Gûga and Snake-worship.
But it is in his function as one of the Snake kings that Gûga is specially worshipped. When he is duly propitiated he can save from snake-bite, and cause those who neglect him to be bitten. His shrine is often found in association with that of Nara Sinha, the man-lion incarnation of Vishnu, and of Gorakhnâth, the famous ascetic, whose disciple he is said to have been. He is adored by Hindus and Muhammadans alike, and by all castes, by Râjputs and Jâts, as well as by Chamârs and Chûhras. Even the Brâhman looks on him with respect. “Which is greater,” says the proverb, “Râma or Gûga?” and the reply is, “Be who may the greater, shall I get myself bitten by a snake?” in other words, “Though Râma may be the greater, between ourselves, I dare not say so for fear of offending Gûga.”
He is represented on horseback, with his mother trying to detain him as he descends to the infernal regions. He holds as a mark of dignity a long staff in his hands, and over him two snakes meet, one being coiled round his staff. Both the Hindu and Muhammadan Faqîrs take the offerings devoted to him, and carry his Chharî or standard, covered with peacocks’ feathers, from house to house in the month of August. As is the case with godlings of this class all over India, it is significant of the association of his worship with some early non-Aryan beliefs that the village scavenger is considered to be entitled to a share of the offerings presented at his shrine.
According to the last census Gûga had thirty-five thousand worshippers in the Panjâb and one hundred and twenty-three thousand in the North-Western Provinces.
Worship of Tejajî.
Another godling of the same kind is Tejajî, the Jât snake godling of Mârwâr. He is said to have lived about 900 years ago. One day he noticed that a Brâhman’s cow was in the habit of going to a certain place in the jungle, where milk fell from her udder into the hole of a snake. Teja agreed to supply the snake daily with milk, and thus save the Brâhman from loss. Once when he was preparing to visit his father-in-law, he forgot the compact, and the snake appearing, declared that it was necessary that he should bite Teja. He stipulated for permission first to visit his father-in-law, to which the snake agreed. Teja proceeded on his journey, and on the way rescued the village cattle from a gang of robbers, but was desperately wounded in the encounter. Mindful of his promise, he with difficulty presented himself to the snake, who, however, could find no spot to bite, as Teja had been so grievously wounded by the robbers. Teja therefore put out his tongue, which the snake bit, and so he died. He is now a protector against snake-bite, and is represented as a man on horseback, while a snake is biting his tongue.[66] Tejajî and Gûga, as snake godlings, thus rank with Bhajang, the snake godling of Kâthiawâr, who is a brother of Sesha Nâga, and with Mânasâ, the goddess of Bengal, who is the sister of Vâsuki, the wife of Jaratkâru, and mother of Astikâ, whose intervention saved the snake race from destruction by Janamejâya.[67]
Worship of Bâba Farîd Shakkarganj.
Bâba Farîd Shakkarganj, or “fountain of sweets,” so called because he was able miraculously to transmute dust or salt into sugar, was born in 1173 A.D., and died in 1265. His tomb is at Pâkpatan, and he enjoys high consideration in Northern India. He was a disciple of Qutb-ud-dîn Bakhtyâr Kâki, who again sat at the feet of Muîn-ud-dîn Chishti of Ajmer, also a great name to swear by. Farîd’s most distinguished disciple was Nizâm-ud-dîn Auliya, who has a lovely tomb at Ghayâspur, near Delhi. Farîd was very closely associated with Bâba Nânak, and much of the doctrine of early Sikhism seems to have been based on his teaching. He is said to have possessed the Dast-i-ghaib, or “hidden hand,” a sort of magic bag which gave him anything he wished, which is like the wishing hat and inexhaustible pot or purse, which is a stock element in Indian and European folk-lore.[68]