During the reign of a mighty rajah named Guddeh Sing, a celebrated,
and as it is now supposed, deified priest, or hutteet, called
Dhurrumnath, came, and in all the characteristic humility of his sect
established a primitive and temporary resting-place within a few miles
of the rajah's residence at Runn, near Mandavie. He was accompanied by
his adopted son, Ghurreeb Nath.
From this spot Dhurrumnath despatched his son to seek for charitable
contributions from the inhabitants of the town. To this end Ghurreeb
Nath made several visits; but being unsuccessful, and at the same time
unwilling that his father should know of the want of liberality in the
city, he at each visit purchased food out of some limited funds of his
own. At length, his little hoard failing, on the sixth day he was
obliged to confess the deceit he had practised.
Dhurrumnath, on being acquainted with this, became extremely vexed,
and vowed that from that day all the rajah's putteen cities should
become desolate and ruined. The tradition goes on to state that in
due time these cities were destroyed; Dhurrumnath, accompanied by his
son, left the neighbourhood, and proceeded to Denodur. Finding it a
desirable place, he determined on performing Tupseeah, or penance, for
twelve years, and chose the form of standing on his head.
On commencing to carry out this determination, he dismissed his son,
who established his Doonee in the jungles, about twenty miles to the
north-west of Bhooj. After Dhurrumnath had remained Tupseeah for
twelve years, he was visited by all the angels from heaven, who
besought him to rise; to which he replied, that if he did so, the
portion of the country on which his sight would first rest would
become barren: if villages, they would disappear; if woods or fields,
they would equally be destroyed. The angels then told him to turn his
head to the north-east, where flowed the sea. Upon this he resumed his
natural position, and, turning his head in the direction he was told,
opened his eyes, when immediately the sea disappeared, the stately
ships became wrecks, and their crews were destroyed, leaving nothing
behind but a barren, unbroken desert, known as the Runn.
Dhurrumnath, too pure to remain on the earth, partook of an immediate
and glorious immortality, being at once absorbed into the spiritual
nature of the creating, the finishing, the indivisible, all-pervading
Brum.
This self-imposed penance of Dhurrumnath has shed a halo of sanctity
around the hill of Denodur, and was doubtless the occasion of its
having been selected as a fitting site for a Jogie establishment, the
members of which, it is probable, were originally the attendants on a
small temple that had been erected, and which still remains, on the
highest point of the hill, on the spot where the holy Dhurrumnath is
said to have performed his painful Tupseeah.