How Agni Became Auspicious

The great Rishi Saunak and his students had once gathered at the Naimesharanna at the beginning of the Kali Yug to save themselves from the effects of this age. Here Ugrasrava Sauti, the great Sage and son of Sage Lomharshana came to meet them. He surprised them with stories of King Janmejaya's strange Swarpa Yagna and the strangest tales he heard from Maharshi Krishna Daipayan Vyas Dev there, at this strangest of events. The eager Rishis asked Sauti about the story of Bhrigu and Agni.

Bhrigu was a powerful Rishi. His wife was Puloma, Daughter of Daksha Prajapati and granddaughter to Brahma. One day when his wife was pregnant, he left her in the darkness of the awaiting dawn to go for a dip in the holy Ganges far away. She was alone in the hut when a Rakshas attacked her. Scared and alone, Puloma cried helplessly for aid. Her beauty had mesmerized the animals who wanted to marry her by force. The demon leader took her into the hut and shut the door. But inside the hut, to her rescue stood Agni Dev. Agni Dev was married to her sister Swaha. Puloma prayed for his help.

" Let go of the sacred woman, you Demon." Agni roared in anger. Sensing danger, the Rakshas set Puloma free. But he was intelligent.

" Pravu Agni Dev, you are the most truthful in the whole Arya Varta God, answer my prayers." He pleaded. Agni wanted to hear what this demon had to say.

" Long ago, Puloma was promised to me by her father. Her father proposed marriage and I accepted it. But then Bhrigu came and Daksh found him more worthy of her. Without letting me know, her marriage was organised for him. I have searched lands for her. Tell me O truthful Lord, does she not belong to me?"

Puloma was shocked at this development, and Agni Dev was in a dilemma. He knew the truth, but saying it would mean Puloma being kidnapped. The demon would probably kill her child and Bhrigu's anger would destroy the world. Thinking carefully, Agni chose his words wisely, " Rakshas it is true that you were proposed marriage and she is yours actually but she was not married to you before marrying Bhrigu Maharishi. She took the Seven Vows with him and hence is his wife legally. Please leave her in peace."

Angered, the demon took a violent shape and scared Agni. He forcefully ran away with Puloma to hide her in a cave. Suddenly light filled the cave and Puloma was in deep pain. A beautiful baby boy appeared from her womb. His appearance was godly, his radiance spectacular. The Demon came to kill the child. A scared Puloma wailed. But as soon as the baby boy set his eyes on the demon, the demon turned to ashes. Puloma realised her boy was no ordinary baby, he was God sent to save his mother. Puloma returned with the baby to her hut.

But guilt filled her heart. Another man had touched her. She feared Bhrigu's anger and rejection. A few hours later, Bhrigu came back and saw a baby on his wife's lap. His happiness knew no bounds as he held his son. But Puloma seemed sad and aloof. After Bhrigu forced her to talk, she cried out spilling whatever had happened to her while he was gone. Bhrigu got angry and cursed Agni, " You will remain Hungry forever, nothing will satisfy your hunger, and you will destroy forests, villages, animals and birds. They will fear you like a demon."

Chyavana

Agni was surprised and scared. This way his flames would destroy the world. He went to Brahma and pleaded, " My Lord, I have never lied in my life yet I suffer this curse. You teach people that lies lead to curses and hell. But if people hear that I got cursed for being truthful then they will stop speaking the truth, My Lord." Brahma added a boon to Agni's curse. "Your touch will free the soul of sin, it will purify all and no Puja or Yagna will be complete without it. " Happy, Agni went back to stay on earth. He purified all and helped Pandavas burn down the Nagas at Khandavprastha.

Bhrigu understood his son was no ordinary human, meant to be a sage, he went to Narayana for advice. Narayana told him, " Name your son Chyavana. He will be a learned man. He will create a medicine called Chamanprash and will be powerful enough to oppose Lord Indra's Vajra. He will create history." Grateful Bhrigu returned home.

|| Mahabharat Vaani Amrit Saman||

|| Kahe suno Vyas Dev aur Kasiram||

Jauhar: All You Need to Know

“We have no Knowledge of the beginning and end of the world, the first and last of this ancient book has fallen out” Abu Talib Karim Rightly said by the poet laureate of Emperor Shah Jahan above, we do not actually know the beginning and end of anything in the universe, be it the traditions, culture or human race, or the world. What we know are fragments of the past we extract out of evidence. It is in vain to try and determine the first and last of something. For the past few months owing to some media hype on Jauhar, many of you had asked me questions. I tried to answer most of them. However, a lot remained unsaid and unwritten. Mostly because some things are impossible to put into words. But here I try my best. Today is a very significant day in history. On the 23 rd of February 1568, the world saw the last “Jauhar” of Chittorgarh, recorded in the medieval history of India. Akbar had invaded Mewar and the siege of four months ended in the Saka. There was no better day for...

The Queen of Mewar

There have been many versions, folktales and local stories in Rajputana on their Kings and Queens. None of these versions is, however, historical as history only mentions her as wife to Maharana Pratap, his consort and Queen Mother to Amar Singh. She was busy making a garland when Ratnawati rushed inside, hardly able to breathe. Concerned, the elder sister stopped her work and looked at her panting young sibling. " What is it? What's wrong?" "Jija maa sa is not letting me go to the haat mela alone. Please come with me, I need to buy some bangles." The spoiled younger one pleaded. " Wait, let me do my aarti first, then we can go." The reluctant Ratnawati sat down impatiently. In another room, their mother was helping their father get ready for the day. He was the Samant of Bijolia, the representative of the Rana of Mewar. Throughout the day he had to deal with administrative problems in Bijolia and give people justice, but today he had something...

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...

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...

Teeja Saka Chittor Ra

23rd February 1568. The sun rose on the eastern horizon, not with the hope of a new day. But, with the horror of what was to follow. The first rays of the Sun God were met by the chants of “Jai Bhavani!” that echoed in the air of Chittorgarh. The Mewaris knew it was time. Four months back, when the Mughals camped at the base of the fort, a helpless Chittorgarh had watched. Rana Udai Singh had left with his closest aides to make the new city westwards, his capital. If rumours were to be believed, he had left behind a cavalry of 8000 soldiers, under Rao Jaimal of Merta and Rawat Patta of Kelwa to look over the fort. He had also left behind some of his lesser queens and infant princes, as an assurance to the people that Chittorgarh was invincible. Their safety and hope had lived in Kunwar Pratap. Truth be said, they had already taken the crown Prince as their King. Ever since Ranisa had left with him till he became the Senapati, he had time and again proved to be a better lead...

The Queen Mother of Mewar

Let me start by saying, this is a representation of history and folklore in my own words, trying to show how great a soul this lady was. And let me start with a line here. “Naari Ki Balidaano Ko Sadev Bhulta Aya hai Itihas.” Yes, most women lay forgotten in the pages of history, only alive through the folklore and local tales that fail to reach the pages of books due to a lack of historical evidence. Their names don’t remain, but their haunting hand prints on the fort walls before Jauhar, their names on inscriptions as daughter, wife and mother, often make us wonder, who were they, how were they and how were their lives! Historically, the only thing we know about Maharani Jaivanta Bai Songara, princess of Jallore and queen of Mewar is that she was the first queen of Rana Udai Singh II, the mother of most probably her only son Maharana Pratap and daughter of ally of Rana Sanga, Akshay Raj of Jallore. Apart from that her entire life has no historical existence and is spun on ...

Kalbhoj: The Legend of Bappa Rawal

The Historical fiction is woven mainly from folklore from James Todd's semi-historical book. However, a very vague historical presence is found in Bhojraj the first king of Mewar. The year was 713AD. The Maurya decedents, Moris ruled over the Chitrakut area of west Rajasthan. The areas around Chitrakoot were ruled by many small Chieftains. One of them was Rawal Mahendra II a Guhilot descendent. (The decendent of Guha and Nagaditya) As most power struggles suggest, one of his ministers betrayed and killed him and made himself Rawal. Once, Kalbhoj was in the forests near Nagda close to the borders of the Solanki ruler, looking after his herds. The youngest Solankhini princess was out in the forest playing with her Sakhis. They were making failed attempts to make a Jhula on a banyan tree. Kalbhoj was watching them try when one of the Sakhis spotted him. Witty and charming he always grabbed everyone's attention. Mahendra II had two wives, his first being a Paramara princess from Mt...

The Princess of Marwar

Historically we know nothing about Phool Bai Rathore except that she was the daughter of Ram Singh Rathore, granddaughter of Raja Maldeo Rathore and fifth wife of Maharana Pratap. There is no historical evidence of Akbar's alliance with her in particular however Maldeo did give his granddaughters in a marriage alliance with Mughals and other major dynasties. Phool Kanwar's cousin Maanwati Bai (Better known as Jodha Bai or Jagat Gossain) married Salim, Akbar's son and later emperor Jahangir. The Princess was in her chambers. The Mehrgarh Fort was in a quiet dark state and everyone feared what lay ahead. The men of the Rathore clan had gone to ally with the Mughal emperor Akbar. Rao Maldeo had decided that it was the only way to save Marwar's future. His second son Udai and youngest one Chandrasen supported his decision to save the country. But his heir and firstborn Ram Singh Rathore was a rebel. He was not going to bow down before the Mughals and lose his dignity. A...

The Reva Cries

Roopmati had watched the troops leave. She had stood behind the chief queen as she traditionally bid goodbye to her sons. She had waited for the Sultan to come to her. He did. He was confident that the sudden advancement of Akbar’s foster brother Adham Khan could be curbed. It was not war, just precaution. He reassured her. Malwa would never bow to the Timurids. And he would not let anything happen to her. To Her. Roopmati felt suffocated by her husband’s affectionate hug. She felt trapped in the scrutinising eyes of all the people in the palace. Angry blaming eyes. She tried to pace herself and sing but her voice cracked in fear. Her melody was drowned in tears. Every evening a messenger would come to the chief queen with the news of war. Roopmati was kept in the darkness. She was not told about anything. She knew the rumours. She was a witch. A temptress who caused doom to the Sultan of Malwa. She was a spy of the enemy planted in his life to destroy him. She wondered if he came back...

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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