Yawan Mats to Shanga Bibi: A Dancer’s Journey to Spiritual Freedom
By Afroz Khan, New Age Islam
17 November 2025
Patriarchal exploitation of women ends with spiritual awakening. Kashmiri dancer Yawan Mats, sent to seduce saints for revenge, fails against Sheikh Noor-ud-Din. Realising Sufism's power, she repents, becomes his disciple Shanga Bibi, propagates faith, and gains freedom from male dominance.
Main Points
1. Patriarchal society exploits women’s bodies until spiritual detachment frees them.
2. King Sikandar sent dancer Yawan Mats to seduce a Brahmin saint for revenge.
3. Brahmins retaliated by sending her to Muslim Saint Sheikh Noor-ud-Din.
4. Noor-ud-Din’s spirituality resisted; Yawan Mats realised Sufism’s greater power.
5. She became a disciple Shanga Bibi, propagated faith, and attained liberation.
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For centuries, patriarchal society has used women's bodies in various ways. Sometimes they turned them into prostitutes to satisfy their lust, sometimes they turned them into slaves to serve them, sometimes they used violence against their wives to show their masculinity, sometimes they forcibly used women's bodies to continue their lineage, sometimes they turned them into courtesans for their entertainment, and even used a woman's body to take revenge on their enemies.
It is a matter of great surprise that the man, who considers himself strong and powerful, has exploited the body of a woman at every turn for his convenience.
But a man can use the body of a woman only till the time the woman is bound by worldly attachments.
When a woman gets the knowledge of spirituality and gets detached from the world, then she rejects male dominance and gets free from all the bondages, then the divine power takes care of her like a loving father, and provides her spiritual happiness, after which the woman does not remain a slave, wife, prostitute, she only becomes a worshipper of her God, then no man is able to subjugate that woman, rather he himself becomes her slave.
Sikandar Shah Miri, who ruled Kashmir around the 1400s, was the king. He had many court dancers in his court to entertain him. Amongst these dancers was a very attractive and beautiful dancer named "Yawan Mats" who was renowned for her beauty. Once, the king went to meet a famous Brahmin saint of Kashmir, but the saint refused to meet the king for some reason. The king felt deeply insulted by this incident, his ego was hurt, and Sikandar Shah Miri decided to take revenge on the Brahmin saint.
A powerful king can take revenge in many ways. The person from whom he wanted to avenge his insult was a saint, but the method of revenge chosen by Sikandar Shah Miri was through the body of a woman. The king sent his court's most attractive dancer, " Yawan Mats," to seduce the Brahmin saint. If the Brahmin saint became attracted to the dancer, his sainthood would be broken and he would lose the respect he had established in society as a saint.
Yawan Mats obeyed Sikandar Shah Miri's orders and went to the saint as his disciple. With her charm, she aroused lust in the Brahmin saint's heart. This incident spread throughout Kashmir, causing the Hindus of Kashmir to feel insulted. Hindus and Muslims started publicising this incident with the intention of insulting each other. To take revenge for this incident, some Brahmins of Kashmir again resorted to the physical attraction of Yawan Mats.
They wanted to do the same to Muslim Saint Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani (also known as Nund Rishi) as happened to the Brahmin saint. They planned to send Yawan Mats to Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani.
They thought that Noorani Sahib would also get trapped in the charm of Yawan Mats like the Brahmin saint and we will also get an opportunity to tease the Muslims.
Yawan Mats agreed to the Brahmins' advice and went to Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani as his disciple.
She tried very hard to ensnare Nur-ud-din Wali Sahib with her beauty. But this did not happen. This had a profound impact on Yawan Mats.
She realised that the power of spirituality and Sufism was far greater than her beauty and youth. In one of his Sufi poems, Sheikh Noor-ud-din Wali Sahib wrote,"Payekh payas Yawan Matsee" (Yawan Mats, you will repent one day).
Yawan Mats then became disillusioned with worldly life and with a true heart, she vowed to become a disciple of Sheikh Noor-ud–din Sahib. In her later life, she was known not by the name of Yawan Mats but by the name of "Shanga Bibi".
She remained a propagator of Sufism and a true disciple of Sheikh Noor-ud–din throughout her life. Shanga Bibi was also the only female caretaker of the tomb of Noor-ud–din Wali Sahib.
As long as Yawan Mats remained bound by worldly desires, she lived her life under the control of men and according to their wishes. But when she discovered the true meaning of life and emerged from the illusion of this world, she became a respectable individual, undoubted by any other man. A woman is subservient only until she understands the meaning of life.
When she attains this knowledge, she becomes free from all bondage. Shanga Bibi lies buried near the tomb of Shaikh Nuruddin at Chrari Shariff, Kashmir, India.
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Afroz Khan is a teacher by profession who writes on women, politics, communal harmony, and Islam. She holds a master’s degree in Education.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-personalities/yawan-mats-dancer-journey-spiritual-freedom/d/137663
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