9n another ity there /as a Potter named Pahyo Potter. 2e had a she4ass, andPrine Gandara$h >yan fell into that donkey8s &elly.

2e fell into her &elly, and one month $assed, t/o months $assed, three months$assed7the fifth, si=th, seventh, ei'hth7and in the ninth month the she4ass had ahild. he she4ass had a hild and he ried, 3i&h- ti&h-L3 and s-kled the &reast.

o/ one month $assed and t/o months $assed and three months $assed and si=months $assed, and he 're/ into a fine healthy olt. 2e /as a healthy olt, and thenhe &e'an to s$eak /ith Pahyo Potter. he donkey8s son &e'an to &ray at midni'ht. 5Bh !.!.e6


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At midni'ht he &rayed, 3i&h-, ti&h-L Histen Pahyo Potter, 'o ... yo- have a kin':marry me to his da-'hter. >he has 'ro/n into a &loomin' maid, and her &raids aret-rnin' /hite.1392>o 'o and tell yo-r kin' to marry me to his da-'hter. And if hemarries her to a donkey, then 9 /ill s-rro-nd his ity /ith do-&le ram$arts of o$$er

and &rass. And 9 /ill &-ild him a 'old and silver $alae, and 9 /ill e=avate mines ofseven metals.

3B-t, if he /on8t marry Pan De13(2to me, 98ll knok his o-ntry and his ity -$sidedo/n /ith my hoofs.3

his is the vo/ the donkey made to Pahyo.

;hen he heard this, Pahyo said, 3>-reL 9 /ill marry this 'irl to a donkeyL3

2e took his /heel4t-rnin' stik and &e'an to raise /elts on him. n /hom hedonkey.

2e said to the donkey, 3>ome nei'h&ors mi'ht &e listenin', and if they 'o to thekin' and tell him that the Potter8s donkey is sayin', 8arry me to the Priness Pan De,8then he /ill send me flyin' from a annon8s mo-th, or else he /ill &-ry me and haveme tram$led &y horses. y sonL1332Mo- are sayin' very im$ro$er thin'sL ;hat if thekin' finds o-t3

?#) 9n other /ords, it is hi'h time she 'ets married.

?#! his is the $riness, Bharthari8s mother her name does not o-r in other tales ofBharthari8s $arenta'e. 9n 0a1asthani folklore, &-t not in ordinary life, the s-ffi= 3De3 isvery ommon after /omen8s names.

?## %aro beto0a 3small ins-lt.3

< @(o he took his stik and &eat him, and the donkey /as -iet. B-t the ne=t day ame,and the ne=t midni'ht. And the donkey did the same thin'. 2e ke$t doin' this for si=months, allin' 3i&h- ti&h-3 every midni'ht. ;ho h-kanyo, the Potter8s donkey.13*2

>o the Potter re'-larly raised his stik, 3ake that, yo-r mother8s ...,1342yo-h-kanyo, s-re 9 /ill 'et yo- marriedL3 And he &eat him &adly every day.

atters ontin-ed this /ay, and the Potter 're/ distra-'ht &ea-se the donkeyalled him every ni'ht. >o he deided to leave the villa'e.1362

3;hat to do Het8s leave this ity. Het8s 'o some/here else and settle there, ten ort/enty miles1372a/ay, and let8s take the donkey /ith -s. here /on8t &e any kin' inthat villa'e, so the donkey /on8t all o-t.3

he ne=t day the Potter and the Potteress loaded -$ the donkey and the &-ffaloand filled a art /ith all their &eddin' and 1-nk. hen they left the villa'e. 3Het8s 'o, orelse the donkey /ill &e the death of -s.3 5Bh !.#.e61382


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Pahyo Potter reahed the o-tskirts of the ity.13;2B-t /hen he 'ot to the &order,ten or t/enty $ersons had 'athered there.

3h no, /e have only one Potter and he is leavin' the villa'e. And he doesn8t say/hat the tro-&le is. ;hy has he left 13)2>-$$ose someone dies tomorro/ ... /here /ill/e 'et o-r ne/ lay -tensils ;e /ill need /ater $ots and other vessels.1*92

?#( 2ere 9 delete a re$etition of the entire midni'ht sene.

?# A serio-s ins-lt if om$leted: 3yo-r mother8s va'ina.3

?#* 2ere and thro-'ho-t &oth tales adh- ath interhan'es the terms 3villa'e35ganv6 and 3ity3 52. sahar, /hih he $rono-nes sair6 his stories take $lae inities &-t his orientations, like those of his listeners, are to villa'es.

?# A meas-rement of distane -sed thro-'ho-t &oth tales, &os52. &os6 e-als t/omiles. 9 do-&le the n-m&ers adh- -ses to translate in miles.

?#+ Altho-'h omittin' eah $art8s s-n' se'ments &et/een the first and final one7e=e$t those that si'nifiantly advane the narrative79 n-m&er every ne/ se'ment ofe=$lanation so the reader remains a/are of /here adh- ath makes his &reaks.

?#@phalsa0the a'ri-lt-ral land &elon'in' to a $arti-lar $o$-lated area, &-t /itho-td/ellin's it lies &et/een the at-al ity or villa'e and the &order of its residents8landholdin's.

?#" he nei'h&ors &elieve that Pahyo leaves to $rotest mistreatment or-nder$ayment, a familiar yet e=treme reo-rse for mem&ers of artisan or servantastes /ho are -nha$$y /ith /orkin' onditions.

?() After a death in a ho-sehold, all lay -tensils are &roken and re$laed &ea-sethey are $oll-ted.

< @o ten, t/enty, forty, fifty villa'ers 'athered at the &o-ndary and they &loked thePotter8s $ath.

3Brother Potter, /e /on8t let yo- 'oL ell -s yo-r tro-&le, /hether it8s from theity or from the kin'. ;hat8s the matter 9f someone hasn8t 'iven 'rain, then /e /ill


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'ive it. And if it8s tro-&le /ith the kin', then he has a o-rt and /e /ill 'o and havethat tro-&le removed. B-t, Potter, /e /on8t let yo- 'o, &rother.3

3Grain4'ivers, 9 have no tro-&le /ith the ity. 9 have only one ans/er.3

3h my sonL ;hatever ans/er yo- 'ive -s, /e8ll ae$t it.33Mes, Grain4'ivers, 98ll 'ive it to yo-.3

3>o /hat8s the matter Het8s 'o &ak.3

398ll 'ive yo- a really $o/erf-l ans/er.3

he Potter sa/ that he had an o$$ort-nity to reveal his tro-&le. >o he 1oined hishands1*32to all the villa'e elders1**2and all the $eo$le of the villa'e, and said, 3Grain4'ivers, 9 am 1oinin' my hands to yo-. ake me &ak if yo- like. B-t 9 an8t s$eak a&o-tmy tro-&le. J-st slee$ o-tside my $lae toni'ht. All of yo-, elders and villa'ers, slee$o-tside my $lae, and yo- yo-rselves $rono-ne 1-d'ment. Mo- yo-rselves listen, andyo- /ill learn a&o-t my tro-&le7it is so &ad that 9 an8t s$eak of it.3

2o/ o-ld the Potter tell that7a&o-t marryin' the kin'8s da-'hter

3Fine, /e8ll slee$ o-tside yo-r $lae, one day or five days.3

hey took him &ak. he villa'ers didn8t let him 'o. hey &ro-'ht his arts and&eddin', and the donkey, and they -n$aked everythin' and $-t a/ay all his 1-nk.Evenin' ame and everyone &ro-'ht their &edrolls over there. 3Brother let8s 'o to thePotter8s ho-se7/e8ll slee$

?(! he soial onte=t for the dismay over Pahyo Potter8s de$art-re is the traditional$atron4lient or!a!%anisystem /here artisans s-h as Potters serve the a'ri-lt-ralastes in e=han'e for fi=ed shares in the 'rain harvest.

?(# o $ress one8s $alms to'ether is a 'est-re of res$et and entreaty 5as /ell as

ordinary 'reetin'6.

?((pan(h0aordin' to onte=t this may &e translated as villa'e o-nil or as theelders /ho onstit-te s-h a &ody.

< @*ome filled arts /ith their 'rains and &eddin', and some loaded -$ &-ffalo.

3Het8s follo/ that Potter. o one /ill &e left here &-t the in', all alone.3

?( Pra1a$ati is the name of a Kedi reator4'od. As Potters, too, sha$e thin's o-t offormless s-&stane, they may &e $olitely addressed as 3reator.3

?(* ga!0a -nit of meas-re e-al to three feet.

< @ervants /hostayed &ehind. 5Bh !..e6

he only $eo$le left /ere in the fort, /here the kin' and a fe/ 0oyal >ervantsremained. ;here /o-ld they 'o


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he others had filled arts /ith their &edrolls and 'rains and all. hey took theirlivestok7their o=en and all7and they /ent for/ard -ntil they reahed the &order.

ean/hile, a o-$le of 0oyal >ervants addressed the kin': 3A om$laint, aom$laintL Great in'.3

3 0oyal >ervants, /hat om$laint have yo- &ro-'ht3

3Grain4'iver, over /hom are yo- r-lin' here nly o/ls are left here in the villa'e,only o/ls hootin'.1*72he /hole ity is em$ty. ot even a hild remains.3

3;hy3

3;ho kno/s /hy they left. B-t, 98m tellin' yo-, sir, there are no h-man &ein's lefthere.3

3>o they left. ;ell /hat /as tro-&lin' them3

3;ho kno/s hey told of no tro-&le. hey left and /ent to the &order. >o yo-8d&etter send yo-r a'ents, &rother, and if they an8t 'o, then yo- yo-rself 'o. Find o-t/hat the tro-&le is. ake every are.3

>o the kin' asked for his horse and mo-nted it and 'allo$ed ahead -ntil hereahed the &order. here the kin' t-rned aro-nd and &loked their $ath. 2e &lokedtheir $ath and said, 3;hy &rothers, /ho 'ave yo- tro-&le ;here are yo- 'oin'3

3Grain4'iver, /e have -it this ity, and /e ask yo-r for'iveness.3

3;hy are yo- askin' for'iveness ;hat is yo-r tro-&le Are my land ta=es too&i' Am 9 takin' too m-h royal food Are my '-ards or my messen'er1*82afflitin'yo-3

?( A hootin' o/l is an ina-s$iio-s omen.

?(+ Syana ba%i0this $air of terms re-rs thro-'ho-t Bh !. 9t refers to t/o $ositions

held &y servants of the kin': '-ard 5vario-sly syana0 sahana0 sana0 hana6 and rier ormessen'er 5ba%i0 bha%bi6. he latter is a aste name for a 'ro-$ of /eavers, /hohave traditionally held the role of to/n rier or kin'8s messen'er. he im$liation of thekin'8s -estion is: Are my men a&-sin' their $rivile'ed $lae &y 'ivin' the $o$-lae ahard time, e=tratin' &ri&es and so forth

< @+o the r-ler &ro-'ht them &ak.

2e /as the kin', and so he made them t-rn aro-nd and &rin' &ak

?(@ 9t takes five elders 5altho-'h many more may ome6 to onstit-te a o-nilmeetin'.

?(" ban&a %argavo0an ins-lt Bho1- translates as 2indi bahan &e dvara %are hueor3&eaten on ao-nt of one8s sister3 someone /hose &ad re$-tation is attri&-ta&le tohis sister8s &ad harater.

< @@o no/ a 1-d'ment /as reahed.

hen the kin' and his 0oyal >ervants $iked -$ the ots and -ilts they hads$read, and the villa'ers, too, /ent to their ho-ses. he /omen asked their h-s&ands,3;hat ha$$ened3

3he Potter and Potteress are dead.3

3;hy3

3Bea-se on the third day he /ill &-ry them and have horses tram$le them. 9t hast-rned o-t stran'ely. he $oor Potter and PotteressL 2e /ill kill them for s-re.3

o/ Pahyo Potter took his little stik in his hand, the one he -sed to t-rn his/heel, and he &e'an to &eat the donkey: 3For many days yo-8ve &een allin' me,h-kanyo: 8arry me to the $riness or else 9 /ill t-rn the ity -$side do/n.8 Mo- /ill


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&e the death of me. ;hat an &e done in three days Mo- had &etter &-ild a 'old andsilver $alae, and e=avate 'old and silver mines and &-ild do-&le ram$arts todayLhen 98ll have faith if not, then yo- /ill have &een the death of me.3 5Bh !..e6

Pahyo Potter took his /heel4t-rnin' stik and /ha$ /ha$ /ha$, he &eat him.

3Mo-r mother8s ...L h-kanyo, si= months have 'one &y /hile yo-8ve &een allin'me, &-t no/ /e have reahed the onl-sion. >-re, yo-8ll 'et married ... the kin' says8B-ild it in three days,8 and on the fo-rth day 98ll die. ;ho has that kind of $atiene 9fyo- don8t &-ild it, then 98m dead. he kin' is 'one and the $eo$le are 'one and /hatan ha$$en in three days >o, 9 shall &eat yo- till yo-r flesh flies, or else yo- make'ood today.3

hen the donkey s$oke, 3Histen Potter, it /on8t 'et &-ilt &y &eatin'.3

3Meah, so /ill it &e &-ilt in three days ;ho an do it3

< "!o ho/ o-ld they 'oo-t And they needed to take the livestok to 'raze, &-t /here o-ld they take them>hee$, 'oats, o/s, &-ffalo, o=en, all stayed inside. 2o/ o-ld $eo$le 'et to theirfields /hen there /ere ram$arts, nine yards hi'h

o/ the /hole villa'e 'athered. 3h, /hat has ha$$ened3

hey sa/ no /indo/, no door. 3>o let8s 'o.3 he /hole ity 'athered and /entinside the fort. hey said, 3Grain4'iver, /here is the /indo/ or door here isn8t one

any/here, tell -s if there is. ;e have to shit, to /ash o-r hands and faes, &-t there isno $lae to do it. And o-r shee$ and 'oats are &leatin', and o-r attle are mooin', ando-r o=en are ri'ht here ho/ an /e take them to the fields and forests3

3>ay &rothers, /hat has ha$$ened3

3;e8ll tell yo- /hat ha$$ened: do-&le /alls nine yards hi'hL And a s$arklin'$alae, of 'old and silverL >o, Grain4'iver, yo-8re the kin', yo-8ve 'ot a 'old and silver


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$alae and yo-8re feelin' ha$$y. B-t as for -s, /e8re in tro-&le. 2o/ an /e 'et o-t,ho/ an /e 'o to the fields and 1-n'le3

3>o 'o and all Pahyo Potter, &rother. 2e8s my in4la/1472no/. Go /ake him -$ and&rin' him.3

?* he most ommon e-$hemism in the villa'e for 'oin' to defeate.

? biyai0any $erson /ith /hom one is onneted thro-'h marria'e.

< "(o the messen'er and the 0oyal >ervants /ent to Pahyo Potter8s.

3Het8s 'o, the kin' is allin'.3

3Brothers, 98m still slee$in'. 98m slee$in' ri'ht no/ &ea-se all ni'ht 9 /as a/ake.0i'ht no/ 9 /on8t 'o.3

3Come on, 'et -$, elder &rother, o-r animals are &leatin', and yo-8re slee$in'L3

3Brothers, 9 an8t ome no/, 'o &ak.3

>o they /ent &ak and the kin' asked, 3;hat did he say3

32e said, 80i'ht no/ 98m slee$in'.83

3Brin' him, &rothers, &rin' himL3 >o they /ent &ak a'ain.

hen he said to h-kanyo, the donkey: 3hey kee$ allin' me, one after anotherthey kee$ omin', so /hat sho-ld 9 say3

30ef-se: ;eddin' ro-nds1482&efore 9 $iere a sin'le doorL3

3B-t /hat if they say, 8First the /indo/ and the door, and then /e8ll 'et yo-married83

3Het the 'irl &e mine, then a /indo/8s fineL ell them this: 89 /on8t o$en any doorany/here, -ntil yo- a'ree to the marria'e.8 9f yo- like, say that the donkey ref-sesand says he m-st &e married first.3

>o Pahyo Potter h-rried to the fort, and the kin' said to him:

32ey Pah-1i14;2Potter. Father of a da-'hterL /hy didn8t yo- leave a /indo/ ;hydidn8t yo- leave a door3

3Grain4'iver, /hat o-ld 9 do hat donkey didn8t leave one. hat /as itL 2e made

ram$arts nine yards tall that neither man nor animal an lim&, and there is no hole&i' eno-'h for an ant to 'et o-t. B-t /hy sho-ld yo- &e -nsatisfied Mo- have as$arklin' $alae of 'old and silver. And yo- have mines of seven metals.3

3Mes, that8s tr-e, &-t yo- m-st make a hole.3

3First the marria'e, sir. 2e ref-ses and says:;eddin' ro-nds &efore,9 $iere a sin'le doorL


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hat8s all there is to it, sirL ;itho-t the marria'e, he ref-ses to o$en it, in'. 2esays, 8First 9 m-st take my marria'e ro-nds other/ise 9 /on8t o$en it.8 3

?+phera0the -lminatin' and &indin' moment of the marria'e rit-al: the t-rns

ro-nd the sared fire taken &y &ride and 'room, knotted to'ether and led &y the$riest.

?@ he kin' no/ -ses this form of address, ehoed later &y the $riness and herservants it om&ines intimay and $erha$s a $atronizin' or in'ratiatin' res$et.

< "o -s-ally the ro-nds are held on a different day from the feasts, &-t he 'otmarried all in one day.

2alf the villa'e ame to the Potter8s $lae and $re$ared to 1oin the donkey8s

/eddin' $arty. And half the villa'e stayed over there, on the &ride8s side.1632

hen they ornamented the donkey and made him a 'room and &ro-'ht him -$ tothe fort and he really did a nie 1o& of strikin' the marria'e em&lem.16*2And they hadthe Kedas and >hastras1642reited. hey set -$ a fire altar and alled Brahmans and7the kin' 'ot the donkey married /ith 'reat ele&ration. After all, he /as a kin'. >o he'ave a lot of 'ifts1662to Pan De, in fine fashion: he 'ave land 'ifts,

?" /o kinds of feasts are referred to here, the %andaand the %el. he former is'iven &y the 'room8s father to non4astefello/s t/o days &efore the de$art-re of the'room8s $arty for the &ride8s villa'e, and to astefello/s one day &efore de$art-re. helatter is a feast 'iven &y the &ride8s father to his o/n astefello/s.

?*) ala tila bans &atar0a loal e=$ression -sed for doin' somethin' in a h-rry, /itho-tela&orate $re$arations, and &y im$liation not in $ro$er fashion.

?*!pithi %andi0 pithirefers to any anointment that softens and &ea-tifies the &ody,&-t in the onte=t of /eddin' festivities it means r-&&in' the &ride8s &ody /itht-rmeri $aste to make her 3fair3 7 -s-ally done several days &efore the /eddin'. hea$$liation of henna 5%andi6 to her hands and feet, often in ela&orate desi'ns, is ase$arate event that -s-ally takes a /hole evenin'. Both have o-nter$arts in the


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'room8s villa'e. ;eddin' arran'ements in r-ral 0a1asthan are affairs of many days andmany sta'es. his $ara'ra$h8s $-r$ort is that the /eddin' of Pan De and h-kanyo/ill &e done in a most im$ro$er h-rry.

?*# %anda tala, literally, 3&eneath the %anda,3 here refers to $art of a tem$orarystr-t-re ereted for the /eddin' eremony.

?*( toran0a /ooden em&lem $laed a&ove the door to the &ride8s ho-se that the'room strikes /ith his s/ord &efore enterin' to $artii$ate in the rit-als.

?* >anskrit te=ts of $rayers and la/s.

?** dan0a term s$eifially a$$lied to 'ifts made for reli'io-s reasons, sometimesonnotin' the transfer of ina-s$iio-sness from donor to reeiver.

< "*ervant is drivin'the hariot, and Priness Pan De is seated inside &ehind a -rtain, and the donkey istied to the &ak of the hariot, and they are 'oin' t/enty4fo-r $l-s t/enty4fo-r, forty4ei'ht miles into the /ilderness. 5Bh. [email protected]

hey had ome to a desolate $lae, and little remained of the day. he donkey/as tied to the $riness8s hariot. And the driver /as drivin', &-t the donkey stoodstok still he sto$$ed short and /o-ldn8t move.

he o=en didn8t sto$, they ke$t $-llin', and so the donkey slid alon'. he $rinesssa/ this, and said, 3ell Pah-1i Potter 1672the donkey isn8t 'oin'.3


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hen the 0oyal >ervant said, 3Pah-1i Potter, that donkey isn8t 'oin', and he8s&e'-n to slide.3

>o the Potter 'ot his /heel4t-rnin' stik and 'ave him a fe/ &lo/s. B-t even sohe 1-st sat do/n. 2e sat do/n and then they &e'an to dra' him, and then the$riness, N-een Pan De, said, 3ell my father4in4la/ Pahyo Potter: Het8s stay ri'hthere. Het8s $ith o-r tents ri'ht

?* >he addresses the Potter indiretly, via the 0oyal >ervant villa'e eti-ette$resri&es that a ne/ &ride shall never s$eak to her father4in4la/.

< "o he loaded the donkey and filled one saddle&a' /ith yello/ m-d and one /ith&lak m-d and $oked small holes in them. hen he /ent over here ... here is he1ariand a$a hera and over here, ori and then as far as >a/ar,16;2and so ri'ht there hesettled the ity of Dhara a'ar.

And /hen the t/o lines met, the donkey took the '-r-8s name and stam$ed hishoof and do-&le ram$arts of o$$er and &rass rose -$, nine yards hi'h.

hen he said to the Potter, 3o/ dra/ the market s-are.3 >o Pahyo Potter madethe donkey r-n aro-nd, and he dre/ a ma'i irle,16)2and he made the streets. 9n themiddle he $-t a mark for $alaes. hen the donkey took the G-r- >overei'n8s nameand &rayed 3i&h- ti&h-3 and stam$ed his hoof. U$ rose a 'olden and silver $alae,alon' /ith several &-n'alo/s and 'old and silver mines. 9n the middle of the ity hestam$ed his hoof and took the

?*+pati dev0the onventional res$etf-l term for h-s&and.


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?*@ adh- ath is ma$$in' o-t a ir-lar area &y namin' loal villa'es.

?*" &ar ghalano0 &aroften refers to a irle insri&ed on the 'ro-nd &y e=orists toontain s$irits or $rotet those /ithin from s$irits o-tside.

< "+overei'n8s name and o$$er mansions rose -$. here /ere streets 'oin' this/ay and that /ay, /ith o$$er mansions all of a kind.

he donkey said to the Potter, 3 Pahyo Potter, let8s 'o into the 1-n'le.3 And heo$ened -$ a &i' door/ay in the /all, and he took the G-r- >overei'n8s name andstam$ed his hoof. hro-'ho-t the 1-n'le, /ells and ste$4/ells1792/ith stair/ays

emer'ed from the 'ro-nd.hen the donkey said to Pahyo Potter, 3Mo- &e my hief minister,3 and he sent

the -een into the $alae.

39 am Gandara$h >yan, that8s my name. in' Gandara$h >yan is r-lin'.317(2Assoon as the day &roke, he sent his 0oyal >ervants to all the villa'es in differentdiretions: 3Brin' tenant farmers. ell them there are ready4made mansions, mansionsof o$$er and &rass, for them to live in, and there are /ells and ste$4/ells for theirare. Het them lear the land. For five years 9 /ill for'ive the ta=es, and 98ll s-$$ortthis land and take are of these mansions.3

>o a o$$er ity /as &-ilt: Dhara a'ar. 9n Dhara a'ar there are mansions ofo$$er and &rass. >o all the $eo$le8s minds /ere s$oiled1732and they a&andoned their'rass h-ts.

3Het8s live hereL here are fine, &ea-tif-l o$$er and &rass mansions and /e ankee$ them, and there are fine /ells and ste$4/ells and no ta=es for five years, nota=es at allL 9n this kin'dom yo- an earn and eat and en1oy life.3

;ell sir, /ithin t/elve months that ity filled -$, $eo$le ro/ded to'ether like afoldin' 'ate. he /hole ity /as $o$-lated, and there /ere n-mero-s markets, andtenant farmers ame and &e'an to farm. 9ts name /as Dhara a'ar.

And Priness Pan De lived in the Color Palae, and the donkey /as tied -$ near&yand fed on &etel leaves. in' Gandara$h >yan8s orders /ere la/, and Pahyo Potter/as the hief minister.

?) &uaare t

Documents

Tales of King Bharthari and King Gopi Chand