Popular Legends of Bundelkhand
Abstract: Bundelas always revolted against Mughals
and fought for independence. Descended from Vindhya Range they ruled in Bundelkhand. They were a Rajput clan of Chattari lineage
who ruled several states in central India
in Bundelkhand region. They grew to prominence in
the beginning of the 16th century. The
Bundelas of Bundelkhand trace their ancestry to Maharaja Hemkaran (Pancham
Singh Bundela) who was driven from his kingdom by his four elder brothers.
While in exile, he propitiated the goddess Vindyhavasini
and with her assistance established a kingdom at Mahauni in the Vindhya Range
of central India. One of Pancham's three sons, Sohanpal, is believed to have
wrested Garhkundar from the Khangars in the middle of the 14th century A.D. The
Khangars were listed in the 19th century by the British as one of the tribal
groups of Bundelkhand. The Khangars themselves claim Rajput descent.
Introduction: According to Khangar folk tradition, a Khangar
warrior, Khet Singh, fought along with Prithviraj Chauhan in the war against
the Chandela king Parmal, and was awarded part of the defeated king’s
territory. Khet Singh is believed to have made his capital in a massive
seven-storied fort in Tikamgarh district, Garhkundar. We know little about
the Khangar kingdom for over the next hundred years, till the emergence of a
Bundela chief, Sohanpal. The Bundela chief Rudra Pratap founded the state of Orchha. This city rapidly became
the epicenter of Bundela supremacy in the region. Rudra Pratap, it is said,
began planning the city and the fortifications of the citadel. He was martyred when he single handedly tried
to rescue an unfortunate cow from a ferocious tiger. Though the cow was saved,
Rudra Pratap died due to injuries, leaving the throne of Orchha to his Son
Bharati Chand who continued to work on developing the capital.
For the descendants of Bundela Rajput Royalty and the
numerous individuals and families that still remain, the ‘Rajput’ issue still
is a significant one. However, in the wider context of history, what is
significant is not the battles that were fought but instead the rich legacy of
the written and performed words, art, architecture and folklore that the
Bundela Rajputs left behind. The present paper deals with some popular legends
of Bundelkhand.
Bund Lelo: A very popular Bundelkhand legend is that in the fourteenth century, Hurdeo Singh, a Rajput
prince was expelled from the Kshatriya caste for marrying a slave-girl. He left the Rajputs and went to the court
of one of the smaller sovereigns of Central India. A young family grew up around him there. In process of time the
king's son became enamoured of Hurdeo's beautiful daughter. He asked for her
hands from her father. Hurdeo gave his consent with a condition. The condition
was that on the nuptial day the king and his whole court would be present at a
banquet. For his son, the aged king became ready. On the nuptial day the whole
court was seated around Hurdeo's princely board. There in magnificent goblets
of silver and gold, drinks containing opium were served to the guests. They lost the
power of resistance and became an easy prey to Hurdeo's hired assassins. In
this way Hurdeo gained the throne and soon made himself the master of all the
surrounding areas. With his sons and the numerous adherents, he formed a new
clan known as the Bourdillas, or
‘Sons of the Slave’ Thus he gave the new name Boundilacund or Bundelcund to his
country. Since then warriors from the region often used to go into the battle shouting ‘Bund Lelo’.
Extreme Penance: The Bundelas of Bundelkhand trace their ancestry to
Pancham Singh Bundela (Hemkaran or Jagdas). It is
said that Virbhadra, the ruler of Kasi had two wives. The elder had three sons
and the younger just one – Pancham. When the king died, the sons of his elder
queen refused the young prince his share of the kingdom and instead sent him
into exile. As a wanderer, he traveled into the mountains of the Vindhyas to
worship Vindhyavasini Devi.
When the extreme penance brought no response from
Devi, Pancham proceeded to cut off his own head. When the steel drew the first
drop or ‘bund’ of blood from his throat, the Devi appeared and said that she was
well pleased with his courage and devotion. She blessed the sword that he
carried and turned the drop of blood into a boy. She again added that this boy would
be destined to become the founder of the ruling clan of Bundelas, the givers of
the drop of blood. There are of course, many other versions of the same story,
all stressing on the fact that the Bundelas were heroic people who were willing to sacrifice their
lives for a cause. It would be useful to note here that Vindhyavasini Devi was
worshipped by all the royal Bundelas as a clan Goddess.
This most famous legend has another version. According
to this version Ganesh Kuvari, the queen of the Orchha ruler Madhukar Shah, was
bringing the idol of Lord Ram from Ayodhya. On the way the idol disappeared. Ganesh
Kuvari became very sorry. The idol appeared in the River Sarayu when she
threatened to jump into the river and accompanied her as she travelled on foot
in the eight month long journey from Ayodhya to Orchha. According to the legend,
Lord Ram refused to move from Rani Mahal where he was installed as the
Chaturbhuj Temple had not yet been completed. Thus the palace became the Ram
Raja Temple, the center of Orchha, from where Lord Ram ruled over his kingdom.
Ecstatic
Dancing of Madhukar: The
ecstatic dancing of Madhukar Shah, a devotee of Krishna, on the banks of Betwa,
caused a shower of golden coins as the doors of Jugal Kishore Temple opened for
him to worship. This episode is commemorated in the naming of Kanchan (golden)
Ghat below the cenotaphs. Madhukar Tika, the tilak (decorative symbol worn on
the forehead) is named after Madhukar Shah who refused to take it off even
though it was forbidden to wear it in the Mughal emperor Akbar’s court. The
legend celebrates the courage of Orchha ruler in keeping the symbol of his
faith even as he was forced to capitulate to the stronger Muslim power.
Hardol’s Martyrdom: A very popular Bundelkhand legend is that of Prince
Hardaul, brother of Jhujhar Singh, ruler of Orchha. During his lifetime, Vir Singh
had declared his eldest son, Jujhar Singh, as his successor, but the fact was
that his third son, Hardol Singh, was the more able man. Being lily-livered,
Jujhar was perfectly happy to accept Mughal suzerainty, and was summarily
summoned to the Imperial Durbar. In his absence, Hardol got the charge of
Orchha, and he intended to rid the kingdom of all Mughal influence. When Hardol
Singh collected a large army to take on the Mughals, he became hugely popular
among the people of Orchha. The Mughals balked at the thought of Orchha’s independence
and mounted an invasion of the city. Hardol Singh sliced through their defenses
like a hot knife through butter. This sent his popularity graph in Orchha
soaring further upwards. However, Hardol Singh’s rising popularity incensed his
brother, Jujhar. During this time, Shah Jahan occupied the Peacock Throne of
the Mughals, and he did his best to stoke the fires of envy that were raging
furiously in Jujhar’s heart. Emperor Shah Jahan sowed seeds of suspicion in
Jujhar’s mind about the fidelity of his wife. Jhujhar suspected Hardaul of
having an affair with his queen and to test her loyalty Jujhar asked his wife
to poison Hardol. Hardaul’s
taking poison and his death made him a powerful icon of sacrifice for family
values. It was said that Hardol’s sister, Kunjavati, visited his resting place
a few days before her daughter’s wedding. He is said to have miraculously
appeared with gifts when his sister’s daughter was getting married. To this day
Hardaul is invoked in marriages as the giver of boons. He is worshipped by
women desirous of an offspring. Hardaul Baithak, usually a shrine under a tree,
is found in many villages of Bundelkhand.
Islam
or Death: Once Shah
Jahan made a triumphal entry into Orchha, the capital of the Bundelas. He
demolished the lofty and massive temple of Bir Singh Dev and raised a mosque in
its place. Two sons and one grandson of Jujhar Singh, who were of tender age,
were made Musalmans. Another son of Jujhar Singh, Udaybhan, and a minister,
Shyam Dawa, had fled to Golconda where they were captured by Qutbul-Mulk and
sent to Shah Jahan. According to Badshahnama, “Udaybhan and Shyam Dawa,
who were of full age, were offered the alternative of Islam or death. They
chose the latter and were sent to hell.”
Celebrating
the Beloved: Nearly 400
years ago the besotted Bundela Rajput Inramani built Praveen Mahal for the
woman he loved. As a courtesan, she could not be part of the royal household so
she was given a separate space. It is said that here she spent her time in the
company of her three Dasis who tutored her in the arts of poetry, singing and
dancing. If you enter her Mahal and ascend to the upper floor you will see her
represented on the walls along with her three attendants preparing her for her
evening performances. Every evening before sunset, it is said that Indramani
would visit her. She used to sing for him. The birds, they say, would fall
silent and even the wind was held transfixed by the notes that flowed from her
lips. The sun, it seemed, was lulled to sleep by her voice and sank into the
soft cushion of green beyond the rippling Betwa. When it was dark, the oil
lamps were lit and the musicians tuned their instruments. Then she used to
dance for him and Indramani watched her adoringly. Her feet beat intricate
patterns on the stone as her body sinuously moved to the music. They say there
was a time when storm clouds held back from raining until she had completed her
performances and retired indoors with her lover. There was a time; they said
when the Mughal Emperor in Delhi was so enamoured by her beauty and her art
that he commanded her to present herself at his court in the Capital. She
did…and when he wooed her with gifts and praise and asked her to remain, she
replied that she was like half-eaten food fit only to be eaten by creatures of
the wild and outcasts. Did the Emperor qualify? Realizing he had been
outwitted, he permitted her to return to Indramani her beloved.
A
Small Matter of Love: In order to put an end to the
uncertainty, Shah Jahan recalled Jujhar’s younger sibling, Pahar Singh, from
the Deccan and installed him as King of Orchha. But his reign was unremarkable
as he was merely a puppet king whose strings were in the hands of Shah Jahan. His
successor, Sujan Singh was similarly unexceptional. The Mughal Emperor
Aurangzeb’s daughter, Badrunissa, was in love with Sujan Singh’s son, prince
Indramani. Sujan himself had a turbulent relationship with the Mughals, and
Aurangzeb ordered his commandant, Randulha Khanwho was stationed at Orchha, to
demolish the Chaturbhuj Temple and to build a mosque in its place.The news
spread like wildfire throughout the town, and virtually the entire populace
assembled at the site. Meanwhile, Randulha had also reached Chaturbhuj to carry
out his orders, and the people of Orchha did not know how to thwart Randulha’s
designs. Then, a young lad stepped forward and gave Randulha a mouthful for
trying to desecrate the shrine. As a wrathful Randulha turned to confront the
‘lad’, his heart turned to jelly when he saw the latter take off his turban to
reveal the ravishing Badrunissa with her thick hair cascading down her
shoulders. After falling to his knees in supplication, the commandant left the
shrine and the daughter managed to save the temple her father had ordered to be
destroyed. The power of love, as they say, should never be underestimated.
Bagh
Raj and Abul Fazl: Orchha's most illustrious ruler
was Raja Vir Singh Dev. A man of dashing personality, Vir Singh was a great warrior.
He was well versed in the art of statecraft. However, he was a bold and
imaginative administrator and had a sense of fair play, as the bloodcurdling
story of the prince, Bagh Raj, illustrates. Bagh Raj had set his dogs on a
saint who refused to tell him about the whereabouts of a deer the prince was
pursuing. Appalled by his arrogance, the king sentenced the prince to death by
the fangs of the same hunting dogs, thereby sacrificing him at the altar of
justice.
He assassinated Abul Fazl, the vizier of the great Mughal emperor Akbar and the author of
the Akbarnama to earn a huge reward from Akbar's rebellious
son Salim. He intercepted Abul Fazl, chopped off his head and sent it to the
crown prince on a platter at Allahabad. Abul Fazl was assassinated while he was
returning from the Deccan between Sarai Vir and Antri in a plot contrived by
the Mughal Prince Salim.
Abul Fazl was opposing the accession of Prince Salim to the throne. Raja Vir
Singh Dev was a close associate of the Mughal
Emperor Jehangir. The Sheesh Mahal, which is famous for its Jehangir Mahal, was
specially constructed to receive the emperor as a guest. The story goes that
the palace had taken 22 years to build. Emperor Jehangir was a guest there for
only a day.
Conclusion: Apart from the above mentioned legends there are
numerous legends that offer us the glimpses of Bundela dynasty. In many ways
they are sources of insipiration for the inhabitants of Bundelkhand.
Works Cited:
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Publishing House, 2002.
Busch, Allison. Poetry of Kings: The Classical Hindi
Literature of Mughal
India. Chapter 1: Keshavdas of Orchha, pp. 23-64. New York:
Oxford University Press, 2011.
Kambo, Dharam P. Orchha. New Delhi: Vashima Printers,
1984.
Majumdar,
R.C. The Mughul Empire, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan, 2007.
Rousselet, Louis.
India and Its Native Princes: Travels in
Central India and in
the Presidencies of Bombay and Bengal. London: Bickers & Son, 1882.
Ruggles, D.
Fairchild. Islamic Gardens and
Landscapes. Philadelphia:
University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008.
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Vijai Sharma. The Forts of Bundelkhand.
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