The local sarpanch informed us that we were first supposed to reach Anderwan village, the starting point to Mohand Marg
I had heard about Mohand Marg from elders and later on read about its significance. Sir Marc Aurel Stein's name always made me curious to know why he had chosen this location situated at 11000 feet height to translate Rajtrangani with commentary in English, besides writing about several of his Central Asia projects.
British archaeologist Sir Aurel Stein, was born on 26 November 1862 in Hungary in a moderate Jewish family. He fell in love with this meadow on his first arrival here on 8 June 1888, and continued to visit this place till April 1943. Stein spent several summers at Mohan Marg meadows translating the Rajatarangini into English and prepared its first Sanskrit edition. After completion of his works, Stein erected a memorial at the place to commemorate his achievement but it was damaged later. He took four major expeditions from Mohand Marg to Central Asia, in 1900-1901, 1906-1908, 1913-1916, and 1930.
Since joining the journalism profession in 1982, I have been keen to visit Mohand Marg but couldn't reach there. Eventually, on July 2, 2022, I reached Wangat along with couple of my journalist friends.
On reaching from Ganderbal to Wanght in two hours, another local contact was waiting for our welcome there. During our discussion about the plan to visit Mohand Marg, the locals were not in favour of our adventure. They said it would be difficult to track 15 km to Mohand Marg, a steep climb with no arrangements for the trekking adventure. In case we reach there, the return would take a month. Despite such discouragement, I wanted to visit my long cherished destination.
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However, the local sarpanch informed us that we were first supposed to reach Anderwan village, the starting point to Mohand Marg. He was already briefed by my friends about our mission Mohand Marg, therefore he was extra cautious to make our adventure successful.
On July 3, 2022, when we reached Anderwan village, three horses with their masters were waiting for us. Giving instructions before mounting on the horses, the local sarpanch said we should take paracetamol tablets and chew onion, otherwise while passing through jungles the fragrance of shrubs could cause dizziness. He had kept chapatis, vegetable butter, salted tea and water bottles with the horse masters.
We started our expedition on horseback at 10 am. Just after completing the two kilometre trek easily, gradually the uphill journey started on a tortuous route of scattered white stones. Here we were advised by the horse masters to lean in front position to make it easy for the horse to negotiate the narrow curves in hilly terrain.
After covering 7 km of uphill terrain in two hours, we reached Jabbad, a small highland where our friends and guides advised to get some rest and snacks. The young boys accompanying us were college students but doing a part-time job as guides. They all were jolly fellows who made our challenging venture a grand success. Before taking snacks, the boys suggested us to take paracetamol tables and onions. I was carrying my medical kit and offered tablets to each one. However, the boys were reluctant to take the tablets because they are acclimatized to the hilly environment. From Jabbad, the terrain was very horrendous, but our strength was our boys and our continuous conversation with them. They too were smart to keep our attention away from difficult terrain where horses too get scared while negotiating the narrow treks.
Finally, we were thrilled to reach our destination at 12 o'clock, trekking through the meadow of beautifully lined pine trees. At once, I touched the tri-faced memorial stone with epitaphs in Urdu, English, and Sanskrit on the site of Sir Marc Aurel Stein's camping ground at Mohand Marg erected in December 2017 by the Kashmir Chapter of INTACH, and the Department of Tourism, Government of Jammu & Kashmir. I felt ameliorated after touching the memorial of a great scholar and was happy to achieve my mission Mohand Marg. The location is out of the world in beauty and quiet solitude, and so close to nature. Our tiredness was nowhere visible on our faces when all of us reached there and felt like we were on top of the world.
I was carrying along a copy of Rajtrangani, translated by Stein for reference. Here, I could find out why he had preferred this location, because of the silence and fragrance of pine and flowers. The sky was cloudy. We got scared of the rain because there was no shelter now on the vast green lush meadow. We were lucky because after a few drops of rain, the clouds slowly vanished and the brightness of Sun rays made the meadow more attractive.
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Aurel Stein spent several decades here, but unfortunately, his last wish remained unfulfilled. He had desired that he should be "cremated" in his beloved Mohand Marg. Stein died in Kabul of a massive heart attack in 1943 at the age of 81. He never married. He often expressed that the 'thought of marriage never came to him'.
In Aurel Stein's own words "from the high mountain plateau which my camp once more occupies, almost the whole of Kaśmir lies before me, from the ice-capped peaks of the northern range to the long snowy line of the Pir Panjal, a little world of its own, enclosed by mighty mountain ramparts. Small indeed the country may seem, by the side of the Great Plains that extend in the south, and confined the history of which it was the scene. And yet, just as the natural attractions of the Valley have won it fame far beyond the frontiers of India, too the interest attached to its history far exceeds the narrow geographical limits."
"The favours with which Nature has so lavishly endowed "the land in the womb of Himàlays", are not likely to fade or vanish. But those manifold remains of antiquity which the isolation of the country has preserved, and which help us to resuscitate the life and conditions of earlier times, are bound to disappear more and more with the rapid advance of Western influences."
"Great are the changes which the last few decades have brought over Kaśmir, greater, perhaps, than any which the country has experienced since the close of the Hindu period. It is easy to foresee that much of what is of value to the historical student will before long be destroyed or obliterated. It is time to collect as carefully as possible the materials still left for the study of old Kaśmir and its earliest records. I have spared no efforts to serve this end, and in the result of my labours, I hope, there will be found some return for the books which I owe to Kasmir."
Quoting Kalhana in Rajtrangani, Sir Aurel Stein has mentioned, "Nor has Kalhana omitted to mention the failure of kings due to human weaknesses. For example, Harsha's downfall has been attributed to his avoidance of battles, lack of independent judgment, wrong selection of persons as ministers, and above all, heeding the advice of some intriguing woman."
"Significantly, Kalhana was conscious of the relationship of various political power groups of his time with their economic conditions. Thus he repeatedly admonishes the kings not to allow any village to stock food if it exceeds a year's consumption. Nor should a village be allowed to keep oxen beyond the number required to cultivate the fields. Why? Kalhana ascribed the emergence of the feudatories and their revolts to the accumulation of wealth. Among various other factors, matrimonial alliances among the official class are also described as a source of trouble for a king."
In the year 1899, for translating the Rajataringini, Pandit Mukund Ram Shastri assisted Stein in several ways till his great work was completed. Shastri was asked to give up the teaching job in a Christian missionary, at the request of Aurel Stein. King George V conferred him with the title of Mahamahopadhyaya in 1912.
Pandit Mukund Ram Shastri died in 1921, leaving behind his authentic works of scholarship. He was well respected by Western Scholars. Grierson called him his 'old friend'. Stein observed, "I shall always be glad to remember him among my friends'". Dr. Hutzch records, "In him also I hope to have found at once a friend whom I shall never forget. To all those for whom Kashmir is not just a geographical denomination but a repository of learning and ideas, Pandit Mukund Ram Shastri will ever remain a guiding star."
John Marshall once observed "Pandit Mukund Ram Shastri, about whom I can safely say that there is no Pandit in India of whom I have heard such consistent high praise from all with whom he has come in contact."
(R C Ganjoo is a senior journalist and columnist having more than 30 years experience of covering issues concerning national security, particularly Kashmir. He has worked with several prominent media groups and his articles have been published in many national and international publications.)
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of OneIndia and OneIndia does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.