When Kashmiris wanted to burn someone, they would often choose Mansur. Burning of Persian Sufi Mansur Al-Hallaj (c. 858 – March 26, 922) in Baghdad, was one of the most common idioms in Kashmiri sufi poetry.
If Lal Ded is considered the beginning of Kashmiri poetry, even in some of the lines attributed to her, we find Mansur. And Mansur is there in lines of Nund Rishi:
Koran Paraan Paraan kuna mudukh
Koran Paraan Paraan kun gai suur
Koran Paraan Paraan Zind kith ruzukh
Koran Paraan Paraan dodh Mansur
Why didn't you die listening to Koran
How many turned to ashes listening to Koran
How did you live listening to Koran
Listening to Koran, Mansoor went ablaze
The same lines are sung by Pandits as vakh of Lal Ded replacing Koran with Gita. [listen]
In fact in Abdul Wahab Shaayak's Taareekh-e-Kashmir (1756), Lal Ded is called as Mansuur-al-Haaj's sister. [*Political content in Vakhs of Lal Ded by R.L. Bhat]
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A leaf from an illustrated manuscript on poetry, Kashmir, 19th century.
via: christies.com.
The scene depicts the burning and crucification of Mansur al-Hallaj.
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thank you ,I was under the impression that Mansur al Halaj was founder of al Mansuria a place in Sindh
ReplyDeleteyes in tales of Halaj...people do mention it. It is also mentioned that Halaj visited Kashmir.
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