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Author
Published
Moby Sara Zachariah
30 Sep
‘Tomb of Jesus’ In Kashmir–Roza Bal Shrine
Did Jesus travel to India? Did Jesus of Nazareth die and finally buried
in
India? Undoubtedly, one of the most fascinating structures
in
our country,
Roza Bal shrine
in
the Khanyar area of Kashmir has quite interesting yet
controversial claims around
it.
Roza
in
Persian means holy, and Bal
in
Kashmiri language means shrine. Many researchers claim that the shrine
houses the graves saint and prophet Yuzasaf (Youza Asaf or Youza
Asouph
in
modern local Kashmiri), who was born as a prince and of a Shia
Muslim saint Mir Syed Naseer-ud-Din, as suggested by the signage
outside the shrine.
A Stabat Mater depiction (1868)
of
Crucifixion
of
Jesus.
Image Credits- Wikipedia Commons
Located
in
downtown Srinagar, the tomb received never-like-before
attention
in
the year 1899, when Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the
Ahmadiyya movement claimed that this tomb belongs to Jesus Christ,
about which he wrote extensively
in
his book, Masih Hindustan-mein
(
Jesus
in
India
).
The treatise was published
in
Urdu
in
1908 and was
translated into English
in
1944. According to him, Jesus survived the
crucifixion, travelled to Indian subcontinent where he lived until his death
at the age of 120 and was buried
in
the beautiful valley of Kashmir. As
opposed to the mentions
in,
the Holy Bible that Jesus was crucified on a
hill
of Golgotha (meaning ‘place of the skull’
in
Aramaic) at the age of 33
and was buried
in
a new sepulchre (tomb)
in
a garden outside of
Jerusalem and as Quran too mentions, on the third day, he ascended to
heaven). One of the many reasons, these claims originated because of
the presence of a rock carving
in
the shrine, most probably of Yuz Asaf,
which shows the feet with wounds from crucifixion or some similar injuries.
He identifies Yuza Asaf as Jesus and
it
means ‘son of Joseph’. The Bible
and Quran mentions Joseph and Mary as the father of Jesus and were
born Jews.
In
Kashmiri language, Yuz Asaf means the healer or the
shepherd.
Gravestone
of
Youza Asouph. Image Credit
-
Wikipedia Commons
Some researchers suggest that the buried
in
the tomb
is
laid
in
an east-
west direction, as per Jewish traditions, not aligning with the Muslim
tradition of north south, but to give
it
a Muslim identity, a gravestone was
later laid
in
a north-south direction. Some experts claim that Jesus came
to Kashmir during the reign of Raja Gopadatta (49-109 AD). They claim
that he must have chosen Kashmir because Kashmiris are considered as
one among the ten ‘missing tribes’ of Israel, out of
12
Jewish tribes, who
later settled
in
the new countries, especially along the Silk route
in
Afghanistan and Kashmir, after they were drove out of Israel by the
Assyrians
in
around 700 BC. Hence, even today, many Kashmiri tribes call
themselves Bnei Israel/ Bene or Bnai Israel or children of Israel. Apparently,
the inhabitants of Village Gultibagh, about 50 km from Srinagar, consider
themselves as a lost Jewish tribe, the original Jews from Palestine who
still
speak the pastor language (pastor means ‘shepherd’ and call themselves
the lost sheep of Israel).
Some researchers believe that originally, the burial place must have been
a cave or stone room
in
the ground, with a simple shelter built over
it
to
hold the false casket, which contained artefacts, associated with Yuz Asaf,
which for some
is
not an Arabic name or Muslim name, but
is
Hebrew. The
site was
first
recorded
in 112
AD, ever since
it
attracted the pilgrims, much
earlier than the advent of Islam
in
the region. Presently the shrine stands
in
front of a Muslim cemetery with a close proximity of famous Dastgeer
Sahib Shrine. This single storey rectangular stone building stands on a
platform, with a traditional Kashmiri multi-tiered sloping roof and has
railings and three arches on the front.
Image Credit
-
Wikipedia Commons
For many Christians and Muslims including the caretakers of the shrine
the burial of Jesus
in
Roza Bal
is
a myth and call the claims as
‘blasphemy’. Having said that,
it
was a turning point
in
the history of the
tomb as many devotees flock around the tomb especially during the
Christmas time (25 December).
This site
in
Kashmir was recorded as a ‘sacred’ site
in
many Buddhist and
Hindu sources before the Islamic period; hence,
it
attracts followers of
Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Buddhism.
In
another local folklore, the
name of Yuzasuf appears
in
the legend of Balauhar and Yuzasaf,
in
which
Yuzasaf
is
the name used for Gautama Buddha. Interestingly, ‘Issa’
is
the
Tibetan name of Jesus and
it
is
Hazrat Isa or Isa as stated
in
the Quran.
In
some of the old handwritten Buddhist manuscripts – entitled
‘Life
of Saint
Issa’, which revealed the ‘lost years of Jesus Christ’: from the age of
13
to
28 and that, the Bible has not recorded the
life
of Jesus during these
years. The manuscripts stated that Jesus left Bethlehem at the age of
13
with a caravan of merchants and travelled eastwards, along the Silk route
to get familiar with teachings and study the laws of the Gautama Buddha.
He also visited Punjab, Rajasthan, North India, Nepal, Tibet and Ladakh
before returning home. Many historical texts
in
Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian
show that Yus Asaf
is
another name for Jesus Christ.
Kashmiri Style Mosque, Yusmarg, Image Credit
-
Ajay Sood, Sahapedia.org
Interestingly, the beautiful valley of Yusmarg, meaning ‘Meadow of Jesus’,
the village gets
its
name from the belief that Jesus visited Kashmir. Some
researchers mention that Kashmir’s Pahalgam, meaning ‘the town of the
shepherd’,
is
also named after Jesus, as Jesus referred to himself
(metaphorically) as ‘the shepherd’ for the ‘lost sheep’.
The row
is
not just limited to the tomb of Jesus but also to the tombs of
Mary, the mother of Jesus and Prophet Moses and other Biblical and
Quran characters.
In
the North Kashmir district of Bandipora, a shrine
complex of a woman saint named Hazrat Bibi Arifa, locally known as ‘Ded
Mouj’, a section of Jews believe that the grave belongs to one of the most
revered saints (mentioned
in
the Koran and Bible), Moses or Hazrat Musa.
Some researchers have suggested that Jesus travelled to Kashmir with his
mother, Mary, and on the way she passed away and a shrine was built to
honour her at the same site,
in
a town called Murree,
in
present-day
Pakistan. The burial site
is
revered as the ‘Mai Mari da Asthan’ meaning the
resting place of Mother Mary who
is
known as Hazrat Mariam among the
devotees. During the British period, close to the shrine they built the
Convent of Jesus and Mary. There are many fascinating legends around
the tombs of Aaron (Hazrat Haroon)
in
Harwan, and King Solomon (Hazrat
Suleman) at Takht-i-Suleman
in
Kashmir. For many, the graves of Moses,
Aaron, Solomon and Jesus are
all
located
in
Kashmir.
Image Credit
-
Wikipedia Commons
Numerous books and documentaries were released on this age-old
debate.
‘
T
he Unknown Life of Christ’ (1894) by Russian traveller Nicolas
Notovitch
,
Suzanne Marie Olsson’s book ‘Jesus
in
Kashmir’, ‘The Lost Tomb’,
‘
The Rozabal Line’ by Ashwin Sanghi, ‘Christ of Kashmiris’ by Anand Krishna,
‘A
Search for the Historical Jesus’ by Prof Hassnain, a documentary titled
‘The Rauzabal Shrine’ by the Government of India’s Films Division,
reminded of this recurring topic.
Banner Image Credits- Wikipedia Commons
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