Part 5.1 - Lord Jhulelal’s Iconography

As the area of influence of Lord Jhulelal was Sindh, many of his temples would naturally be found in Sindh. However, Sindh is not a part of India anymore and the temples in Pakistan are in a very bad shape, deeply scarred by time and elements as per some reports. (Abbasi 2014: 97)

Some temples of Lord Varuna and Lord Jhulelal are found in Pakistan. The researcher found an interesting book titled "Historic Temples in Pakistan, Call to

Conscience” which has been published recently in the year 2014. Ms. Reema Abbasi has written the text, whereas the photography is by Ms. Madiha Aijaz who has captured beautiful pictures of all the temples appearing in the book. Out of these, there are two temples which are of the interest of this thesis and they are:

1.Varun Dev Mandir, Manora
2. Daryalal Sankat Mochan Mandir or Jhule Lal Mandir
3. Sadhu Bela Shrine near Bukkur Island

Some more information about these temples is given in chapter 2 in this thesis.

In India, there are Jhulelal temples in some big cities where Sindhi population is found. The researcher has visited some Jhulelal and Dariyalal temples in India. While talking about Jhulelal temples in India, generally the idol of Jhulelal installed in temples is of a ‘Blessing Deity.’ He is found sitting on a Pala Fish. The idol is found to be placed in the centre. On both the sides of the main deity of the temple i.e. Lord Jhulelal one finds other idols of:

❖ Lord Rama
❖ Lord Krishna
❖ Lord Shiva
❖ Lord Ganesha
❖ Goddess Durga

In Lohana temples of Lord Dariyalal, one finds an additional idol of Saint Jalaram who is a revered Saint of Lohana community. The inclusion of all important deities is a clear indication that they have included all important gods in their worship.

The deity of Jhulelal is seen in a sitting posture in Padmasana and the description is as follows:

➢ The Lord Jhulelal is generally seen sitting on a fish which is called Pala fish.

➢ He is found sitting on Lotus or Lily flower on the fish, holding a book in hand

➢ The other hand is seen holding a rosary.

A very few times Lord Jhulelal is seen in pictures riding a horse in warrior form. However, such an idol is not found in temples. There are coloured pictures in the warrior form and these are framed and kept in temples.

A few times he is found sitting on a Crocodile i.e. Makara.

Sometimes he is found holding a book in hands, generally the right hand is blessing the devotees i.e. Abhay Mudra which represents protection and peace. He appears to be an old man with a mustache and beard turned absolutely white. He is seen wearing a beautiful headgear i.e. 'Mukut' studded with precious stones. Garland is seen around the neck. There is a Tilak on his forehead and peacock feathers are sometimes found on headgear. Some more description of the idol is given below:

• There is an Aura around his head.

• The overall appearance of Lord Jhulelal is that of a saviour God with “Satvik Bhav” on his face blessing the mankind with a serene look on his face.

• The idol is generally made of marble.

• The idol placed in the temple is around three feet in height.

• Small idols may be sometimes made from other materials.

• There are silver plaques of small size, covered and framed with transparent acrylic sheets. A Silver plaque was released around 1987 A.D. by Lord Dariyalal temple, Vadgadi (Musjid Bunder), Mumbai on completion of one hundred and twenty-five years of the temple called Dariya Sthan located at above place in Mumbai. These are generally kept in home temples.

The Iconography meaning:

The Pala fish indicates that the origin of the deity is water. Being an incarnation of Lord Varuna, the water God, it appears quite appropriate that Lord Jhulelal is sitting on Pala fish which can be called his Vahana (vehicle). This is similar to many Indian Gods who have their own Vahanas, e.g. Lord Ganesha’s Vahan is mouse, Lord Vishnu’s is an eagle, Lord Shiva’s is Nandi.

The white colour clothing of Lord Jhulelal is representative of the calm nature, the colourful kurta adds to the beauty, the golden lining to Kurta is indicative of grandeur of the deity. The crown on his head is indicative of authority and the feather of peacock adds beauty to the crown. An umbrella or Chhatra^[1] found over the head is indicative of Kingly status of the deity. A garland of Rudraksha^[2] beads (Rudraksha Mala) reflects renunciation of worldly things and indicates his spiritual nature. A rosary in hand indicates faith and devotion and would encourage a devotee to chant the holy name of God. An aura seen around the head shows supremacy and authority of the deity. A hand in blessing position is ever ready to bless devotees assuring them to show the path of spiritualism, devotion and faith. The serene face of Lord Jhulelal gives a feeling of peace and tranquillity (Thakkar and Bhalerao 2018:39)

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

A kingly umbrella considered as a symbol of royalty

[2]:

Sacred seeds traditionally used as prayer beads and also used for wearing around the neck