Mulshankar Jani

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(? — 15.08.1947) Sadhak who had come to the Ashram in the thirties from a place near Pattan in Gujarat. He was the brother of Dayashankar to whom Sri Aurobindo had given the name of Aesculapius (He was a qualified Ayurvedic doctor, at one time in charge of the Ashram Dispensary.) Mulshankar worked in the Dispensary. Sri Aurobindo said that “Mulshankar is a man with much serious strength in his character and a strong will”.

He was one of six regular attendants of Sri Aurobindo, when he broke his leg at November 1938. These attendants were: Purani, Dr. Becharlal, Dr. Satyendra, Champaklal, Mulshankar and Nirodbaran. Mulshankar was youngest of the group, he gave Sri Aurobindo therapeutic massages and participated in the talks.

On August 15th 1947, Sri Aurobindo’s birthday and the day that India was liberated from England, paid hooligans, without warning, attacked ashram. Mulshankar was assassinated. It happened in the street, only fifty metres away from the main entrance to the Ashram. Mulshankar had been with Sri Aurobindo in Sri Aurobindo’s room and he was going home to take a shower and come back again to Sri Aurobindo. It was around 7:30 in the evening. Then some hooligans attacked him and stabbed him in his left side of the neck, there was bleeding from the left ear. Pavitra, came and put him in the car to take him to the hospital. Mulshankar soon died.

Nirodbaran recollected that when the news was brought to Sri Aurobindo that he had been fatally stabbed, Sri Aurobindo listened quietly and his face bore a grave and serious expression that they had not seen before.