This
chapter on
Bundelkhand reg ion
are
facts
embedded
considered extremely relevant
study.
The oral history
primarily
concerned
The details regarding oral
with an analysis of oral history.
history or historical
is
to
in several
oral
narratives
a detailed
anthropological
of the region is assumed to provide an
invaluable basis for further
investigation
of the anthropologi-
cal characteristics of the region.
Even though the history of the District and the village was
given briefly in the previous chapter,
it is not sufficient for
a comprehensive understanding of the nature of social institutions
and of the socio-political processes of the region.
More often
than not the participant-observation as an anthropological method
has been characterized by a synchronic and a micro approach to the
study of lit.tle communities.
However,
shows ·clearly the
interaction
'little
and
tradition'
'great
the history of the region
between
'little
community'
or
community'
'great
or
tradition'.
Analysing a society in this perspective throws more light on the
evolution of a society and its development from the past to the
present.
The salient features of present society are often the
vestiges of the past.
broader
perspective
Further,
namely
this kind of approach provides a
macroscopic
viewpoint
beyond
the
horizons of micro-studies.
As
scanty,
written
the
records
oral
available
history of
for
this
Bundelkhand
purpose
region
are
very
comprises
i)
stories narrated by the old people regarding the historical evolution and societal composition of the region,
57
and ii)
myths,
leg-
ends,
genealogies and dynastic stories.
This oral history is
considered very crucial because it clearly shows how the villagers
have conceptualized their history and how certain historical
events have become relevant to their life.
The
been
the region
history of
divided
into
mythological,
certain
dealt
levels
with in this chapter has
or
phases
such
as
the
legendary, dynastic ahd dominance phases of Bundela
genealogies respectively.
The kind of historical data taken for
this analysis, i.e. myths, legends, genealogies, and stories, give
ample
evidence
namely
status.
to
acquiring
the
most
dominance
important
and
the
features
interplay
These episodes clearly show the
of
the
between
region,
power
and
historical processes of
Bundelas establishing their dominance over people-cum-territories,
( Map 3 shows the territories covered by Bundelkhand region. )
Accordingly,
nature
these processes
have
been closely related to the
of the relation between power and status in this region.
It is very often true that power relations have been established
first and later converted into status terms.
In fact,
the oral
narratives give testimony to this process.
3.1. Mythological Phase
In general,people use myths to legitimate their past or their
history.
Therefore, the myth of royal origin is of great signif-
icance to a proper understanding of the past of Bundela genealogy
as a whole.
Lord Visnu
universe ) .
For instance, the myth of royal origin begins with
Narayan, reclining on the Serpent, Sesa who holds the
He is the first born from whose placenta issues
58
•
AYODHYA
PRADESH
VARANASl
( Kasi> •
•
VINDHYACHAL
-----DISTRICT
BOUNDARY
-·-·-·-·-FORMER NATIVE STATE
.SOVN DARY _ _
M A LW A
/IIIII DISTRICTS OF
UTTAR PRADESH
N
MAP
OF BUNDELKHAND
Brahma in the form of the lotus flower.
Brahma and he brings forth Kasyapa.
son and gods
demons
( devta)
(daitya)
were
Marichi originates from
of
59
other
(the sun), the eldest
Surya
were born of Adi ti,
born
MAP- 3
wife of Kasyapa
twelve
wives,
by
Diti.
the
The
illustrious descendants of Surya
Raghu,
are Iksvaku,
(Suryavamsi)
Dilip,
Aja, oasaratha, Ramachandra, and the two brothers Lava and
Kusa.
Lava becomes the King of Punjab,
Kusa becomes a
ruler of
Ayodhya. Haribrahma and Vihagaraja are descendants of Kusa. In the
seventh generation from Vihagaraja his named descendant is Kirat
Deava.
A few generations after Kirat Deava, Virabhadra,
of the Kasi (Benares)is descended.
the Raja
The Bundelas are the descend-
ants of Virabhadra through the line of his younger son, Hem karan,
alias Pancham,
alias Jagdas.
From Jain's point of view
(1975),
the special creation and inherent legitimacy of kingship is symbolized by the lotus flower which invests royal descendants with
the spiritual authority required to possess as lords and protectors
of land -
cum- people.
Bundelkhand region,
According
the Bundela Rajas
to oral
(kings)
tradition of
take
their
from the sun (surya) and belong to the solar pedigree.
point of view of Hindu,
is auspicious.
origin
From the
the conjunction of the sun and the lotus
With regard to the
fact
of Kasyapa' s
having two
sons as demons and gods, Jain (1975) interprets that Bundela royal
agnation
is
characterized as the
enemies.
Further,
Kusa' s
idea
of
succession- of
brothers
the
as
throne
expresses the principle of succession by primogeniture.
tion,
potential
of
In
Ayodhya
addi-
this myth implies the association of kingship with sacred
geography like Ayodhya and Kasi (Banares).
In
a
word,
the
myth
of
royal
origin
provides
people
of
Bundelkhand with a kind of legitimation or religious validation of
their history.
60
This myth clearly manifests
that Bundelas are gods' descend-
ants who are born to rule a territory.
and sacred.
Their origin is royal
The claim that they are offshoots of Visnu's placen-
ta proves the fact that their origin is divine and therefore they
have to be legitimate rulers.
This myth also gives a
strong
evidence that the Bundelas are descendants of surya and Virabhadra, hence power becomes an inalienable right to them.
3.2.
The Legendary Phase
The legendary phase of Bundela genealogy can be said to begin
from Virabhadra, the Raja of Kasi to Rudra Pratap,
the founder of
Orchha which is the parent Bundela kingdom founded
Some
information about
literary sources
like
the genealogy can be
Chhatraprakasa
in A.D.
attained
(Lalkavi,
1501.
from
1770)
as
some
the
following:
Birabhadra-Pancham-(a son from the drop of Pancham's blood)
and Bir Singh-Karan-Arjunpal-Sohanpal-Sahajendra-Maunakdev- Prithviraja-Ramchund-Medinimal-Arjundev-Malkhan-Rudra
Pratap.
For
the
purpose of understanding the meaning of the Bundela view of their
past
contained
in
the
genealogy,
region are taken for analysis.
the process of agnation or patri -
three
legends
of
Bundelkhand
These genealogies clearly show
lineality in terms of inheri-
tance and succession which is enshrined in the dynastic and dominance phase of Bundela genealogy.
3.2.1. The Legend of Bundela Origin
The
following
summary
61
of the
legend of
Bundela
origin
is
cited
from
Jain
(1975)
who
heard
it
from
the
natives
of
Bundelkhand region.
Virabhadra,
the
King of Kasi, had two
queens. From the senior queen (patrani) there
were four sons; Rajsingh, Hanasraj, Mohan,
and Man. The son of the second queen (lahuri
rani;
literally,
junior queen) was Jagdas
alias Hemkaran. Following
Virabhadra's
death,
the half-brothers of Jagdas refused
to give him a portion(hissa) in the kingdom
of Kas i and banished him.
Jagdas wandered
away to the shrine of
Vindhyavasini Devi (
literally,
'the devi who dwells in the Vindhya ranges'. Devi is the manifestation of the
female principle in divine creation; when not
regarded as a deity
localized in the Vindhya
mountain ranges she is known by her
generalized name Devi or by any of her
other
manifestations as Bhawani,
Durga,
kali,etc.)
to
do penance under her protection.
Despite the most arduous penances, he
received no signs of blessing from the Devi.
Dejected by this Jagdas decided to offer his
life in sacrifice to the Devi by beheading
himself with his sword.
No sooner had a
drop (bund) of blood dripped on to the floor
from a cut in his throat, than the
Devi
appeared and held the hand of her devotee.
She blessed him with the boon that from the
drop of his blood a brave son would be born
who would conquer large territories to be
known the world over as Bundelkhand.
[Jain 1975:248-9]
According
to
Pogson
(1828),
Jagdas
was
~eaning the fifth sibling in the birth-order.
called
'Pancham'
This legend speaks
about Pancham who was the founder of the Bundela clan.
He gained
a kingdom and a patri-line of royal descent following the gift of
a heroic son by the Vindhyavasini Devi.
His brave son is said to
have been created out of a drop of Pancham's own blood.
62
The name of clan 'Bundela'
meaning drop and wala
bund
been
passed
worshipped
on
as
his
Bundela
royal houses.
of
to
is
appropriately
meaning a person and this
descendants.
clan
derived
goddess
idea has
Vindhyavasini
(Kula
by
devi)
from
was
Devi
all
Bundela
It is believed that the son Incarnate from a drop
Pancham's
blood
is
a
ritual
apotheosis
of
the
principle
of
clanship at the legendary level of Bundela genealogy.
In a way, this legend embodies a very important idea that the
Bundelas
proper
are
of
herself
pre-ordained
the
has
by
locality.
given
their Kuladevi
This
suggests
them the power to
rule
to
be
that
the
the
their
land.
rulers
goddess
In
this
context, it is worth mentioning the fact that the role of Brahmans
in ritual context varies
eastern area
On the other hand,in
Brahmans
contexts.
region
to
region.
In
the
(Bundelkhand), the Brahmans have no unique functions
to perform.
the
from
Only
have
certain
the
Brahmans
rituals on specific occasions.
the
primary
had
to
western
area (Rajastan)
role
play
offer
Whereas
to
pujas
in
and
rit~al
conduct
in Bundelkhand reg ion,
Further
the Brahmans ought to obey the dictates of the rulers.
they had taken upon themselves the sin of their rulers
in ritual
expiation,
Kuladevi.
which
gave· a
moral
tone
to
the
Bunde las'
Brahmans as purohits were excluded from the worship of Kula devi
by
the
Bundela
agnates.
This
again proves
the
fact
that the
power was confined only to the rulers on all occasions in Bundelkhand.
The Brahmans have been mere councillors under the influ-
ence of the Bundelas.
In the western area, on the contrary, the
Brahmans played a full-fledged priestly role which is
63
independen~
of the influence of the Rajas.
In addition,
eastern region have been only migrants
the Brahmans of
invited by their rulers.
Therefore the role of Brahmans of Bundelkhand region was mainly to
legitimise the powerful victors as Kshatriyas.
royal
patronage
in
return
for
their
They were given
services.
This
again
confirms the view that the Brahmans enjoyed only a low status as
mere councillors.
Another important aspect of this legend can be drawn from the
translation of this legend by Pogson (1828).
It was Jog Nidruh ... who,
by divine decree, entered
the womb of Jusodah, eluded the power of Kungsu,and
retired to dwell in Bindheeachul, whence she received
the appellation of Bindheeabasnee Bhowanee.
She it
was also who inspired Punchum with the thought of
becoming her votary, of retiring to Bindheeachul, and
of .devoting his life to religious austerity and the
worship of God.
[Pogson 1828 : 6-7]
The
tutelary
deity
of
Bundelas
derived
from
Yasoda's
daughters has been a source of political strength for the Bundela
rulers at all
levels,
which has enabled the Ahir
idiom of clanship through 'the line of milk'.
Yadava clan,
called Dauwa was
originated
of these Ahirs and the Bundela Rajputs.
by
Rajputs
dau
meaning
father's
elder
in
the ritual
A section of the
from the relationship
Men of Dauwa
brother,
designated
provided
the
fighting militia on the basis of political alliance between them
and Bundela rulers.
Whereas the women
dhay ma meaning milk-mothers,
milk.
It
is
quite
clear
Dauwa designated as
nourished the princes by their own
that
64
of
the
pseudo-agnatic
relationship
between the Dauwa and the Bundelas explains the incorporation of
Dauwa into Bundela polity and society.
3.2.2. The Legend of Bundela Expansion
The following legend is closely concerned with the founding
of
a
separate
·Sohanpal.
legend
kingdom
by
one
of
royal
Bundela
siblings
namely
Most Bundela people of Gathewara Village narrate,this
relating
it
with
the
rule
of
their
relationship with Panwars and Dhandheras.
Arjanpal,
ruler of Mahoni had three sons
Birpal,
Sohanpal,
and Dayapal.
Sohanpal
was a most capable warrior.
He reduced the
forts of Garhkundar and kateragarh .. Sohanpal
undertook the successful expedition to Katergarh on behalf of his father. His victory at
Garhkundar followed the death of his father
and his
elder brother's
succession to the
throne of Mahoni. The cause of this expedition was Sohanpal's dissatisfaction with his
share of inheritance. With forty-five Sepoys
and thirteen sowars, Sohanpal went to Naga
(alias Hurmat Singh), the Khangar raja of
Kundar,
seeking his help in taking
his
share from his brother. This Naga promised
to do on condition that he would eat, drink
and intermarry with him.
Sohanpal was very
much enraged at this suggestion, and was
about to leave Kundar, but hearing of this
intention,
Naga formed a plot to forcibly
detain him and compel him to accede to these
proposals.
Sohanpal, hearing thereof, fled
from the court, and went
to Mukatman Chauhan,
who was a descendant of Dhandhera Oeva
and commanded 4, 000 men on behalf of Nag~.
Him
he requested to assist him against his
brother, but Mukatman refused, saying that he
would remain neutral. After this, Sohanpa 1,
leaving his small force behind, went alone
successively to
the Salingars, Chauhans and
Kachwanas,
and told his story to them. But
none of them offered to assist him. However,
a
Panwar Thakur named Panpal, Jagirdar of
Karhara,
offered assistance, and the two
65
intermarriage
conspired to remove Raja Naga by stratagem
from his kingdom, which was worth 13 lakhs.
It was agreed that Sohanpal should go to
Kundar and Pretend to accept Raja Naga' s
conditions of intermarriage, etc., and invite
the Raja and his relations to
his house.
Sohanpal went to Kundar and did as agreed on.
After a time Raja Naga with his brothers and
ministers,
came to Sohanpal's house, whereupon Panpal arrived with 300 Kshatris, and as
soon as Raja Naga and his followers had sat
down to eat,Panpal Panwar and Sohanpal Bundela fell upon and slaughtered all the Khangar
chiefs,
and immediately seized the fort of
Kundar. In this way,
on Wednesday the 2nd of
Kartik Sambat 1345 (A.D.1288) Sohanpal became
raja of Kundar and appointed Panpal
and
Mukatman as ministers.
He said to them, 'As
no Kshatri in time of my distress gave me
help
except you, no other save yourselves
shall marry into my family'.
Accordingly he
gave his daughter in marriage to Panpal and
as dowry a village named Itaura, and to his
younger brother a j agir of one lakh. From
this time the Kshatris were divided into
three different classes of Bundelas Panwars
and Dhandheras.
The total revenue of the
whole Bundela territory was 26 lakhs of which
half was possessed by Birpal and the rest by
Sohanpal.
[ Silberrad 1902 : 105-6].
The
first theme of this legend is the fission and fusion of
the ruling groups in the context of kingdom formation.
According
to genealogy of Bundelas in legendary phase, the younger son i.e.
Sohanpal
established
intractable and
Bundela kingdom at Kundar
rule
was
more
expandable. Whereas the heir apparent, Birpal was
overcome by the Muslim invaders.
indigenous
which
can
be
These types
explained
by
the
of processes of
recognition
of
the
principle
of
the
principle of geo-political context.
This
legend
also
clearly
descent-base of Bundela rule.
66
elucidates
the
While the legend of Bundela origin
implies the ideology of pseudo-agnation for Bundela polity,
this
legend shows that the political organization for Sohanpal's victory over the Khangars at Garh Kundar
is based on the martial and
marital alliances.
Two kinds of conflicts can be observed in this legend
first conflict is between two Bundela brothers,
;
the second one is
between Sohanpal with his Kshatriya allies and Khangars.
first
conflict
Whereas
the
compelled
second
Bundela with
Sohanpa l
conflict
two clans
was
to
seek
resolved
namely Panwars
his
by
The
martial
martial
and
the
allies.
allies
Dhandheras,
finally led to the rule of marital inclusion and exclusion.
of
which
It is
said that Bundela intermarried exogamously with a large number of
Rajput
clans
which
are
localised
in
the
Gwalior-Jalaun
before the Sohanpal' s capture of Garh Kundar.
region
It is assumed that
Bundela clan at Mahoni was not characterized as dominant among the
regional chiefs because of Bundela's position as immigrants from
Kasi.
Therefore Bundela rulers tried to extend their territories
into the southern areas such as Orchha and Garh Kundar.
martial
accept
ally
the
of
hands
Sohanpal,
of
Punyapal
Sohanpal
in
of
terms
Panwar
of
was
marital
alliance because of his quarrel with his uncle,
The only
required
and
to
martial
the Tonwar ruler
of Gwalior. After Mukutman Chauhan's accepting of ministership in
new kingdom offered by Sohanpal,
Chauhan who was a
the descendants of Mukutman
jagirdar of the Khangar ruler of Gahr Kundar
merged themselves with the Dhandheras.
67
Considering the circumstances of three clans of Rajputs,
the
league of intermarriage among them seems to have been a result of
refusal
of
the
majority
of
the
clans
and
lineages
to
continue
their affinal relationship with ihe three clans namely Bundelas,
Panwars,
two
and Dhandheras.
of
categories
alliance
kuri-ke
Rajput
three
of
Further this legend helps to explain
Rajput) and
clans
clans;
created
by
the
three-Kuril
the
marital-martial
(tin-
Raj put
the thirty-six-kuri Rajput (chattis- kuri-ke
Rajput). The former belonged to the Bundelkhand region. The intermarriage
of
three
exogamous
clans,
i.e.
Bundela,
Panwar,
and
Dhandhera follows a rule of non-hypergamous circulating connubium.
Whereas
the
majority
of
Rajput
clans
(chattis-kuri-ke
Rajputs)
belonged to the Malwa and Rajasthan region.
This legend shows that there
kuri-ke
tion.
Rajput division
But
the
Rajput
Rajput are different.
2 64)
1
towards
tin-
is no tendency among the
internal
of western
area
hierarchical
like
the
segmenta-
kur.i
thirty-six
From the point of view of Jain (1975; 263-
the ·western Raj put tendency for
the exogamous clan to be
transformed into caste has in the east been checked and converted
into
territorial
feudated
kingdom
expansion
formation.
and
political
There
was
a
consolidation
clear-cut
by
Kin-
demarcation
between the political function of clanship and the ritual function
of caste as an idiom of hierarchical status distinction.
often true that
It is
in the processes of political organization,
clanship superceded caste factor.
the
This indicates clearly that
power comes first and the status next.
For instance,
attribu-
tion of status is well maintained and strictly practiced in ritual
68
contexts.
the rest,
It is solely because
the ruling class has power over
the rulers are given superior status on a 11 occasions
particularly in ritual contexts.
shoot of power.
Therefore status is an off-
In other words,
it has always been the case
that power breeds status in this region.
(1975)
Regarding this,
Jain
rightly points out that Dumont's typification of hypergamy
as a characteristically Rajput phenomenon is derived from a confusion
between the political
function of caste.
function
of clanship
and
the
ritual
Further, he says that the political function
of clan was not subsumed by the ritual function in the Bundelkhand
region.
As shown above by the legend of Bundela expansion,
cultural assumption,
applicable
Kundar.
to
i.e.
the hypergamy of Raj put clans,
the period before
the Sohanpal' s
capture
the
can be
of
Garh
But from the time of descendants of Sohanpal Bundela, the
political function of descent can not be
simply reduced
to the
manifestation of ritual status hierarchy because of the absence of
hypergamy rule in the tin-kuri Rajput.
In
a
nutshell,
the
political
fission
territorial expansion of Bundela rule finally
league of intermarrying clans in Kundar-Orchha
wo~thwhile
by
formed
the new
region.
the
It is
to note that the polity of Bundela kingdoms carved out
in southern reg ion i.e.
Kundar-Orchha
the principle of clanship,
liance,
caused
reg ion has depended upon
with the help of such factors
as al-
movement and expansion through warfare rather than upon
their numerical strenth.
Even in the best known historical phase
of dominance, the characteristics of the dominance of the Bundelas
in rural areas are based on the structure and processes of dis69
persed clanship and alliance,
rather than on their numerical
pov1er.
With regard to this legend,
it is said that the descendants
of the Khangars, after their defeat, were obliged to be the 'shoebearing servants'
to Bundela rulers.
(naquib)
It is important to
note that the inferiority of the descendants of Khangars
is said
to have been originated from their position as the defeated or the
vanquished
in
the
war
rather
than
from
status as non-Aryans and non-Kshatriyas.
their
inferior
Therefore,
ritual
in order to
perceive the contextually meaningful schemes of classifying political
and social relations,
the ruling groups'
descent should be
examined in the context of indigenous rule rather than in a caste
framework.
The
following
legend
dealt
with
the
Bundela genealogy is considered important.
legendary
of
The summary of this
legend is available from Smith's English translation:
Hardaul, a son of the famous BirSingh Bundela of Orchha, was born at Datiya. His brother,
Jhajhar Singh (Jujhar Singh) suspected
him of undue intimacy with his wi£e, and at a
feast poisoned him with all his followers.
After this tragedy, it happened that the
daughter of Kunjavati, the sister of Jhajhar
and Hardaul, was about to be married. Kunjavati,cccordingly sent an invitation to Jhajhar Singh, requesting him to attend the
wedding.
He refused, and mockingly replied
that she had better invite her favourite
brother Hardaul. Thereupon she went in despair to his tomb and lamented aloud. Hardaul
from below answered her cries, and said that
he would come to the wedding and make all
arrangment.
The ghost kept his promise, and
arranged the nuptials as befitted the honour
of his house.
[Smith 1875 : 389].
70
phase
The
reference
apparently
indicate
span
the
and
the
dynastic
personnel
phase.
Gathewara narrate this popular legend,
a
kind of neg
(ritual
of
Most
the
legend
villagers
of
connecting it closely with
called chikat2)
of marriage
ceremony.
In
this ritual, mama (mother's brother) brings some gifts like dresses for his sister at her daughter's marriage.
A brief reference to politics and kinship of dynastic phase
of
Bundela
helps
to
identify
Hardaul
context of Bundela genealogy.
Garh Kundar,
and
its
Jujhar
adjoining
Pratap,
forces
eldest
territories
Madhukar
to
son
replaced
by
Jahangir.
in
the
the descendants of Sohanpal continued to rule there
till
Shah made
A. 0.1531
when
Orchha.
a
series
defeat
Madhukar
of
Madhukar
his
younger
Shah
Shah's
of
brother,
Bir
Pratap
incursions
his
Singh
around.
Akbar to dispatch
forces.
succeeded
Rudra
A descendant of
Gwalior and Sironj, which led Mughal Emperor,
his
Singh
After defeating the Khangars of
Bundela founded his new capital at
Rudra
and
Ram
father
Deo
by
Shah,
the
but
he
was
the
Emperor
Ram Shah was given the jagirs of Chanderi which became
later the kingdom of Chanderi.
Raja
queens.
Bir
Singh
Deo of
Jujhar Singh,
Orchha
had
Bundela.
queen
given
by
The second queen,
Chandrabhan,
clans.
were
sons
from
three
eldest son by senior queen became a nomi-
nated heir apparent and a successor.
youngest
twelve
The senior queen and the
Dhandhera
the mother
clans
to
of Hardaul,
Bir
Singh
Deo
Bhagwan Rao,
Kishan Singh, and Kunjavati was a daughter of Panwar
While Jujhar Singh of Orchha
71
kingdom was related to the
Dhandhera clan, Bhagwan Rao of Datia kingdom and his descendants,
and his sister Kunjavati had marriage relations only with Panwar
clans.
It is said that there was antagonism between Bhagwan Rao
and Jujhar Singh related to BirSingh Deo's recognition of Jujhar
Singh's mother as senior queen.
Therefore,
formation of the two primary factions;
of
it seems that the
such as Orchha
jujhar Singh and Datia kingdom of Bhagwan Rao,
kingdom
were based on
the lineal descendants of Bir Singh Deo as well as their martial
allies like the Dhandheras for Orchha
and the Panwar for Datia.
kingdom of Jujhar Singh who inherited an
Compared to the Orchha
already consolidated kingdom by Bir Singh Deo,
the Datia kingdom
of Bhagwan Rao was formed by the support of his marital
namely the Panwar clans.
Rao,
allies
For instance the mother of Bhagwan
and his three queens were given to Bundelas of Datia king-
doms.
To be
specific,
the
Panwar of
Barechha,
the
family
of
senior queen of Bhagwan Rao had had a long marital alliance with
Bundelas of Datia. Kunjavati of this legend,
a sister of Bhagwan
Rao and Hardaul was given to the family
Panwar of
This
kind of marital
a 11 iance
of
between Bunde las
and
Barechha.
Panwars
had
contributed to the process of the formation of Datia kingdom.
According
to
the
people
between elder brother's wife
brother
(devar)
of
Gathewara,
(bhouji)
and
the
relationship
husband's
younger
of this legend is likely to be transformed
the relationship between mother and son.
Bundela principle of descent,
into
From the view-point of
this kind of transformation
is
concerned with the transformation of an affinal relationship into
a consangunial one.
72
Hardaul's ritual role of this legend,
his
sister's
daughter's
marriage
called
i.e.
bringing gifts at
chikat
reveals
the
important kinship relations between mother's brother and sister's
daughter
(mama
and bhanej an)
in
this
reg ion.
However,
this
legend implies latently the more important relationship of Hardaul
and
his
sister's
husband
as
male
affine.
In
presence of living brothers, Kunjavati invoked
brother,
for
spite
Hardaul,
of
the
her dead
fulfillment of chikat ritual, which implies another
important kinship relationship between
sister's husband.
In other words,
Hardaul
and his dead
Kunjavati of this legend
manifestly appealed to Hardaul to fulfill his duty as a mama but
she latently asked him to be the ally of her deceased husband.
In
addition,
Hardaul
of
this
legend
seems
to
significance of alliance between the Bundela rule
explain
and
the other
clans like Dhandhera and Panwar during the dynastic phase.
fact,
during
this
phase
of
the
Bunde las'
past,
the
In
Dhandheras
and
Panwars both as the bride-taking and bride-giving affines enjoyed
territorial-
revenue rights of the Bundela rajas.
cum-
It is
quite clear that this legend emphasising the role of affinity is,
in fact,
reflecting on the Bundelas' patri-lineality based on the
id~ology
of clanship as well as the kingdom formation supported by
the concept of affinity.
3.3. Dynastic and Dominance Phases
This part of the chapter is concerned with the dynastic and
dominance
phases
of
Bundela
genealogy.
The
former
is
often
characterized by the processes of fission and fusion in the ruling
73
group.
further interpreted as a two
It is
way process,. namely
the descent process of merging lineage segmentation and the political process of kingdom formation.
This oral narratives taken
for the analysis find out the role and influence of power which
led to kingdom formation and other process of agnation.
This
part of the chapter precisely concentrates on the characteristics
of Panna kingdom from the point of
addition,
view of oral
history.
In
dominance phase is dealt with in this part of chapter
just as an appendage of dynastic phase.
As mentioned earlier,
Bundela
kingdom
founded
the kingdom of Orchha was the parent
in
A.D. 1501.
separated from Orchha by Bhagwan Rao,
A.D.1626.
kingdom
of
Dati a
a son of Bir Singh Deo in
These two kingdoms were located in the western part of
Bundelkhand
region.
After
separated
from Orchha
scendants
of
Chhatrsal
the
century.
formation
in A.D.l675,
resulted
smaller kingdoms of Charkhari,
segments,
The
in
the
the
of
Panna
conflicts
kingdom which
among
formation
Bijawar and Ajaigarh
of
the
the
de-
three
in the 18th
Though the Panna kingdom was divided into those three
The eastern and southern part of
it remained intact.
Bundelkhand was composed of the kingdoms of Panna and its separated kingdoms.
The kingdoms of the western part of Bundelkhand are said to
be under the Mughal powers, but their status was quite autonomous
in the sense that unlike certain Rajput chiefs of Rajastan,
the
Bundela
the
chiefs
never
agreed
74
to
send
their
daughters
to
imperial harem.
Their only obligation to the Emperor was to pay
the tribute and some occasional military assistance.
After the death of Jujhar Singh,
the kingdom of Orchha conthe raja of Chan-
tinued to be under the control of Devi Singh,
deri. After people's revolt against him, the kingdom of orchha was
merged into the Mughal Empire and officers were appointed to the
Orchha.
Champat
Rai's
generation was
Champat
Rai
Chhatrsal,
patrilineal
Rudra
Pratap,
created
much
ancestor
the
in
founder
trouble
to
the
five
ascending
of
Orchha
kingdom.
the
Mughal
forces.
the fourth son of Champat Rai, challenged the Imperial
autnority after the death of his father and finally he carved out
the
kingdom
of
Panna
which
was
the
maximum
extent
of
Bundela
territory under the hegemony of a single ruler.
In 1675 Chhatrsal attacked Panna and defeated the Gond raja
there.
He
then
made
Panna
his
capital,
but
the
military
headquarters continued to be at Mau Mahewa in which Chhatrsal was
.co-sharer of
rights
in jagir before his
status
of
the
king
of
Panna.
Regarding the identification of the nature of Bundela kingdom
of
Panna,
Jain(l979)
kingdom was
argues
legitimized by
Brahman priests.
that
the
founders
royal
of
authority
sects
of
Panna
rather than
by
The following story derived from the letter of
Chhatrsal to his son Jagatraj in A.D.l730 legitimises the rule of
75
the
Bundela
over
its
territory.
According
to
Jain's
interpretation of this letter:
Having subdued the Gond raja of Panna and
found diamonds in the territory Chhatrsal
says to the sage,
with your permission,
your Holiness, I shall now return to Mau(maumahewa). I am not a king of anywhere, nor was
my father a king nor will I be one.' Upon
this Prannath says, 'You are destined to be
the ruler of a kingdom. You will live for a
little under a hundred
years and see the
face of your grandson.'
Chhatrsal, 'your
Holiness, I do not have a son, what to say of
grandsons and great grandsons.'
Whereupon
the sage replies, 'you will have sons the
like of whom no one has, and you shall have
illustrious descendants.' [ Jain 1979 : 18 )
This story clearly shows that Chhatrsal was
validated and
anointed to rule over the territories by a Charismatic holy man
who beckoned him on to Panna. Therefore the nature of legitimization of power into authority in Bundela kingdom of Panna is quite
different from that of those regions in which the Brahman's influence was very
strong.
It
is
valid
to
say
that
the
cultural
feature of this region i.e. the procedures for the legitimization
of power into authority is not subsumed by a jati-model.
The social character of the pre-British indigenous kingdoms
like Panna, Orchha etc. were identified in the descent-based rule.
It can be said that Chhatrsal was much motivated by the desire to
form
the kingdom based on a princely lineage.
and perpetuate a royal
lineage
is clearly revealed
story in which he questioned his male progeny.
76
His plan to found
in the above
It is known that
Chhatrsal had fifty-two sons from nineteen wives who were generally categorized into three kinds of status ; principal wife,
wives,
and subsidiary wives.
status of patrani
junior
The principal wife enjoyed the
(the chief queen) who was usually the wife from
within the Bundelkhand Rajput grouping.
Junior wives hailed from
the Rajput women outside the Bundelkhand grouping,
and subsidiary
wives were from non-Rajput women.
The customary mode of succession and
Bundela
depended
instance,
upon
the
status
of
their
mothers.
For
Hirdeshah as heir-apparent was a male offspring of the
union of Chhatrsal and the chief queen.
junior sons were
ny.
inheritance among the
The heir apparent and
included in the line of succession and patrimo-
Whereas the secondary or subsidiary sons were excluded from
succession but included in patrimony.
In the Bundela kingdoms, the principle clanship based on the
princely
lineage
regulates
succession
to
throne
inheritance of rights to territory and its produce.
and
the
The kinship
idiom like the relationship between Chhatrsal and Peshwa Bajrao of
Maratha
as father and son extended to the military pact between
them. In 1728, the fight between the army of Muhammad Khan Bangesh
and Chhatrsal' s
forces ended in favour
of the former at Jai tpur
near
Uttar
latter
Mahoba
in
Pradesh
and
the
Before surrendering, Chhatrsal appealed to
help.
had
to
surrender.
Peshwa of Maratha for
Baji rao marched toward Bundelkhand and defeated Muhammad
Khan Bangesh
in
A.D. 17 2 9.
Chha trsa 1 assigned
77
to
bequeath one
third of his territories to the Maratha Peshwa and gave
him a
young Mastani who is said to be the daughter of a prostitute from
Chhatrsal.
Further Chhatrsal
young sons,
This
entrusted Maratha
Peshwa his
two
Hirde Shah and Jagat Raji for the future.
historical
description
military pact between
the kinship
gives
clear
evidence
that
the
Chhatrsal and Maratha is characterized as
relationship
between them.
Hence
the
Peshwa
referred to Chhatrsal as Kakaju meaning father's younger brother.
The military alliance
of Bundela
ruler with
Maratha
shows
that
ideology of agnation or patri-lineality was used as instrument for
Bundelas' acquiring power over their territories.
In addition to this principle of agnation
for
Bundelas'
dominance in Bundelkhand region, it has to be noted again that the
role of marital
Panwars
and
Dhandheras
their areas.
of
alliance of Bundelas with the others
for
claiming of Bundela' s
namely
dominance
in
The concept of affinity has reinforced the ideology
clanship among
Bundelas,
which has
because of their strict exogamic rule.
been
very
pre-eminent
The three Rajput clans
follow a rule of non-hypergamous circulating connubium only within
themselves. Further these three clans do not follow the so- called
the
four-clan
rule,
but their
inter-clan marriage
has
been
ar-
ranged by following two kinds of rules of prohibition for marriage;
dudh
bachana3
(keeping
individual marriage
ke
khandan
the
milk
apart
or
prohibition
on
an
with a person of the 'line of milk'); pao puj
se larki nahin l i
jaegi
(no members of
lineage
take
brides from where their daughters have gone as daughters-in-law).
78
In spite of their restricted exogamy,
repeated intermarriage
between the same houses for the purpose of political consolidation
of rule,
them.
raise the question of the breach of
incest taboo among
This dilemma was resolved through the ritual substitution
of the mother's milk by nourishing the princes by the
Ahir women who thus became dhud ma
(milk-mother).
son
dudh
and
husband
were
called
dau(father's elder brother)
Bundelation
Therefore her
bai (milk
brother)
The formation of the
respectively.
by
royal
The most plausible category of PseudoBundelas
was
identified
as
the
agnatic
The agnatic relationship between father and son was found
relationship between Chhatrsal and Peshwa Bajirao.
a
and
Dauwa league can be considered as 'pseudo-kinship' rela-
between them.
kinship
milk of
native historian
like Kunwar Kanihaiyaju
one.
in the
According to
(1928),
the gift of
Mastani as a daughter of Chhatrsal was a means of establishing the
pseudotha
kinship namely agnatic one between Bundela king and Mara-
Peshwa
rather
between them.
than
of
establishing
affinity
relationship
Kunwar Kanihaiyaju (1928) said that Raja Chhatrsal
made pseudo-kinship relationship between him and twelve political
sons hailed
Baniya,
from various castes such as Go sa in,
Bhat and Khawas (barber in royal service).
Ghos i,
Brahman,
It is quite
evident that the royal Bundela Rajputs had allied with the various
other castes for the sake of their acquiring and retaining power
over the territories.
This
kind
of
Rajput
alliance
with
other
castes
can
be
observed in Mayer(1958, 1960) 's findings from a village of central
India.
He(1958)
finds that besides Rajput castes, the chieftain79
ships
of
castes,
some
villages
this
region
were
held
by
non-Rajput
most of which belonged to castes allied to the Rajput by
links of patronage and
(1960
of
ritual closeness.
According to his study
; 131), Rajputs form the most influential caste in the area
they are themselves numerically the largest in the
around Dewas
and can call on the support of other allied castes like
region,
Gosain, Tobacco-curer, Barber and Potter, some of which are powerful
too.
Rajputs of Ramkheri,
therefore,
eat even kacha
food
from the allied castes.
The
nature of
the dominance phase of
Bundela
genealogy
is
characterized by a continuation through fragmentation of the
dynastic phase.
is
In other words, this phase of Bundela genealogy
considered
as
patti
level
from
entity
and
Even though no written records
and
genealogy
Bundela,
a
of
segmentation
of
Bundela
patrilineal
The term patti, according to Jain(l975),
segmentation.
division
the
larger
Gathewara
are
segmentation
oral
available,
do exist even today.
of
narratives
patti
the
implies
group.
of Bundela
systems
of
It is said that Sabha Singh
a founder of local patrilineage of Gathewara, was called
6n by families of Dubey Kanyakubja Brahman to protect the villagers from the menace of the dacoits.
of a protector,
control
over
the
Initially assuming the role
Sabha Singh Bundela later began to exercise his
terri tory
ruler of the village.
and
thus
proclaimed
himself
as
the
In a way people also contributed to the
enthronement of Sabha Singh as a petty raja of the place.
80
It has been a practice that the Raja of a Princely State used
to grant a village or a group of villages to a Rajput residing
that locality and thus made him a jagirdar.
were called jagirdar
tribute
and
contrast
if
the
Those who have jagir
obligation to Raja was the payment of
whose
necessary,
jagir,
to
in
some
land
military
revenue
of
services
khalsa
also.
In
villages
which
constituted the royal share were collected by officers of the Raja.
It is known that the village,
Bundela
jagir
as
by
Raja
the
founded by a Panwar Rajput,
jagir
The
of
Gathewara was granted to Sabha Singh
of
Chhatarpur
State
which
was
retainer of Panna Raja in A.D. 1785.
Gathewara
was
divided
into
three
portions
accorded to three sons of Sabha Singh who was the founder of local
patrilineage of Bundela.
lands;
thus
the
majli patti
eldest
son
Each son
got a patti of the
village
got bare
patti
son got
the
second
the youngest son got nanni patti.
The
so-called
chauthi patti was derived from the informal union of the third son
of Sabha Singh and an Ahir woman.
mode
of
succession and
chauthi patti were
and
they were
sub,- lineage.
jagir
designated
occupy
fact,
lagers
is
pattis
into
the
their
'domains'
the
Bundela,
subsidiary descendants
assumed that
'Thakur'
in
to
the
customary
the members
assigned small pieces of share of nanni
as
refers
inheritance among
treated as
It
According
Bundela
meaning
from
level.
of
of
dominant
patti
Bundela
division
began
to
be
who
The term Thakaras,
in
or village and vil-
Thakurs
of
Gathewara
have
resided in a single ward which has been called Thakaras mohalle.
81
of
people
people,
Most
local
Gathewara
local
called Thakaras.
to both territory and
village
the moment
Rajputs
the
of
of
Each patti was an autonomous unit in terms of
economy,
politics,
and rituals.
The Bundelas of each patti were
referred to as Thakurs as maliks by the people.
live under the control
of
village socio-
The people who
Thakurs are known as assami.
The
economic inter-dependence among the various castes of the village,
which
is known kisani
system
has been
confined to each patti.
In addition to the servicing castes and artisan castes in
system,
works
kisani
the other assamis were obliged not only to do agricultural
of
their Thakurs and but also to
Further,
all
were
assamis
demanded
to
pay
annual
provide
land
various
revenue.
kinds
of
obliged free labour called begar, which was one of the traditional
avenues
of
maintaining Thakurs'
dominance
in
their
terri tory.
Most assamis were also compelled to provide certain ritual services
for
their Thakurs
marriage,
death,
at
all
ritual
and the like.
occasions
like
ceremonies
of
Certain kingly characteristics
such as exhibitionism,
ostentation,
required of Thakurs.
These were the measures of their dominance,
giving-dan
(gift)
have been
control and power.
In
social,
a
nutshell,
economic,
dominated villages
it
can
be
political
said
and
that
ritual
the
characteristics
structure
of
of
Thakur-
like Gathewara are characterized by a kin-
feudated system particularly during the dominance phase of Bundela
genealogy.
All
phases
concerning
Bundela
genealogies
clearly
give
evidence to the fact that Bundela Rajputs have used the institution
of clanship and the alliance to various castes through marital and
82
Pseudo-Kinship relationship for acquiring their dominance over
people-cum-territory.
During the mythological phase, Rajputs like
Bunde las claimed to be descendants of surya
(sun) ,
by which they
tended to authorize themselves to be rulers of territory.
three
legends
clearly
manifest
that
the
institution
of
The
Bundela
clanship based on ideology of agnation or patri-lineality has been
obviously concerned with the succession to and
throne and patrimony respectively.
inheritance of
The concept
of
affinity
functioning as a subsidiary factor support the process of agnation
and kingdom formation among the Bundelas.
dominance phases,
During the dynastic and
the principle of clanship based on the princely
lineage regulates the process of lineage segmentation and smaller
kingdom formation.
been
a
occupied
history
the
In a nutshell, the history of Bundelkhand has
of
occupation
areas,
and
Bundelas
formed
native
carne
from
kingdoms
outside
and
a
and
kind
of
feudalistic villages.
It is quite clear that the characteristics of history of this
region have reflected the nature of the relation between status and
power.
Rajputs
First and foremost,
of
this
region was
it is assumed that the origin of the
from non-Hindu
aboriginal
who
powerful victors through the occupation of the areas.
that
the
Brahmans
of
this
region mainly
became
It is said
consisting
of
two
sub-
castes like Kanyakubja and Jujhautia were displaced from the Doab
region.
They
were
given
royal
patronage
legitimization of victors as Kshatriyas.
for
In
their
role
other words,
of
the
Brahmans of this region seemed to have lost their power and have
83
migrated to this region, and consequently were under the
of the powerful conquerors.
stance of the Brahmans,
patr~nage
In contrast to the inferior
ci~cum-
the conquerors namely the Bundela Ra:jputs
gained political ground to acquire their dominance over the
As mentioned earlier in the legendary phase,
Brahma~s
the
Bundelkhand region were not invited to officiate the
kula devi of royal Bundelas.
ar~as.
of
worship of
Further, Chhatrsal, the
found~r
of
Panna kingdom was validated to be the ruler of his territories
~y
founders of sects rather than by Brahman priests.
this, Jain
With regard to
says;
In fact, the picture is that of a his tory
where a robber today,
became a king
tomorrow and one who was a king may again
lose his authority and roam about in the
forests with a few soldiers.
At the same
time, there were different kinds of religious
beliefs prevailing among the masses. In this
milieu, the authority of the king was provided a religious basis by a Chaplain (Rajguru)
whether he was a Brahman or a Charismatic
sage like swami Pran Nath.
[Jain 1993 : 9].
Regarding
Hocart(1950)
the
relation
characterises
the
between
power
and
stat\;,
Brahmans as King's officials
From l;s;
are engaged to carry on the auspicious rituals of life.
view-point on the varna(1950
32-4),
pure figment and invention of
priests
~0
the four caste system i!,a
for
their own
glorifi~
tion. Criticizing the view of Hocart, Dumont (1988 : 71-2)
that
there is an absolute
royalty.
distinction between
priesthood
It is his opinion that the king has lost his
84
..
I!
religi~
prerogatives
formed.
and
he
does
In addition,
between status
thority.
For
as
not
sacrifice
but
has
sacrifices
per-
he says that there is absolute distinction
spiritual
Dumont,
the
latter
is
power
always
temporal
subordinated
regional
au-
to
the
variation,
he
(1988:155)
thinks categorically that the disappearance of the king
regions
the
as
Though
many
recognizes
and
former.
from
he
authority
owing to the Muslim domination has increased
the influence of the Brahmans.
However,
the
position
of
Brahmans
of
Bundelkhand
as
merely
migrants were known as being dependent upon the royal power,
resulted
in the
formation
agents by the folk.
provided all kinds
In
of
the
fact,
of ritual
image
the
of
Brahmans of
services
to the
born castes and even to the Shudras.
been
Vedic
influenced
or
observed
Holi,
much
Sanatan
the
by
Hindu
Pan-Indian
Dusserah,
the
as
this
dependent
region have
so-called
twice-
Moreover they have never
so-called
religion.
the
The
character
Brahmans
which
of
great
folks,
rituals
Deepavali and the like.
tradition
of
and
like
course,
have
festivals
like
Nevertheless it is worth
noting the fact that the regional and family rituals have been more
prevalent than Vedic rituals in this region.
Furthermore, one of
the most important features of Brahmans of this region is that they
have participated in the regional
yatras
Baba,
for
rituals
worshipping Diwan Sahab,
Guwal Baba and the
like.
Baram
like various kinds of
Dev,
For instance,
Gond
Baba,
Thakur
in ya tra of Bar am
dev of Gathewara,
a village priest, Suklal Chaube by name, got into
a
incarnated
trance
and
he
the
spirit
of
Bar am
Dev.
The
participation of this yatra is not confined to any specific castes.
85
While in trance,
the Brahman priest became an intermediary between
this worldly and other worldly power.
When people approach him
to
he
pray
for
solving
propitiate the
the yatra,
their
gives
spirit ln the name of Baram Dev.
the prasad,
a
piece of coconut was
who participated in the
priest.
problems,
the
ways
to
At the end of
distributed to all
yatra irrespective of caste by the Brahman
Besides Baram Dev yatra,
in the yatra
of Diwan Sahib
which worships Hardaul Singh, the other Brahman named swami Prasad
gets into a trance and he incarnates the spirit of Diwan Sahib.
The
above
political
oriented
example
conditions
towards
clearly
compel
little
than great tradition,i.e.
implies
the
that
Brahmans
tradition,
certain
of
this
i.e.
regional
Vedic rituals.
This
social
region
rituals
to
and
be
rather
social milieu,
accordingly, created the different kinds of sects and denominations
prevailing among the masses.
Considering the above circumstances
Rajputs
in Bundelkhand region,
of
the
Brahmans
and
it is quite valid to say that the
proper understanding of the relation between power and status is
not
possible
\vithout
taking
into
account
the
regional
like that of Bundelkhand.
< NOTES >
1.
Regarding the term kuri,
Jain(1975)
mentions two kinds of meanings.
First
of all, in designating the two ca tegor ies of Raj put clans like tin-kur i-ke
Rajputs and chhatis-kuri-ke Rajputs, the
term kuri is being used in its meaning
of 'kind', 'type', or 'variety'.
A
86
variation
second meaning of the term kuri
is
closely related to the Sanskrit
ankura
which
means
'a
sprout',
'shoot',
, 'hair',
'blood'.
With regard to the
second
meaning of the term kuri, Jain
says ;
. . . the term kuri is a metaphor for the
segmentary ideology of Bundela descent.
The Bundelas themselves express the idea
of fission and fusion of their patriline
in this statement about the process of
the formation of segments (e.g. a local
patrilineage)
'formerly all were one,
subsequently different kuri sprouted'
(phale sab ek the i bad me alag alag
kuri phut gayin). Kuri in this statement, and in many similar statements, is
associated with 'sprouting'.
[1975: 245-6].
2.
At the time of chikat ritual of bride's
marriage ceremony in Gathewara, women
hailing from bride's relatives sing
songs which are related to the legend of
Hardaul Singh. Further, they worship
Hardaul and invite him to the marriage.
3.
This rule is related to the prohibition
on acceptance of a bride from the localized patriline (khandan) of one's mother.
4.
Actual meaning of Doab is 'Two Rivers'.
With regard to the meaning of Doab, Jan
Knappert says;
is the reg ion covering the vast
plains of Hindustan that lies between
the two holy rivers Ganga (Ganges) and
Yamuna ( Jumna) which 'become one' near
Allahabad (City of God), called in
antiquity
Prayaga 'sacrifice'.
In
the
Gupta
period
the
king
was
represented in Scriptures as standing
between the two goddesses who protected
his realm.
[ 1992 : 94]
Doab
87