Rani Bhatiyani

Mata Rani Bhatiyani sa

Rani Bhatiyani sa is a Hindu goddess, worshipped in Western Rajasthan, India and Sindh, Pakistan.[1][2] Her major temples are in Jasol, Barmer District and Jaisalmer, where she is called Bhuwasa. She is especially venerated by the Manganiar community of bards.[1] The women of the Dholi (singer) community sing the Ghoomar songs, in her honour, where she is praised as the princess of Jaisalmer.[3] The goddess is said to have given her first vision to a Manganiar. The goddess is also called Majisa (Mother) and songs are sung in her honour by bards.[4]

Rani Bhatiyani's birth name was Swarup and was a Rajput princess from a small kingdom in Jaisalmer district. She was known as Bhatiyani, as her father belonged to the Bhati Rajput clan. She was married to Kalyan Singh, a Rarhor prince. There are various versions of legends, leading to her death. In one version, Kalyan Singh's jealous first wife Devri poisons Bhatiyani and her son Lal Singh. Another legend says that news that her husband was killed in battle reached her, however actually her brother-in-law Sawai Singh was dead. The rumour was spread by her husband to get rid of her and take a second wife. Even though she came to know that her husband was alive, she stuck to her initial decision to commit sati and jumped in the funeral pyre of her brother-in-law and gave up her life. Trouble befell Kalyan Singh's family due to Bhatiyani's death and a shrine was devoted to her in Jasol to placate her spirit; after which she is said to have transformed into a benevolent spirit.[4][1][5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Daniel Neuman; Shubha Chaudhuri; Komal Kothari (10 July 2007). Bards, ballads and boundaries: an ethnographic atlas of music traditions in West Rajasthan. Seagull. pp. 72–74. ISBN 978-1-905422-07-4.
  2. ↑ Religious relics of Hariyar village The Friday Times
  3. ↑ 2014 Smithsonian Institution
  4. 1 2 Richard K. Wolf (2 September 2009). Theorizing the local: music, practice, and experience in South Asia and beyond. Oxford University Press. pp. 98–101, 110. ISBN 978-0-19-533138-7.
  5. ↑ Catherine Weinberger-Thomas (January 1999). Ashes of Immortality: Widow-Burning in India. University of Chicago Press. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-226-88568-1.
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