Lord Jhulelal: An Analytical Study
by Thakkar Harish Gopalji | 2018 | 62,623 words
This thesis studies Lord Jhulelal, the most important deity revered by Sindhis in India and beyond. Traditional views hold Lord Jhulelal as an incarnation of Vedic Deity Varuna (the river God). Historically, Jhulelal is a binding force for the Sindhi community who had to leave Sindh during the partition of India in order to settle at distant places...
Part 3 - The concept of Avatar
The concept of incarnation or ‘Avatar’ is quite familiar to the people of India.
Whenever Adharma tries to overpower Dharma, there has been a manifestation of an Avatar and as believed by the Sindhi and Lohana communities, Jhulelal is one such. People of India strongly believe that God comes to earth in some form to rescue people from Adharma situation.
India is the land of Avatars. God himself comes in some form on earth. As per ‘Dashavatar’ theory, there are ten Avatars of Vishnu viz. Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parshuram, Ram, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki. It could be in the animal form or human form or a combination of both as seen in Narasimha Avatar. Lord Jhulelal is believed to be Avatar of Vedic deity Varuna.
It may be noted that Lord Krishna himself has said in Shrimad Bhagavad-Gita in chapter 4, verse: 7-8
Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya Glanirbhavati Bharata
Abhythanamadharmasya Tadatmanam Srijamyaham
Paritranaya Sadhunam Vinashaya Cha Dushkrutam
Dharmasansthapanarthaya Sambhavami Yuge Yuge[1]
This verse has been spoken by Lord Krishna himself. The meaning of the same is, whenever one finds the weakening of Dharma on earth, and the rise of Adharma, there is a manifestation of an Avatar. As believed by Sindhi and Lohana communities, Lord Jhulelal is one such! Historically it has been proven to be true time and again. It is applicable to all mankind and can be applied in case of Lord Jhulelal as well. A saviour God appears on earth to remove the sufferings of people and helps them by showing a way towards spiritualism.
Even though told many centuries ago by Lord Krishna, the time and situation when incarnation of Lord Jhulelal took place in Sindh has been aptly described in above verse.
India is also considered as the land of Sages. Many Sages like Maharshi Ved Vyas, Vasishtha, Valmiki, Patanjali and many more have gifted the world with knowledge and new ideas helping to enrich human life. The example of Sage Valmiki stands out prominently, who once upon a time was a dacoit. At a golden moment he turned from a dacoit to a humble worshiper of Lord and what happened then is known to everyone. The tradition of Sages and Avatars has helped to enrich the lives of Indians in many ways.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Non-English texts have been typed in Italics