Frontline
November 1998
Ethos

Life for love

Marwad still recalls the story of Rakumari Gavri, who saved the life of Mir Ghudle Khan, and who, in turn, repaid the love debt to his ‘Eternal Sister’ with the life he owed her

Rao Satal Rathod was coronated at Jodhpur Nagar in the Thar desert in Rajasthan. Satal Rathod’s
brother Varsinh Rathod was the Raja of Bhendta. To show his prowess, Varsinh ransacked Sambhar Nagar. This angered Raja Chauhan who appealed to the Subedar of Ajmer, Mallu Khan for help. Mallu Khan, a brave and a shrewd man, invited Varsinh to Ajmer on the pretext of a visit but arrested the latter on his arrival. When this news reached the Maharaja of Bikaner, Rao Bikaji, and Rao Dooda, both marched their armies towards Ajmer from two different directions. On getting to know of this, Mallu Khan released Varsinh. But Mallu Khan would not let matters rest there. He invited the Mir of Sindh, Ghudle Khan for a meeting.

While travelling from Sindh and passing through Mewad along with his four brothers, Ghudle Khan got badly trapped in a storm near Kausana village. Stranded on a hillock, the five hungry and thirsty brothers craved for water. Just then, the Rajkumari of Kausana, who is referred to as Gaura Devi in Marwad, happened to pass by and heard Mir Ghudle Khan and his brothers pleading for some water. The sathins accompanying her were all carrying pitchers full of water that could save the Mir and his brothers. But the question arose whether it would be right for them to feed the water they were carrying for the worship of the sacred pipal tree to non–Hindus. Gaura Devi pronounced that the service of humanity is the best form of worship. That is how she saved the lives of Mir Ghudle Khan and his four brothers.

A grateful Mir Ghudle Khan then told Gaura Devi: "If ever the need arises, Ghudle Khan will even sacrifice his life for you". He then proceeded to Ajmer while the Rajkumari and her sathins returned to the village to procure more water for worship. Accompanying the Rajkumari on that occasion was her younger brother Kishore Bajrang. He had had a close look at Ghudle Khan and remembered his face.

A little later, Mallu Khan mar-ched his army towards Bhendta with reinforcements from Siriya Khan and Mir Ghudle Khan. On getting to hear of this march of the army of pathans, Varsinh Bhendtiya sent a plea to Satal Rathod in Jodhpur for help. But Satal Rathod sent back the message that it would be wiser if Varsinh retreated to Jodhpur with his army so that they could go into battle against Mallu Khan at a more opportune moment.

Mallu Khan had no problem looting the deserted Bhendta. He, along with Siriya Khan and Mir Ghudle Khan next launched an assault on Pipaad. Now it so happened that the Gangaur puja had started in Pipaad that very day. (On the occasion of Chaitra Krishna Prathami, the day after the Holi festival, unmarried girls from the Thar desert worship Gangaur in the hope that by the grace of Shiva and Parvati they find a husband as virtuous as Shiva, Ram or Krishna). Mallu Khan’s people looted the worshipping women, took away all their 

jewelry, arrested them all and occupied Pipaad.

When Rao Satal Rathod got to know that Jodhpur was next on the list of the pathans, he set up his battle camp at Kausana with the help of the armies of Varsinh Bhendtiya, Bharmal Rathod, Rao Dooda and Rao Sooja. But on the advice of Bhim’s son, Bajrang, he refrained from leading an attack during daytime. Bajrang asked for permission to secretly make a proper assessment of the military strength of the Muslims. Satal Rathod granted the permission sought by the brave and wise Bajrang.

While Gavri’s brother Bajrang was roaming around in the camp of the pathans, disguised as a wood-cutter, his eyes fell on Ghudle Khan. Ghudle Khan was resting outside his camp along with his brothers. Bajrang asked him: "Have you forgotten the water that saved you in Kausana?" Ghudle Khan replied: "How can I ever forget the water which was provided to me by my Eternal Sister? That was nothing but amrut, it is that which keeps me alive".

"And yet you have come to loot that very sister’s fort?" Bajrang queried and identified himself as Gavri’s brother. Ghudle Khan furtively escorted Bajrang out of the camp of the Muslim soldiers and saw him off on the return route to Kausana.

Bajrang gave Rao Satal Rathod an accurate account of the strength of the Muslim army. He advised that it would be best to launch the assault at night. Accordingly, Satal Rao marched his army out of Kausana one night and on the second night his army was face-to-face with the enemy at Pipaad. The same night, Mallu Khan held a durbar at his camp with all the sardars and asked them to plan to go to battle the next day.

But Mir Ghudle Khan would have none of this. He revolted against Mallu Khan in the middle of the same night. At about the same time, Rathod’s soldiers attacked the armies of Mallu Khan and Siriya Khan. Mallu Khan’s men gored Ghudle Khan and his brothers to death with spears. But he lost the battle. Siriya Khan was killed while Mallu Khan fled to save his life. Rao Satal Rathod, too, was injured in battle. He was taken to Kausana where he breathed his last.

Bajrang found the badly wounded Ghudle Khan in the battlefield and asked what had happened. Ghudle Khan disclosed to him that he had revolted against his chief Mallu Khan for the sake of his Eternal Sister Rajkumari Gavri and because of which Mallu Khan’s men had gored his entire body with spears.

When the Rajkumari got news of this from her brother Bajrang, she rushed to the battlefield to meet her ‘brother’ – Ghudle Khan. On the completion of the Gangaur worship on Chaitra Shukl Tritiya, she did whatever she could to save him but in vain. Instead, she had to oversee the performance of the last rites before Ghudle Khan’s burial.

Since that time, songs are sung all over Mewad recalling this extraordinary bond between Ghudle Khan and Rajkumari Gavri. In fact, the momeroy of this historic episode has virtually a sacred form. After the completion of the Gangaur rituals every year, Ghudle is worshipped for the next 15 days. It takes the form of worship of five pitchers, each with holes symbolising the sacrifice of Ghudle Khan and his four brothers.

The five pitchers with 10 holes in each of them are placed one above the other and diyas lit inside each one. Unmarried young women carry the five diya–lit pitchers to the lake and set them afloat. As the pitchers float away, this is the song they sing the following ballad:

Kine Ramsa sama aaye,

Ghudlee ghumela jee ghumela

Mhare tel bale ghee ghal

Ghudlee ghumela jee ghumela

Ghudla mein aakha ghal

Ghudlee ghumela jee ghumela

Ghudla mein deepak paanch

Ghudlee ghumela jee ghumela

Ghudla mein das das dupaar

Ghudlee ghumela jee ghumela

Ghudla jatan karaye

Ghudlee ghumela jee ghumela

Ghudla mein roopiya ghal

Ghudlee ghumela jee ghumela

Ghudla eesar gaar

Ghudlee ghumela jee ghumela

Ghudla jatan karaye

Ghudlee ghumela jee ghumela.

(Were Lord Ram to arrive from somewhere,

The pitchers go round and round

I fill more oil and ghee

The pitchers go round and round

I fill them up to the brim,

The pitchers go round and round

Prepared with the labour of love,

The pitchers go round and round

Put money in the pitchers

The pitchers go round and round

The pitchers have turned cold

The pitchers go round and round)

The above song is sung on the occasion of Chaitra Krishna Tritiya every year. Thus is the amar kahani (eternal story) of the pure love between Ghudle Khan, a Muslim, and his sister Rajkumari Gavri, a Hindu, recalled year after year in Marwad, in the villages as also in Jodhpur city. The pitchers symbolise the bodies, the holes symbolise the spear wounds on the bodies of Ghudle Khan and his brothers, while the diyas symbolise the soul.

Tara Prakash Joshi

(The writer lives in Jaipur).


[ Subscribe | Contact Us | Archives | Khoj | Aman ]
[ Letter to editor  ]
Copyrights © 2001, Sabrang Communications & Publishing Pvt. Ltd.