Baba Ramdev (or Ramdevji, or Ramdeo Pir, Ramsha Pir (1352–1385 AD; V.S. 1409–1442) is a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

and

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. He was a fourteenth-century ruler, said to have miraculous powers, who devoted his life uplifting the downtrodden and poor people. He is worshiped by many social groups of India as Ishta-deva.

Background

King Ajmal (Ajmal tanwar) married Queen Minaldevi, daughter of Pamji Bhati of Chhahan Baru village. The sonless king went to

Dwaraka Dvaraka, Dwaraka, Dwarka may refer to: Places India * Dvārakā, ancient city in Gujarat, the capital of the Yadus in the Mahabharata :* Dvārakā–Kamboja route, an ancient trade-route and a branch of the Silk Road * Dwarka, Gujarat, also k ...

and pleaded with

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

about his wish to have a child like him. They had two sons, the elder Viramdev and the younger Ramdev. Ramdev was born on Bhadra Shukla Dooj in V.S. 1409 in a Rajput family at Ramderiya. Barmer district. Ramdev believed in the equality of all human beings, be they high or low, rich or poor. He helped the down-trodden by granting them their wishes. He is often depicted on horseback. His followers are spread across in

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

and

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second ...

, Mumbai,

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

and also in

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

in Pakistan. Several fairs in Rajasthan are held to commemorate him. Temples in his name are found in many states of India.

Story of King Ajmal

Devotees during the two month long carnival at Ramdevra

Ajmal arrived at

Dwarka Dwarka () is a city and a municipality of Devbhumi Dwarka district in the state of Gujarat in Western India. It is located on the western shore of the Okhamandal Peninsula on the right bank of the Gomti river at the mouth of the Gulf of Kut ...

and prayed for many days. Ultimately, in sheer disappointment, he asked

's image the reason for deserving such sorrow. The image did not respond to the king's repeated queries. Angered and enraged at this, the king threw a dried laddu at the head of the image. The priest of the temple, considering the king to be mad, asked the king to go to the mystic Dwaraka to speak to the Lord. Dwaraka, swallowed by the sea many centuries prior, lay on the bed of the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channe ...

. The unfearing king dived into the sea to meet the Lord. Pleased at the king's dedication and faith, the Lord granted him a boon. The king asked for Krishna to be born as his son. Lord promised to come in the king's house. Soon thereafter, the royal couple gave birth to the boy, whom they named Bhiramdev. After a few years, Krishna took a small form and appeared next to Bhiramdev. Muslims venerate Ramdev as ''Ramshah Pir'' or ''Rama Shah Peer''. He was said to have had miraculous powers and his fame reached far and wide. Legend has it that five Pirs from

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...

came to test Ramdev's powers. Ramdev welcomed them, and requested them to have lunch with him. The Pirs declined, saying that they ate only with their personal utensils, which were in

. At this, Ramdev smiled and said look your utensils are coming and they saw that their eating bowls were coming flying in air from Mecca. After being convinced of his abilities and powers, they paid their homage to him and named him Rama Shah Peer. The five Pirs, who came to test his powers, were so impressed by him that they decided to stay with him. Their graves are located near Ramdev's ''

samadhi ''Samadhi'' ( Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yo ...

''.

Samadhi and Main Temple in Ramdevra

Ramdev took

Samadhi ''Samadhi'' ( Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yo ...

at Ramdevra (10 km from Pokhran) in Rajasthan, on Bhadrapada

Shukla Shukla ( sa, शुक्ल) is a word of Sanskrit origin that means "bright" or "white". Similar to what goes for Shukla Paksha (शुक्लपक्ष) bright moonlight during waxing phase. Today it is a surname used by Brahmins in North In ...

Ekadashi Ekadashi () is the eleventh lunar day (''tithi'') of each of the two lunar phases which occur in an Vedic calendar month - the '' Shukla Pakṣa'' (the period of the brightening moon also known as the waxing phase) and the ''Kṛṣṇa Pakṣ ...

in V.S. 1442 at the age of 33 years. The temple complex housing the resting place of Ramdev is located at Ramdevra (10 km from Pokhran) in Rajasthan. The present temple structure was built around Ramdev's final resting place by

Maharaja Ganga Singh General Maharaja Sir Ganga Singh, (13 October 1880 – 2 February 1943), was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Bikaner (in present-day Rajasthan, India) from 1888 to 1943. As a member of the Imperial War Cabinet, he was present ...

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. Bikaner city is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Formerly the capital o ...

in 1931. The complex also houses Samadhis of his disciples like Dalibai and some other of his chief disciples. The complex also houses the

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...

s of five Muslim Pirs, who had come from

. It also houses a step-well, the water of which devotees believe has healing powers.

Ramdev Jayanti

Ramdev Jayanti, the birth date of Ramdev, is celebrated every year in India by his devotees. It falls on Dooj (the second day) of

Shukla paksha Paksha (also known as ''pakṣa''; sa, पक्ष, Nepal Bhasa: ''thwa'' and ''gа̄''; ) refers to a fortnight or a lunar phase in a month of the Hindu lunar calendar. Literally meaning "side", a paksha is the period either side of the Ful ...

of Bhadrapad month of

Hindu calendar The Hindu calendar, Panchanga () or Panjika is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt ...

. In Rajasthan, this day is observed as a public holiday and a fair is held at the Ramdevra temple, where hundreds of thousands of devotees, both Hindu and Muslim, take part and pay their homage to

at the main temple.

Shri Ramdev pir temple, Pakistan

The Temple of Rama Pir is located in

Tando Allahyar Tando Allahyar ( sd, ٽنڊوالهيار, ur, ) is a city and capital of Tando Allahyar District located in Sindh, Pakistan. It is the 56th largest city of Pakistan by population according to the 2017 census. History Tando Allahyar was f ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. The annual festival of

Ramapir Temple Tando Allahyar The Rama Pir Mandir is a Hindu temple dedicated to Ramdev Pir in Tando Allahyar in Sindh, Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's Lis ...

is the second largest pilgrimage sites for the Hindus in Pakistan. Every year in the

month of Bhadrapad, 3 days celebrations are arranged by Ramapir Sheva Mandli. File:Samadhi of Baba Ramdevji.jpg, Ramdevji Samadhi Darshan, Ramdevra,

File:Ramapir1 (28).jpg, Ramdevji Samadhi Darshan, Ramdevra,

File:Ramdevpir_Temple,_Piplidham,_Gujarat.jpg, A Beautiful Temple of Baba Ramdevji at Piplidham, District

Surendranagar Surendranagar Dudhrej is a municipality in Surendranagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Dudhrej municipality is directly connected with Wadhwan city and Wadhwan municipality. Etymology Dudhrej was originally a nes (hamlet) settled ...

References

External links

{{Portal bar, India, Religion, Hinduism, Islam 14th-century monarchs in Asia Dargahs in India Folk deities of Rajasthan Hinduism and Islam Regional Hindu gods Sufi shrines in India