Quick Facts
Biography
Lalleshwari (Kashmiri: للء ایشوری; 1320–1392), locally known mostly as Lal Ded (لل دید), was a Kashmiri mystic of the Kashmir Shaivism school of philosophy. She was a creator of the mystic poetry called vatsun or Vakhs, literally "speech" (Voice). Known as Lal Vakhs, her verses are the earliest compositions in the Kashmiri language and are an important part in history of modern Kashmiri literature. She inspired and interacted with many Sufis of Kashmir.
She is also known by various other names, including Lal Ded, Mother Lalla, Lalla Aarifa, Lal Diddi, Laleshwari, Lalla Yogishwari and Lalishri.
Life
Lalleshwari was born in Pandrethan (ancient Puranadhisthana) some four and a half miles to the southeast of Srinagar in a Kashmiri Pandit family in the time of Sultan Ala-ud-din. There is evidence of the fact that in those times, liberal education was imparted to women. From her vakhs, one is persuaded to believe that she was educated in the early part of the life at her father's house.She was married at age twelve, but her marriage was unhappy and she left home at twenty-four to take Sannyasa (renunciation) and become a disciple of the Shaivite guru Siddha Srikantha (Sed Bayu) whom she ultimately excelled in spiritual attainments. She continued the mystic tradition of Shaivism in Kashmir, which was known as Trika before 1900.
Literary works
Her poems (called vakhs) have been translated into English by Richard Temple, Jaylal Kaul, Coleman Barks, Jaishree Odin, and Ranjit Hoskote.
An example of Lal Vakh in Kashmiri:
yi yi karu'm suy artsun
yi rasini vichoarum thi mantar
yihay lagamo dhahas partsun
suy Parasivun tanthar −138
English translation:
Whatever work I did became worship of the Lord;
Whatever word I uttered became a prayer;
Whatever this body of mine experienced became
the sadhana of Saiva Tantra
illumining my path to Parmasiva. -138
Legacy
The leading Kashmiri Sufi figure Sheikh Noor-ud-din Wali (also known as Nooruddin Rishi or Nunda Rishi) was highly influenced by Lal Ded. He ultimately led to the formation of the Rishi order of saints and later gave rise to many Rishi saints like Resh Mir Sàeb. One Kashmiri folk story recounts that, as a baby, Nunda Rishi refused to be breast-fed by his mother. It was Lal Ded who breast-fed him.
Lal Ded and her mystic musings continue to have a deep impact on the psyche of Kashmiris, and the 2000 National Seminar on her held at New Delhi led to the release of the book Remembering Lal Ded in Modern Times. In his book "Triadic Mysticism", Paul E. Murphy calls her the "chief exponent of devotional or emotion-oriented Triadism". According to him, three significant representatives of devotionalism emerged in Kashmir in the five hundred years between the last half of the ninth and the end of the fourteenth centuries.
A solo play in English, Hindi, and Kashmiri titled Lal Ded (based on her life) has been performed by actress Mita Vashisht across India since 2004.