Epic Love

Shiva - Sati/Parvati:

The Destroyer of the Trinity, The supreme God of Gods was a loner, vagabond, refusing to settle down and be tied down by earthly relationships. Enters Sati, the daughter of Prajapati Daksha of Kankhal. At such a young age her love moves everyone except her father. The reluctant Shiva had to answer her calls and for the first time, somebody wanted to marry him as a boon. What followed was wrath between Shiva and Daksha, a clash of egos that ended the soft maiden Sati's life. She chose death after overhearing her father insulted her husband. Shiva's sorrow turned to the angry tandav that destroyed the world. He roamed around a vagabond again, this time with a broken heart!

A few years passed by in her memory, as he roamed the land of Aryavarta, making a Linga each at every Sati Peeth beside her, in that way, this time, he will always be there by her side, to protect her.

Enters Parvati, the daughter of Parvat Raj. She was believed to be Sati reborn by everyone except Shiva. Denial was the best defence for his heart. He put Parvati on a difficult test, to impress him enough to accept her. He had made up his mind that this time he won't make the same mistake of falling in love. But she was Adi Shakti herself. At sixteen the maiden Gauri performed difficult penance as Uma and won his heart. They married grandly and she took over his abode to make it home. Sati always remained in his memories but Parvati gave him a perfect married life. Their respect for each other even made their smallest of clashes and quarrels perfect. To calm an angry Kali he stepped up and lay on her path. No ego came between their love, as they became proud parents of Kartika, Ashoka Sundari and Ganesh. Together they made the Earth safer and guided each other through the destruction of evil. She was the power behind his destruction. Today, in India unmarried women seek a husband like Shiva and newly married couples seek Parvati's blessings.

Narayan and Laxmi:

Lord Vishnu is the Preserver of the Trinity of Gods. He took the Kurma avatar to churn the ocean of milk, to help the Devas and Asuras regain what they had lost. Out came Laxmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, Daughter of Samudra Dev. She saw the handsome Vishnu mesmerize the Asuras as Mohini, and she asked him to marry her. She is the wealth behind his kingly ways. Although in God forms they have no issue yet they are sometimes believed to be the first married couple of the Gods and can never be worshipped without each other. In their different Avatars on earth, they are sometimes mother and son, siblings, friends or couples. They together help to preserve the earth.

Ram and Sita:

Ram, was the prince of Ayodhya, the perfect man. Sita was the daughter of Janaka, Princess of Mithila, He was a warrior, and she his home. They met at the Yagna of Maharshi Vishwamitra when he was around sixteen and she was barely close to her teenage years. Their views of the world were different, they crossed paths, yet, in Ram Sita learnt the meaning of life. Before they could consummate their marriage disaster struck. They left for exile, promising to stay away from each other, but being responsible as husband and wife. He promised her his life. That she will always be his only wife and queen. He became Maryada Purushottam. No king at that time was loyal to one wife like him. He trusted her enough that she was chaste, she trusted him enough that he would come for her. He knew the questions that could arise from his people. They pined and cried for each other in fond memories. They stayed away from each other most of their life, taken away by fate or driven away by society, yet they remained truthful and loyal to each other. He could not stop her from going, he was the king first then the husband, and his trust in her chastity had no proof for his people.

She stayed away suffering in silence, knowing what he was going through, she lived through their children, Labh and Kush, the only signs of their brief marital bliss. He could not stop her when she left forever, he sat silent, a strand of her hair, in his hand, of all that remained of her. He taught Labh and Kush all they needed to know to rule the kingdom and left to unite with his wife, by jumping in the Sarayu. Their perfectness made them the reincarnation of Narayan and Laxmi. They put their responsibilities ahead of their love and suffered in silence.

Today, Ram and Sita are worshipped in temples all over India. They are the epitome of love for the Indians.

Laxman and Urmila :

The brother of Ram married the sister of Sita and their marital bliss too was short-lived because of the doom that came upon Ayodhya. Laxman wanted to follow his brother to the forest and Urmila wanted to follow him. But he made her stay back in the Palace to look after their old mothers. She waited 14 Years to see him and prayed for his safety as the news of the Battle arrived at Ayodhya. C prayed to the goddess Maya to grant her his part of sleep for fourteen years so that he could stay awake and guard his brother in the night. Upon being back from the forest they were blessed with twins as Laxman moved his capital to present-day Lucknow. They stayed together through thick and thin even as the relationship between their respective siblings broke.

Kama and Rati:

Kama was the son of Brahma, the God of Love, somewhat of the Indian Cupid with his arrow of flowers. His wife was Rati. As Kama was turned to ashes by Shiva's third eye, Rati prayed to god for mercy. Kama was forced to be reborn on earth as a human and Rati happily followed him.

Draupadi-Arjun-Subhadra:

If love triangles are a thing that adds spice to movies now, then this one is surely the most famous triangle. Draupadi gave her heart to the young man who won her in the swayamvar. She had heard of Arjun the greatest warrior and chose him over Karna, his half-brother. He was a charmer, who gave his heart to his friend's sister and his own cousin Subhadra. Subhadra had loved him ever since she knew him and they eloped happily away from the vain Suyodhan who wanted to marry her. But they were welcomed by an angry Draupadi. Arjun had given up on all his vows to his first wife. Her sole authority was gone and he shared her with his brother. Draupadi's call in distress was always her other husband Bheem, Arjun never defended her at any point in his life. Arjun's firstborn was also Subhadra's son Abhimanyu. Although they stayed together, Draupadi and Subhadra's relationship was always a cold war because of Arjun. Draupadi followed the brothers to death as Subhadra stayed behind to mentor her grandson and new king Parikshit in Hastinapur.

Krishna-Radha/ Rukmini:

The God who taught love was Krishna. He was the flirtatious Gopal who played the flute and danced with the Gopis, stealing their clothes and their butter. His love for Radha was a teenage romance full of passion and deep meanings, beyond the social barriers of the land. She was older, married in some versions and yet in a mad trance at his name. She danced to his flute and no matter how many gopis he met, every night at the gardens beside the Yamuna; Krishna met Radha, played his flute and made has for her. His separation from her was yet again of his responsibilities towards his people and he told her to wait for him. Radha waited for years in vain for news from him. Making his capital Dwarka he was sure she was waiting for him back home. But she could take the pain no longer and committed suicide. Radha's death devastated him. He stopped playing his flute and dancing. He played the flute only because Radha danced to it. Krishna returned to Dwarka as a staunch politician.

Rukmini was a princess of Videhi and sister to Krishna's enemy Rukmi. When Rukmi wanted her to marry the sinner Sishupala, she wrote a letter to Krishna urging him to make her his. Krishna responded as they eloped to get married. She made him vow not to kill her kins to marry her and he kept her words. She was his chief consort from his many marriages and her devotion to him is expressed in many tales. She gave him his first son and supported him throughout her life. Once when his wife set to weigh him against their valuable clothes and jewellery, she chose a Tulsi leaf to be equal to him, such was her devotion.

Abhimanyu and Uttara:

My favourite epic couple, Abhimanyu was the warrior son of Arjun and Uttara the daughter of King Virat. They got married just before the outbreak of the great Kurukshetra war when he was sixteen and she was around fourteen. Their only child Parikshit was still unborn when Abhimanyu got brutally killed by his uncles. Uttara lived all her life bringing up her child like his father. In their short span of marital life so great was their love that Uttara wanted to die in his pyre. When stopped by Krishna for her child, she asked for a boon of rebirth as his wife, to commit Sati. The great Rani Sati Temple in Rajasthan stands as a witness to the fulfilment of her promise.

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Bijolia: Her Home

Bijolia is situated in the current Bhilwara district of the state of Rajasthan, 55KMs from Bundi town and 105 km from Chittorgarh on the Bundi-Chittor Road. Previously, a part of Mewar this small town has its own history and tales. For a start, it was ruled by the Punwars or Parmer Rajputs from the 11th to the 13th Century. In the 13th Century, it went under the rule of the Chauhan dynasty who made a fort at Bhilwara and thus the capital of Bijolia shifted from Bijolia town to Bhilwara fort. The Punwars sought refuge in Mewar. The Chauhan rule ended soon and Rana Kumbha brought Bijolia under Mewar's rule. The Parmers served as Rao in Bijolia as a representative of the Mewar Royals. The Bijolia Inscriptions are equally famous but sadly the town is not a tourist site especially if you travel by bus or car. The Jain Temples that are made around the 14th and 15th centuries are an example of Mewar's rich architecture. There is no good place to stay in Bijolia. A few hotels and guest...

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Teeja Saka Chittor Ra

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The Queen of Mewar

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The Reva Cries

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Love or Obsession?

The next morning the Jahaj Mahal was woken at dawn by the sound of constructions on the roof. The women flocked to the lawn to catch a glimpse of what was happening. A pathway was being cut to the hill. On top of the hillock a pavilion was to be built, the soldiers informed. A pavilion for what? The women contemplated. “Rani Roopmati’s view point of the Reva.” Suddenly all eyes of the palace were on her. Roopmati stood there stunned. Baz Bahadur had called his best builders and chosen the highest point of Mandu to build a pavilion for his new queen. If she stood on its edge and looked at the horizon she could spot a thin silver line right where the sky met the land. The Reva. The queens were displeased. A pavilion for her? What about them? Where did she find the audacity to ask for it? But their surprises were not over yet. By mid-day builders arrived to dig out the lawn. “What is happening?” One of the concubines gasped. “Our beloved flowers are being plucked out. Why are you digging ...

The Warrior Bride

Kelwa/Kailwa is a small village situated around two hours away from Chittorgarh and an hour from Lake Pichola. It was mainly inhabited by the Rathores and ruled by the Chundawat clan, who were once the rulers of Mewar. One chief of Kelwa, was Rawat Sihaji Singh Chundawat. He was a very close ally of Rana Sanga. His son Jaga Singhji too died fighting for Rana Udai Singhji in one war with the Afghans in 1555 AD. Kelwa’s heir was the minor child of Jaga Singhji and his widow Sajjan Bai Songara Chauhan. Being from the clan of the Chauhan Rajputs, she was a warrior at heart. From the early age of about four, her only son was brought up under his uncle Naga Singhji, to fight for his motherland and serve it like all other Mewaris. Fatta (Patta), as fondly called by everyone was a deft warrior even before he reached his teens. His name and bravery spread across the land, to Rana Udai Singh’s ears in Chittorgarh. He was also the nephew to Ranaji’s close aide Rawat Chundawatji. Upon the order of...

The Cortege That Shook The Raj: Kanailal Dutta

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Maharana Pratap: The Sun of Mewar

Many of you have read my fan fiction as well as historical representations of the life and times of Maharana Pratap Singh of Mewar. I provided small details of his life in many articles. But never have I ever made a separate historical post on him. It is very difficult to put together his life without the help of folklore because historical evidence is scarce. This one was requested and hence here it goes. Needless to say, this one is very special. This is a blend of history and folklore. Leave your love. ❤️ Background and Birth: The year was 1540. Mewar was under a cloud of uncertainty. Banbir, their ruler for four years now, was a very incompetent ruler who always spent his time in luxury, drinking and dancing with girls. The crown prince Udai Singh was rumoured to be killed by him. Chittorgarh was in darkness. Around March 1540, Mewar once again saw hope as some trusted generals along Mewar with Kunwar Udai Singh attacked Chittorgarh taking Banbir by surprise. He was soon to re...

Kumbhalgarh Gogunda: Witness to Turmoil

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