Trailanga Swami: An Incredible Tale of Divinity Vs Skepticism
Trailanga Swami, the revered sage of Kashi, once mesmerized British magistrate James Prinsep. Prasanta Paul chronicles their astonishing encounter in Kashi, revealing an incredible tale of divine power versus skepticism!
The diffusion of Indian ideas, most obviously Hinduism in the form of Sanatan Dharma, has encompassed a wide expanse of the world for centuries on end. There is a whole world of Vedantic divinity where the dots have so far not been joined or explained. Mystic tales associated with Trailanga Swami are case in point. And there’s a whole world of Indian learning and knowledge which people in the West or other parts of the world simply don’t know about.
To be precise, the divine power of some seers of India even in the late 17th century and early 18th century can leave people’s jaws not dropping at all. The tale which I am going to narrate here, is one among the hundreds that would definitely mesmerise readers; in fact, it blew the mind off of the newly appointed British magistrate James Prinsep almost a couple of centuries ago at Kashi in erstwhile Uttar Pradesh.
It was kind of a close encounter between James Prinsep and none other than Trailanga Swami; the famous seer and sage was believed to have been blessed with an uncanny divine power to move anywhere at his will. He commanded a rare reverence-cum-awe from not just the people of Kashi and the neighbourhood, but entire India at that time, thanks to an aura of supernatural divinity associated with him.
Kashi was famous for what people often term as holy because of its ‘sacred ghats’ along the river Ganga and lanes and bylanes dotted with temples; it may offer many a thousand tale since its inception. Among the holy temples there, the Kashi Vishweshwar temple is of immense significance in Hinduism; because it is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas or shrines where Lord Shiva is believed to have appeared as a column of light.
The Awkward ‘Encounter’
In fact, it was meant to be an awkward yet significant meeting that featured in “The Benares Illustrated” penned by Prinsep himself; he recounted his experience and observations during his posting as the magistrate in Benaras and Kashi. Although Prinsep stopped short of associating any divinity so far as the encounter was concerned, he had to concede the fact of ‘something mysterious’ about Trailanga Swami.
A strict disciplinarian and a soberly grave James Prinsep had a special interest in the holy city of Kashi. Upon his new posting there, during his routine morning inspection of various ghats, his carriage once reached the Dasaswamedh Ghat. Suddenly, his eyes fell on a sturdy saint who was stark naked; he grew quite livid and ordered his men to immediately arrest the naked man for being allegedly a nuisance and menace to civilised life.
The locals shook in torrid fear to protest as Prinsep had already become famous for his rigorous rule of law. Only a few could muster some iota of courage to approach the man-of-law; the ‘naked monk’, they sought to convince him, was none other than Trailanga Swami, a revered seer who could effortlessly travel anywhere he would opt for.
All their pleas fell on deaf ears and the rigid magistrate rebuffed the trepid request of the handful of men. On the contrary, he resolved to personally interrogate the sadhu in the prison lock up for his obnoxious habit.
Trailanga Swami ‘Sneaks’ out of the Prison Cell
Accordingly, next morning Prinsep turned himself up at the lock up; but to his utter dismay and shock, he found Trailanga Swami enjoying a brisk walk at the front balcony outside the cell. The guards were on vigil as usual and the lock of the cell was in perfect shape and condition, with no evidence of its mutilation as such.
The British blood swelled into his veins as the magistrate burst into an unforeseen rage, accusing the guards of letting the prisoner out of the ‘cage’ without his permission. The guards pleaded innocence, trying in vain to convince James Prinsep that they had little role in the ‘escape’ of the sadhu from the prison cell; an infuriated British magistrate snatched all the keys of the cell from the guards and brought a specially-made strong lock.
Having pushed the ‘trespasser’ back into the prison, Prinsep now began interrogating Trailanga Swami. “Don’t try to play smart, you rogue; tell me how you dared to hoodwink the guards and slip out of the cell,” he asked with a raspy voice.
“Believe me, I didn’t do anything; I was there in the cell throughout, I mean, the last night. In the morning only, I had a feeling I ought to breathe some fresh air; and so I walked out, that’s all,” an innocent smile oozed out of the seer’s face, “I faced no hurdle at all when I stepped out of the cell.”
“You’re simply lying; you must have bribed the guards to facilitate your sneaky escape from the cell,” thundered Prinsep, “I’m going to teach you a lesson.” With this, the magistrate pushed the sadhu back in the cell and left the place in a huff. Before leaving, he brandished a pair of new locks; he then securely locked the cell with a new iron chain and kept the keys with himself.
Back home, the scientific soul in him confronted a visibly shaken James; the guards might do anything but dishonour his order, he argued within himself. Engrossed in such dubious thoughts as these, the magistrate drove straight to the court, skipping his routine bath and breakfast. “I must get that vagabond produced in the court for an expeditious trial and a fitting punishment,” he kept muttering while entering the court.
The ‘Naked Sadhu’ in Court
While he was about to assume office, his eyes met with disbelief; the ‘naked sadhu’ was standing beside one of the imposing pillars of the court just before him. A divine aura of calm and invincibility permeated around his entire being as he fixed his piercing gaze at James.
A cold wave ran through the spine of the magistrate and beads of sweat threatened to swarm his face. James immediately ran his fingers down into the pocket where he put the keys. And lo! They were very much there! He put the keys on the table with a bang.
“Am I inviting a fictitious peril upon myself? No, never; I mustn’t.” James struggled to retain his composure by pretending to be a little bold and audacious, but had to resign soon. A visibly shaken Prinsep asked his men to remove the ‘vagabond’ from the court and sat down with a thud.
Divinity Vs Skepticism
At this, Trailanga Swami slowly moved forward and stood in front of his perceived justice-giver. “You are more concerned with matter and materialism; unfortunately, you refuse to recognise the presence of another realm, a divine yet vast domain of spirituality that is not tangible,” said Swami. The words of the seer left the shell-shocked magistrate rooted to the spot.
“No material or physical power can restrict or restrain the movements of a person who has attained Nirvana (Moksha) in that ocean of spirituality. You can’t really pin him down through your shackles of this material world, much though you may wish or try.” Trailanga Swami told a visibly crestfallen James in a vein akin to sort of consoling him.
Trailanga Swami then nonchalantly made his way out of the court; the entire court staff as well as the guards lined up in grand silence to pay their obeisance to the ‘naked monk’. James Prinsep didn’t protest though.
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