The Padmavatis

 

The article, “The many Padmavatis” (November 17) appears to be quite poorly researched. Tales about Padmini are a part of the rich folklore of Rajasthan and there is sufficient historical evidence available that she committed jauhar after Alauddin’s infamous invasion of Chittor. Prof. Dashrath Sharma, an eminent historian from Rajasthan, considers the tale to be true. The saga of Padmini, he says, isn’t just the literary imagination of Malik Mohammed Jayasi and those who believe it are wrong since Padmini’s tale has also been mentioned by a poet in Tomar king Silhadi’s court, in his epic poem “Sita Charitra” 14 years before Jayasi came up with his work.

The last four lines of Padmavat, which historians have considered as a work of fiction, weren’t originally a part of Jayasi’s work and were added later by other writers because the original manuscript of Padmavat (edited by the late Dr. Mataprasad and Vasudev Sharan Upadhyay) didn’t contain those lines.

The Sisodia clan which the writer claimed to be ‘vassals of Guhilots’ was in fact a branch of the ruling Guhilots was named after the village of Sisoda, where they originated from.

Similarly, according to Gauri Shankar Ojha, Padmani came from a small state of Singoli around 40 km from Chittor. Also, the story of Raghav Chetan is true and finds a mention in the works of Acharya Ramchandra Sukla and in a Prashasti belonging to the king of Kangra, Sansarchandra where there’s a mention of Raghav being awarded for his services by the Sultan. This is sufficient to prove that he did exist. This the story of him living in Chittor and then going to the Sultan’s camp doesn’t seem an exaggeration.

Also last but not the least, folklore surrounding Padmini predates Jayasi and one can’t ignore it. As proved by research in the past, folk tales are always a rich source of local history and are significant in the context of the history of India where, traditionally, there wasn’t a system of recordkeeping and history used to get passed on orally. Thus, casting a doubt on Padmini’s existence, who is revered as a goddess in Rajasthan, is an insult to the beliefs of millions and shows a lack of knowledge on the writer’s part.

Lokeshwar Shekhawat,

New Delhi