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by Braj B. Kachru
 Kashmir
has produced many saints, poets and mystics. Among them,
Lal Ded is very prominent. In Kashmir, some people
consider her a poet, some consider her a holywoman and
some consider her a sufi, a yogi, or a devotee of Shiva.
Sume even consider her an avtar. But every Kashmiri
considers her a wise woman. Every Kashmiri has some
sayings of Lalla on the tip of his tongue. The Kashmiri
language is full of her sayings.
Kashmiri Hindus
and Muslims affectionately call her "Mother Lalla"
or "Granny Lalla". She is also called "Lallayogeshwari".
Some people call her Lalla, the mystic.
It is said that
Lal Ded was born in 1355 in Pandrethan to a Kashmiri
Pandit family. Even as a child, Lalla was wise and
religious-minded. When Lalla was twelve years old, she
was married. Her in-laws lived in Pampur. The in-laws
gave her the name Padmavati. Her mother-in-law was very
cruel. She never gave her any peace. It is claimed that
her mother-in-law used to put a stone on Lalla's plate (tha:l).
She would then cover the stone with rice so that people
would get the impression that Lalla had a plateful of
rice. Lalla would remain half fed, but would never
complain about her mother-in-law. Her father-in-law was
a good man and he was kind to her, but her mother-in-law
made her miserable. She would even speak ill of Lalla to
her husband. Poor Lalla knew no happiness either with
her husband or with her mother-in-law.
When Lalla was
twenty-six she renounced the family and became a devotee
of Shiva. Like a mad person, she
would go around naked.
She became a
disciple of Sidh Srikanth. She would only keep the
company of sadhus and pi:rs. She did not think in terms
of men and women. She would claim that she had yet to
encounter a man, and that is why she went about naked.
But when she saw Shah Hamdan, she hid herself saying:
"I saw a man, I saw a man."
Why is Lalla so
famous in Kashmir? She was illiterate, but she was wise.
Her sayings are full of wisdom. In these sayings, she
dealt with everything from life, yoga, and God to dharma
and a:tma:. Her riddles are on the lips of every
Kashmiri.
The exact date of
Lalla's death is not known. It is claimed that she died
in Bijbehara (vejibro:r). People like Granny Lalla do
not really die. Lal Ded is alive in her sayings and in
the hearts of Kashmiris.
The sayings of
Lalla number around two hundred.
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Five Sayings of Lal Ded
I
By a way I came,
but I went not by the way.
While I was yet on the midst of
the embankment
with its crazy bridges, the day
failed for me.
I looked within my poke, and not a
cowry came to hand
(or, atI, was there).
What shall I give for the
ferry-fee?
(Translated by G. Grierson)
II
Passionate, with
longing in mine eyes,
Searching wide, and seeking nights
and days,
Lo' I beheld the Truthful One, the
Wise,
Here in mine own House to fill my
gaze.
(Translated by R.C. Temple)
III
Holy books will
disappear, and then only the mystic formula will remain.
When the mystic formula departed,
naught but mind was left.
When the mind disappeared naught
was left anywhere,
And a voice became merged within
the Void.
(Translated by G. Grierson)
IV
You are the heaven
and You are the earth,
You are the day and You are the
night,
You are all pervading air,
You are the sacred offering of
rice and flowers and of water;
You are Yourself all in all,
What can I offer You?
V
With a thin rope
of untwisted thread
Tow I ever my boat o'er the sea.
Will God hear the prayers that I
have said?
Will he safely over carry me?
Water in a cup of unbaked clay,
Whirling and wasting, my dizzy
soul
Slowly is filling to melt away.
Oh, how fain would I reach my
goal.
(Translated by R.C. Temple)
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Reproduced from:
 An
Introduction to Spoken Kashmiri
by Braj B. Kachru (URL: http://kachru.com)
Department of Linguistics, University of Illinois
Urbana, Illinois 61801 U.S.A.
June, 1973
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