In the previous episode, we had discussed the Chauhan-Chandel conflict on the basis of the opinions and inscriptions presented by various historians. In this episode, we will discuss the Chauhan-Chandel conflict on the basis of Alhakhand, which is also called Parmal Raso.
According to this book, Delhi King Prithviraj Chauhan marched on Mahoba, the kingdom of Chandel king Parmal Dev, to take the princess Chandraval, Naulakha necklace and Paras Mani, the princess of King Parmardi Dev.
According to the story in this book, on the full moon day of Shravan i.e. on the day of Rakshabandhan, Princess Chandrawal along with her friends reached Kirat Sagar to bury Kajali, when Prithviraj Chauhan attacked Mahoba.
Princess Chandraval along with her friends fought with Prithviraj's army. In this war, King Parmal's son, Prince Abhai Veergati was killed. Prithviraj Chauhan sent a message to King Parmal that if he wants to avoid war, then Princess Chandraval, Paras stone and Naulakha necklace should be handed over to King Prithviraj!
King Parmal refused this demand of Prithviraj. Due to this a fierce battle took place between the two armies in the field of Kirat Sagar. Due to this the daughters of Bundelkhand could not bury Kajali on that day.
The information of Prithviraj's invasion also reached Alha and Udal residing in Kannauj and King Lakhan of Kannauj. All these warriors disguised as sadhus reached the field of Kirat Sagar. A terrible war broke out on both sides.
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In the field of Bairagarh, Prithviraj's general Chamundrai, who is called as Chaura in Alhakhand, murdered Udal by deceit. After killing Udal, the Chauhan warriors started killing the Chandela army with great speed.
When Aalha came to know about the death of his younger brother Udal, he lost his cool and lashed out at Prithviraj Chauhan's army. Whoever came in front of Alha was killed.
According to Alh-Khand, two sons of King Prithviraj Chauhan were killed in this war. King Prithviraj and Veer Aalha came face to face after a fierce battle of one hour. A fierce battle ensued between the two. King Prithviraj Chauhan was badly injured in this war.
At the behest of Alha's Guru Gorakhnath, Alha gave life to Prithviraj Chauhan and Alha gave up the war and accepted the Nath cult.
Due to the war, the girls of Bundelkhand could bury Kajali on the second day of Rakshabandhan. Today, even after hundreds of years have passed, every year Kajali fair is held in Kirat Sagar Maidan to commemorate the victory of Alha-Udal. On this day the people of Mahoba celebrate the victory-fest. For this reason, the festival of Rakshabandhan is celebrated on the second day in Mahoba region.
A square in Mahoba has been named Udal-Chowk in the memory of Udal, the warrior who attained martyrdom in this war. Even today people do not go on horseback in this square in honor of Udal.
An Englishman named James Grant has written - 'Once a procession was going on and the groom was sitting on a horse. As the procession reached Udal Chowk, the horse got furious and slammed the groom. I have traditionally heard that no one can ride on a horse at Udal Chowk and today I saw him firsthand.'
In the name of Alha-Udal, huge statues of Alha-Udal have been installed in a square in Mahoba city. Alha is riding on his vehicle Gaj Pashchavad while Udal is riding on his flying horse Bedula. Both these statues are gigantic and alive. People come from far and wide to see them.
There is a post of Alha on the banks of Kirat Sagar, about which it is said that Alha's soldiers used to live here. The outpost of Alha's son Indal is said to be in Madan Sagar. According to Alhakhand, Indal too became immortal like his father Alha. When Guru Gorakhnath saw that Alha would kill Prithviraj with his divine weapons, he took Indal to Kadali forest. This Kadali forest has been identified by Hazari Prasad Dwivedi from the Terai region of Uttarakhand.
Many descriptions of Alh-Khand are exaggerated. Sometimes in battles only the names of the characters change. The rest of the events remain the same. Geographic information is incorrect. The names of some cities and strongholds are fictitious. There are mentions of lakhs of soldiers being killed in each and every battle. Animals and birds are also shown to be seekers or hindrances in the battles fought by Alha-Udal. In this book there are flying colts, sorceresses with miraculous powers, and bidinis. Kabandha i.e. headless torso is depicted fighting.
The characters of Aalkhand also change with the difference of place and dialect. In the Kannauj and Bhojpuri text, Alha is married to Sonvati, the princess of Nainagarh, i.e. Sunwa, while in the Western Hindi text Machil, the daughter of Raghomchha of Haridwar, was his wife.
Watch in the next episode - Alha-Udal became immortal fighting Emperor Prithviraj Chauhan!
-Doctor. Mohanlal Gupta