--- title: Swami Vankhandi of Sadh Belo. — Folk tales of Sind and Guzarat · full text with trees description: Swami Vankhandi of Sadh Belo., «Folk tales of Sind and Guzarat» by C. A. Kincaid: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: The early history of Sadh Belo is closely connected with that of the famous Swami Vankhandi. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg76982/15/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [Folk tales of Sind and Guzarat](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg76982/) / Swami Vankhandi of Sadh Belo. # Swami Vankhandi of Sadh Belo. Swami Vankhandi of Sadh Belo. of «Folk tales of Sind and Guzarat» by C. A. Kincaid: the whole text, 52 sentences and 1101 words. 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The early history of Sadh Belo is closely connected with that of the famous Swami Vankhandi.[1](1/ "tree and pragmatics") Swami Vankhandi had been incarnated once in the seventeenth century, for we find him receiving worship as early as 1710.[2](2/ "tree and pragmatics") We, however, are only concerned with his second incarnation, which occurred in or about A.D.[3](3/ "tree and pragmatics") 1764.[4](4/ "tree and pragmatics") In the later descent on earth he lived and practised yog or asceticism at Muran Jharee in the territory of H.H.[5](5/ "tree and pragmatics") The Maharaja of Nepal.[6](6/ "tree and pragmatics") While he was still a young man his reputation for holiness spread far and wide; but it aroused the envy and malice of another anchorite of Muran Jharee named Gusai Sanyasi Sadhu.[7](7/ "tree and pragmatics") At last Gusai could contain himself no longer and made his way to the court of the Maharaja.[8](8/ "tree and pragmatics") There he told his sovereign that a certain sadhu of Muran Jharee had vowed by his austerities to destroy the kingdom.[9](9/ "tree and pragmatics") He warned the Maharaja that for several months the Sadhu had touched neither food nor water and he begged his master to destroy the Sadhu before it was too late.[10](10/ "tree and pragmatics") The Maharaja was alarmed and sent an army to take prisoner the seditious anchorite and bring him to Kathmandu, the chief town of Nepal.[11](11/ "tree and pragmatics") When the army appeared at Muran Jharee, they found Swami Vankhandi absorbed in contemplation.[12](12/ "tree and pragmatics") As they watched him their own warlike spirit ebbed away and they were filled with a great calm; without saying a word they waited until the Swami thought fit to lift his eyes towards them.[13](13/ "tree and pragmatics") The Nepal General then told the Swami that he had received orders to take him prisoner and humbly implored his pardon.[14](14/ "tree and pragmatics") The Swami forgave him and told him that he would go on ahead of the army and wait for them at Kathmandu.[15](15/ "tree and pragmatics") With these words the Swami vanished and although the General and his officers searched for him everywhere, they could not find him.[16](16/ "tree and pragmatics") At last they returned to Kathmandu and just outside the walls, they found the Swami sitting in a deep religious trance, in the shade of a banian tree.[17](17/ "tree and pragmatics") They did not disturb him but went straight to the Maharaja, to whom they told all that had happened.[18](18/ "tree and pragmatics") The Maharaja saw that he had been deceived by the wicked Gusai and drove him from the town; then he asked for the pardon and blessing of Swami Vankhandi.[19](19/ "tree and pragmatics") The Swami saw that the Maharaja had truly repented and forgave and blessed him.[20](20/ "tree and pragmatics") Then he vanished and in the twinkling of an eye was once more to be seen at his own place in Muran Jharee.[21](21/ "tree and pragmatics") Many and great were the miracles recorded of Swami Vankhandi, but the one that will interest English readers most is the summary way in which he dealt with a certain Captain Pauk Wales, a gentleman whom I have not been able to trace in English works of reference.[22](22/ "tree and pragmatics") In 1822 Swami Vankhandi after many pilgrimages to the holy shrines of India came to Sind.[23](23/ "tree and pragmatics") Cholera was then raging in Haidarabad, but the Swami’s presence proved sufficient to drive it away.[24](24/ "tree and pragmatics") From Haidarabad he went to Khairpur and Rohri and seeing Sadh Belo island in the river Indus near Sukkur resolved to settle there and found a monastery.[25](25/ "tree and pragmatics") There he lived for twenty years until such time as Sir Charles Napier conquered Sind and appointed Captain Pauk Wales as Collector of the Shikarpur district.[26](26/ "tree and pragmatics") Captain Pauk Wales, wholly ignorant of the power and fame of the Swami, thought that Sadh Belo island would be an ideal place for a collector’s bungalow.[27](27/ "tree and pragmatics") With Captain Pauk Wales, action followed swiftly on the heels of thought.[28](28/ "tree and pragmatics") He sent for masons and building materials and began to build a bungalow.[29](29/ "tree and pragmatics") But every morning that he went to look at the work, he found that during the night it had been levelled with the ground.[30](30/ "tree and pragmatics") He was convinced that the masons and the Swami were acting in collusion and he set a guard of English soldiers over Sadh Belo.[31](31/ "tree and pragmatics") Although the soldiers never closed their eyes all night, Captain Pauk Wales next day found that not only had the masonry work been thrown down in the night, but that the bricks, mortar and all the building materials collected by him had vanished.[32](32/ "tree and pragmatics") In a rage he went up to the Swami and roundly abused him.[33](33/ "tree and pragmatics") While Captain Pauk Wales was swearing horribly, the Swami, shocked beyond measure, vanished into thin air.[34](34/ "tree and pragmatics") That night both Captain Pauk Wales and his wife were seized with internal pains of an agonising description.[35](35/ "tree and pragmatics") After a night of anguish Mrs. Pauk Wales advised her lord and master to beg the Swami’s pardon.[36](36/ "tree and pragmatics") For a long time the Swami could not be found, but with the aid of the townspeople, he was eventually traced to a spot outside Sukkur, where he was quietly singing to himself.[37](37/ "tree and pragmatics") Captain Pauk Wales threw himself at the Swami’s feet and promised never more to interfere with his holy island.[38](38/ "tree and pragmatics") Swami Vankhandi lived on to the ripe age of a hundred.[39](39/ "tree and pragmatics") Feeling himself nigh to death, he sent for his disciples and warned them of his approaching end.[40](40/ "tree and pragmatics") He told them that he would hold his breath until his soul departed.[41](41/ "tree and pragmatics") When they thought him dead, they should put a pat of butter on his forehead.[42](42/ "tree and pragmatics") If it did not melt, it meant that he had ceased to live.[43](43/ "tree and pragmatics") They should then throw his corpse into the Indus river.[44](44/ "tree and pragmatics") The disciples faithfully carried out their master’s wishes and when the pat of butter did not melt on his forehead, they threw his body into the great river.[45](45/ "tree and pragmatics") They had barely done so, when a rich merchant of Shikarpur came to Sadh Belo with a precious necklace of pearls for Vankhandi, of whose death he was unaware.[46](46/ "tree and pragmatics") Learning that Vankhandi was no more, the merchant refused to return to Shikarpur and infinitely firm of purpose, he vowed to sit by the edge of the river and neither to eat nor to drink until the Swami came himself to accept the necklace.[47](47/ "tree and pragmatics") On the second night the Swami in a dream promised that he would appear before his devoted follower the next day.[48](48/ "tree and pragmatics") Fortified by the vision, the Shikarpur merchant sat on by the edge of the stream.[49](49/ "tree and pragmatics") At noon the body of the Swami rose out of the Indus and the merchant put the necklace round its neck.[50](50/ "tree and pragmatics") The body then lay on the bank and the merchant called to him the anchorites of the place, who once more consigned reverently the body of the Saint into the whirling waters of the mighty river.[51](51/ "tree and pragmatics") II.[52](52/ "tree and pragmatics") - ← previous: [Kutteji Kabar and Mausum Shah.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg76982/14/) - next →: [King Mansing of Sirohi.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg76982/16/) - ↑ back to [Folk tales of Sind and Guzarat](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg76982/)