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.
Ranamalla of Idara, of the Kamadhaja or Rathoda family, was a great
warrior. About 1397, he harassed Zafar Khan, the viceroy of Patna,
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