Jalandharnath — Nath Rishi

Jalandharnath, also known as Jalandhipa or Hadipa in various regional traditions, is a significant early figure in the Nath Sampradaya, counted among the primary disciples of Matsyendranath alongside Gorakhnath, and is particularly venerated in Bengal, where he is associated with the founding of important Nath centers and is remembered in regional folk traditions and Bengali Nath literature such as the Gorakh Vijay. According to legend, Jalandharnath once disguised himself as a lowly sweeper named Hadipa in the court of King Bharthari or in Bengali royal courts to teach humility and detachment to a proud queen or princess, ultimately revealing his true identity as an accomplished siddha and imparting profound yogic teachings on the illusory nature of worldly status and attachment. He is closely associated with the practice and lineage of the city of Jalandhar in Punjab, which some traditions hold takes its name from his residence and yogic activity there, establishing it as one of the important Nath pithas (seats) alongside other sacred centers associated with the tradition's early masters. Jalandharnath's teachings, transmitted largely through oral tradition and later folk-literary compilations, emphasize the Nath ideal of achieving spiritual mastery while remaining outwardly humble or even socially degraded, illustrating the tradition's radical rejection of caste-based spiritual hierarchy in favor of internal yogic attainment as the sole true measure of a person's worth.