Raskhan

Raskhan
Syed Ibrahim Ras Khan (born 1548 A.D.) was a poet who was a devotee of Krishna,of Muslim Pathan origins. He is known to have lived in Amroha, India. Raskhan (रसखान) was his pen name in Hindi. In his early years, he became a follower of Lord Krishna and learned the religion from Goswami Vitthalnath and began living in Vrindavan and spent his whole life there. According to him lord Krishna was the most powerful and the greatest and was willing to give the greatest of the riches to have anything touched or belonging to Lord Krishna or be in his presence. He died in 1628 A.D. His samadhi is at Mahaban which is situated about six miles east of Mathura.

History

Scholars disagree about his year of birth. Estimates include 1614 and 1630, while Mishra Bandhu believes that Raskhan was born in 1558 and died in 1628. Most of the scholars^[who?] say Raskhan was a Pathan Sardar and his birthplace was Kabul, Afghanistan. Hazari Prasad Dwivedi claims in his book Raskhan was born Saiyad Ibrahim, and that Khan was his title. Raskhan was the son of a jagirdar (rich landowner)and lived in luxury in his youth. He received a good education. Raskhan spoke both Hindi and Persian; he translated "Bhagavata Purana" into Persian. His shrine is located in Gokul near the Yamuna river, Bhramand Ghat. It is a very peaceful place. Many Krishna devotees go there to pay their respects and meditate.
According to one story, as contained in the medieval text Bhaktakalpadruma, he once travelled to Brindavan along with his Sufi preceptor. There he fell unconscious and had a vision of Krishna. Thereafter, he remained in Brindavan till he breathed his last.
Another version has it that Ras Khan fell in love with a very proud woman. Later, when he read the Bhagwat Purana he was so deeply impressed by the unselfish love of the gopis for Krishna that he left his proud mistress and headed straight for Brindavan.
There is, however, an even more intriguing story that is contained in some of the hagiographic material about Ras Khan. In the Bhavaprakash of the seventeenth century, we are told by Vaishnavite scholar Hari Ray, that Ibrahim Khan earlier lived in Delhi, where he had fallen madly in love with the son of a Hindu merchant. 'He watched him day and night', says Hari Ray, 'and even ate his left-overs'. This angered his fellow Muslims, who branded him as a disbeliever. But Ibrahim Khan, we are told, did not care or relent, answering, very simply, as Hari Ray puts it, 'I am as I am'.
One day, the story goes, he overheard one Vaishnavite telling another, 'One should have attachment to the Lord just as this Ibrahim Khan has for the merchant's son. He roves around after him without fear of public slander or caste displeasure!'. The other Vaishnavite turned up his nose in disgust, and when Ibrahim saw this he drew his sword out in anger. Trembling before him, the Vaishnavite said: 'If you loved God just as you do that boy you would find salvation'. Ibrahim's curiosity having been aroused, he began discussing spiritual matters with him. The Vaishnavite advised Ibrahim to travel to Brindavan. When he got there, he was refused entry into the temple on the grounds that he was a Muslim.
After sitting on the banks of the lake near the temple having not had anything to eat for three days, Krishna, the story goes, appeared to Ibrahim, addressing him as Ras Khan or 'the mine of aesthetic essence', and accepting him as a disciple. From that day onwards, Ras Khan began living in Brindavan, composing and singing the Krishnaite Sufi poetry for which he is still so fondly remembered.
 
Tomb of Great Poet of India, Raskhan at Mahaban in Mathura Distt. India
 
Tomb 

Subject matter

The poetry of Raskhan focuses on Lord Krishna. "Lilas" of Lord Krishna, such as Bal Lila, Chir Haran Lila, Kunj Lila, Ras Lila, Panghat Lila, and Dan Lila, were his favorite subjects. Apart from Lilas, Raskhan has also created poems on Lord Shankar, Goddess Ganga, and the Holi festival.

Poetry

Raskhan is widely acknowledged as a great poet, having dedicated most of his creations to LorRachnavali is the collection of Raskhan's poetry. His creations describe the beauty of not only Lord Krishna but also his relations with his beloved Radha. His poetry is in the form of Doha, Padawali and Savayya.
Ras Khan's Brij Bhasha writings are numerous, the five most important being the Sujana Raskhana, the Premavatika, the Danalila, the Astayama and a collection of Padas [couplets]. Of these the most well-known is the Premavatika ['The Forest of Love'].^[2]
The Premavatika consists of fifty-three verses, most of which deal with the nature of true spiritual love, using the love between Radha and Krishna as a model. Ras Khan begins the work, by saying:

The dwelling of Love is Shri Radhika,
the son of Nanda [i.e. Krishna] is Love's colour.

But the path of Love is not easy, he tells us:

Everybody says: "Love! Love!"
but nobody knows Love,

he adds, because

If a person knows Love,
why would the world weep?.

After this, he launches into a long discussion about the nature of divine love thus:

Love is inaccessible, incomparable, immeasurable
It is like the ocean -
He who comes to its shore will not go back
When he drank the wine of Love,
Varuna became the Lord of the waters
Because he drank poison out of Love,
the Lord of the Mountain [Shiva] is worshipped.

When the traveller on the mystical path begins to understand the nature of true love, then external rituals and bonds begin to lose their meaning for him. Thus, says Ras Khan:

The rules of the world, the Veda and the world, shame, work and doubt
All these you give up once you practise love
For what are regulations and negations when compared to Love?

'Without Love everything is useless', Ras Khan notes, and then adds:

Of Shruti, Puranas, Agamas and Smritis, Love is the essence of all.
Without the knowledge of Love there is no experience of ananda [bliss]
Knowledge, acting and worship, all of these are the root of pride

Reading the Shastras you become a Pandit, reciting the Quran, a Maulvi But if you have not known Love in that, what is the use, asks Ras Khan?"
From here Ras Khan starts an intricate description of the path of Love and surrender to God, in the process questioning all orthodoxies, all formalisms and all man-made divisions. This is in a sense the essence of his message. He ends his work with the following lines:
Tearing his heart away from a haughty woman [i.e. the snares of the world]
Miyam [himself] has become Ras Khan once he saw the beauty of Premadeva [TheGod of Love].

Name	Syed Ibrahim Ras Khan
Born	1548 A.D.
Birth Place	Kabul, Sur Empire
Died	1628 A.D.
Death Place	Vrindavan,Mughal empire
Religion	Hindu, Muslim
Poetry Collection	Raskhan Rachnavali   रसखान (जन्म: १५४८ ई) कृष्ण भक्त मुस्लिम कवि थे। हिन्दी के कृष्ण भक्त तथा रीतिकालीन रीतिमुक्त कवियों में रसखान का अत्यंत महत्त्वपूर्ण स्थान है। रसखान को 'रस की खान' कहा गया है। इनके काव्य में भक्ति, शृंगार रस दोनों प्रधानता से मिलते हैं। रसखान कृष्ण भक्त हैं और उनके सगुण और निर्गुण निराकार रूप दोनों के प्रति श्रद्धावनत हैं। रसखान के सगुण कृष्ण वे सारी लीलाएं करते हैं, जो कृष्ण लीला में प्रचलित रही हैं। यथा- बाललीला, रासलीला, फागलीला, कुंजलीला आदि। उन्होंने अपने काव्य की सीमित परिधि में इन असीमित लीलाओं को बखूबी बाँधा है। मथुरा जिले में महाबन में इनकी समाधि हैं| महाकवि रसखान की महाबन (जिला मथुरा) में स्थित समाधि समाधि भारतेन्दु हरिश्चन्द्र ने जिन मुस्लिम हरिभक्तों के लिये कहा था, "इन मुसलमान हरिजनन पर कोटिन हिन्दू वारिए" उनमें रसखान का नाम सर्वोपरि है। बोधा और आलम भी इसी परम्परा में आते हैं। सय्यद इब्राहीम "रसखान" का जन्म अन्तर्जाल पर उपलब्ध स्रोतों के अनुसार सन् १५३३ से १५५८ के बीच कभी हुआ था। कई विद्वानों के अनुसार इनका जन्म सन् १५९० ई. में हुआ था। चूँकि अकबर का राज्यकाल १५५६-१६०५ है, ये लगभग अकबर के समकालीन हैं। इनका जन्म स्थान पिहानी जो कुछ लोगों के मतानुसार दिल्ली के समीप है। कुछ और लोगों के मतानुसार यह पिहानी उत्तरप्रदेश के हरदोई जिले में है।माना जाता है की इनकी मृत्यु 1628 में वृन्दावन में हुई थी । यह भी बताया जाता है कि रसखान ने भागवत का अनुवाद फारसी और हिंदी में किया है। परिचय रसखान के जन्म के सम्बंध में विद्वानों में मतभेद पाया जाता है। अनेक विद्वानों ने इनका जन्म संवत् 1615 ई. माना है और कुछ ने 1630 ई. माना है। रसखान के अनुसार गदर के कारण दिल्ली श्मशान बन चुकी थी, तब दिल्ली छोड़कर वह ब्रज (मथुरा) चले गए। ऐतिहासिक साक्ष्य के आधार पर पता चलता है कि उपर्युक्त गदर सन् 1613 ई. में हुआ था। उनकी बात से ऐसा प्रतीत होता है कि वह उस समय वयस्क हो चुके थे। रसखान का जन्म संवत् 1590 ई. मानना अधिक समीचीन प्रतीत होता है। भवानी शंकर याज्ञिक का भी यही मानना है। अनेक तथ्यों के आधार पर उन्होंने अपने मत की पुष्टि भी की है। ऐतिहासिक ग्रंथों के आधार पर भी यही तथ्य सामने आता है। यह मानना अधिक प्रभावशाली प्रतीत होता है कि रसखान का जन्म सन् 1590 ई. में हुआ था। रसखान के जन्म स्थान के विषय में भी कई मतभेद है। कई विद्वान उनका जन्म स्थल पिहानी अथवा दिल्ली को मानते है। शिवसिंह सरोज तथा हिन्दी साहित्य के प्रथम इतिहास तथा ऐतिहासिक तथ्यों के आधार पर रसखान का जन्म स्थान पिहानी जिला हरदोई माना जाए। रसखान अर्थात् रस के खान, परंतु उनका असली नाम सैयद इब्राहिम था और उन्होंने अपना नाम केवल इस कारण रखा ताकि वे इसका प्रयोग अपनी रचनाओं पर कर सकें। काव्य रचना रसखान एक महान कवि थे। उनकी अधिकांश रचनायें भगवान कृष्ण को समर्पित हैं। निम्नलिखित सवैया में रसखान ने अगले जन्म के लिये ब्रज के आसपास उत्पन्न होने की कामना की है- मानुष हों तो वही रसखान, बसौं नित गोकुल गाँव के ग्वारन। जो पसु हौं तौ कहा बसु मेरौ, चरौं नित नंद की धेनु मँझारन।। पाहन हौं तौ वही गिरि कौ जुधर्यौ कर छत्र पुरंदर कारन। जो खग हौं तो बसेरौं नित, कालिंदी-कूल कदंब की डारन।। posted by : vipul koul sources : Wikipedia