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{{Short description|Legendary 12th century general}}
{{Short description|Legendary 12th century general}}{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2019}}


'''Alha''' ([[देवनागरी]]: आल्हा ; [[ISO 15919|ISO]]: Ālhā ) was a legendary general of the [[Chandela|Chandel]] king [[Paramardideva]] (also known as Parmal), who fought [[Prithviraj Chauhan]] in 1182 [[Common Era|CE]], immortalised in the ''[[Alha-Khand]]'' ballad.
[[File:MAHOBA,_U.P._-_allha.preview.jpg | thumb | right | alt=Statue of Alha riding on a horse with one of his hands up and his horse galloping. | Statue of Alha riding on a horse]]
'''Alha''' ([[ISO 15919|ISO]]: Ālhā) was a legendary general of the [[Chandela|Chandel]] king [[Paramardideva]] (also known as Parmal), who fought [[Prithviraj Chauhan]] in 1182 [[Common Era|CE]]. He is one of the main characters of the ''[[Alha-Khand]]'' ballad.


== Origin ==
== Origin ==
Alha and [[Udal Mahoba|Udal]] were children of the Dasraj, a successful commander of the army of Chandel king Parmal. They belonged to the [[Banaphar]] clan, which are of mixed [[Ahir]] and [[Rajput]] descent,<!--Do not change without consensus! Go to the talk page first.--><ref name="Hiltebeitel">{{cite book |last1=Hiltebeitel |first1=Alf |author-link=Alf Hiltebeitel |title=Rethinking India's oral and classical epics: Draupadī among Rajputs, Muslims, and Dalits |pages=162–163 |date=May 1, 1999 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=9780226340500 |quote=Presumably it is an issue that would interest ''Ālhā'' audiences sensitive to the mixed-caste Kṣatrya-Ahir identity of the Banāphars... Ūdal (and the rest of the Banāphars) is susceptible to "mean caste" slurs and slights because of his combined Kṣatriya (Rajput) and cowherd (Ahir) background.}}</ref> and fought against Rajputs such as Prithvi Raj Chauhan and Mahil.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m3DjCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA203|title=The Last Hindu Emperor: Prithviraj Cauhan and the Indian Past, 1200–2000|last=Talbot|first=Cynthia|date=2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781107118560|pages=203|language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MMFdosx0PokC&q=ahir|title=Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics: Draupadi among Rajputs, Muslims, and Dalits|last=Hiltebeitel|first=Alf|date=2009-02-15|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=9780226340555|page=133|language=en}}</ref>
According to the legend, Alha and [[Udal Mahoba|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,<!--Do not change without consensus! Go to the talk page first.-->{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|1999|loc=pp. 162–163: "Presumably it is an issue that would interest ''Ālhā'' audiences sensitive to the mixed-caste Kṣatrya-Ahir identity of the Banāphars... Ūdal (and the rest of the Banāphars) is susceptible to "mean caste" slurs and slights because of his combined Kṣatriya (Rajput) and cowherd (Ahir) background."}}{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2009|p=465}}{{sfn|Mayaram|2022|p=141}}{{sfn|Crowley|2020|pp=277}}{{sfn|Talbot|2016|p=203}} 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.{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|1999|p=133}}


According to the ''[[Bhavishya Purana]]'', a text with several interpolated sections that cannot be reliably dated, Alha's mother, Devaki, was a member of the  Ahir caste. The Ahirs are among the "oldest pastoralists" and were rulers of Mahoba.<ref name=" Alf Hiltebeitel1">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MMFdosx0PokC |title=Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics: Draupadi among Rajputs, Muslims, and Dalits |publisher=University of Chicago Press |first=Alf |last=Hiltebeitel |author-link=Alf Hiltebeitel |year=2009 |pages=132–133 |isbn=978-0-226-34055-5}}</ref>
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.{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|1999|loc=pp. 132–133}}


== Folklore ==
== Folklore ==
Alha is an oral epic, the story is also found in a number of medieval manuscripts of the ''[[Prithviraj Raso]]'' and the ''Bhavishya Purana''. There is also a belief that the story was originally written by Jagnik, bard of Mahoba, but no manuscript has yet been found.<ref name="South Asian Folklore:">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ienxrTPHzzwC&pg=PA12 |title=South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka Special -Reference |publisher=Taylor & Francis |author1=Peter J. Claus |author2=Sarah Diamond |author3=Margaret Ann Mills |year=2003 |page=12 |isbn=978-0-415-93919-5}}</ref>
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 belief that the story was originally written by Jagnik, bard of Mahoba, but no manuscript has been found.
 
{{sfn|Claus|Diamond|Mills|2003|p=12}}
Karine Schomer depicted Alha in ''South Asian Folklore'' as:
{{quote|Originating in the [[Bundelkhand]] Region. it (Alha) recounts the intertwined fates of the three principal Rajput Kingdoms of North India on the eve of Turkish conquest (late 12th century C.E.); Delhi (ruled by Prithviraj Chauhan), Kannauj (ruled by ''Jaichand Rathor''), and Mahoba (ruled by Chandel king ''Parmal''). The heroes of the epic are the brothers Alha and Udal retainers of the Rajput status with exceptional valour,  whose cause is the protection of Mahoba and defense of its honour. Called the "Mahabarata of the Kaliyuga", Alha both parallels and inverts the themes and the structures of the classical religious epic.
 
The (Alha) cycle consists of fifty-two episodes in which the heroes confront enemies of Mahoba or the resistant fathers of prospective brides. It ends with the great historical battle between the kingdoms of Mahoba and [[Delhi]], in which the Chandels were annihilated and the [[Chauhan]]s so weakened that they could not resist the subsequent attack of the [[Ottoman Empire|Turks]].<ref name="South Asian Folklore:" />
}}


==See also==
==See also==
* [[Udal of Mahoba]]
* [[Udal of Mahoba]]


== References ==
== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
==References==
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ienxrTPHzzwC&pg=PA12 |title=South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka Special -Reference |publisher=Taylor & Francis |last1=Claus |first1=Peter J. |last2=Diamond |first2=Sarah |last3=Mills |first3=Margaret Ann  |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-415-93919-5}}
* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jhP9DwAAQBAJ&dq=Alha+ahirs&pg=PA277|title= Fractured Forest, Quartzite City A History of Delhi and Its Ridge  |last=Crowley |first=Thomas |date=2020|publisher= SAGE Publications  |isbn=9789353885564}}
* {{cite book |last=Hiltebeitel |first=Alf |author-link=Alf Hiltebeitel |title=Rethinking India's oral and classical epics: Draupadī among Rajputs, Muslims, and Dalits |date=1999 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=9780226340500 |quote=}}
* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZupXwid01CoC&dq=Alha+ahir&pg=PA465 |title=When the Goddess was a Woman Mahābhārata Ethnographies : Essays |last=Hiltebeitel |first=Alf |date=2009 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=9789004193802}}
* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pWtYEAAAQBAJ&dq=alha+udal+ahir&pg=PA141|title= The Secret Life of Another Indian Nationalism Transitions from the Pax Britannica to the Pax Americana |last=Mayaram |first=Shail |date=2022 |publisher= Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781108832571}}
* {{Cite book |title=The Last Hindu Emperor: Prithviraj Cauhan and the Indian Past, 1200–2000 |last=Talbot |first=Cynthia |date=2016 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781107118560 |pages=203 |language=en}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
*{{Cite book |last=Mishra |first=Pt. Lalita Prasad |title=Alhakhand |language=hi |edition=15 |year=2007 |publisher=Tejkumar Book Depot (Pvt) Ltd |location=[[Lucknow]] (India) |pages=614}}
*{{Cite book |last=Mishra |first=Pt. Lalita Prasad |title=Alhakhand |language=hi |edition=15 |year=2007 |publisher=Tejkumar Book Depot (Pvt) Ltd |location=[[Lucknow]] (India) |pages=614}}


[[Category:Rajput era]]
[[Category:History of Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:12th-century Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:12th-century Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:Chandelas of Jejakabhukti]]
[[Category:Rajputs]]
[[Category:Ahir history]]
[[Category:Indian legendary characters]]

Revision as of 16:44, 14 March 2026


Statue of Alha riding on a horse with one of his hands up and his horse galloping.
Statue of Alha riding on a horse

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,[1][2][3][4][5] 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.[6]

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.[7]

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 belief that the story was originally written by Jagnik, bard of Mahoba, but no manuscript has been found. [8]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Hiltebeitel 1999, pp. 162–163: "Presumably it is an issue that would interest Ālhā audiences sensitive to the mixed-caste Kṣatrya-Ahir identity of the Banāphars... Ūdal (and the rest of the Banāphars) is susceptible to "mean caste" slurs and slights because of his combined Kṣatriya (Rajput) and cowherd (Ahir) background.".
  2. ↑ Hiltebeitel 2009, p. 465.
  3. ↑ Mayaram 2022, p. 141.
  4. ↑ Crowley 2020, pp. 277.
  5. ↑ Talbot 2016, p. 203.
  6. ↑ Hiltebeitel 1999, p. 133.
  7. ↑ Hiltebeitel 1999, pp. 132–133.
  8. ↑ Claus, Diamond & Mills 2003, p. 12.

References

  • Claus, Peter J.; Diamond, Sarah; Mills, Margaret Ann (2003). South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka Special -Reference. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-415-93919-5.
  • Crowley, Thomas (2020). Fractured Forest, Quartzite City A History of Delhi and Its Ridge. SAGE Publications. ISBN 9789353885564.
  • Hiltebeitel, Alf (1999). Rethinking India's oral and classical epics: Draupadī among Rajputs, Muslims, and Dalits. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226340500.
  • Hiltebeitel, Alf (2009). When the Goddess was a Woman Mahābhārata Ethnographies : Essays. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9789004193802.
  • Mayaram, Shail (2022). The Secret Life of Another Indian Nationalism Transitions from the Pax Britannica to the Pax Americana. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108832571.
  • Talbot, Cynthia (2016). The Last Hindu Emperor: Prithviraj Cauhan and the Indian Past, 1200–2000. Cambridge University Press. p. 203. ISBN 9781107118560.

External links

  • Mishra, Pt. Lalita Prasad (2007). Alhakhand (in हिन्दी) (15 ed.). Lucknow (India): Tejkumar Book Depot (Pvt) Ltd. p. 614.
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