The Rebel Saint

This is a folklore retelling of the life of Meera Bai. Little is known about her historically, that she was a devotee of Lord Krishna and granddaughter of Rao Duda of Marwar. Since Rana Sanga was an ally of the king she was married to the crown prince of Mewar, Bhoj Raj who unfortunately died in one of the many battles Mewar fought with Babur. After that, her journey from Mewar to Merta to Vrindavan and Dwarka can be traced only with folklore.

The palace at Merta was buzzing with preparations. Duda Rao, the fourth son of Jodha Rao, founder of Jodhpur, was coming back after a war with his sons. His grandson Jaimal was waiting for their sight at the highest balcony of the Palace. There was something at a distance, a procession. Excited he called out to his cousin's sister. The Princess came running

" Lolita come let's play."

with her Sakhi in tow.

" Call Maasa, Lolita, tell her I see a procession."

Sakhi Lolita still a kid of six ran inside and came back with the Queens.

" But Jaimal that's a wedding procession"

" Ohh I did not see properly Kakisa" Jaimal felt embarrassed at his childishness. He was only twelve yet wanted to behave like his father.

" Look Lado, there goes the groom. One day your groom will come like this."

" Who is my groom?" The curious princess asked cluelessly.

" I don't know that yet Lado." Her mother and aunt giggled.

" Please tell me Maasa, who is my groom?" The princess kept nagging her mother, her aunt, and her brother. Confused she went to her Sakhi.

" Wait a bit, Princess. I am feeding my Gudda."

"Who is that?" The clueless curious princess looked at the doll in her hand.

" My Groom" Lolita blushed.

The princess rushed to her mother. " I also want a groom like Lolita."

The Palace at Merta

Raidas, a Vainavist saint from that time arrived at the palace with the king. The king, his sons and his daughter - in - laws were busy looking after the spiritual guru. Jaimal and his sister were called by their grandfather to the guest's chambers.

" This is my grandson Prince Jaimal and my granddaughter Princess Meera Guruji."

Guru Raidas looked at the two children and smiled.

That night Raidas took his Kanha out and placed him in the ashan. He then went to the palace gardens to look for flowers. Meera sneaked in and saw the Idol that looked just like Lolita's Gudda. She took the idol on her lap and started playing with it. When Raidas came back he was shocked. The princess had no clue who she held and was talking to Kanha like he was her husband. Guru Raidas told her to give the idol back but she refused. She offered him all her jewellery, toys and everything dear to her in return for the Idol. Seeing the child's eagerness he gave the Idol to the princess as a gift and told her about Kanha.

The next day Jaimal and Lolita were busy arranging Meera's wedding to her Gudda Giridhari. No adult paid any heed to this incident as Meera created history. She married with all rituals the idol of the Lord and took him as her husband. She worshipped him like a wife and talked to him as if he talked back. Meera's mother died when she was just nine or ten. After her death, Meera felt lonely and drew herself close to Giridhari.

Soon at the age of thirteen, her wedding was arranged with Bhoj Raj, the Prince of Chittor. He was Rana Sanga of Mewar's son and elder brother to Rana Uday Singh who was the father of later king Rana Pratap Singh. She did not want this marriage as she believed that she is already married to the Lord. She did all her duties as the Queen of Chittorgarh but her rigidity remained towards her marital relation which her husband respected. Her In-Laws were not happy with her obsession and tried to put her in trouble many times. She refused to worship their family deities Eklingji and Tulaja Bhavani, a manifestation of Parvati as she was a Vaishnavist. This led to many problems with her sister-in-law and brother-in-law Vikramaditya. It was at this time when Guru Raidas gave her a Tarang to sing bhajans to the lord. Meera composed many beautiful Bhajans locked in her room at Chittorgarh Fort.

Her husband and father-in-law who protected her died in a war leaving Meera helpless. With the help of Lalita, she escaped from the palace. Before leaving she gave her Lord's Idol to her mother-in-law to worship. She travelled to her paternal house at Merta hoping to be accepted back. Reaching there she found that her brother and protector Jaimal was killed in a war by the Mughals. After staying a few days there she set out on a pilgrimage to Mathura- Brindavan- Dwarka with Lolita. She travelled all over North India dancing in Bhakti trance with villagers and singing beautiful Bhajans. Everywhere she went, one can find a Meera Bai Temple in the places she stayed at.

It was when she was in Dwarka that Vikramaditya was killed in war and after a long gap his brother Rana Uday Singh ascended the throne of Chittor in 1540. He travelled to Dwarka to bring Meera back to Chittor and restore her respected position as Rajmata. But Meera was beyond worldly luxury. She wanted to stay near her lord.

On the 2nd of March, 1542 (according to the Mewar Royal sources) she was singing at the Dwarka Krishna temple, dancing with joy for her lord when suddenly she called out " Ohh you are calling me Lord, calling me to you? I am coming!" She went into the temple sanctum and breathed her last, Her saree wrapped itself around the Idol. Shocked the onlookers knew this saint was no ordinary woman. She used to call herself the reincarnation of one of the Lord's Gopis. Lalita who had been with Meera forever jumped into the Arabian Sea saying " Where there is Meera there is Lalita"

This Rajput Princess was the first and last of her kind. She left her friends at the mere age of six and started worshipping Krishna. She saw the Idol like a human and had no idea of who he was yet her love and Bhakti were immense. She left the luxuries of the palace and fought with the world for her unorthodox ways of love and worship. She was a pillar of the Bhakti movements. She proved how far a woman can go for love. Radha was Krishna's love; He was Meera's. Her poetry is still of high literary importance and gives small details of her life and hardship. Yet in the Palaces of both her paternal and husband's places, she is not mentioned. Temples built for her worship, however, are found across Rajasthan. She defied the norms of what society dictated to women and widows, sang and danced in public and preached that calling god required no need to please Brahmins, Bhakti was reformed in her words. She was indeed a woman who changed history.

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 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 ...

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 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...

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...

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...

The Navroz Incident

This popular folklore has been recreated from Col, James Todd's Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan. Names I have added, from my own historical research. This one is especially for Garima to thank her for the books and love! Yet another Veer Gatha from the dessert! Ps. This is folklore with no evidence of history, please remember that Bikaner, lying in the western part of the Thar, was a small yet independent state ruled by a clan of Marwari Rathores until Raja Kalyanmal surrendered to Akbar's Rajput Policies in 1571. His fourth son Prithviraj Rathore, being a great warrior and poet was respected as one of the "Nine Gems" in Emperor Akbar's court. Prithviraj, was the son of Kalyanmal's first wife and queen Rani Songaribai Rainawati, a cousin of Maharani Jaiwanta Bai of Mewar. Hence he was cousin to the valiant Pratap Singh of Mewar. He was also married to one of Rana Udai Singh of Mewar's daughters from his other wives, sister to Kunwar Pratap, Baisa Ja...

Charumati's Love

T his is written based on folklore. This is a representative work of fiction and not claiming any historical happening in the conversations. This is to show the spirit of the women of Rajputana. The year 1657. Shah Jahan had taken ill and was rumoured to be dying in Agra Fort. He was about eighty and the pressure of having an empire had taken a toll on his body. The seat of power was slowly shifting from Agra to Delhi since the prominence of the Laal Quila had increased and if the news spread was to be believed his sons were in a battle for the throne already. It was time each king chose sides once again. Dara Sikhoh was the eldest and the righteous Heir to the throne. He was believed to be a man who held high morals and was hence respected by the enemies and alliances as well. Aurangzeb was his sibling and the youngest of the brothers. Short tempered and cunning he was always dreaded by the court. As Shah Jahan took ill, Aurangzeb took this as a golden opportunity to wage ...

Symphony of Love

A week was enough for the master to be pleased enough with the new student to tell the Sultan that she was ready for her first performance. The Sultan was extremely pleased and rewarded him with a gold chain. As the master bowed to leave, the guards announced the arrival of the chief queen. Sultan Baz Bahadur sat upright. She was his first bride, a childhood alliance his father had forced upon him when he did not even know what marriages implied. Now he only saw her face when she had complaints about the inner palace and its inhabitants. Honestly, he expected her there since Roopmati arrived. His queen did not like changes especially if those changes were threatening to her position. The Chief Queen arrived with her maids, dismissed them at the threshold and came up to her husband to bow and greet him. “What brings you here?” Baz Bahadur asked, with a lingering smile on his lips. The queen could hear the hint of taunt in his voice. She forced a smile. Her marriage to this reckles...

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