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Shiva and Sumitra reincarnation case:
Dr. Ian Stevenson, Professor and Scientist, (University of Virginia, United States of America)
Researcher Parmeshwar Dayal, (Independent researcher and psychologist, India)
Dr. Satwant Pasricha, Professor, (University of Virginia, United States of America and National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, India)
Researcher Dr. Kuldip Kumar Dhiman, Philosopher, (Panjab University, Chandigarh, India)
Researcher Dr. James G. Matlock, PhD (Rhine Research Center, Durham, United States of America)
Dr. Antonia Mills, Professor, (University of Northern British Columbia, Canada)
A verified reincarnation case in India. [The girl who talked with a Yama being and came from a hell after 2 months, to the current human life.]
This rebirth case is important because the individual could remember 2 different past lives. One life as a creature in hell and another life as a woman who lived in India.
In 1985, a young married woman named Sumitra Singh from a village in northern India seemingly died and then came back to life. Initially confused, she eventually claimed to be Shiva, a woman who had been allegedly murdered by her in-laws in a different village two months prior. Sumitra accurately identified Shiva’s family members and interacted with them appropriately, adhering to customary norms. Shiva’s family accepted Sumitra as Shiva in a new body, and she maintained this identity for the rest of her life. This exceptional case has been examined by multiple researchers and interpreted as an instance of reincarnation, possession, or a combination of both.
Shiva Tripathi was born on October 24, 1962, in Sevpur, Etawah District, India, into the Brahmin caste. Shiva Tripathi was a well-educated woman. Her father, Ram Siya Tripathi, was a college lecturer. Shiva grew up in Etawah, completed her education, and graduated with a B.A. in Home Economics. At 18, she married Chhedi Lal from the village of Dibiyapur and had two children, nicknamed Tinku and Rinku, living with her in-laws.
Tensions arose between Shiva and her in-laws due to her education, manners, or perceived insufficiency of her dowry. A serious dispute occurred in May 1985 when Shiva was prevented from attending a family wedding. On the evening of May 18, Shiva’s maternal uncle by marriage, Brijesh Pathak, visited and found her upset, claiming her mother-in-law and a sister-in-law had beaten her. The next morning, Shiva’s body was discovered on the railway tracks at the nearby Phaphoond station. Her in-laws asserted she had committed suicide, but rumors suggested foul play.
Sumitra Singh was born around 1968 in Angad ka Nagla, Etawah District, into the Thakur caste. She received basic reading and writing instruction from a cousin but never attended school formally. At 13, she married Jagdish Singh from the village of Sharifpura and moved in with his family. After three years of marriage, she gave birth to a boy in December 1984.
In early 1985, Sumitra Singh began experiencing episodes of unconsciousness, lasting from a few minutes to a full day. During these episodes, her eyes would roll upward, and she would clench her teeth. She sometimes attributed these incidents to possession by the goddess Santoshi Mata. (an inhuman being. In general, gods and goddesses do not enter disgusting human bodies.) On two occasions, she briefly channeled different personalities: a woman who had drowned and a man from another region. Local healers were consulted but could not help.
On July 19, 1985, Sumitra predicted her death three days later. That same day, she lost consciousness and appeared to die. Witnesses reported that her breathing and pulse stopped, and her face paled for at least five minutes. As her family began mourning, she revived but claimed to be Shiva Tripathi.
Independent investigations were conducted by reincarnation researchers such as Ian Stevenson, Satwant Pasricha, and psychologist Parmeshwar Dayal after learning about the case in October 1985. They interviewed witnesses, family members, and studied newspaper reports. Dayal also administered psychological tests and analyzed handwriting samples.
Two later follow-up investigations were attempted, but Sumitra and her husband could not be reached. In 2009, Antonia Mills and Kuldip Dhiman discovered that Sumitra had died in 1998. They obtained previously unpublished letters and interviewed relatives and associates of both Shiva and Sumitra to reassess the case and compare it with other cases of possession and reincarnation.
Upon awakening as Shiva, Sumitra did not recognize her surroundings or her family. She initially spoke little but soon began sharing details about Shiva’s life and her alleged murder by in-laws. She wanted to see Shiva’s children and disassociated herself from Sumitra’s husband and son. Sumitra’s family thought she was insane or possessed and subjected her to prolonged, cruel exorcism attempts. Nevertheless, she persisted in identifying as Shiva.
Shiva Tripathi was allegedly murdered by her in-laws on May 18, 1985. Two months later, on July 19, Sumitra Singh seemingly died and revived with Shiva’s personality. During the intervening period between her death and apparent rebirth, Shiva reported having a vivid experience in the afterlife.
She described finding herself in a hellish realm ruled by a Yama, a ruler of a hell. There, she witnessed sinners being punished by monstrous beings. However, due to some good karma, Yama offered her the chance to return to human life, leading to her presumed rebirth in Sumitra’s body.
Upon awakening in Sumitra’s body, Shiva claimed to have memories from the intervening period. She remembered being brought before Lord Yama and witnessing sinful people with their feet turned backward, suffering various cruel punishments according to their karmas. She said that the goddess Santoshi Mata helped her by hiding her under Yama’s seat and providing sustenance. After several days, Sumitra pleaded with Yama for mercy, and he agreed to send her back to the human world for seven more years of human life.
Stevenson and his colleagues took careful measures to ensure that the two families had not been in contact prior to these events. Dibiyapur and Sharifpura are approximately 60 miles apart, and the families belonged to different castes, had differing educational backgrounds, and led distinct lifestyles—one urban and professional, the other rural and agricultural.
To verify the authenticity of Sumitra’s claims, the researchers compared her statements with newspaper reports about Shiva’s life and death. They identified 19 correct statements made by Sumitra that were not present in any newspaper reports. This indicated that Sumitra possessed apparent paranormal knowledge of Shiva’s life and belongings that could not be attributed to publicly available information.
Sumitra’s Recognitions of Shiva’s Family Members and Friends:
There remain several circumstances in which recognitions may occur that deserve credit as showing paranormal knowledge on the part of the subject. These are: recognitions that the subject makes spontaneously without anyone’s having asked him or her to identify another person; recognitions that occur when the subject is confronted with a person and asked a question like: “Do you know who this person is?” or “Tell me who I am”; and recognitions in which the subject immediately afterward adds a statement about some intimate detail, perhaps a nickname, not known outside a small circle of family and friends. We learned of 12 members of Shiva’s family and circle of friends whom Sumitra recognized under conditions that we believe excluded cueing. We shall describe the circumstances of seven of Sumitra’s recognitions, including one in which cueing might have played a part and six in which we think it did not.
- ‘Ram Siya Tripathi’, Shiva’s father: When he first went to Sharifpura, he introduced himself outside the house, and someone told Sumitra, who was then inside, that “her father” (that is, Shiva’s) had come to the house. We therefore attach no significance to Sumitra’s telling Ram Siya Tripathi what his name was. However, she called him “Papa” (as Shiva had) and wept. Also, when Ram Siya Tripathi asked her, Sumitra immediately stated two pet names by which Shiva was sometimes called in her family: Aruna and Shiv Shanker. The first of these names, Aruna, had been published in a newspaper report of Shiva’s death, but the second had not.
- ‘Baleshwar Prasad Chaturvedi’, Shiva’s maternal uncle by marriage: Sumitra recognized him at the time he accompanied Ram Siya Tripathi to Sharifpura. Asked who he was, Sumitra at first said he was Arvind’s father. (Arvind was one of Shiva’s maternal uncles.) Asked to try again, Sumitra then said that Baleshwar Prasad Chaturvedi was the father of Arvind’s wife. This was correct.
- ‘Ram Rani’, Shiva’s mother: This recognition occurred at the time of Sumitra’s first visit to Etawah. Ram Siya tried to mislead Sumitra by telling her that her (Shiva’s) mother was standing in a group of other women at the Tripathi house. In fact, Ram Rani had gone inside the house and was not in this group of women. Sumitra insisted that her (that is, Shiva’s) mother was not among the group of other women; she then went into the house and searched for Shiva’s mother, whom she found and embraced tearfully. (Attempts were also made in another instance to mislead Sumitra deliberately, but failed.) In connection with this recognition, we should note that Ram Siya Tripathi had already shown Sumitra a photograph of Ram Rani.
- ‘Ram Naresh’, another of Shiva’s maternal uncles: This recognition occurred at the time of Sumitra’s first visit to Etawah. Ram Naresh presented himself to Sumitra and said: “Who am I?” Sumitra said: “You are my mother’s brother.” He said: “Which one?” She replied: “Ram Naresh of Kanpur.” He had formerly lived in Kanpur and had moved to Etawah after Shiva’s death.
- ‘Ram Prakash Dixit’, another of Shiva’s maternal uncles: He went to Sharifpura (at the end of October, less than 10 days after Ram Siya Tripathi had first met Sumitra). He had grown a beard, which Shiva had never seen. When Sumitra first saw him, he was sitting in front of her and remained silent. She recognized him as Shiva’s mother’s brother but was at first unable to give his name. He then spoke a few words, and she immediately recognized his voice and stated his name.
- ‘Manish’, Shiva’s nephew (the son of her sister Uma): This recognition occurred in Etawah on November 22, 1985. Sumitra was at the Tripathi house on an upstairs terrace. One of Shiva’s brothers, noticing Uma and Manish approaching, drew Sumitra’s attention to them. Sumitra looked down and said “Manish has come.” Sumitra went down from the terrace, hugged Uma, and called her “sister.” However, this cannot count as a flawless recognition because Ram Siya Tripathi had already shown Sumitra a photograph of Uma.
- ‘Krishna Devi Dube’, a friend of Shiva’s youth: This recognition occurred at Sikandarpur when Sumitra visited her mother-in-law’s family in February 1986. More than eight years earlier, Krishna Devi and Shiva had known each other when Shiva used to visit one of her maternal uncles (Brijesh Pathak) in the village of Kainjari, Krishna Devi’s native place. When Krishna Devi married, she moved to Sikandarpur and had not met Shiva for more than eight years prior to Shiva’s death. When Sumitra saw Krishna Devi, she said: “Jiji! How come you are here? I died and have come into a Thakur’s family and am helpless.” Shiva would have known normally that Krishna Devi had married and moved to Sikandarpur; nevertheless, the Shiva personality of Sumitra—if we may use that expression here—seemed surprised to meet Krishna Devi in Sikandarpur. Shiva, when alive, had called Krishna Devi “Jiji.” This word means “sister,” and although Shiva and Krishna Devi were not real sisters, close female friends in India may use this form of address with each other.
In addition to the above-mentioned and other recognitions of living persons, Sumitra was able to recognize 15 members of Shiva’s family in photographs. When Ram Siya Tripathi first met Sumitra in Sharifpura, he showed her eight photographs in an album that he had brought. One was of his wife and children, taken in 1967, that is, about 18 years earlier. Sumitra correctly identified all six persons in the photograph: Ram Siya Tripathi, his wife, his mother, his daughter Uma, his son Raman, and his daughter Shiva. Of the last, Sumitra said: “This is me.”
Shown another photograph, this one of five of the Tripathi children, Sumitra correctly identified and named all the persons in the photograph. (Some of these persons figured in the previous photograph and in others shown to Sumitra.)
Another photograph showed three adult women, two of them holding infants. Sumitra identified Shiva’s mother in it and said the child on her lap was Shiva’s brother Raman. She then said that one of the other women was a maternal aunt. She said the third woman was possibly another aunt, but she was unsure of this and could not recognize the child on this woman’s lap.
Upon seeing a photograph of Shiva’s young son Tinku, Sumitra began to cry, said the photograph was of Tinku, and asked where Tinku and Rinku then were.
When a photograph of Shiva’s sister-in-law Rama Kanti was shown to Sumitra, she said: “This is Rama Kanti who hit me with a brick.” (Ram Siya Tripathi said Sumitra’s recognition of this photograph dispelled his remaining doubts about whether his daughter Shiva was possessing her.)
In showing the photographs to Sumitra, Ram Siya Tripathi’s attitude appears to have been one of keen interest mixed with skepticism. He said that as he showed Sumitra the photographs in the album, he asked her to identify the persons in them and gave her no cues. She gave the name of each person and usually the relationship of the person to Shiva. The villager, Lal Man Dube, who escorted Ram Siya Tripathi and his relative Baleshwar Prasad Chaturvedi to the house of Sumitra’s in-laws in Sharifpura, witnessed Sumitra’s recognitions of the photographs as Ram Siya Tripathi showed them to her. He confirmed that her recognizing statements about them were entirely spontaneous and not cued by any remarks the visitors made. We have described only a portion of the photographs she recognized, and we have examined the photographs ourselves. Excluding repetitions of the same person appearing in more than one of the photographs, Sumitra was asked to identify 17 persons in the photographs. She unhesitatingly identified 12 of them, identified another three after some hesitation, and failed to recognize two persons.
Ram Siya Tripathi showed the album of photographs to Sumitra when he first met her on October 20, 1985. Although he did not give her cues before she recognized each photograph, he did tell her after she had finished that she had recognized all the people in them correctly. We think it likely also that he communicated to her, if only nonverbally, that she was correct after her statements about each photograph, if not about each person in a photograph.
Under these circumstances, Sumitra had some advantage in recognizing persons she met later in Etawah whose faces she had already seen in the photographs. (We have referred to two of these persons above, Shiva’s mother and sister.) However, Sumitra was credited with recognizing and identifying (usually by name) eight members of the family or their circle of friends, whose photographs she had not seen.
Some of the newspaper accounts of the death of Shiva and of the subsequent judicial inquiry included photographs of Shiva, but these were taken in 1979. The photographs of her as a child (which Sumitra recognized) and the photographs of other members of the Tripathi family had not been published.
In sum, Sumitra recognized 23 members of Shiva’s family and acquaintances either in person or in photographs, some of them in both ways.
Ram Siya Tripathi, Shiva’s father, heard a rumor that his late daughter had possessed a girl named Sumitra in Sharifpura. Upon visiting her on October 20, 1985, he showed her several photographs. Sumitra accurately identified:
- All six family members in an 18-year-old photograph.
- Five Tripathi children in another picture.
- Shiva’s mother, brother, and maternal aunt in a third photograph.
Sumitra also recognized Shiva’s son Tinku and reacted emotionally, inquiring about his and Rinku’s whereabouts. Upon seeing Shiva’s sister-in-law, she recalled a past incident, stating, “This is Rama Kanti, who hit me with a brick.” This conviction led Tripathi to believe Sumitra was indeed his daughter returned. Out of 17 people in eight photographs, she identified 15, hesitating with three and failing to recognize only two.
In total, Sumitra recognized 23 of Shiva’s relatives and friends in person or in photographs. Conversely, she no longer recognized her own family members, including her husband, son, in-laws, father, cousin, and cousin’s husband. She also displayed confusion regarding places, merging details from both Shiva’s and her own life.
After her transformation, Sumitra exhibited significant behavioral changes, adopting the mannerisms of a high-caste, educated woman:
-She wore her sari more elegantly and switched to wearing sandals.
-She became an early riser and insisted on being addressed as Shiva.
-Her interactions became more formal, even with her husband and in-laws.
-She exhibited a higher level of literacy, reading and writing Hindi with ease, and frequently composing letters to the Tripathi family.
Initially, Sumitra refused intimacy with her husband and did not acknowledge her son, claiming he was from her husband’s previous marriage. However, she eventually accepted her roles as wife and mother while still asserting she was Shiva.
Her transformation also led to a striking improvement in her reading and writing abilities, which had previously been quite rudimentary. She began to write frequently, often corresponding with the Tripathi family, much like Shiva had done.
During their investigation, Mills and Dhiman acquired five letters, two of which were previously unpublished, penned by Shiva and Sumitra after the latter’s transformation. In her correspondence with her parents post-marriage, Shiva often expressed homesickness and concern about insufficient time for visits, writing, or studying for her Bachelor of Arts degree. She also requested updates on her sister and friends and shared news. Her most recent letter, penned five months before her death, revealed distress: “Every night I get scared in my dreams and sometimes I wake up screaming.”
Sumitra’s letter, written to the Tripathi family roughly five months after she claimed to have reawakened as Shiva, exhibited hurried, less tidy handwriting with numerous cross-outs. The tone was desperate; Sumitra repeatedly expressed her dislike for her current situation, pleaded to be taken away, insisted she was Shiva, and even wrote, “God is bad as he has dumped me here.” Dhiman estimated the writing ability demonstrated in this letter to be at least that of a Grade 10 student.
Mills and Dhiman noted similarities between Sumitra’s letter sign-offs and expressed sentiments of missing family to Shiva’s letter-writing habits and style.
Ian Stevenson assessed that while Sumitra’s literacy had significantly improved, it still fell short of Shiva’s level. He likened the situation to “a master pianist sitting down to play a broken-down piano.”
Sumitra’s family in Sharifpur reported that she maintained the persona of Shiva until her death, a period of 13 years. The Tripathi family concurred, stating that Sumitra had retained Shiva’s persona as long as they remained in contact, up until 1988, and found the situation somewhat challenging. Shiva’s siblings independently remarked, “You see the body, not the soul,” with her sister Uma adding that Sumitra “loved me the same way… only the face was different.”
The intermission period between Shiva Tripathi’s death and Sumitra’s return as Shiva was relatively short. Shiva Tripathi died on May 18, 1985, and Sumitra died and was revived with Shiva’s personality just two months later, on July 19, 1985. The case of Sumitra raises intriguing questions about possession and reincarnation. Mills and Dhiman examined Sumitra’s case within the contexts of both possession and reincarnation, noting that the duration of possessions can vary greatly, and that typical reincarnation cases often feature birthmarks or defects echoing past injuries, which was not the case for Sumitra because the body had already been fully developed. However, it is visible that this case is not one of possession, but rather that the previous person’s mind left the body and a new mind came into the body from some another world. This reincarnation case is one of the verified reincarnation cases in India. These types of reincarnation cases are categorized in the field of reincarnation as possession-type and replacement-type cases. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) produced a documentary film about children who remember past lives, and it includes the reincarnation case of Sumitra Singh, which is available on YouTube. This reincarnation case provides strong scientific evidence for the existence of rebirth phenomena which was taught by the Buddha.
There are a lot reincarnation cases like this in the free book named “Scientific Evidence for Reincarnation, NDEs and Karma with Personal Stories”.
You can directly Download “Scientific Evidence for Reincarnation, NDEs and Karma with Personal Stories” book for free from the internet or from this website: https://evidence-for-reincarnation.weebly.com