As though to underscore the fundamental unity of all religions, I noticed there the celebrated shrines of Sheikh Chehli (the latter part got corrupted to “chilli” , according to Dr. S. B.P. Nigam, then Reader in the Department of History at Kurukshetra University and an eminent Persian scholar, and should not be confused with the mythical humorist,) and Jalaluddin nearby. I had hoped to encounter only ruins of which I could make what I wanted. But once there, I discovered a spiritual treasure-trove guarded by Time. A solemn peace brooded over the hilltop where these tombs were located.
There are many versions about who Sheikh Chehli was, and when and how he came to be at Kurukshetra. One version says that he arrived from Iran, became a disciple of Jalaluddin, a Sufi saint, among whose countless disciples was Dara Shikoh whom Moghul Emperor Shah Jahan designed for the throne. When Sheikh Chehli died serving his spiritual master and mentor, a Sufi saint, according to this theory, Dara Shikoh got his tomb constructed. But Nigam contested this view, arguing that, having landed in India long after the death of Jalaluddin, Sheikh Chehli could not have become accepted as a disciple. The only two points on which all seem agreed are that, first, Sheikh Chehli came from Iran and, second, that he was so-called because he was a habitual practitioner of “chilla” (a 40-day penance).
This shrine presents a unique puzzle to historians. There are two tombs side by side on the first floor, and the coverlet of each carries the name of Sheikh Chehli. Wondering how two different tombs could have been built over one body, I went into the cellar-like ground floor where I encountered four tombs in a row. Again, the coverlet of each indicated that Sheikh Chehli lay buried underneath it! Nigam said only one of them could be that of Sheikh Chehli, though even he could not say which one, and the rest could be those of his disciples.
Adjacent to the massive edifice stands a derelict mosque built of red stone. Believed to belong to Sheikh Chehli’s period, it has intact the pulpit and the tower from which the call for prayers is issued forth five times a day to the devout. Not far from the mosque is the tomb of Jalaluddin. Legend has it that Akbar the Great went to the Sufi saint to find out whether or not he would win the ensuing battle against Hemu at nearby Panipat. The saint merely directed the attention of the Emperor to the ditty that a group of children playing nearby was chanting. Akbar did not get the message until after he had emerged victorious.
Right behind the tomb of Sheikh Chehli is a beautifully laid out park, hemmed in by vestigial remnants of what were once “serai” rooms. According to Dr. Nigam, it is, therefore, inappropriate to call the park Harshavardhan Park, for the “serai” and the park could not have been built in the same period.
Less than one km from these tombs stand the celebrated Sthaneswar Temple and a gurdwara facing it. The two are separated by a pond. Legend has it that when a pregnant woman bathes in the pond it becomes instantly known as all the fish in the pond perish. It is widely believed that before the battle of Mahabharata the Pandavas had worshipped a Shivalinga in the temple. The linga is still there, lending historical authenticity to mythology.
The gurdwara facing it commemorates the visit by Guru Teg Bahadur on his way to Delhi for martyrdom. The day the Guru landed at Kurukshetra, there was a solar eclipse. A fair was, therefore, organized to mark the visit by the Guru and also to facilitate people having a darshan of him. The historical remains at many other places in the country may be more imposing, but very few of them could be as saturated with history and sanctity as are those at Kurukshetra. A slow deposit of pride, power and belief has built up monuments spanning centuries. Here indeed are among the most venerable pilgrim centres. Before such witness, who can deny that Kurukshetra was divinely ordained to be the birthplace of a spiritual culture and the battleground between forces of good and evil? Who, contemplating such majesty in marble and stone, can argue that India was not a glorious land whose art had a spiritual impulse? That is perhaps why the monuments at Kurukshetra, even those in ruins, exude an aura of confident repose.
Dr. Uday Vir Singh, then head of the department of ancient history at Kurukshetra University, had an interesting theory about the convergence of the three religions at Kurukshetra. “Why did the Buddha deliver his first sermon at Banaras? Because he knew that if his message clicked there, it would spread to the rest of India. In the same way, Kurukshetra was selected by preachers of various religions, preachers who preached the fundamental unity of all religions.”
