Gadhegals or Asscurse stones - The territorial markers of medieval times in Mumbai

Asscurse stone or Ghadegal literal translation in local language is "gadhe" means donkey and "gal" means stone. These are rock edict that dates back to mostly Shilahara dynasty that ruled between 8th century to 12th century but few stones have been found to be from later period like 14th and 15th century. The stones were declarations of land grants bestowed on families and that a curse or punishment would fall in case someone violated the order. These steles had some peculiar and common features like on the top showing sun, moon and kalasa indicating the grant would remain till perpetuity, Kalasha indicating that it bestows prosperity upon the grantee and sculptural panel showing imagery of donkey and a female in a sexual congress, the meaning of this imagery is that anyone who oppose or dispute the grant would be punished and as punishment the miscreants mother will be copulated with a donkey.

Many of these edicts even had some inscriptions though not necessarily found on all the ass curse stones. These relics have been found across Maharshtra, Goa as well in Karnataka from different period with over 120 steles found in state of Maharashtra itself. Many of these relics have found its place in museum but few of them in Mumbai have been kept in neighbourhood temples and worshipped as deities while some have found its rightful place in public gardens and also on the roadside shrines.

Herostones, Dhenugal as well as Asscurse stone relics have always fascinated me and I have visited all of them mentioned in this blog. The information about these steles and there locations were so fractured and not available easily at a single source and this gave me an idea to write a small blog that provides information about this edicts found across Mumbai in one place.

Sanjay Gandhi National park gadhegal: On banks of a stream which joins with other streams in the park to become Dahisar river and flowed out of the park westwards and join the Gorai creek, today the river existance is confined within the boundaries of the park and becomes a sewage drain as it flows through the city. Close to this river bank within the park lies a cleared area with a small shrine. Few round and varied shapes of stones smeared in vermillion for many ages can be seen. Locals consider this shrine as Sati Mata temple. Morning walkers, tribals and forest officials take combined effort to maintain this shrine. Leaning on the shrine walls outside lies a stele which is painted in orange. A kalash as well as sun and moon is seen on the top while the panel at the bottom shows a donkey in sexual union with a figure that is not very clear. This is the Gadhegal steele of SGNP. 

Gorai Gadhegal: On Dharavi bet as one moves from Gorai chowk towards Uttan, there are two asscurse stones located on the road side. Theses stones were supposedly found in the fields nearby and were kept on the roadside. Over the years the locals started garlanding them and worshipping these stones. One of the Gorai stone is located close to the rickshaw stand just opposite to the road that goes to Gorai beach. A close observation of the stone shows that this relic is not just a ghadegal but also a dhenugal since the panel has two imagery, one showing a donkey in sexual congress with a female and other being a cow nurturing its calf. Such two in one relic is quite a rare find.

A furlong or two away from the first asscurse stone at Gorai lies another one, also on the roadside, right next to a busstop. The 2nd one is smaller in height as compared to the first gadhegal but has some inscriptions on it. 

Kalwa gadhegal: In a public garden on the west side of Kalwa lies an asscurse stone that is worshipped locally as Satva devi or Sati devi. It is reverred by locals so much that parents gets their kids to worship the deity and there is a priest that takes care of the makeshift shrine. The shrine is located inside K Nagnath Mhadu Mhatre garden and lake.

Dombivali Gadhegal : One of the best preserved specimen of gadhegal is located outside a Gaondevi temple in Dombivali east. What makes it a special relic is, it has got some inscriptions in Marathi as well as in Sanskrit language. The inscriptions have been deciphered by scholars and it states that in 13th century, Thane ruler Maharaj Alunku had given this land grant to a person named Jashvant Dalve from Shirvali village and also mentions name of some minister in the court. The person receving the grant needs to use it for the welfare of the people it states.

Badlapur Gadhegal: The gadhegal in Badlapur is one of the special stone relic because the local corporator has installed it outside a public garden and has even put effort to make people understand the significance of this heritage relic and quash any negative thoughts around the stele. It is estimated that this was installed near gramdevta temple in village of Shirgaon around 11th century when Ambernath Badlapur was ruled by Shilahar king Mamwani. It was removed from its location and thrown in the fields due to superstition and negative image associated with gadhegals. It was found in 2016 during construction and was installed at its present location.

Bhandup relic: Bhandup name gets a mention in 14th century chronicle Mahikhavati bakhar and a copper plate found in Nahur talks about Shilahara king which all indicates the long history of Bhandup dating back to medieval times. Very close to the railways tracks on eastern side of Bhandup lies a temple dedicated to village shetrapal god "Mhasoba" or "Mhaseshwar". It lies hidden behind a dhingy chawl. Closer look at the relic worshipped here as deity and one can clear see that it is a "asscurse stone" smeared in vermillion from ages. There is a possibility of some inscriptions on this relic hidden due to the vermillion applied on it.

Pimpalwadi Girgaon stone: This is yet another instance of a good specimen of gadhegal that has been preserved by the locals. In Pimpalwadi area of Girgaon lies a Mahadev temple which is the present location of the gadhegal which is placed at the back of the temple. Locals do worship this relic as gramdevta. The specimen has sun and moon on the top while the middle portion has some inscription on it though it has got faded to a large extent. The lower panel shows the usual imagery of female being forced into the sexual union with a donkey.

Neelkantheshwar temple Worli : A Mahadev temple located in heart of Worli built over a 100 years old is home to yet another ass curse stone. The relic lies in the temple courtyard but outside the sanctum and the prayer hall. There is a paduka stone which is probably a samadhi of some priest lies next to the stele. This Worli temple is one of many temples built by the Panchkalsi community who is said to have migrated to the island city along with Raja Bhimdev in the 12th century.

These territorial markers have been recorded or found at more than 40 plus locations in Mumbai, Thane region, many have been preserved as relic or being worshipped as a deity but sometimes the negative perception due to sexually explicit figurine on it, it is discarded or thrown away. One such example is Chandivali gaondevi temple which had half buried asscurse relic that was worshipped as Hanuman. The moment the priest realised that it is not a deity but gadhegal, the relic has been replaced by a new idol and most likely the old idol was immersed in Powai lake. 

Many such territorial markers have also found its place in museums but at times the information available about them is scarse or many a times the relics just stay in the storage rooms of the musems due to lack of space. It is hightime we realise that these relics are an important part of our heritage and it needs to be given its due significance and awareness created about them in public eye.