Raja Nal and the Goddess: The North Indian Epic Dhola in Performance

Appendix 1: List of Characters

Appendix 1 List of Characters Bharamal, husband of Taro, who is the sister of Maru Bhil “tribals” Brahman Pandit (Gangadhar), astrologer to Raja Nal Chandi, a goddess, often ferocious and associated with Kali Chando, the mausi (mother’s sister) of Sarvati, daughter of Phul Singh Panjabi Chandrakala, bride-to-be of Raja Nal’s nephew Kishanlal Chudaman, the leader of the demons inhabiting Lakhiyaban. After he kills a calf, he is entombed in the gate to the fort of Raja Budh Singh Dharamraj, a god (literally, “the king of righteous behavior”) Dhola, son of Raja Nal and Dumenti who is married to Maru, daughter of Budh Singh Dumenti, the daughter of Basukdev, reborn as the daughter of Raja Bhim Durga, the goddess to whom Raja Nal is devoted Gendwati, the magician daughter of Raja Karampal of Bengal who seeks to marry Raja Nal Hariyal, a daughter of jinns, in love with Raja Nal Indra, king of the gods, he is Raja Nal’s enemy; he is also egotistic Jalandhar, the leader of the Nath yogis with whom Motini battles Kachua Dev, the tortoise deity on whose back Raja Nal falls when thrown into the sea Kali, a powerful Hindu goddess, here associated with Phul Singh Panjabi Kishanlal, Raja Nal’s nephew, son of his cousin-brother Pushkar Lachhiman Seth, a Merchant (Banya) by caste, he rescues Manjha and Raja Nal from the forest where Raja Nal is born and takes them to his home Lakha Banjara, a gypsy who finds Dumenti alone in the forest after she and Nal are separated by Shanidev; when he threatens Dumenti’s honor, his camp is burned by the goddess Maru, daughter of Raja Budh Singh, she is married to Dhola while an infant; when she matures, she seeks her husband Dhola Narad, Heavenly sage and adviser to the gods Nilgagan, the god who takes birth as Raja Nal, never to be defeated in battle Pareba of Mundnagar, sister of the Rewa, Dhola’s second wife and daughter of Raja Mal Pavan, the flying camel that came in Maru’s dowry; it returns daily to Marwar to graze, returning to Narvar every night Phul Singh Panjabi, the king who battles with Raja Pratham and then Raja Nal over the right to bathe first at the Ganges River Pushkar Sultan, cousin-brother of Raja Nal Raghu (later renamed Raghunandan), the Oil Presser who takes in Raja Nal and Dumenti ; Raja Nal’s abilities make Raghu very wealthy and a threat to the king Budh Singh Raja Bhim of Samudsikal, father of Dumenti 198 Appendix 1 Raja Budh Singh of Marwar (or Pingul), father of Maru and enemy of Raja Nal Raja Chandrapal of Shankaldeep, Kishanlal’s future father-in-law Raja Mal of Malwa, a Gardener by caste, and father of Dhola’s second wife Rewa Raja Pratham of Narvar, husband of Manjha and father of Raja Nal Raja Tikam of Kashipur, the kingdom where Raja Nal resides as the “Mad One” Raja Ved Singh of Vityagarh, he battles Dhola Raja Vir Singh, a very religious man and the king who lusts after Dumenti as she nurses her babe on the banks of the Ganges Rani Kamla, wife of Raja Bhim, mother of Dumenti Rani Manjha, most beloved of Raja Pratham’s 101 wives and mother of Raja Nal Rewa, daughter of Raja Mal and the second wife of Dhola Sarvati, the daughter of Phul Singh Panjabi and a magician in her own right Shanidev, the god worshiped on Saturday, known to be allergic to oil seed Shukra, the god worshiped on Friday, often a helpmate of Shanidev Sweepers, outcastes given the most impure and inauspicious jobs Taro, the sister of Maru whose husband instigates more tests for Dhola and his father Virmati, daughter of Ved Singh, she desires to marry in the lineage of Raja Nal ...