Test Of Truth

Sometimes the truths that we know or believe in can be pretty hard to establish for want of witnesses or proof. The societal values, the situation, place, and time eventually end up delivering a verdict that may or may not measure up to universal justice. Different places in the world have diverse religions, belief sets, and values framed on the basis of the native environment. When an anomaly raises its head in such an atmosphere it is often judged harshly by the people and their times. The person at the receiving end of the situation ends up with a raw deal because his contemporaries cannot see beyond their nose. The victims and martyrs of such situations have always had unique ways of ascertaining their stand.

Panditha Jagannatha, a sixteenth-century, Sanskrit court poet of Jahangir happened to fall in love with a Muslim maiden who he called Lavangika. The Brahmin community was aghast by the affair. They could not dissuade the already married poet from having a relationship with the Muslim lady. Eventually, Jagannatha was excommunicated and exiled. The sad poet went to Kashi. He realized that he would not be able to make his contemporaries realize the genuineness of his feelings. Hence he decided to launch his test of Truth. He sat on the fifty-third step of Panchaganga Ghat and started singing the paeans to river Ganga. He emphasized the power of the mighty river which could liberate the worst among sinners. It is said that with the composition of each stanza, the waters rose by one step and touched his feet. The poet felt vindicated by the divine touch. The people around him realized that he was earnest about his feelings though they did not acknowledge the same.

Even now, people swear by the Truth by taking the names of the people they truly love and respect. When we wonder about the act and question ourselves what makes us do what we do, we are likely to realize that we are trying to connect what we believe as Truth in what we believe in as Truth. Most times we resort to this method to reiterate our beliefs. If we who live in this technologically advanced world adopt this method to confirm our truth, imagine what it must have been like for the people who did not have the privilege.