Dated 21 September 1861, a Gujarati newspaper Satya Prakash published an article entitled ‘The original religion of the Hindus is the present hypocritical mother’. Some people were surprised to read this article while others were angry with the journalist. In this article, a person was exposed, whom people worshiped as a god. In the article it was written that this man sexually exploits his female devotees in the name of charan seva. At that time, though the Raj belonged to the British, the Raj belonged to what people called Maharaj. Bowing his head at the threshold of his mansion.
To write such an article 161 years ago, that too against a man on whose orders the entire city runs, was like playing with fire. The journalist who wrote this article was named Karsandas Mulji. The young man of the Vaishnava community returned to Bombay after studying abroad. He had to pay for this article. Jadunath Maharaj filed a defamation case of 50 thousand rupees against him. Known as the Maharaj Badankshi case, this case is recorded in the pages of history.
Karsandas used to talk about the rights of women
Karasandas Mulji, who always raised his voice against orthodox thinking, wrote many articles on widow remarriage and female education. Despite being a Vaishnava himself, he raised his voice against the Vaishnava priests. A film ‘Maharaj’ has been released on the same Karsandas Moolji, which has created a stir. Maharaj’s character in this film, was he really such a character, were people really bent on self-destruction, steeped in superstition? To know this we try to peep into the pages of history.
Karsandas Mulji who always raised his voice against orthodox thinking
How can what is morally wrong be religiously right?
Famous Gujarat historian Makarand Mehta has written extensively on the Maharaj defamation case, for which he also faced opposition. Discussing the case, he says – Karasandas started his General Satya Prakash in 1855, writing against orthodox traditions in this weekly journal. A defamation case was filed against him due to one of his articles. The judge himself while giving judgment in that case said that how can what is morally wrong be religiously right?
How did Maharaj exploit in the name of devotion?
After all, why were kings so powerful, why did people blindly worship them? After the Maharaja Lybal case, a book was written on it in 1865 – titled – History of the Sect of the Maharajas or Vallabhacharyas. It was said that there were 8 or 10 Maharajas in Bombay at that time. Each had its own separate monastery. When devotees went to monasteries for their darshan, these people used to sit on high thrones.
People of different sects were his followers. Among them were rich people as well as poor people. Devotees used to take blessings by touching his feet. In one part of the ashram was a palatial place for the Maharaja’s family, where his wife and daughters lived, never coming in front of a man. A female servant was hired specially for him.
Women were exploited
In this book it is written on page number 104 – ‘Hundreds of women used to come to worship in Maharaj’s Math in the afternoon. Meanwhile, many men were also forcibly joining here. who misbehaved with women. There were complaints about this, but no one did anything about it. When people went to the Math for worship, they would first touch Maharaj Ji’s feet and then rub their hands on His eyes. Whenever women touched Maharaj’s feet, whichever woman they liked, they gently pressed her hand and signaled to meet again. This was considered very respectable for women. Not only the lady but also her family members considered themselves lucky that the Maharaja chose the lady from their family.
The devotees of Maharaj used to take the dust of his feet as prasad. His wooden platform was also worshiped by the people. In the morning when Maharaj bathed, hundreds of devotees would line up to wipe his body. Not only that, the people present were drinking the dirty water in which Maharaj had bathed. And if there was some water left, it was kept for other devotees coming to the ashram.
Maharaj kept the leftover food after the meal as prasad and the devotees ate it as prasad. Not only this, the devotee men and women considered themselves lucky after the Maharaja again ate the betel leaf and betel leaf.
Maharaj also received money from devotees. 5 rupees for visiting a devotee, 20 rupees for touching feet, 35 rupees for washing feet, 40 rupees for swinging a hammock, 42 rupees for applying paste on the body, 60 rupees for sitting in a room with Maharaj, 50 to 500 rupees for chewing betel nuts of Maharaj, 17 rupees for betel nuts and Pay 19 rupees for bath water. Remember, this amount may seem small today, but about 200 years ago it was a huge amount.
In this book it is written on page number 120 – When Maharaj fell ill or at the end of his life, the people of the society used to call him at his house. Maharaj would absolve that person from his sins by placing his foot on his chest. For this, devotees used to give 10 to 1000 rupees to Maharaj. The immorality of the Maharajas was proved in the Bombay Supreme Court (now the High Court), when the judge ruled in favor of Karsandas Moolaji.
What was Charan Seva?
Charan Seva is mentioned in the film. People themselves take their wives and daughters to Maharaj for charan seva. Was there really such a practice? It is not surprising that such a practice existed in the 18th century, an era when religious gurus had complete control over the people, says JNU professor Harish Wankhede. People of every religion have different customs. Karasandas himself was a victim, so he raised his voice against this evil. There are many social evils in our country, which have been fought against. The condition of women was very bad during that period. She lived as a subordinate citizen, she had no rights.
There is a dialogue in the movie ‘Maharaj’- What has been going on for 100 years will continue for centuries if not changed today. Only the names of the religious leaders will change, the stories will remain the same. This is not just a line but the truth. Even today around us dark deeds of many religious leaders come to light, people are deceived in the name of faith. Referring to Manoj Bajpayee’s film ‘Ek Banda Kafi Hai’, Harish Wankhede says – This film also shows the story of a Baba, in which Baba exploits a girl, it is the story of this century. In the 18th century there should be no doubt about such an event.
Maharaj used to exploit women
Acharya Chaturasen’s novel ‘Goli’ also mentions a similar practice, where kings used to enslave women and exploit them. A historian from Rajasthan, on condition of anonymity, says that shelling was the practice before what we call a social evil. Earlier, during the reign of kings-maharajas, there were maidservants, many of whom had relations with the kings. The illegitimate children born to them were called gola-goli. Girls were called Goli and boys Gola, they faced scorn in the society.
Historian Subhash Brahmadatta says – Karasandas was a reformist and raised his voice against the evils against women of that era. He wanted to expose the misdeeds of confirmed Maharajas. At that time Karsan had to bear the cost of raising voice against Maharaj as Maharaj had hundreds of followers who could not hear a word against him. The case of Maharaj’s liability dragged on for a long time and finally Karsandas was victorious.
Irfan Qadri, another historian of Gujarat, says that there were reform movements for women in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Karasandas faced a case against a series of articles he had written. Karasandas wrote aggressively about the evils happening in the society. Around 55 thousand rupees were spent in this case at that time.
The decision of this case proved that no matter how influential a person is, if he acts unethically, he must be punished. No one is above the law, neither king nor subject. At that time Karsandas Mulji shook the entire system by raising his voice against a powerful Maharaja and he won that battle too. With this, the spectacles of superstition also came off from the eyes of the people and people got freedom. Today even after 161 years that case of Karsandas is remembered.
reference-
History of the Sect of Maharajas or Vallabhacharyas. (1865)
Religious Sects of the Hindus (1904)
