Banarasidas ARDHAKATHANAK (A Half Story) Read online

  To Khairabad city they went.

  Here in Jaunpur,

  A calamity arose meanwhile.

  The city’s governor was Nawab Qilich.(110)

  He arrested all the jewellers,

  Had them thrown into prison.

  And demanded of them some great amount of wealth,

  Which the jewellers did not have.(111)

  One day, enraged and furious,

  He ordered upon waking

  That all the jewellers must be chained

  And lined up before him like thieves.(112)

  He had them flogged with thorny whips

  Till they were almost dead.

  But this time he let them go,

  And the jewellers returned to their homes.(113)

  Upon returning, they conferred amongst themselves

  And decided to leave their homes,

  Taking with them their wealth and possessions.

  After all, who wanted to walk into the jaws of death?(114)

  Thus saying, they separated

  And leaving Jaunpur, each on his own, scattered in the four directions.

  Kharagsen, taking his family with him,

  Went towards the west and crossed the Ganga.(115)

  Across the river is the town of Shahzadpur

  Close to the village of Kara Manikpur.

  Kharagsen reached Shahzadpur.

  It was pouring with rain, the ground was muddy and wet.(116)

  The night was dark and the rain was heavy.

  At last he came to a sarai, where he stopped.

  Kharagsen, with all the members of his family,

  Wept and cried like the poor and helpless.(117)

  His son, his wife, his two daughters,

  And his unparalleled wealth,

  All became a cause of distress;

  The result of his antaraya karma.(118)

  At this juncture, a resident of that town,

  One Karamchand Mahur, a bania,

  Vacated his house for the use of Kharagsen

  Taking another house for his own use.(119)

  One watch of the night had passed

  When Karamchand Mahur, calling Kharagsen’s name

  And inquiring for him, arrived

  At the sarai where Kharagsen had stopped.(120)

  ‘Ram Ram,’ he said in greeting and sat down beside Kharagsen.

  He said, ‘You are the master, I am your slave.

  Please come with me.

  I am there to serve you. Please mount my horse.(121)

  ‘There is a house that is worthy of you.

  Come, let us go there, do not delay or hesitate.’

  In friendship thus Kharagsen came to his house—

  Kharagsen with his family.(122)

  There he sat and rested peacefully.

  He saw that the house was magnificent and marvellous.

  There were brand new metal utensils and much earthenware,

  And sheets, quilts and coverlets on the beds.(123)

  One storeroom was filled with grain;

  There were many other kinds of food and drink

  The house had an abundance of everything.

  Karamchand gave Kharagsen great affection.(124)

  Yet Kharagsen resisted his offer with great obstinacy.

  Karamchand fell at his feet,

  And insisted that he accept all that he was giving.

  His entreaties were made with humility and without pride.(125)

  In the heavy downpour of the rainy season

  The man who gives to another his own home,

  The story of the greatness of such a man

  Who can adequately recount!(126)

  Kharagsen lived there in peace and contentment.

  If a great poet were to reflect upon his condition, he might say:

  There Nawab Qilich gave him such grief,

  Here in Shahzadpur he found so much peace.(127)

  From one point of view there is great difference between the two;

  From another point of view, joy and sorrow are the same.

  For, the one who has seen sorrow, is the one who can feel joy,

  And the one who has experienced joy, only such a one can know sorrow.(128)

  The man who believes that in times of joy he is happy,

  And that in times of sorrow he is sad,

  In the eyes of such an ignorant person

  Joy and sorrow appear to be different from each other.(129)

  The wise man, in times of plenty and in times of misfortune

  Stays the same,

  As the sun, whether rising or setting,

  Retains its ruddy lustre.(130)

  Karamchand Mahur, bania,

  Kharagsen Shrimal,

  The two men became friends

  And spent all their time together.(131)

  Thus Kharagsen spent ten months

  In Shahzadpur.

  Then he set off for the city of Prayag

  And settled beside the Triveni.(132)

  Kharagsen started living beside the Triveni in Prayag

  Also called Allahabad.

  The governor of Allahabad then was Daniyal

  The son of Badshah Akbar.(133)

  That is where Kharagsen went

  Leaving his home for the sake of a livelihood.

  The boy Banarasi stayed back at home.

  By selling cowrie shells, he too began to trade.(134)

  He earned two rupees for one

  Keeping back no one’s money.

  He collected the profits

  And handed them to his dadi.(135)

  His dadi distributed sweetmeats—sirni

  Laddu, nukti—in joy and thanksgiving.

  Her grandson’s first earnings

  She dedicated to Sati Aut.(136)

  Banarasi’s dadi held Sati Aut in great reverence

  And believed that the Sati had given her this grandson.

  She would see many visions in her sleep;

  Upon waking she would relate what her forefathers had told her in her dreams.(137)

  She would spend all her time thinking of these matters.

  So ignorant is the nature of mankind.

  There is no point in saying anything,

  Whatever be a person’s way of thinking, that becomes his condition.(138)

  Three more months passed;

  In all thirteen months had passed since they left Jaunpur.

  A letter came from Kharagsen

  Asking Banarasi to move to Fatehpur.(139)

  Hiring two palanquins

  And four palanquin bearers,

  Banarasi, taking his family with him,

  Arrived at Fatehpur.(140)

  In Fatehpur, they reached the place

  Where the Oswals have their homes.

  Basu Sah was known for his knowledge of Adhyatma.

  Many of his sons lived there in Fatehpur.(141)

  One of Basu Sah’s sons was Bhagwatidas.

  He offered Banarasi a place to stay.

  Accepting his offer, Banarasidas and his family

  Began to live in his house.(142)

  The days passed in a state of contentment,

  In fun and frolic.

  Then a letter from his father arrived,

  And Banarasi left for Allahabad.(143)

  Banarasi left for Prayag

  While the rest of his family stayed behind in Fatehpur.

  Father and son met each other

  With joy and great delight.(144)

  Kharagsen was a jeweller most excellent.

  He had set up a trade in precious stones

  Under the rule of Daniyal Shah;

  He also ran a moneylending business.(145)

  Four months passed in this manner,

  In the joys and sorrows of daily life.

  Then Kharagsen and Banarasi returned to Fatehpur

  And the whole family was together in one place again.(146)

  Two months passed.

  They heard that
Nawab Qilich had left Jaunpur for Agra.

  Kharagsen with his family

  Returned home to Jaunpur.(147)

  The other jewellers, from wherever they had gone,

  Returned as though emerging from secret subterranean caverns.

  It was now Samvat 1656.

  Everyone went back to work again.(148)

  One year passed well.

  Then came Sahib Salim Shah,

  The eldest prince,

  Son of Badshah Akbar.(149)

  Ostensibly he had come for a hunt in the Kolhuban forest.

  Then came the Badshah’s orders.

  The governor of Jaunpur

  Was the younger Qilich, Nuram Sultan.(150)

  To him came Akbar’s command,

  ‘The prince has gone to Kolhuban.

  Use any means you can to

  Make sure that Salim does not go to Kolhuban.’(151)

  This was the manner of Akbar’s firman

  Which Nuram Khan took upon himself to fulfil.

  He turned Jaunpur city into a fort;

  As its commander he prepared to face death.(152)

  All roads leading to and from Jaunpur were blocked,

  Boats were no longer allowed to stop at the ghats along the Gomti,

  All bridges and gateways into the city were closed.

  Nuram Khan prepared for battle.(153)

  Many foot soldiers and mounted men were deployed,

  Guards were posted everywhere,

  And artillery set up on the walls and ramparts of the city.

  There was bustle and confusion in the town.(154)

  Many other preparations were made within the city walls.

  Grain, clothing and water were laid by

  As well as armour for the men, saddles for horses, guns,

  Much wine, and many kinds of weapons(155)

  Nuram Sultan threw open the treasury and spent great sums of money.

  He was ready to face battle.

  The people, overcome with fear,

  Left Jaunpur and ran away in all directions.(156)

  The great city of Jaunpur was now deserted and desolate.

  Salim could attack at any moment.

  All the jewellers gathered together in one place—

  No man wanted to live in the city any more.(157)

  What should they do now, they wondered.

  It was a difficult situation, and it affected their families too.

  Whether they stayed, or whether they ran, there was no safety anywhere.

  No matter which part of a snake a muskrat attacks, the muskrat is in danger.(158)

  Then, all together, to Nuram

  They went with a petition.

  Nuram said, ‘Listen O merchants,

  You are wondering whether to stay or go.(159)

  ‘My own end is before me.

  What solution can I give you?’

  The jewellers returned home

  And decided to run away—placing themselves in God’s hands.(160)

  The jewellers left Jaunpur, each on his own

  No one with another.

  Some found shelter with others,

  Some were alone and friendless.(161)

  Kharagsen reached the same village

  That Dulah Sahu had taken shelter in.

  This village was near Lakshmanpura

  And its headman was also called Lakshmandas.(162)

  Lakshmandas hid Kharagsen in the forest

  And promised to give him help and support.

  In this manner some six or seven days passed

  Till they heard that all was well in Jaunpur.(163)

  Salim Shah, upon reaching the banks of the Gomti,

  Had sent a high-ranking nobleman, a Mir

  Called Lala Beg,

  To represent him in Jaunpur.(164)

  The Mir, sometimes forbearing, sometimes severe, persuaded

  Nuram and took him with him to meet the prince.

  Nuram flung himself at Salim Shah’s feet

  Who reassured and pardoned him.(165)

  When the people of Jaunpur heard of this event

  They breathed a sigh of relief

  And returned, each to his own home,

  No longer afraid, their fears dispelled.(166)

  Kharagsen and Dulah Sahu

  Set out for Jaunpur

  And with their families, returned home.

  Each went back to his work again.(167)

  At this point, the boy Banarasi

  Had completed fourteen years.

  To Pandit Devdutt he went

  In pursuit of some learning.(168)

  Banarasi studied the Namamala, which had two hundred stanzas,

  And the Anekarath.

  He acquired knowledge in jyotish and rhetoric, and read the Laghu Kok,

  As well as the Khand Sphut which has four hundred verses.(169)

  Banarasi pursued learning with all his heart, and became absorbed in it.

  It was Samvat 1657.

  Disregarding family honour and throwing away all shame,

  Banarasi fell in love.(170)

  Banarasi loved with the steadfastness

  And yearning of a Sufi fakir,

  Looking upon his beloved with single-minded devotion.

  He began to steal from his own father.(171)

  He would steal the dust of precious stones, rubies and other gems

  And would use them to buy paan and sweetmeats

  To send to his beloved as gifts,

  Calling himself her humble slave.(172)

  Meanwhile, four months passed.

  Winter came and with it pervasive cold.

  Abhaydharam was a monk of the Khartargachhi sect,

  At this time, two of his disciples appeared on the scene.(173)

  Bhanchand was very learned.

  Ramchand was young and still wore the garb of a grihast.

  The two ascetics came to Jaunpur

  Shravak families, who believed in Jainism, went back and forth, visiting them.(174)

  In accordance with his family’s faith, the boy Banarasi

  Went with his father to the upashraya where the ascetics were staying.

  He became very close to Bhanchand

  And would spend all day at the upashraya, returning home only at night.(175)

  He learnt much from Bhanchand.

  He wrote the Panchasandhi,

  Studied Jain rites such as stavan,

  And read many verses dealing with various different subjects.(176)

  He studied the Jain rites of samayik and pratikraman.

  Texts such as the Chhandkos and the Shrutabodh

  He memorized

  And learnt to recite correctly. He tried hard to acquire the Eight Virtues of a true Jain.(177)

  Sometimes he would pursue learning,

  Sometimes he would follow the call of love.

  He began a new work

  In which he composed a thousand verses on love.(178)

  The new work was supposed to be a composition on the nine rasas

  But was mainly on love.

  Thus Banarasi became a false poet

  Composing a work based on false beliefs.(179)

  Learning and Love,

  He was immersed in these two passions.

  He needed neither food nor drink

  And did not care to earn a living.(180)

  This state of affairs continued for two years.

  Banarasi forgot all that his mother and father had taught him.

  He remained lost in love, and studied every text he could.

  It was now Samvat 1659.(181)

  Now fifteen years old

  And ten months more,

  To fetch his bride went

  The poet Banarasidas.(182)

  Riding in a palanquin, with servants and attendants,

  And dressed in jewels and expensive clothes,

  Banarasi, to the town of Khairabad,

  In ease and comfort came.(183)


  When one month had passed,

  In the bright half of the month of Paush, in winter,

  Banarasi’s past deeds appeared as Fate.

  He was, without warning, afflicted with a morbid attack of vata.(184)

  Banarasidas’s body

  Became like that of a leper.

  His very bones ached

  And his hair began falling out.(185)

  Innumerable boils and blisters appeared

  Upon his hands, his feet, and his four limbs.

  No man, including his brother-in-law and his father-in-law,

  Would eat with him.(186)

  His condition became so vile and dreadful

  That no one would go near him.

  His mother-in-law and his wife

  Were the only two who looked after him.(187)

  They took care of his needs for water and food,

  Which they would bring and put in his mouth.

  They would anoint his body with ointments and medicines.

  They would minister to him holding their noses, and once done, would get up and leave.(188)

  At this point a barber prescribed a cure.

  He gave Banarasi medicines to take

  And advised him to eat only parched gram and salt-free food.

  Taking not a single rupee or paisa in return for this treatment.(189)

  Four months passed in this manner.

  Then at last, Banarasi found some relief from his distress.

  Two more months went by

  And Banarasi was well again.(190)