We had discussed the Chauhan-Chandel conflict in the last two episodes. In this episode, we will discuss the folk beliefs regarding the two brothers Alha-Udal who fought on behalf of King Parmardi Dev.
In the battle between the Chauhans and the Chandelas, Alha and Udal displayed amazing valor. Tales of his valor are sung in the form of folk songs in the villages of central India for the last hundreds of years. In Indian culture, Alha is counted among the seven Chiranjeevis.
In relation to Alha-Udal, the basis of hundreds of popular folk beliefs is Alha Khand i.e. Parmal Raso composed by King Jagnik, as well as through plays, songs and folk tales composed by folk artists, bhandas, singers etc. in the last nine centuries. A different personality of Oodal has been coined.
In the folk mind of Bundelkhand, Alha is considered to be the form of Yudhishthira, the Dharmaraja of Mahabharata and Udal as the heroic Arjuna. In each of the 52 battles described in the Alha-Khand, Alha's shining sword enchants the reader or listener. Alha's sword has the power to destroy, but he does not use that power.
Udal's real name was Uday Singh, he attained martyrdom while fighting with Prithviraj Chauhan's army to protect his motherland i.e. Mahoba kingdom. Although in India the concept of considering the whole earth as the mother and the Asetu Himalaya as the nation has come from the Rigvedic period, but in the medieval period the meaning of motherland and nation was that small state ruled by a king in which a person resided.
Watch this interesting history video-
Although King Prithviraj Chauhan was victorious in this war, Alha-Udal became the legend of folklore due to the immense bravery performed by Alha-Udal. The elder brother Alha and the younger brother Udal got their greatness in the public mind from a poetic book called Alha-Khand, which is also called Parmal Raso, composed by King Jagnik of Jagner.
It is essentially an oral epic whose story is found in the medieval manuscripts of the Prithviraj Raso and the treatise Bhava Purana. It has also been called the Mahabharata of Kali Yuga. Some people say that this poetry survived only through oral tradition in Bundelkhand, which was written by an English collector Elliot during the British rule.
In this book, the tales of 52 battles fought by Alha-Udal are described. Raja Jagnik was the ruler of Jagner located in the Agra district of present-day Uttar Pradesh and was the maternal uncle of Alha-Udal. In some texts Jagnik, the author of Alh-Khand, has been described as the court poet of King Parmardi.
There is less historicity and more literaryness in Alhkhand. Nevertheless, the plot of this book is considered to be true in the folk psyche. Prithviraj Chauhan is considered defeated and Alha is considered the winner of the war and Saptchiranjeevi.
In the praise of Alha-Udal in Alha-Khand it is said-
Big Fighters who don't get killed
One should die in fear, the third may die in fear.
There are many styles of Aalha Gaikki in which Baiswari style is prominent. This is a solo singing style. Other companions accompaniment on the instruments. The singing is very vigorous. Singers dressed as a brave warrior sing Aalha with a sword in hand.
Alha and Udal were the sons of Dasraj, the commander of the Chandela king Parmal. Senapati Dasraj was born in the Banafar dynasty which was a branch of the ancient Ahir Kshatriya dynasty. Some texts state that Banafar was a forest dweller. The fighters of this forest dwelling community fought against famous Rajputs like Raja Prithviraj Chauhan and Mahil.
According to a text named Bhava Purana, Alha's mother, Devaki, belonged to the Ahir caste. Some texts state that King Mahil of Orai was an enemy of Alha-Udal, who said that Alha came from a different family as his mother was an Aryan Abhiri Aryan Ahir.
At the behest of Mahila, King Parmardi Dev had expelled Alha-Udal from his kingdom. Because of this, at the time when King Prithviraj attacked Mahoba, Alha-Udal used to leave the kingdom of Chandelas and stay in the court of Kannauj, but when he heard that Prithviraj Chauhan had attacked his motherland, he came to Mahoba from Kannauj and he Fought a terrible war against King Prithviraj.
In praise of Alha's bravery, it is said in the Al-Khand-
Listen to the story of Bundelkhand in Bundelon Ki Bani
Water here horse, fire in the water here
The arrow speaks, the arrow speaks, the sword speaks in the run
Ja din jaam leo alha ne, the earth has sunk two and a half hands.
Watch in the next episode - King Prithviraj Chauhan kidnapped Princess Sanyogita!
-Doctor. Mohanlal Gupta