1757 : War of the Nagas ~ Shiva’s Sacred Warriors. !

1757 : War of the Nagas ~ Shiva’s
Sacred Warriors 

Hindu spirituality in its profound diversity has given rise to many religious sects for all grades of character.
These include several ascetic groups that have existed since antiquity. One large and prominent Shaiva sect consists of the ‘warrior ascetics’, or Nagas , who have existed since the prehistoric past.
Though sadhus in general can be characterized as peace-loving, the Nagas used to be extreme warriors, fighting with rival sects, the Afghans and later even the British. Their lack of worldly attachments meant they by and large had no fear of death.
The Naga sect is generally subdivided into Akharas, their past is visible in their display of weaponry – sticks, spears, swords and especially the trident – but nowadays these have a mostly symbolic function..

Once in the year 1757 the sacred soil of Gokul was streaming with blood.   
The invasion of the Afghan invader Ahmed Shah Abdali sent hordes of  his soldiers pouring into the holy places. 

After the death of 10,000 of Jaat soldiers the city of Mathura was sacked and brutalised. Amidst the wholesale destruction of temples and holy places thousands of women flung themselves into the Yamuna River to escape rape and slavery. Vrindavan faced a similar horror. Ahmed Shah had detached Jahan Khan and Najib with 20,000 men, telling them to move in every town and district slay & plunder. 
    He said "The city of Mathura is a holy place of the Indians ;… let it be put entirely to the edge of the sword, leave not a single place standing". 

Vrindavan, seven miles north of Mathura, could not escape, as its wealth was indicated by its many temples. Here another general massacre was

• practiced. A Diarist Muhamidaan describes - "Wherever you gazed you beheld heaps of slain ; you could only pick your way with difficulty, owing to the quantity of bodies lying about and the amount of blood spilt. At one place that we reached we saw about 200 dead children lying in a heap. Not one of the dead bodies had a head . . . The stench and effluvium in the air were such that it was painful to open your mouth or even to draw breath."

The prime general of the Afghans, Sardar Khan ;
  launched an attack on Gokul. 
Here however stirred by the atrocities of the Afghans thousands of ashs meared warrior monks barred the way. The grim Naga sadhus armed with swords, matchlocks and cannons had called together their wandering bands to rise in defence of dharma. These holy men coalesced into larger groups often numbering more than 10,000 strong – they provided protection to the temples, the travel routes and towns.

The famed Afghan cavalry launched itself against the Nagas to be met with a wild and reckless counter charge by the Nagas.
 The utter disregard for their own lives displayed by the Hindu holy men sent the initial Afghan attackers retreating in confusion & defeat.
Reinforced some time later the Afghans returned to the attack and a bitter struggle ensued.Both parties believed they fought for a higher power but the similarities ended there.The Afghans fought for loot, plunder and rape whilst the Naga Sadhus had already given up their worldly & material attachments and in a long tradition of warfare fought solely for dharma and faith. The Afghans fought with the reckless valour for which they were much wonted and the Nagas fought with a determination that spoke of their contempt of death.

Enraged the Abdali threw further troops into the battle. His as yet undefeated soldiers who had marched victoriously met with renewed charges and attacks from the Naga Sanyasis. They fought so desperately that the Afghans began to lose hope of victory and as their losses rapidly mounted in the failing light their leader Sardar Jahan Khan called a retreat and the Afghans fell back in defeat and humiliation leaving many thousands of their brethren dead and wounded on the battlefield. The holy town of Gokul was saved but at an appalling cost in lives.

The Naga Sadhus saved the shrines of their faith and the thousands of refugees behind them. They exemplified the age old tradition of valour mixed with dharma – the concept of rising in arms each time they were required. They went on to fight bitter decade’s long struggles with the British expansion in India to be so famously celebrated in the late nineteenth century novel Ananda Math. Their exploits became the inspiration for the freedom fighters of the 20 Century and the living image of the warrior saints can be found in India today.

courtesy:hinduhistory.info

Santoshkumar B Pandey at 4.10pm.