In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

2 The Story of Dhola The Banishment of Manjha (Manjhā Kā Nikālā) Characters Raja Pratham of Narvar Rani Manjha, most beloved of Raja Pratham’s 101 wives Narad, heavenly sage and adviser to the gods Dharamraj, a god, literally “the king of righteous behavior” Indra, King of the gods Nilgagan, the god who takes birth as Raja Nal, never to be defeated in battle Brahman Pandit, astrologer Sweepers, outcastes given the most impure and inauspicious jobs Durga, the goddess to whom Raja Nal is devoted Lachhiman Seth, a Merchant (Banya) by caste There is a king named Pratham and his 101 queens. He is very powerful and his palace is magnificently adorned. From the turrets, flags flutter in the winds, and the walls and ceilings are covered in gold. But Raja Pratham has one sorrow: he has no sons. One day, as he is sitting on his roof with his favorite queen, Manjha, two birds fly by on their way to the nearby lake. Pratham claims that they are geese1 while Manjha says that they are crows. Arguing, they finally bet on the birds’ identities. If Pratham loses, he will be banished from his kingdom for twelve years, and if Manjha loses, she will be required to chase crows off the roof for many months as penance for her wrong guess. Calling a servant, they send him off to the lake to learn the identity of the pair of birds. But before he departs, Manjha secretly draws him aside and tells him that whatever is the truth, he is to say that they are geese, for Pratham dare not lose the bet. Hurrying to the lake, the servant finds a pair of crows. One of the dilemmas in this telling of Dhola is how to present a story that can take thirty or fifty nights to perform, with the translated text from any one night running over one hundred typed pages. My answer is twofold: I asked Raghubar Kachi, a knowledgeable storyteller and lover of Dhola, though not a singer of the epic, to tell me the story: this rendition was about six hours long. Using it as a base, I further condensed the epic story, while noting key pieces from sung versions that had been omitted by this teller. I also reverted now and then to a specific singer’s words. I realize that the folklorist will shudder at the audacity of my telling the story, but I have no telling that comes near the brevity needed here (aside from one overly condensed version that is little more than a recitation of the names of episodes). Thus the resulting story must be recognized as my version of Dhola, not that of any one singer or teller of the tale. 10 Dhola Returning to the palace, he tells Manjha that indeed she was correct, but she again urges him to lie to Pratham. For some time Manjha chases crows off the roof of the palace. In an earlier life Pratham had forgotten one hot dry June to give water to 101 cows, and he was cursed. In his next life he had four daughters, but he killed them and buried each one in a corner of his garden. These four daughters cursed him, saying that for seven births he would not have a son. Now one day, as Pratham is going out to hunt, he passes a Sweeper woman in the street. She averts her face from the sight of the childless man, saying that she will be unable to eat the whole day because she has seen him. And despite Pratham’s efforts, she does not eat that day. Pratham then decides to leave his kingdom for the meditation grounds in the forest. He asks Manjha to rule in his place, but she refuses, insisting that she go to the jungle with him. There, they come upon a sage who has been meditating so long that white ants have eaten away his body, and only a heap of mud remains. Pratham and Manjha sit down, one at each side, and after several days he opens his eyes. Seeing Pratham, he is very angry, proclaiming that his twelve years of meditation have been spoilt. He finally agrees to give Pratham the boon of a son, but only after Pratham returns to Narvar, donates 101 cows with horns decorated in gold and silver to Brahmans, bathes in the Ganges, and holds a major sacrificial ritual. Pratham donates...

Share