Jhulelal (Hinduism)

After a long period of harmonious existence between the Hindus and Muslims, a new Amir, one Mirkshah of Thatta, ascended the throne.^[2] At the instigation of his advisors, he ordered that all local Hindus convert to Islam or be put to death.^[2] The Hindus prayed to Indus, who promised that Varuna would take the form of a child and avert the impending catastrophe.^[2]

In 1007 Vikram Samvat (950 CE), the day of Cheti Chand in Chaitra, Jhulelal was born to a local Hindu family of Lohana caste.^[2][7][8] It was not long before Amir Mirkshah caught wind of rumors that the populace had begun to worship a local child as an incarnate deity; alarmed by this un-Islamic activity, the Amir sent his ministers to investigate. These latter returned with accounts of their witnessing strange events:^[2] the child in question metamorphosed into a young warrior, then into an old man, before back into a child; at other times, he rode up the river on the back of a fish; he acted and spoke as if a sage, rather than a typical young boy; and performed various other feats before the disbelieving eyes of the advisors.^[2][b] Mirkshah grew afraid, upon hearing of this—but his advisors, undaunted, convinced him to hold firm.^[2]

Soon, however, the Amir decided he must meet this prodigy for himself; and, upon their meeting, he found he was impressed by Jhulelal's understanding of Islam: Jhulelal preached that the Hindus and Muslims believed in the same God, and reminded Mirkshah that the Qur'an forbade compelled conversions.^[2][1] The latter's advisors—still determined to see their brutal forced-conversion scheme carried out—instead persuaded Mirkshah to disregard these teachings of Jhulelal's and order him imprisoned.^[2] However, when the guards arrived to attempt the arrest, an inferno and a flood together engulfed the Amir's palace.^[1][2] At this, Mirkshah relented, abolished his decree, and asked Jhulelal for forgiveness.^[2]

As the palace was saved and harmony restored, Jhulelal thence gained devotees even among the Muslims (including Mirkshah).^[2] Before taking his leave, Jhulelal advised the Amir that a flame be kept burning for eternity as a reminder of his omnipresence.^[1]

The myth of Jhulelal is not seen in regional histories written prior to the 20th century. While nearly all Jhulelal legends revolve broadly around two main themes—the valorization of Sindhi communal harmony, and the intrinsic superiority of tolerant and devout Hindus over Muslims who are depicted as unable to interpret even their own religious texts—the specifics vary widely, and have occasionally been a cause of internal contestation even among Sindhi Hindus.^[2] At the same time, Sindhi Muslims have themselves forged their own legends concerning Jhulelal.^[2]

The birth-name varies from Uderolal to Amarlal to Daryasahib; the event of his first appearance is either noted to be from a human birth or from the Indus, riding on a fish.^[2] He is variously noted as an avatara of Vishnu or a manifestation of Varuna—one account conflates the two and deems him to be the Varuna avatara of Vishnu^[2]—and how he came to be known as "Jhulelal" attracts entirely another set of fascinating claims.^[2] The result of his encounter with Mirkshah also varies: some claim that the Amir submitted instantly in the face of his supernatural powers, while others claim that Jhulelal was required to lead a secretly-gathered force to victory in a conventional war.^[2]

The presentation of the narrative also differs depending on source.^[2] Many renderings choose to emphasize the cruelty of Muslim rulers against Brahmins (and, by extension, against all Hindus)—a column in Indian Express projects contemporary Hindu Nationalism onto the narrative, with Jhulelal "fill[ing] the shrinking Hindus with courage" and "put[ting] holy terror into the persecuting Muslims"—while some Sindhi accounts have transplanted Jhulelal into the reign of Aurangzeb, a ruler notorious in public memory for being the worst of all persecutors of Hindus.^[2] Still others choose to emphasize the Hinduness of Jhulelal by drawing tenuous connections with Vedic corpus.^[2]

The Cheti Chand festival in the month of Chaitra, marks the arrival of spring and harvest, as well as the incarnation day of Uderolal in the Vikram Samvat calendar year 1007.^[1][2] Uderolal morphed into a warrior and old man who preached and reprimanded Mirkhshah that Muslims and Hindus deserve the same religious freedoms. He, as Jhulelal,^[2] became the saviour of the Sindhi Hindus, who according to this legend, celebrate the new year as Uderolal's birthday.^[1][2]

Chalio or Chaliho, also called Chaliho Sahib, is a forty-day-long festival celebrated by Sindhi Hindus^[9][10][11] to express their gratitude to Jhulelal for saving them from their impending conversion to Islam. The festival is observed every year in the months of July to August; dates vary according to Hindu calendar.^[9][10] It is a thanksgiving celebration in honor of Varuna Deva for listening to their prayers.^[9][10]

The Jhulelal Shrine at Odero Lal is situated in Matiari District, almost 40 kilometers away from the Sanghar District of Sindh; The Hindus and the Muslims can pray here at the same place simultaneously.^[12][13] Nawabshah, Hyderabad, Matiari, Sanghar and Mirpur Khas are the nearby major cities to reach at the Shrine near Tando Adam.^[14]

It forms the seat of the Daryapanthis, originally a subsect of the followers of Gorakhnath, who belong to the Nath tradition.^[15][16]

Sindhi Hindus in India built a religious shrine and cultural complex in Kutch (GUJRAT) State of India, near the border of Sindh Province.^[6][17] The 100-acre complex includes a 100-foot statue of Lord Jhulelal, a museum, meditation centre, an auditorium, and a cultural and arts-and-crafts centre with 100 accommodations.^[6][17] Aiming to be the "a centre for global Sindhi identity",^[6] the project costs an estimated ₹100 crore and was built on the donations from wealthy Indian Sindhis.^[6][17] Harish Fabiani, one of the key promoters of the project, stated regarding the cultural complex, "The younger generation is aware they are Sindhis, but they do not know their language. We must learn our language and culture. We should have a place we can call our own."^[17]

• In the most common form, Jhulelal is represented as a bearded man sitting cross-legged on a lotus flower that rests on a palla fish.^[18] The fish is seen floating on the Sindhu river. He holds a sacred text and sometimes even a rosary. He wears a golden crown with a peacock feather and wears regal clothes. Generally, temple idols represent him in this form.^[1][19]
• In another form, he is shown standing on a palla fish or the lotus flower, holding a staff with both hands to indicate leadership.^[1]

• Cheti Chand
• Darya Lal Mandir
• Shri Varun Dev Mandir

• All About Sindhis
• Jhule Lal
• Sindhi Deity Jhulelal