Author: Amit Bhattacharya
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: May 12, 2002
Away from the media-hogging Ram
temple controversy, the holy town of Ayodhya has quietly been nurturing
a legend of a different kind. Like the legend of Ram, this too can be traced
to ancient times. But unlike the temple discord, it sends out a message
of unity and brotherhood.
On the banks of the Saryu river
in the historic temple town, a curious memorial is currently being erected.
It commemorates the birthplace of Huh Hwang-ok, daughter of an Ayodhya
king, who is said to have later become Queen of the ancient Kaya kingdom
of Korea. The legend of an Indian princess who sailed to Korea and married
the King, is the stuff fairy tales are made of. The upshot of the tale
is that the Korean city of Kimhae (as the Kaya city-state later came to
be known as) has declared Ayodhya as its sister city.
Says Mr Bimlendra Mohan Mishra,
scion of Ayodhya's ruling family, "the Korean connection came as a major
surprise to us. I expect the memorial to Queen Huh, now being built here
in Ayodhya, to become a major pilgrim centre for Koreans." It all started
in 1997, when a South Korean delegation headed by Prof B M Kim, a descendent
of King Suro, visited the Ayodhya and informed Mr Mishra about the connection.
The Ayodhya 'Raja' has since been invited to Korea and ties between the
two cities have strengthened, with a Rs 200-crore Korean grant on the anvil
for Ayodhya.
The legend of the Indian princess
is narrated in Samguk Yusa, a Korean text written by a monk, Iryon (1206
AD-1289 AD). It is set in the Kaya kingdom in the first century CE. It
says that the area, in the south central Korean peninsula, was first ruled
by nine elders, but there was no king. One day, a voice spoke from heaven
at a place called Kuji (means 'delicious turtle' in Korean). A few hundred
people gathered there, along with three elders. The voice instructed them
to go to the top of the mountain, dig up some earth, dance and sing a song,
now known as Kujiga. They did as instructed and a plum-coloured cord descended
from heaven.
At the end of the cord was a gold
chest and when they opened it, they discovered six golden orbs. The elders
brought the chest home and the next day they opened it to discover that
the orbs had transformed into a baby boy.
The boy grew quickly (a sure sign
of a hero) and reached a height of nine feet. When the moon waxed to its
fullest that month, the boy - who was now called Kim Suro (Kim means gold)
- came to the throne of the land that was named Kaya. After two years he
built his own palace and ruled from there. When the nine elders encouraged
the king to take a bride he refused, saying that heaven had sent him to
be king and heaven would take care of his marriage as well.
Cut to India, where Huh Hwang-ok
was a princess in 'Ayuta' (Ayodhya?). In Iryon's text, the princess says
that she was 16 years old when she reached Kaya, that her family name was
Huh and her name, Hwang-ok (yellow jade in Korean).
The princess narrates the circumstances
leading to her marriage to King Suro thus: "In May this year, my father
and mother said, 'We had a dream last night, in which we saw a God who
said, I have sent down Suro to be king of Kaya. Suro is a holy man, and
is not yet married. So send your daughter to become his queen'. Then he
ascended to heaven. My daughter, bid farewell to your parents and go'."
Other accounts of the text, however,
say that it was Hwang-ok who got the dream.
Anyway, Huh is said to have arrived
in Kaya, along with her brother Po-ok, on a ship with a red sail and red
flag, bearing treasure and gifts. When she was presented to the king, she
told him of the dream and the king knew immediately that this was heaven's
chosen bride for him.
They were married in 49 CE and the
queen was greatly loved by all her subjects. She is said to have lived
to the grand old age of 156! The couple had 10 sons and two daughters.
Two of the sons were named Huh after their mother's family name and the
rest were called Kims, after King Kim Suro.
The Kaya kingdom's influence is
still felt in modern-day South Korea. Kimhae Kims and Kimhae Huhs trace
their origins to this ancient kingdom and Korea's current President Kim
Dae Jung and Prime Minister Jong Pil Kim are Kimhae Kims. Therein lies
the Indian Queen's importance in Korea eyes - she is revered as the progenitor
of two powerful clans which have survived to this day.
Queen Huh's tomb still stands in
the Gyeongsang (South) province of Korea. The tomb has a 5-metre high earthen
mound. It was repaired in 1641, the 19th year of the reign of King Injo
(1623-1649) of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910).
Also bearing testimony to the Queen's
Indian roots is the Pisa Stone Pagoda in the same province. The stones,
with exotic engravings and red patterns are believed to have originated
from India, brought by Princess Huh in her ship. The pagoda is also called
Chimpungtap (Wind Calming Pagoda) because it is reputed to have a mysterious
power to calm the stormy sea. Another myth surrounding Huh's voyage is
that, along with the many treasures she carried in the ship, was a single
plant of tea. Which is how tea came into Korea.
Queen Huh's importance in Korean
holy pantheon can be gauged from the fact that the theme of the opening
ceremony of the Busan Asian Games (to be held on September 29, this year)
is "Beautiful Union," which celebrates the union between King Kim Suro
and Huh Hwang-ok through a reenactment. This "Historical Union" is meant
to symbolise the unity and hopes of the 3.6 billion Asian people.
There is, of course, another celebrated
Indian export to Korea: Buddhism.
Indian monks travelling to Korea
to spread the Buddha's gospel and Korean monks making the assiduous pilgrimage
to Buddha's birthplace were active agents in cultural collaboration. Foremost
among these was Hyecho whose "Record of a Journey to the Five Indian Kingdoms"
is an invaluable historical document. The Korean vocabulary absorbed many
Sanskrit words and concepts like Narak, Bhikuni, Stupa, Brahma, Indra and
Nidana.
