09-03-2006, 01:07 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Essay: THE HEROIC POETRY OF OLD GUJARATI
by K.M. Munshi
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gujarat had heroic poetry in Apabhransa reflecting its martial spirit in the days of the Chalukyas and Vaghelas. A similar literature in Old Gujarati has all but disappeared; only two poems give an idea of its nature. They provide a brilliant picture of the epic heroism displayed by Gujarat when it grimly contested every inch of ground with the invader.
The poem, Ranamallachanda, is a short ballad, composed about 1400 by Sridhara, celebrating the heroic deeds of Ranamalla of Idara. It consists of seventy stanzas in metres like cupai and duha, and is the earliest work of a kind which has been a favourite of the bards. This literature, principally panegyrical, is composed in metres which lend themselves to recitation with considerable dramatic force. The language is very often archaic and strongly alliterative. Sometimes words are altered out of recognition in the interest of sound effects, and assonances and other verbal tricks abound.
Ranamalla of Idara, of the Kamadhaja or Rathoda family, was a great warrior. About 1397, he harassed Zafar Khan, the viceroy of Patana, and spread terror among the Mussalman chiefs.
As the army of the Sultan bristled with valour Ranamalla's whiskers flew about with wrath.
The Sultan calls upon him to submit. Ranamalla roars :
If my lotus-like head bows before the Mlechhas' feet, the sun will not rise in the sky. So long as the sun moves in the sky, Kamadhaja will not bow to a block of stone. Even if the flame of the submarine fire is extinguished, I will not yield an inch of land to the Mlechha.
A battle ensues between the two armies, and is described in jingling rhymes. The Mussalmans are routed, and in token of submission the not unusual humiliation of being made to eat grass is forced on them. Ranamalla begins to think of world-wide conquest, and he says, "I will bring under my control everything on which the sun shines."
Kanhadadeprabandha (c. 1456) follows a greater literary tradition. It deals with the struggle which Gujarata made for self-preservation after 1297, and breathes the grim and heroic attitude of mind which prevailed among her people during the fourteenth century. The author, Padmanabha of Visalanagara, was the poet-laureate of Akheraja, the Cahamana or Cohana king of Jhalora and a descendant of the hero of the poem. A few manuscripts of the work, luckily mistaken for those of a religious work, were preserved by the Jaina temples. Its language is Old Gujarati, then spoken all over Western Rajasthan including Gujarat. The style, though not as elegant as Bhalana's, maintains a high level of expressiveness. The language is neither trite nor ornate; the interest is well sustained throughout. The author, however, could not resist the temptation of recording in the conventional manner the names of Rajput and Mussalman warriors, and of introducing didactic verses and tedious narrative of past lives. In some places, the chronological order has not been preserved, and the same descriptions appear more than once. As a narrative, it is much better than many other rasas; and it has the merit of being without religious bias.
The poem opens with a prayer, and proceeds to mention Maravada, `the land of nine forts', and the Sonagira Cohanas `as noble looking as royal swans'. Karnadeva Ghelo ruled in Gujarata. Being enamoured of Kesava's wife, he killed the husband and appropriated the wife. The minister Madhava, Kesava's brother, moved by wrath, said, "I shall not taste any food in Gujarata till I bring the Turks here." One this, the poet feelingly laments :
To the place where he worshipped his God and sang His praises; where he performed sacrifices and gave gifts to Brahmanas; where he worshipped the sacred Tulsi plant and Pipala tree, heard recited the Vedas and the Puranas; where all go for pilgrimage; where all sing the Smrtis and the Puranas, there, Madhava brought the Mlechhas.
Ready to betray his country for a private wrong, Madhava goes to Delhi. He approaches Sultan Alla-ud-din with presents and offers to subdue Gujarat if an army is given to him. The sultan consents, and sends a message to Kanhadade, the Cohana king of Jhalora, to let the imperial army pass through his territory on its way to Gujarata. Proudly, Kanhadade replies :
I owe no such duty. They will plunder the villages; take my men prisoners; tear off women's ears. I do not make way for those who oppress the Brahmana and the cow.
But Alla-ud-din, determined to conquer Gujarat, secures a passage through Mevada. Battada of Modasa vainly bars the way of the onrushing hosts.
Pillaging, burning, destroying, the Sultan's army marches towards Patana. The Mussalmans, with Madhava at their head, invest the city. The ex-minister, traitor to the last, advises Karna to escape with his life. The king takes the advice; the queen flees on foot; and the capital falls into the hands of Alafkhan, the general of Alla-ud-din. `And from what once were temples was sounded the muezzin's call to prayers.'
The army then started on a further campaign of conquest and destruction to the south. It carried carnage right up to Surat, Rander, and the sea; returned to Saurashtra, destroyed many of its towns, and proceeded to Prabhasa. The Rajputs mobilised their strength to protect the shrine of Somanatha, and valiantly fought the enemy. But the fortress fell; and in front of the temple which they had vainly sought to protect, the heroic warriors, after ceremonial bathing and anointment, fell fighting, `surrendered themselves to Somanatha'. Madhava, the cause of all this evil, was also killed.
The temple had fallen into the hands of the enemy. Alafkhan broke open the shrine, shattered the idol to pieces, and carried away the fragments in a cart to Delhi. "We shall make chunam out of it", he said. The poet then piteously asks Siva :
O Rudra! By your wrath you burnt the demons. You spread virtue in the world; You removed the terror which oppressed the gods; You put to flight the powerful demon, Tripura, even as the wind blows away chaff. Padmanabha asks you : O Rudra ! Where is now your mighty trident ?
The conquering army, the poet proceeds, burnt villages, devastated the land, plundered people's wealth; took Brahmanas, children and women of all castes captive, and flogged them with thongs of raw hide; carried a moving prison with it, and converted the prisoners into obsequious Turks. Alafkhan then turned his attention to Kanhadade, who had declined to give a passage to his army.
Parvati and Ganga, God Somanatha's spouses, urge Kanhadade in a dream to save the god from the hands of the Mlechha. When Alafkhan sends a message to Kanhadade, he gets a fitting reply : "A hero never praises himself. He who performs heroic deeds alone wins fame." Alafkhan thereupon continues his march and encamps at Sirana.
Ministers of the Cohana king call on the Khan, who shows them his army and his prisoners. The ministers report the state of things to Kanhadade, who gets ready for battle. The goddess Asapura is worshipped; necessary orders are given; and the Rajput armies go forward to meet the foe.
In the battle that follows, the Turks are routed. Alafkhan flees for life. The idol of Somanath is recovered, and nine lacs of prisoners are set free. The victory is then celebrated in Jhalora, and the conqueror returns home amidst the rejoicings of his people.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
excerpted from GUJARATA AND ITS LITERATURE by K.M.MUNSHI
http://www.geocities.com/ungandhi/kmmunshi1.htm
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Both epics have been translated and published:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Ranamalla chanda : virarasatmaka Rajasthani carita-kavya
by Sridhara Vyasa;Â Mulacanda Pranesa
http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/top3...b4da09e526.html<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Kanhadade Prabandha: Padmanabha's epic account of Kanhadade
V.S. Bhatnagar
https://www.vedamsbooks.com/34523.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
by K.M. Munshi
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gujarat had heroic poetry in Apabhransa reflecting its martial spirit in the days of the Chalukyas and Vaghelas. A similar literature in Old Gujarati has all but disappeared; only two poems give an idea of its nature. They provide a brilliant picture of the epic heroism displayed by Gujarat when it grimly contested every inch of ground with the invader.
The poem, Ranamallachanda, is a short ballad, composed about 1400 by Sridhara, celebrating the heroic deeds of Ranamalla of Idara. It consists of seventy stanzas in metres like cupai and duha, and is the earliest work of a kind which has been a favourite of the bards. This literature, principally panegyrical, is composed in metres which lend themselves to recitation with considerable dramatic force. The language is very often archaic and strongly alliterative. Sometimes words are altered out of recognition in the interest of sound effects, and assonances and other verbal tricks abound.
Ranamalla of Idara, of the Kamadhaja or Rathoda family, was a great warrior. About 1397, he harassed Zafar Khan, the viceroy of Patana, and spread terror among the Mussalman chiefs.
As the army of the Sultan bristled with valour Ranamalla's whiskers flew about with wrath.
The Sultan calls upon him to submit. Ranamalla roars :
If my lotus-like head bows before the Mlechhas' feet, the sun will not rise in the sky. So long as the sun moves in the sky, Kamadhaja will not bow to a block of stone. Even if the flame of the submarine fire is extinguished, I will not yield an inch of land to the Mlechha.
A battle ensues between the two armies, and is described in jingling rhymes. The Mussalmans are routed, and in token of submission the not unusual humiliation of being made to eat grass is forced on them. Ranamalla begins to think of world-wide conquest, and he says, "I will bring under my control everything on which the sun shines."
Kanhadadeprabandha (c. 1456) follows a greater literary tradition. It deals with the struggle which Gujarata made for self-preservation after 1297, and breathes the grim and heroic attitude of mind which prevailed among her people during the fourteenth century. The author, Padmanabha of Visalanagara, was the poet-laureate of Akheraja, the Cahamana or Cohana king of Jhalora and a descendant of the hero of the poem. A few manuscripts of the work, luckily mistaken for those of a religious work, were preserved by the Jaina temples. Its language is Old Gujarati, then spoken all over Western Rajasthan including Gujarat. The style, though not as elegant as Bhalana's, maintains a high level of expressiveness. The language is neither trite nor ornate; the interest is well sustained throughout. The author, however, could not resist the temptation of recording in the conventional manner the names of Rajput and Mussalman warriors, and of introducing didactic verses and tedious narrative of past lives. In some places, the chronological order has not been preserved, and the same descriptions appear more than once. As a narrative, it is much better than many other rasas; and it has the merit of being without religious bias.
The poem opens with a prayer, and proceeds to mention Maravada, `the land of nine forts', and the Sonagira Cohanas `as noble looking as royal swans'. Karnadeva Ghelo ruled in Gujarata. Being enamoured of Kesava's wife, he killed the husband and appropriated the wife. The minister Madhava, Kesava's brother, moved by wrath, said, "I shall not taste any food in Gujarata till I bring the Turks here." One this, the poet feelingly laments :
To the place where he worshipped his God and sang His praises; where he performed sacrifices and gave gifts to Brahmanas; where he worshipped the sacred Tulsi plant and Pipala tree, heard recited the Vedas and the Puranas; where all go for pilgrimage; where all sing the Smrtis and the Puranas, there, Madhava brought the Mlechhas.
Ready to betray his country for a private wrong, Madhava goes to Delhi. He approaches Sultan Alla-ud-din with presents and offers to subdue Gujarat if an army is given to him. The sultan consents, and sends a message to Kanhadade, the Cohana king of Jhalora, to let the imperial army pass through his territory on its way to Gujarata. Proudly, Kanhadade replies :
I owe no such duty. They will plunder the villages; take my men prisoners; tear off women's ears. I do not make way for those who oppress the Brahmana and the cow.
But Alla-ud-din, determined to conquer Gujarat, secures a passage through Mevada. Battada of Modasa vainly bars the way of the onrushing hosts.
Pillaging, burning, destroying, the Sultan's army marches towards Patana. The Mussalmans, with Madhava at their head, invest the city. The ex-minister, traitor to the last, advises Karna to escape with his life. The king takes the advice; the queen flees on foot; and the capital falls into the hands of Alafkhan, the general of Alla-ud-din. `And from what once were temples was sounded the muezzin's call to prayers.'
The army then started on a further campaign of conquest and destruction to the south. It carried carnage right up to Surat, Rander, and the sea; returned to Saurashtra, destroyed many of its towns, and proceeded to Prabhasa. The Rajputs mobilised their strength to protect the shrine of Somanatha, and valiantly fought the enemy. But the fortress fell; and in front of the temple which they had vainly sought to protect, the heroic warriors, after ceremonial bathing and anointment, fell fighting, `surrendered themselves to Somanatha'. Madhava, the cause of all this evil, was also killed.
The temple had fallen into the hands of the enemy. Alafkhan broke open the shrine, shattered the idol to pieces, and carried away the fragments in a cart to Delhi. "We shall make chunam out of it", he said. The poet then piteously asks Siva :
O Rudra! By your wrath you burnt the demons. You spread virtue in the world; You removed the terror which oppressed the gods; You put to flight the powerful demon, Tripura, even as the wind blows away chaff. Padmanabha asks you : O Rudra ! Where is now your mighty trident ?
The conquering army, the poet proceeds, burnt villages, devastated the land, plundered people's wealth; took Brahmanas, children and women of all castes captive, and flogged them with thongs of raw hide; carried a moving prison with it, and converted the prisoners into obsequious Turks. Alafkhan then turned his attention to Kanhadade, who had declined to give a passage to his army.
Parvati and Ganga, God Somanatha's spouses, urge Kanhadade in a dream to save the god from the hands of the Mlechha. When Alafkhan sends a message to Kanhadade, he gets a fitting reply : "A hero never praises himself. He who performs heroic deeds alone wins fame." Alafkhan thereupon continues his march and encamps at Sirana.
Ministers of the Cohana king call on the Khan, who shows them his army and his prisoners. The ministers report the state of things to Kanhadade, who gets ready for battle. The goddess Asapura is worshipped; necessary orders are given; and the Rajput armies go forward to meet the foe.
In the battle that follows, the Turks are routed. Alafkhan flees for life. The idol of Somanath is recovered, and nine lacs of prisoners are set free. The victory is then celebrated in Jhalora, and the conqueror returns home amidst the rejoicings of his people.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
excerpted from GUJARATA AND ITS LITERATURE by K.M.MUNSHI
http://www.geocities.com/ungandhi/kmmunshi1.htm
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Both epics have been translated and published:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Ranamalla chanda : virarasatmaka Rajasthani carita-kavya
by Sridhara Vyasa;Â Mulacanda Pranesa
http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/top3...b4da09e526.html<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Kanhadade Prabandha: Padmanabha's epic account of Kanhadade
V.S. Bhatnagar
https://www.vedamsbooks.com/34523.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->