From the balcony of existence: Worshiper of the Supreme and riser of 'Para'vani

Rarely does a great man pass away whose departure has a profound effect on the entire cultural life. As Labhshankar Purohit (Labhudada) has left the mortal body and merged into Param Jyoti, it seems that there has been a great loss in the cultural life of Gujarat. When the body of a scholar departs from us, there is a certain kind of oat in the flowing stream of his speech, but his body of words with its inexhaustible beauty lingers in the memory. The memorial benefactor was an institution in many ways. Medieval Padsahitya was in his vein, when he spoke about it, he used to speak with such intensity that even Saraswati herself sat down to listen. Everything is memorized, many references come from the same space. What we have lost is this Saraswat sannidhi of his. His knowledge of Sanskrit was like an ocean. This Valmiki was the 'Tapa:Svadhyayanirat:' Rishi mentioned in the beginning of the Ramayana. The brightness of the worshiper of the word illuminates the whole parish. Labhudada was a sage whose words were full of truth and joy. He has composed the prayer of folk and verse, this has been an epochal work. According to me, Labhudada was a worshiper of Param and a breeder of 'Para'vani. The word flame of an eternal memory will forever illuminate our cultural enterprise. To understand this life-long academic culture one has to understand his life. From childhood, Bhai Labhshankar grew up in a ritualistic and scholarly Brahmin family in rural Saurashtra. The folk dances, wedding songs, songs sung for entertainment and devotional bhajans of the village life in and around Kutiana, after being immersed in childhood with his keen powers of observation, left an indelible impression on the mind of young Labhshankar on the culture of Saurashtra and Gujarat. Many times in Labhudada's lectures, he would explain the evolution of the word classically with many references about a single word. Such classical lectures of his would become a festival for many grammarians and linguists. Being extremely brilliant in learning, the ability to delve deeply into the literature of religion and tradition formed the intellectual body of this young man, but Labhudada, eager to develop his interest due to the interesting folk life of Saurashtra and the poetic culture instilled in him, studied the scriptures and Puranas from his youth with the vision of a particular researcher. Even in this, his study of Bhagavata established him as a scholar like Dhruvataraka. Labhudada got an opportunity to understand medieval literature from a unique perspective due to receiving literary education from a literary scholar like Mansukhlal Zaveri in his youth i.e. during his college days. He also developed a kind of comparative power by studying medieval literature and Sanskrit literature side by side. For example, a verse from the hymn found in the Krishna Karnamrita is the famous Vikretukama Kill Gopakanya. While singing this sloka, Labhudada due to his study of medieval literature can tell how many padas have been composed based on this hymn, Narasimha composed one, Mirambai one and Surdas composed 16 padas. Thus, due to his knowledge of many fields, Labhudada could very easily combine folklore and verse literature. The Sanskrit and culture-loving society of Gujarat is enthralled when he sings the famous verse of Bhagavata's Dhruvcharitra Yonta: Pravishya mam vachmimam prasuptan and then immediately explains and recites to us 'jagi mari supta adyvani' by remembering Narasimha, invoking the ocean of knowledge within him. Have heard Labhudada through. His uniqueness is enhanced because he can sing well. He has the knowledge of classical music, and therefore those who have witnessed the lecture of Shrutiparva know, in what a melodious voice he sang this line of Narasimha – Hari wearing a necklace with his head, Maghamghato has not done Amritphool yet…. The characteristic of his personality was that he lived in constant 'khumari', Labhudada who spoke the formulaic life saying that no Brahmin should be afraid of poverty, always said that one should not have the tendency to gain by harming someone. And Sadvidya should be shared as much as possible. And he observed both these vows very steadfastly throughout his life. Now that there is no physical body to deliver his unique style, but his lectures and books are available through technology, let's hope that the new generation of Saraswats will live up to the legacy of this great scholar…

Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).