Amarnath

SISTER NIVEDITA

It was in the course of an open-air meal in the Mogul Gardens at Achhabal, that the Swami suddenly announced that he would go to Amarnath with the pilgrims, and take his daughter with him. Within our little party, there was too much feeling of delighted congratulation, for any obstacle to be put in the way of the fortunate member. And aided thus, as well as by the State officer, in charge of the journey, preparations went forward for this unique experience.

Kashmir seemed, in those weeks, to be full of pilgrims. We left Achhabal, and returned to our boats at Islamabad, for final arrangements, and everywhere saw the march of gathering hosts. It was all very quiet and orderly and picturesque. Two or three thousand people would encamp in a field, and leave it before dawn, with no trace of their occupation, save the ashes of their cooking- fires. They carried a bazaar with them, and at each halting place, the pitching of tents, and opening of shops, took place with incredible rapidity. Organisation appeared to be instinctive. A broad street would run through the middle of one part of the camp, and here one could buy dried fruits, milk, dahls, and rice. The tent of the Tehsildar,-with that of the Swami on one side, and my own on the other,-was generally placed near some advantageous spot for the lighting of the evening fire, and thus his neighbourhood tended to form a social centre.

There were hundreds of monks, of all the orders, with their Gerrua tents, some no larger than a good-sized umbrella, and amongst these, the Swami's influence appeared to be magnetic. The more learned of them swarmed about him at every halting place, filling his tent, and remaining absorbed in conversation, throughout the hours of day light. The talk on their side, he told us afterwards, had been all of Siva, and they had remonstrated with him seriously, when he had insisted, occasionally, on drawing their attention to the world about them. Even foreigners, they urged, were men. Why make such distinctions between Swadesh and bidesh? Nor could many of them understand the warmth of his love and sympathy for Mohammedanism. The same other-world-liness that made Swadesh and bidesh indistinguishable, also prevented these simple souls from formally conceiving of a unity, in which Hindu and Mohammedan were but rival elements. The soil of the Punjaub, they argued, was drenched with the blood of those who had died for the faith. Here, at least, let him practise a narrow orthodoxy! In answer to this, as became one who was, in fact 'an anachronism of the future', the Swami made those practical concessions of the moment that were expressive of his love for the brethren, and drove his principles home to their minds with the greater force and vehemence. But, as he told the tale of his warm discussions, the foreign mind could not help, with some amusement, noting the paradox that the Tehsildar himself, and many officers and servants of the pilgrimage, had been Mussulmans, and that no one had dreamt of objecting to their entering the Cave with the Hindu worshippers, on the ultimate arrival at the shrine. The Tehsildar came afterwards, indeed, with a group of friends, begging formal acceptance by the Swami as disciples; and in this, no one seemed to find anything incongruous or surprising.

Leaving Islamabad, we caught up somewhere with the pilgrimage, and camped with it, for that night, at Pawan, a place famous for its holy springs. I can remember yet the brilliance of the lights reflected in the clear black waters of the tank that evening, and throngs of pilgrims proceeding in little groups from shrine to shrine.

At Pahlgam, the village of the shepherds, the camp halted for a day, to keep ekadasi. It was a beautiful little ravine floored, for the most part with sandy islands in the pebble-worn bed of a mountain stream. The slopes about it were dark with pine-trees, and over the mountain at its head was seen, at sunset, the moon, not yet full. It was the scenery of Switzerland or Norway, at their gentlest and loveliest. Here we saw the last of human dwellings, a bridge, a farm house, with its ploughed fields, and a few saeter-huts. And here, on a grassy knoll, when the final march began, we left the rest of our party encamped.

Through scenes of indescribable beauty, three thousand of us ascended the valleys that opened before us as we went. The first day we camped in a pine-wood; the next, we had passed the snow-line, and pitched our tents beside a frozen river. That night, the great camp-fire was made of juniper, and the next evening, at still greater heights, the servants had to wander many miles, in search of this scanty fuel. At last the regular pathway came to an end, and we had to scramble up and down, along goat-paths, on the face of steep declivities, till we reached the boulder-strewn gorge, in which the Cave of Amarnath was situated. As we ascended this, we had before us the snow-peaks covered with a white veil, newly- fallen; and in the Cave itself, in a niche never reached by sunlight, shone the great ice-lingam, that must have seemed, to the awestruck peasants who first came upon it, like the waiting Presence of God.

The Swami had observed every rite of the pilgrimage, as he came along. He had told his beads, kept fasts, and bathed in the ice-cold waters of five streams in succession, crossing the river-gravels on our second day. And now, as he entered the Cave, it seemed to him, as if he saw Siva made visible before him. Amidst the buzzing, swarming noise of the pilgrim-crowd, and the overhead fluttering of the pigeons, he knelt and prostrated two or three times, unnoticed; and then, afraid lest emotion might overcome him, he rose and silently withdrew. He said afterwards that in these brief moments he had received from Siva the gift of Amar, -not to die, until he himself had willed it. In this way, possibly, was defeated or fulfilled that presentiment which had haunted him from childhood, that he would meet with death, in a Siva temple amongst the mountains.

Outside the Cave, there was no Brahminic exploitation of the helpless people. Amarnath is remarkable for its simplicity and closeness to nature. But the pilgrimage culminates-on the great day of Rakshabandhan, and our wrists were tied with the red and yellow threads of that sacrament. Afterwards, we rested and had a meal, on some high boulders beside the stream, before returning to our tents.

The Swami was full of the place. He felt that he had never been to anything so beautiful. He sat long silent. Then he said dreamily, "I can well imagine how this Cave was first discovered. A party of shepherds, one summer day, must have lost their flocks, and wandered in here in search of them. Then, when they came home to the valleys, they told how they had suddenly come upon Mahadev!"

Of my Master himself, in any case, a like story was true. The purity and whiteness of the ice-pillar had startled and enwrapt him. The cavern had revealed itself to him as the secret of Kailas. And for the rest of his life, he cherished the memory of how he had entered a mountain-cave, and come face to face there with the Lord Himself.

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MCQ QUESTIONS

1. The prose piece 'Amarnath' is taken from

(A) 'The Swami and Mother-Worship'

(B) 'Kali the Mother'

(D) 'The Master as I Saw Him'

2. The Mogul Gardens are situated at

(A) Achhabal

(B) Pahlgam

(D) Srinagar

3. Swami Vivekananda announced his intention to go to

(A) Mogul Gardens

(B) Islamabad

(D) Pahlgam

4. The person who accompanied Swami Vivekananda on the pilgrimage was

(A) his son

(B) his spiritual daughter, Sister Nivedita

(D) his friend

5. Within the little party of Sister Nivedita, there was too much feeling of

(A) great joy

(B) unknown fear

(D) fruitful pride

6. When Swami announced that he would take Sister Nivedita with him to Amarnath, she regarded herself as

(A) his daughter

(B) a fortunate member of the party

(D) the leader of the group

7. The person who was in charge of the journey was

(A) Sister Nivedita

(B) Swami Vivekananda

(D) the State officer

8. Kashmir seemed, in those weeks of journey, to be

(A) full of people

(B) full of pilgrims

(D) full of disciples

9. The pilgrims with Sister Nivedita left Achhabal, and returned to their boats at

(A) Kashmir

(B) Jammu

(D) Islamabad

10. Everywhere the pilgrims saw the march of

(A) crowded people

(B) busy shopkeepers

(D) devout monks

11. The number of people who would encamp in a field was

(A) two or three thousand

(B) two or three hundred

(D) three or four hundred

12. The pilgrims would leave the field before

(A) morning

(B) dawn

(D) evening

13. During the journey, the pilgrims carried with them

(A) luggage

(B) bazaar

(D) clothes

14. The tent of the Tehsildar was set on one side of the tent of

(A) Sister Nivedita

(B) Swami Vivekananda

(D) other pilgrims

15. The tent of the Tehsildar was placed near some advantageous spot for

(A) supervision of the pilgrims

(B) forming a social centre

(D) making cooking fire

16. The monks, of all the orders, were numbered in

(A) hundreds

(B) thousands

(D) tens

17. The colour of the tents of the monks was

(A) red

(B) blue

(D) white

18. Some of the tents used by the monks were no larger than

(A) a good-sized hut

(B) a good-sized cave

(D) a good-sized umbrella

19. The more learned of the monks swarmed about

(A) Sister Nivedita

(B) Swami Vivekananda

(D) the State officer

20. The more learned of the monks swarmed about the Swami at

(A) every tent

(B) every bazaar

(D) every cave

21. Throughout the hours of the daylight, the monks would remain absorbed in

(A) meditation

(B) argument

(D) prayer

22. The talk on their side had been all of

(A) Kali

(B) Siva

(D) pilgrims

23. When Swami had insisted on drawing the attention of the monks to the world about them, they had

(A) praised him

(B) honoured him

(D) rebuked him

24. Even foreigners, the monks urged, were

(A) pilgrims

(B) devotees

(D) men

25. The monks did not prefer distinctions between

(A) pilgrims and monks

(B) Swadesh and bidesh

(D) men and women

26. Many of the monks could not understand the warmth of the Swami’s love and sympathy for

(A) Hinduism

(B) Buddhism

(D) Jainism

27. Those simple souls could not even conceive of a unity, in which Hindu and Mohammedan were but

(A) close friends

(B) rival elements

(D) mutual partners

28. The soil of the Punjab, the monks argued, was drenched with the blood of those who had

(A) battled for their motherland

(B) prayed to Lord Siva

(D) practised a narrow orthodoxy

29. The person who is referred to as 'an anachronism of the future' was

(A) Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

(B) Swami Vivekananda

(D) Jesus Christ

30. The Tehsildar himself, and many officers and servants of the pilgrimage, had been

(A) Hindus

(B) Christians

(D) Sheperds

31. The person who came with a group of friends to seek formal acceptance by the Swami as disciples was

(A) one of the monks

(B) Sister Nivedita

(D) Tehsildar

32. Leaving Islamabad, the pilgrims camped for a night at

(A) Amarnath

(B) Pahlgam

(D) Islamabad

33. Pahlgam is a place famous for its

(A) beautiful landscapes

(B) mountain streams

(D) green pastures

34. Pahlgam is the village of the

(A) farmers

(B) shepherds

(D) workers

35. At Pahlgam, the camp halted for

(A) a night

(B) a day

(D) an hour

36. At Pahlgam, the camp halted for a day to keep

(A) fasting

(B) ekadashi

(D) promise

37. The slopes near Pahlgam were dark with

(A) pine trees

(B) oak trees

(D) orange trees

38. "It was the scenery of Switzerland or Norway, at their gentlest and loveliest."-The place referred to here is

(A) Islamabad

(B) Amarnath

(D) Jammu

39. Sister Nivedita and other pilgrims saw the last of human dwellings at

(A) Pahlgam

(B) Punjab

(D) Islamabad

40. Sister Nivedita and her groups saw a few saeter-huts at

(A) Pahlgam

(B) Punjab

(D) Amarnath

41. The first day, the pilgrims camped in

(A) a palm-wood

(B) a cave

(D) a grassy knoll

42. The next day, the pilgrims pitched their tents beside

(A) a frozen lake

(B) a brown river

(D) a farm house

43. On the second night, the great camp-fire was made of

(A) pine

(B) juniper

(D) grass

44. The servants had to wander many miles, in search of

(A) food

(B) medicine

(D) rice

45. The Cave of Amarnath was situated in

(A) a boulder-strewn gorge

(B) a dense forest

(D) a valley

46. According to the author of the text, 'Amarnath', the people who first came upon the great ice lingam were

(A) pilgrims

(B) peasants

(D) monks

47. The great ice-lingam made the peasants who first came upon it

(A) worried

(B) happy

(D) blessed

48. The great ice-lingam must have seemed to the awestruck peasants who first came upon it like

(A) the waiting Presence of Siva

(B) the waiting Presence of Kali

(D) the waiting Presence of God

49. As the Swami entered the Cave, it seemed to him, as if he saw

(A) Brahman made visible before him

(B) Kali made visible before him

(D) God made visible before him

50. As the Swami saw Siva made visible before him in the Cave of Amarnath, he knelt and prostrated

(A) two or three times

(B) three or four times

(D) many times

51. In the brief moments inside the Cave of Amarnath, the Swami had received from Siva

(A) the gift of peaceful death

(B) the gift of Amar or immortality

(D) the gift of leadership

52. Outside the cave of Amarnath, there was no

(A) monks and pilgrims

(B) helpless people

(D) helpless people

53. Amarnath is remarkable for its

(A) peaceful atmosphere

(B) simplicity and closeness to nature

(D) ice-pillar

54. The pilgrimage culminates on a great day of

(A) Ekadashi

(B) Ramzan

(D) Buddha Purnima

55. On the auspicious day of Rakhibandhan, the pilgrims observed the occasion, by

(A) tying sacred threads

(B) offering prayers

(D) taking vows

56. On the great day of Rakhibandhan, the pilgrims' wrists were tied with:

(A) red and yellow threads

(B) blue and green threads

(D) black and silver threads

57. As said by the Swami, the Cave of Amarnath was first discovered by:

(A) a group of peasants

(B) a party of shepherds

(D) a group of pilgrims

58. As said by the Swami, the Cave of Amarnath was first discovered by a party of shepherds:

(A) one winter day

(B) one spring day

(D) one autumn day

59. The purity and whiteness of the ice-pillar had startled and enwrapped:

(A) Sister Nivedita

(B) Tehsildar

(D) Swami Vivekananda

60. The cavern had revealed itself to the Swami as the secret of:

(A) Amarnath

(B) Pahlgam

(D) Pawan

61. The Swami had received from the cave:

(A) the gift of Amarnath

(B) the gift of voluntary death

(D) the gift of leadership

Fill in the Blanks

* Everywhere they saw the march of gathering hosts...

(A) hosts

(B) people

(D) crowd

* A crowd of pilgrims would encamp in a field.

(A) One, two

(B) Two, three

(D) Four, five

* The pilgrims carried a bazaar with them.

(A) flowers

(B) fruits

(D) bazaar

* Organisation appeared to be systematic.

(A) orderly

(B) instinctive

(D) systematic

* The tent of the Tehsildar was generally placed near some advantageous spot.

(A) The tent, the Swami

(B) The Tehsildar, the monks

(D) The camp, the State officer

* There were hundreds of monks of all the orders.

(A) hundreds, pilgrims

(B) thousands, visitors

(D) thousands, monks

* There were hundreds of monks, of all the orders, with their tents.

(A) tents

(B) flowers

(D) vegetables

* The colour of the tents of the monks was Gerrua.

(A) red

(B) brown

(D) white

* The talk on the Swami's influence appeared to be magnetic.

(A) alluring

(B) magnetic

(D) towering

* The talk of the pilgrims had been all of Siva.

(A) monks, Siva

(B) pilgrims, Shakti

(D) pilgrims, Brahman

* The soil of the Punjab, the monks argued, was drenched with the blood of those who had died for the faith.

(A) Kashmir, religion

(B) Islamabad, religion

(D) Pahlgam, honour

* Sister Nivedita, came afterwards, indeed, with a group of friends, begging formal acceptance by the Swami as his disciples.

(A) the State office, disciples

(B) the Tehsildar, disciples

(D) the pilgrims, disciples

* Pahlgam is a place famous for its holy springs.

(A) Pawan, temples

(B) Pahlgam, rivers

(D) Pahlgam, shrines

* Pahlgam is the village of the pilgrims.

(A) farmers

(B) businessmen

(D) pilgrims

* At Pahlgam, the camp halted for a day.

(A) a day

(B) an hour

(D) a month

* The Cave of Amarnath was situated in a boulder-strewn gorge.

(A) valley

(B) gorge

(D) island

* The Swami had received from Siva the gift of Amar.

(A) Siva, wisdom

(B) Kali, courage

(D) Brahman, speaking power

Fill in the blanks Type

* Outside the cave, there was no Brahmanic helpless people.

(A) cave, people

(B) Brahmanic

(D) Cavern, manipulation

* Pawan is a place famous for its holy springs.

(A) cave, people

(B) cave, corruption

(D) cave, exploitation

* Leaving Islamabad, the pilgrims camped for a night at Pahlgam.

(A) trains, Islamabad

(B) cars, Pawan

(D) ships, Pahlgam

Declaration: Use Numeric UI font to get the Bengali font perfectly . Select the text and touch the 'Read Aloud ' option and set the speed at '3' to listen the whole text as one is telling you story and get better understanding.

Amarnath/ Sister Nivedita/ New Syllabus/ Class XI

Amarnath

SISTER NIVEDITA

To get the PDF of Amarnath click here 👇

To get the PDF of Bengali meaning click here 👇

To get the PDF of Word notes click here 👇

Word Notes with Bengali Meaning

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Amarnath/ Sister Nivedita/ New Syllabus/ Class XI

Amarnath

SISTER NIVEDITA

To get the PDF of Amarnath click here 👇

To get the PDF of Bengali meaning click here 👇

To get the PDF of Word notes click here 👇

Word Notes with Bengali Meaning

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