Hazrat Baba Tajuddin Rishi: From Sultan’s Sword to Nand Rishi’s Love – The Saint Who United Kashmir with Humanity
By Altamash Ali, New Age Islam
1 November 2025
Spread the order across Kashmir; built Khanqahs; promoted Hindu-Muslim unity, women's equality, education, anti-dowry, and environmental protection.
Main Points:
1. 1.Born around 1370 AD in a Hindu Rajput family in Anantnag, Kashmir; childhood name Tazi Pyada; became Thanedar under Sultan Sikandar.
2. 2.Sent to arrest Hazrat Nuruddin Nurani in Kaimuh cave; impressed by the saint's calm reply and divine aura; accepted Islam on the spot and renamed Baba Tajuddin.
3. 3.Left royal job; served Sheikh Nuruddin; followed ascetic life of vegetarianism, celibacy, nature love, and meditation after Sheikh's death in 1438 AD.
4. 5.Died around 1450 AD; shrine in Vitarhal village; annual Urs attracts all faiths; message of love, service, and humanity lives on.
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Hazrat Baba Tajuddin Rishi was born in a Hindu Rajput family in the Anantnag district of Kashmir. His birth is believed to be around 1370 AD, though there is no exact written record of the date. At that time, Hindu kings ruled Kashmir, but the influence of Islam was slowly growing. His childhood name was Tazi Pyada. He was a brave and honest boy. He was sharp in studies and learned sword fighting and horse riding as per Rajput traditions. His family lived in a small village near Anantnag, where farming and animal rearing were the main work.
From childhood, Tazi Pyada had something special. He helped others, shared food with the poor, and prayed in the temple. But in those days, there was tension in Kashmir over religion. Fear and doubt were rising between Hindus and Muslims. When Tazi Pyada grew up, he got a job in the court of Sultan Sikandar Butshikan. Sultan Sikandar ruled Kashmir from 1389 to 1413. He was very strict and made tough laws to spread Islam. Tazi Pyada was made the Thanedar (police and admin head) of Anantnag district. He looked after law and order, collected taxes, and followed the Sultan’s orders.
Tazi Pyada was very hardworking and fair. People both feared and respected him. But one day, his life changed forever. Some people were jealous of Hazrat Nuruddin Nurani. Hazrat Nuruddin was the biggest saint of Kashmir at that time. People called him Nand Rishi or Sheikh-ul-Alam. He lived in caves, did meditation, and taught people about truth, love, and God. His words were so simple and true that both Hindus and Muslims came to him. This made some people angry. They complained to the Sultan that Nuruddin was speaking against the state.
The Sultan ordered Tazi Pyada,
“Go, arrest Nuruddin from the Kaimuh cave and bring him.”
Kaimuh is a village near Anantnag. There was a cave on a high hill where Sheikh Nuruddin lived. Tazi Pyada went with his soldiers. At the cave entrance, he shouted loudly, “Nuruddin! Come out! It’s the Sultan’s order!
From inside came a very calm and sweet voice, “O Tazi Pyada, don’t get angry. Don’t be proud of being Sikandar’s servant. I am not alone either. My protector is Allah, who guards me.” Tazi Pyada was shocked. He thought, why is this man not scared? Then the cave stone moved, and Sheikh Nuruddin came out. His face glowed like the moon. His eyes had so much peace that anyone seeing them would calm down. Simple clothes, long beard, and a wooden stick in hand. As soon as Tazi Pyada saw him, his legs started shaking. The sword fell from his hand. He knelt down and started crying. In that very moment, he recited the Kalma and accepted Islam. The Sheikh hugged him and gave him a new name – Baba Tajuddin.
After this, Baba Tajuddin left the Sultan’s job. He removed royal clothes, wore a simple kurta, and started serving Sheikh Nuruddin. He roamed forests with him, cut wood, fetched water, and listened to his teachings day and night. The Sheikh taught him, “God is one. Names can be different – Ram, Rahman, Waheguru – but the Lord is the same. Love, serve, don’t lie.
Baba Tajuddin fully adopted the Rishi order. Rishi means ascetic. Rishis don’t eat meat, don’t drink alcohol, follow celibacy, and live with nature. They meditate in caves, forests, and mountains. Baba Tajuddin started living like this. He woke up early, prayed, cut wood in the jungle, and gave it to the poor. In the afternoon, he sat with the Sheikh and talked. In the evening, he explained things to villagers.
Sheikh Nuruddin passed away in 1438 AD. After his death, the Rishi order was about to scatter. People thought, who will guide now? But Baba Tajuddin did not lose courage. He gave new life to the order. He travelled to every corner of Kashmir. Anantnag, Kulgam, Srinagar, Baramulla, Ganderbal – his footsteps were everywhere. Whole villages started following him.
His message was very simple – “The way to reach Allah is love. Go to mosque or temple, but keep your heart clean. Help others. Plant trees, save water, don’t fight.” People changed after hearing him. Many Hindu families started following the Rishi path. They left meat and began living simply.
Baba Tajuddin said,
“Changing religion is not necessary, adopt humanity.”
He made the Rishi order strong. Earlier, it ran only on Sheikh Nuruddin’s name. Baba Tajuddin built Khanqahs. Khanqah means ashram for saints. There, Rishis lived, meditated, taught, and helped people. There was a big Khanqah in Anantnag where hundreds came. Baba Tajuddin gave place to women too. In those days, girls didn’t step out of home, but Baba said, “Women and men are equal. Both have the right to worship God.” Many women became his disciples. He taught them Quran, devotional songs, and service.
He loved nature a lot. He said, “Trees, rivers, birds – all are Allah’s creation. Harming them is sin.” On his saying, people started saving forests. Thousands of trees were planted around Anantnag. Even today, big cedar trees there remind of him. He got springs cleaned, ponds made. He made people put grains for birds and fodder for cows. He believed serving nature is serving God.
He also did a lot for social reform. At that time, dowry, child marriage, untouchability were common. Baba Tajuddin went to village panchayats and said, “A girl is not a burden, she is a daughter. Don’t take dowry, give love.” He organized many community weddings where no dowry was taken. He stressed Hindu-Muslim unity. He said, “Mosque and temple are both God’s houses. Leave hate, hug each other.” In his time, many Hindu and Muslim families started eating together.
He promoted education too. Baba Tajuddin himself knew Sanskrit, Persian, and Kashmiri. In Khanqahs, children were taught for free. Both boys and girls came. There was a separate room for girls. He said, “Study and darkness will go away. Knowledge is a lamp that turns night into day.” His disciples later became big teachers in Kashmir.
He also contributed to poetry, though less. Sheikh Nuruddin’s Shruk (Kashmiri devotional songs) were very famous. Baba Tajuddin wrote some Shruks too. One famous line is:
“Jungle is my home, heart is my mosque,
Love is worship, kindness is prayer.”
His poetry was in simple language. Even a village shepherd could sing it. He said, “Poetry touches the heart, books touch the mind.”
He started the tradition of succession. After the Sheikh, Baba Tajuddin became the leader. Then he made Baba Bamuddin his successor. After that came Baba Zainuddin, Baba Payamuddin. This chain still continues.
His death happened around 1450 AD. Before dying, he lived in Vitarhal village. His shrine is there. Vitarhal is a little away from Anantnag. His Dargah is still there today. Every year, Urs is celebrated. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs – everyone comes. Langar runs, Qawwali happens. People make wishes. Near the Dargah is a spring whose water helps in illnesses.
Baba Tajuddin’s life teaches that a person can change. Becoming a priest of love from an angry officer is not easy. But one glimpse of truth and love changes life. He used to say, “I left Sikandar’s kingdom, got Nuruddin’s company. Now my throne is kindness, my kingdom is love.”
Today, when unity is talked about in Kashmir, Baba Tajuddin is remembered. He said, “If there is hate in the heart, even a mosque is a graveyard. If there is love in the heart, even a jungle is paradise.” His message is still alive – serve, love, be human.
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Altamash Ali is a Sufi writer and a student at IFTM University.
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