Traditional singing of ‘Mahabharat’ tales start with ‘Pandav Jagar’ in Kumoan

Traditional singing of ‘Mahabharat’ tales start with ‘Pandav Jagar’ in Kumoan

Badri Dutt Kashniyal

Pithoragarh, Dec 29

Worshiping local deities by singing ‘Bharat,’ or ‘Mahabharat’ tales in local form, has been an ancient tradition in Himalayan societies from time immemorial in both regions of Uttarakhand namely Kumaon and Garhwal. In this style of worship local deities, besides, through citing general Mahabharat story, emotional and sensitive chapters are sung to awaken local deities by possessing some person in the audience.

The 21 days ‘Pandav Jagar’ tradition started from December 21, this month, in Chahaj village in Gangolihat sub- division of Pithoragarh district is one of such tradition that has resumed this year after 16 years of gap inviting villagers who had migrated to come to the village to relate their identity with ‘Pandav Jagar’ tradition.

“The tradition ‘Pandav Jagar’ began with identification of a sacred stone of Nagarjuna son of Arjuna born from Nag daughter Ulupi, who might have married Arjun during his hiding daysin the Himalayas. The Nagas were kings of hill region then,” said Bhupesh Joshi, a Sangeet Natak Academy award winner artist from the village.

The ‘Pandavas; story, that begins from birth of all five Pandavas and Karna, takes round of their entire life, activities and last days in Himalayan region. “We involve all families of village and surrounding areas in it for 22 days by giving responsibility of entire management of a day’s event to a single sublet of gram sabha,” said Prakash Joshi,the organiser of the event.

According to Joshi, the worship of Nagarjuna by singing Pandav tales started in the village some 500 years ago when a Joshi Brahmin family, which had settled there from Jhansi was given responsibility to worship ‘Pandavas’ after a stone, where the cow used to drop her milk on it, was identified as established by ‘Pandavas’, who had once lived there during their hiding period.

“It was an ‘Aakashvani’ that instructed the old settlers of village, who hit the sacred stone after finding cow dropping her milk there and  resulting into a blood stream flowing, that the stones were established by ‘Pandavas’ and only the Joshi family was able to take care of its sanctity.

The ‘Pandavas’, the  main heroes of ‘Mahabharat’ epic had special attachment with Uttarakhand region of Himalaya as they had several times visited the region as well as died in Himalayas.

” We worship our clan deity, ‘Nagarjuna’, a character of ‘Mahabharat’, by singing ‘Mahabharat’ tales as emotions aroused by those epic tales persuade our clan deity to embody someone and bless the villagers,” said Prakash Joshi, a villager and organizer of the event this year.

‘Nagarjuna’, was fourth son of Arjuna, one of the Pandav brother’s, who was born as ‘Irawan’, from ‘Ulupi’, the fourth wife of Arjuna and daughter of a Naga king. “Since that Nag kingdom was based in this part of Himalayan, the villagers worship ‘Nagarjuna’ as their local deity and arouse him by singing the Mahabharat tales to which he is familiar with,” said Prakash Joshi.

“Though the traditions of pleasing local deities by singing ‘Bharat’ tales, is prevalent in other parts of Kumaon, that is also prevalent in Garhwal region. The location of ‘Pandav’ temple and lores directed towards pleasing ‘Pandavas’ are  seen only in Chahaj village in Kumaon region,” said Prakash Joshi, the organiser of event.