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Alha-Khand
The term ''Alha Khand'' is used to refer to poetic works in Hindi which consists of a number of ballads describing the brave acts of two 12th century Banaphar heroes, Alha and Udal, generals working for king Paramardi-Deva (Parmal) of Mahoba (1163-1202 CE) against Prithviraj Chauhan (1166–1192 CE) of Ajmer. The works has been entirely handed down by oral tradition and presently exists in many recensions, which differ from one another both in language and subject matter. The Bundeli, Bagheli, Awadhi, Bhojpuri, Maithili, and Kannauji recensions are the most well known among these. The original language of this work has been continuously modernized over the centuries to suit the dialect of the reciter and it has been lost wholly in this process. This epical work is believed to have been written by Jagnayak (or Jagnik), a contemporary to Chand Bardai and the court poet of Chandela ruler Paramardi Deva (Parmal) of Mahoba in Bundelkhand. The original work is now lost. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paramardi
Paramardi (reigned c. 1165–1203 CE) was a king of the Chandela dynasty of central India. He was the last powerful Chandela king, and ruled the Jejakabhukti region (Bundelkhand in present-day Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh). Around 1182–1183 CE, he was defeated by Prithviraj Chauhan, who raided the Chandela capital Mahoba. Paramardi managed to recover the Chandela power over the next few years, but was defeated by the Ghurid general Qutb ud-Din Aibak around 1202-1203 CE. Early life Paramardi's Bateshvar inscription suggests that he succeeded his father Yashovarman. However, other Chandela inscriptions (including those of his own) suggest that he succeeded his grandfather Madanavarman. It is possible that Yashovarman ruled for a very short period, or did not rule at all, having died while Madanavarman was still alive. According to the ''Parmal Raso'', Paramardi ascended the throne at the age of 5 years. An Ajaygarh inscription appears to corroborate this claim: it st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Udal Mahoba
Udal is the name of a legendary 12th century general who appears in the '' Alha-Khand'' epic. In the epic, Udal and his brother Alha serve in the army of the Chandela king Paramardi Deva (also known as Parmal or Parimal) of Mahoba. They belonged to the Banaphar clan, which are of Rajput and Ahir descent. According to the ''Alha-Khand'', Udal was born after the death of his father Dassraj, who was also a general, and was killed in the service of king Paramardi. The king subsequently raised Udal as his own son. The epic describes how Udal was killed while fighting the invading army of Rai Pithora, also known as Prithviraj Chauhan Prithviraja III (IAST: Pṛthvī-rāja; reign. – 1192 CE), popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora, was a king from the Chahamanas of Shakambhari, Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha, with his ca ..., in a large battle at Mahoba; while the content of the ballads has been embellished, the battle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prithviraj Chauhan
Prithviraja III (IAST: Pṛthvī-rāja; reign. – 1192 CE), popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora, was a king from the Chahamanas of Shakambhari, Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha, with his capital at Ajmer in present-day Rajasthan. Ascending the throne as a minor in 1177 CE, Prithviraj inherited a kingdom which stretched from Thanesar in the north to Jahazpur, Jahazpur (Mewar) in the south, which he aimed to expand by military actions against neighbouring kingdoms, most notably defeating the Chandelas of Jejakabhukti, Chandelas. Prithviraj led a coalition of several Rajput kings and defeated the Ghurid dynasty, Ghurid army led by Muhammad of Ghor, Muhammad Ghori near First Battle of Tarain, Taraori in 1191 AD. However, in 1192 CE, Ghori returned with an army of Turkish archery, Turkish mounted archers and defeated the Rajput army Second battle of Tarain, on the same battlefield. Prithviraj fled the battlefield, but was capture ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prithviraj III
Prithviraja III ( IAST: Pṛthvī-rāja; reign. – 1192 CE), popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora, was a king from the Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha, with his capital at Ajmer in present-day Rajasthan. Ascending the throne as a minor in 1177 CE, Prithviraj inherited a kingdom which stretched from Thanesar in the north to Jahazpur (Mewar) in the south, which he aimed to expand by military actions against neighbouring kingdoms, most notably defeating the Chandelas. Prithviraj led a coalition of several Rajput kings and defeated the Ghurid army led by Muhammad Ghori near Taraori in 1191 AD. However, in 1192 CE, Ghori returned with an army of Turkish mounted archers and defeated the Rajput army on the same battlefield. Prithviraj fled the battlefield, but was captured near Sirsa and executed. His defeat at Tarain is seen as a landmark event in the Islamic conquest of India, and has been described in several semi-lege ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prithviraj Raso
The ''Prithviraj Raso'' (IAST: Pṛthvīrāja Rāso) is a Braj language epic poem about the life of Prithviraj Chauhan (reign. c. 1177–1192 CE). It is attributed to Chand Bardai, who according to the text, was a court poet of the king. The earliest extant copy of the text dates back to the 16th century, although some scholars date its oldest version to the 13th century. By the 19th century, several interpolations and additions had been made to the original text under the patronage from Rajput rulers. The text now exists in four recensions. It contains a mixture of historical facts and imaginary legends, and is not considered historically reliable. Authorship and date According to tradition, the ''Prithviraj Raso'' was composed by Chand Bardai, Prithviraj's court poet (''raj kavi''), who accompanied the king in all his battles.Gopal, Madan (1996) ''Origin and Development of Hindi/Urdu Literature'' Deep & Deep Publications, New Delhi, India, page 8, The last canto, whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banaphar
Banaphar, also spelled Banafar and Banafer, is a clan native to the Indian subcontinent of mixed Ahir and Rajput descent. The legendary 12th century generals Alha and Udal, who appear in the ''Alha-Khand The term ''Alha Khand'' is used to refer to poetic works in Hindi which consists of a number of ballads describing the brave acts of two 12th century Banaphar heroes, Alha and Udal, generals working for king Paramardi-Deva (Parmal) of Mah ...'' ballads, were said to belong to this clan. In the ballads, the Banaphars was susceptible to "mean caste" slurs from other Rajputs because of their "mixed" background. Ballads referring to Alha and Udal describe great bravery in the medieval period. References {{india-ethno-stub Indian castes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alha
Alha (देवनागरी: आल्हा ; ISO: Ālhā ) was a legendary general of the Chandel king Paramardideva (also known as Parmal), who fought Prithviraj Chauhan in 1182 CE. He is one of the main characters of the ''Alha-Khand'' ballad. Origin According to the legend, Alha and Udal were children of the Dasraj, a successful commander in the army of Chandel king Parmal. They belonged to the Banaphar clan, which are of mixed Ahir and Rajput descent, Purana states that Mahil a Rajput and an enemy of Alha and Udal said that Alha has come to be of a different family (kule htnatvamagatah) because his mother is an Aryan Ahir. The ''Bhavishya Purana'', a Sanskrit text, states that Alha's mother was called Devaki and was a member of the Ahir caste. The Ahirs are among the "oldest pastoralists" and were rulers of Mahoba. Folklore In addition to the ''Aalha Khand'' and the ''Bhavishya Purana'', the story of Alha is also found in a number of medieval manuscripts of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 after India had become a republic. It was a successor to the United Provinces (UP) during the period of the Dominion of India (1947–1950), which in turn was a successor to the United Provinces (UP) established in 1935, and eventually of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh established in 1902 during the British Raj. The state is divided into 18 divisions and 75 districts, with the state capital being Lucknow, and Prayagraj serving as the judicial capital. On 9 November 2000, a new state, Uttaranchal (now Uttarakhand), was created from Uttar Pradesh's western Himalayan hill region. The two major rivers of the state, the Ganges and its tributary Yamuna, meet at the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj, a Hindu pilgrimage site. Othe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bundeli
Bundeli ( Devanagari: बुन्देली or बुंदेली; or Bundelkhandi) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Bundelkhand region of central India. It belongs to the Central Indo-Ayran languages and is part of the Western Hindi subgroup. Classification A descendant of the Sauraseni Apabhramsha language, Bundeli was classified under Western Hindi by George Abraham Grierson in his Linguistic Survey of India. Bundeli is also closely related to Braj Bhasha, which was the foremost literary language in north-central India until the nineteenth century. Like many other Indo-Aryan languages, Bundeli has often been subject to a designation as a dialect, instead of a language. Furthermore, as is the case with other Hindi languages, Bundeli speakers have been conflated with those of Standard Hindi in censuses. Grierson divided Bundeli into four dialect groups: * Standard Bundeli * Northeast Bundeli (closely related to Bagheli) * Northwest Bundeli (similar to B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second largest Indian state by area and the fifth largest state by population with over 72 million residents. It borders the states of Uttar Pradesh to the northeast, Chhattisgarh to the east, Maharashtra to the south, Gujarat to the west, and Rajasthan to the northwest. The area covered by the present-day Madhya Pradesh includes the area of the ancient Avanti Mahajanapada, whose capital Ujjain (also known as Avantika) arose as a major city during the second wave of Indian urbanisation in the sixth century BCE. Subsequently, the region was ruled by the major dynasties of India. The Maratha Empire dominated the majority of the 18th century. After the Anglo-Maratha Wars in the 19th century, the region was divided into several princely ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gorakhnath
Gorakhnath (also known as Goraksanath, c. early 11th century) was a Hindu yogi, saint who was the influential founder of the Nath Hindu monastic movement in India He is considered one of the two notable disciples of Matsyendranath. His followers, found all over India, are called yogis, ''Gorakhnathi'', ''Darshani'' or ''Kanphata''. He was one of nine saints also known as Navnath and is widely popular in Maharashtra, India. Hagiographies describe him as more than a human teacher and someone outside the laws of time who appeared on earth in different ages. Historians state Gorakhnath lived sometime during the first half of the 2nd millennium CE, but they disagree in which century. Estimates based on archaeology and text range from Briggs' 15th to 12th century to Grierson's estimate of the 14th century. Gorakhnath is considered a ''Maha-yogi'' (or great yogi) in the Hindu tradition. He did not emphasise a specific metaphysical theory or a particular Truth, but emphasised that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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