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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 Bhojpuri and Bagheli and other regional languages which consists of a number of ballads describing the brave acts of two 12th-century commanders in chief from Ahir ( Alha and Uda ...'' 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 ...
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Udal Of 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, in a large battle at Mahoba Mahoba is a city in Mahoba District of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in the Bundelkhand region, well known for the ninth century granite Sun temple built in Pratihara style. It is also well known for the 24 rock-cut Jain tirthankara imag ...; while the content of the ballads has been embellished, the battle ha ...
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Alha-Khand
The term ''Alha Khand'' is used to refer to poetic works in Bhojpuri and Bagheli and other regional languages which consists of a number of ballads describing the brave acts of two 12th-century commanders in chief from Ahir ( 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 have been entirely handed down by oral tradition and presently exist 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 best 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 ...
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Alha
Alha (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 ''Prithviraj Raso''. There is also a belie ...
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Indian Subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. (subscription required) Although the terms "Indian subcontinent" and "South Asia" are often also used interchangeably to denote a wider region which includes, in addition, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, the "Indian subcontinent" is more of a geophysical term, whereas "South Asia" is more geopolitical. "South Asia" frequently also includes Afghanistan, which is not considered part of the subcontinent even in extended usage.Jim Norwine & Alfonso González, ''The Third World: states of mind and being'', pages 209, Taylor & Francis, 1988, Quote: ""The term "South Asia" also signifies the Indian Subcontinent""Raj S. Bhopal, ''Ethnicity, race, and health in multicultural societies'', pages 33, Oxford University Press, 2007, ; Q ...
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Ahir
Ahir or Aheer (derived from the Sanskrit word: abhira) is a community of traditionally non-elite pastoralists in India, most of whom now use the Yadav surname, as they consider the two terms synonymous. The Ahirs are variously described as a caste, a clan, a race, and/or a tribe. The traditional occupations of Ahirs are cattle-herding and agriculture. Since late 19th century to early 20th century, Ahirs have adopted ''Yadav'' word for their community and have claimed descent from the mythological king Yadu. This is a part of a movement of social and political resurgence (sanskritisation) under the influence of Arya Samaj. Sanskritisation of Ahir: * * Quote: "The movement, which had a wide interregional spread, attempted to submerge regional names such as Goala, Ahir, Ahar, Gopa, etc., in favour of the generic term Yadava (Rao 1979). Hence a number of pastoralist castes were subsumed under Yadava, in accordance with decisions taken by the regional and national level caste s ...
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Rajput
Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The term ''Rajput'' covers various patrilineal clans historically associated with warriorhood: several clans claim Rajput status, although not all claims are universally accepted. According to modern scholars, almost all Rajput clans originated from peasant or pastoral communities. Over time, the Rajputs emerged as a social class comprising people from a variety of ethnic and geographical backgrounds. From the 12th to 16th centuries, the membership of this class became largely hereditary, although new claims to Rajput status continued to be made in later centuries. Several Rajput-ruled kingdoms played a significant role in many regions of central and northern India from the seventh century ...
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