LALLESHWARI

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In literature of India, 'Lalleshwari (लल्लेश्वरी)' (1320 – 1392) is also known as ''Lalla'' or ''Lal Ded'', and was a Hindu poet of the Shaivite sect. Her verses are the earliest compositions in the Kashmiri language that have come down to us.
She was born in Pandrethan (ancient Puranadhisthana) some four and a half miles to the southeast of Srinagar. She married at an early age, but her marriage was unhappy and she left home at twenty-four to become a disciple of the Shaivite guru Siddha Srikantha (Sed Bayu).
Many legends and stories remain about Lalla. One in particular tells of how Lalla, who ignored the normal convention of dress, choosing to wander around naked, was teased by several children. A nearby cloth merchant scolded the children for their disrespect. Lalla asked the merchant for two lengths of cloth, equal in weight. That day as she walked around naked, she wore a piece of cloth over each shoulder, and as she met with respect or scorn, she tied a knot in one or another. In the evening, she brought the cloth back to the merchant, and asked him to weigh them again. The cloths were equal in weight, no matter how many knots were in each. Respect and scorn have no weight of their own.
Her poems (called ''vakhs'') have been translated into English by Richard Temple, Jia Lal Kilam, Coleman Barks, and Jaishree Odin.

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★ Naked Song, , Coleman, Barks, Maypop Books, 1992,