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October     Last updated: October 28: 7:00 p.m.

Kampil: Birthplace of Draupad

Shrikant Joshi

Every year I go out on Sangh work. In November 1999, I set out on this, a kind of "assignment", in the Vrij, the region of the childhood pranks of Lord Krishna, at Itava and Farukhabad, for attending the local Swayamsevaks' Sammelans. The agneda was of two days at each town. In each town first a route march of all the swayamsevaks of the region along major roads of the town followed by a public rally at which demonstration of physicial feats before the assembled public were to take place, and address to the swayamsevaks and audience to make them aware of the Sangh idelogy. Next day workers' meeting. This in short was the agenda finalized.

Not Farukhabad but Bhishma Nagar

During the talk with the workers I casually asked how the name of the town came to be known as Farukhabad. One of them told that the town was an ancient township, but it was called Farukhabad after the Emperor Farukhsiar. I then naturally wished to know its earlier names. One of the workers then told that the town was known since the time of Mahabharata. "We call it Bhishma Nagar". I was curious to know why it was called Bhishma Nagar. I was told that the great son of the Ganga whose real name was Devavrata was called Bihshma because he took a very hard (bhishma) and firm vow for remaining celebate for his whole lifetime to convince a fisherman that he would not claim any right to the throne after the death of his father so that the fisherman would consent to his daughter's marriage to Devavrata's father King Shantanu who was desperate to marry the fisherman's daughter Satyawati. Her father wanted the clear assurance that only her son would inherit the kingdom. Devavrata' vow was thus a guarantee to this. Then Satyavati and Shantanu were married, and Sahantanu's desire was fulfilled. And thus as a mark of respect and gratitude all the people of the country were naturally pleased to know this town by the name of Bhishmanagar after the great epitome of filial love, firm resolve, stern sense of duty, selflessness, bravery. Of coruse the self-proclaimed 'secularists' who are oblivious to their own "selves", would not approve of this original name of the town.

By forgoing family life Devavrata had not only followed in the footsteps of Lord Ramachandra who, to honour his father's wish, accepted a fourteen year exile into the forest of Dandakaryanya, but also raised Rama's high traditon even higher. Today's Farukhabad was known in the ancient times as Panchal. When I came to know this, I was naturally eager to know where Kampil, the capital of King Drupad was. Immediately a worker exclaimed that it was just a 40-km span away, from Farukhabad. I said it must have been birthplace of Draupadi, Yajnyaseni, who was according to Mahabharata, born along with her brother Dhristadumna out of the sacrificial fire, could also be nearby. Then I was told that all these could be seen even ow. They said that the relics of the three yugas could be seen. It was a greatly pleasant surprise. I asked, "What do you mean, three yugas". The answer was, relics of treta, dvapara and kali yugas were still there. I was exceedingly surprised and began to muse. Just 40 km from where we were sitting stood the ruins of the capital of the great King Drupad, father of the great daughter of India, variantly known as "Draupadi", "Panchali", "Yajnyaseni". And for the protection of her honour the great Mahabharata war at Karukshetra was fought in which eighteen Akshouhini (Akshouhini—measure of over five lakh) soldiers were killed. Indian people thus in their endeavour to protect the honour of a woman paid an extremely heavy price.

There I was extremely impatient to visit the birthplace of a such on illustrious woman, Draupadi, and to lift a pinch of the sacred soil of that hallowed site. But I had to wait till the next day as it was decided that the visit to that place would take place then. Next day the meeting was scheduled to be over by 12.30 in the afternoon. Then after lunch we were to set out for Kampil. The distance would take an hour either way and about an hour and a quarter for the darshan. Then after attending the scheduled get-together of the citizens at 5 pm, I would be able to catch the 10.30 pm train for Delhi. Next day, before proceeding to the venue of the meeting, I went to the river to have a darshan of the sacred Ganga, mother of the great Mahabharata warrior Bhishma. I sipped the holy water of Ganga at the ghat associated with Bhishma and proceeded to the venue. By the time the meeting was over it was already one past noon, and the group lunch took forty five minutes. Then with a select group of workers, that included former Kampil legislator Shri Sakshi, I started in a jeep for Kampil. We did not have any trouble on ways, the pucca road lending a smooth drive. On way I was told that during their sojourn here incognito the Pandavas had built a Shivalaya, which still stands here and is known as "Pandaveshvar Shiva" temple. But to hole up in Draupadi's paternal home and, Panchal was very risky as it would be one of the likeliest place the Kaurava spies would be looking for the Pandavas living there incongnito. And being discovered would mean another twelve years in hiding. Therefore soon after the construction of the temple the Pandavas fled to the kingdom of Virat.

"Rameshwar Shiva" established by Shtrughna

So talking on way, we reached Kampil at about 3 pm. Kampil, the ancient capital, is today a very small town. This was once the proud capital of King Drupad. A very narrow road led us after a kilometre drive to a temple. We got down from the jeep and as we began climbing its steps, we found a marble inscription. It said, that it was Rameshwar Shiva temple. The Shiva lingam was installed by Lord Rama's youngest brother Shatrughna with his own hands when Shatrughna arrived here on his round with the horse all over the country in connection with the Ashvamedha sacrifice, he installed the Shivlingam on this bank of the Ganga and performed formal worship of the deity. I also learnt here that in the seven century of the Christian era the famous Chinese explorer Huen-Tsang had visited Panchal.

He had noted in his journal that he was in Panchal and he wrote those lines sitting on the steps of the famous Shiva temple on the bank of the Ganga. "This I came to know, is a very ancient temple and it is built by Shatrughna brother of Lord Rama, king of Ayodhya." The other Chinese tourist Fai Hen also had visited Kampil. I was overwhelmed to hear this and by the fact that I was present at such a great sacred place. Draupadi's time was somewhere between the end of the Dvaparayuga and the beginning of the Kaliyuga. And Shatrughna belonged to the Tretayuga. For renovation of this temple the BJP Rajya Sabha member Shri T.N. Chaturvedi, the former Comptroller and Auditor General had given adequate finance from his MP's quota. From this fund the temple was restored and the daily rituals are carried out. The district collector of Farukhabad had also shown personal interest in this work.

After darshan of Rameshwar Shiva when I came out, it struck me that the river had slightly changed its course and had gone away from the temple and now there were some green fields of local farmers in the space between the temple and the river-bank. Yet a small stream did flow following the old Ganga course touching the temple steps. During the monsoon the Ganga overlows and reaches out to the temple to wash its steps, and thus touch Lord Shiva's feet in the holy month of shravan. The place of penance of Kapil Muni As I saw around the temple behind the temple compound a mound was visible. I also had a small temple atop it. And behind that mound lay the brithplace of Draupadi. I naturally wanted to know to whom the temple was dedicated. I was told that it was not a temple but the samadhi of Kapil Muni. This was the place where Kapil Muni undertook his penance. And this was the site where the great seer and thinker developed the Sankhya philosophy one of the six schools of Indian philosophy. This place has been well-known from the hoary times of the Krita or Satya Yuga. And thus this site happens to be a mound of relics of the first of the four Indian yugas (eras).

The Birthplace of Yajnyaseni-sacrificial altar

At a two-hundred-yard distance from Kapil Muni's samadhi was a kunda (a pit). This is close to the small stream, i.e., on the old bank of the Ganga, when it flowed by its side Shri Chaturvedi got it also repaired and restored. The kunda—the altar is 30ft long and about half of it in breadth. It was about 25 ft deep. But it was on that day full of water. But the water was quite clean and clear. I was told that it is always full of water. People take the water in the form of teerth (holy water). The water is potable. I was further informed that when the God of yajnya (sacrifice) was pleased with the propitiation by King Drupad, the God of Yajnya brought out of the sacrificial fire a son and a daughter for king Drupad. The son was Dhristadyaumna who killed the Kauravas' commander Dronacharya in the Mahabharata war.

The son Dhrishtadyaumna was armed with sword and bow-arrow as he emerged from the sacrificial fire. Dhristadyaumna emerged as a full grown kshatriya warrior. With him emerged his sister Draupadi (daughter of Drupad), Yajnyaseni (born out of a sacrifice) with a heavenly Shiva lingam in her hands. She was a dark-complexioned damsel whose unique beauty became the cause of the Mahabharata war. Draupadi had installed the lingam at a nearby place where the Shiva temple stands, a sentinel to the memory of that bygone era. Draupadi daily bathed in the Ganga river and brought Ganga water and performed abhisheka with that water on the Shiva lingam. This routine she continued till she married and went to the capital of the capital of the Pandavas, Hastinapur. Nearby on the ancient bank of the Ganga was built a bathing ghat, which still stands on the earlier site of the river partly in ruins as a reminder of the past glory. The ruins clearly show the separate walled sections for women to change clothes after bath. Beyond that there was another mound of ruins and debris which once was a proud fort of King Drupad. Inside the fort was the palace of King Drupad. The dilapidated ramparts and verified walls still give a glimpse of that prosperous age of ancient India.

Eleven storeyed temple

After darshan of the Shivalingam installed by Draupadi, I was returning when suddenly came into sight a huge octagonal multi-strorey edifice rising above the skyline. It is planned to rise eleven storyes. Lower six floors have been already constructed. This building is to parallel the famous Bharatmata Mandir of Hardwar. Only, this one is going to rise eleven floors. A great saintly person from Hardwar itself has collected the finances for this construction from his devoted followers by ways of donations at his religious dicourses. Next to this unique octagonal building there are two Jain temples belonging to the two Jain sects, Shwetambaras and Digambaras. Pilgrims from all over the country gather at these Jain temples on the occasions of annual festivals. But strangely in the whole of Kampil town there is not a single Jain family. The Hindus form the entire population of Kampil. The temple is looked after by the local "sanatani" priests. This is a unique example of equal respect to all religions, the main feature of Hindu culture. Later I had the occasion to meet the local workers.

One worker strongly urged me to visit a local BJP worker's house for tea. There the local legislator Shri Sakshi was present and I had the opportunity to meet him again. He told that the ancinet township is visited by thousands of pilgrim on the Maha Shivratri. Owing to the ceaseless efforts of Shri T.N. Chaturvedi, roads connecting Kampil with other cities have been considerably better kept. But when Mulyam Sing became the Chief Minsiter he put a stop to all development work. He also stopped the construction of pucca road up to the Yajnyakund. Since the new government took the reins of the State, protection of national cultural tradition and relics has been taken up in right earnest. Now the hope of development of all these places of historic and cultural importance has been revived. After the tea and talk, we got into the jeep and returned to Farukhabad in about an hour and ten minutes, with an indescribable yet memorable impression of the delightful and enlightening sojurn to the birthplace of the heroine of the ancient Indian epic.