https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=AlhaAlha - Revision history2026-07-30T17:35:06ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Alha&diff=481051&oldid=prevDr. Editor at 14:41, 22 April 20262026-04-22T14:41:20Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Legendary 12th century general}}{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}<br />
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[[File:MAHOBA,_U.P._-_allha.preview.jpg | thumb | right | alt=Statue of Alha riding on a horse with one of his hands up and his horse galloping. | Statue of Alha riding on a horse]]<br />
'''Alha''' ([[ISO 15919|ISO]]: Ālhā) was a legendary general of the [[Chandela|Chandel]] king [[Paramardideva]] (also known as Parmal), who fought [[Prithviraj Chauhan]] in 1182 [[Common Era|CE]]. He is one of the main characters of the ''[[Alha-Khand]]'' ballad.<br />
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== Origin ==<br />
According to the legend, Alha and [[Udal Mahoba|Udal]] were children of the Dasraj, a successful commander in the army of Chandel king Parmal. They belonged to the [[Banaphar]] clan, which are of mixed [[Ahir]] and [[Rajput]] descent,<!--Do not change without consensus! Go to the talk page first.-->{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|1999|loc=pp. 162–163: "Presumably it is an issue that would interest ''Ālhā'' audiences sensitive to the mixed-caste Kṣatrya-Ahir identity of the Banāphars... Ūdal (and the rest of the Banāphars) is susceptible to "mean caste" slurs and slights because of his combined Kṣatriya (Rajput) and cowherd (Ahir) background."}}{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2009|p=465}}{{sfn|Mayaram|2022|p=141}}{{sfn|Crowley|2020|pp=277}}{{sfn|Talbot|2016|p=203}} Purana states that Mahil a Rajput and an enemy of Alha and Udal said that Alha has come to be of a different family (kule htnatvamagatah) because his mother is an [[Aryan]] Ahir.{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|1999|p=133}}<br />
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The ''[[Bhavishya Purana]]'', a Sanskrit text, states that Alha's mother was called Devaki and was a member of the Ahir caste. The Ahirs are among the "oldest pastoralists" and were rulers of Mahoba.{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|1999|loc=pp. 132–133}}<br />
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== Folklore ==<br />
In addition to the ''Aalha Khand'' and the ''Bhavishya Purana'', the story of Alha is also found in a number of medieval manuscripts of the ''[[Prithviraj Raso]]''. There is also a belief that the story was originally written by Jagnik, bard of Mahoba, but no manuscript has been found.<br />
{{sfn|Claus|Diamond|Mills|2003|p=12}}<br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[Udal of Mahoba]]<br />
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== Notes == <br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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==References==<br />
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ienxrTPHzzwC&pg=PA12 |title=South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka Special -Reference |publisher=Taylor & Francis |last1=Claus |first1=Peter J. |last2=Diamond |first2=Sarah |last3=Mills |first3=Margaret Ann |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-415-93919-5}}<br />
* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jhP9DwAAQBAJ&dq=Alha+ahirs&pg=PA277|title= Fractured Forest, Quartzite City A History of Delhi and Its Ridge |last=Crowley |first=Thomas |date=2020|publisher= SAGE Publications |isbn=9789353885564}}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Hiltebeitel |first=Alf |author-link=Alf Hiltebeitel |title=Rethinking India's oral and classical epics: Draupadī among Rajputs, Muslims, and Dalits |date=1999 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=9780226340500 |quote=}}<br />
* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZupXwid01CoC&dq=Alha+ahir&pg=PA465 |title=When the Goddess was a Woman Mahābhārata Ethnographies : Essays |last=Hiltebeitel |first=Alf |date=2009 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=9789004193802}}<br />
* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pWtYEAAAQBAJ&dq=alha+udal+ahir&pg=PA141|title= The Secret Life of Another Indian Nationalism Transitions from the Pax Britannica to the Pax Americana |last=Mayaram |first=Shail |date=2022 |publisher= Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781108832571}}<br />
* {{Cite book |title=The Last Hindu Emperor: Prithviraj Cauhan and the Indian Past, 1200–2000 |last=Talbot |first=Cynthia |date=2016 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781107118560 |pages=203 |language=en}}<br />
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== External links ==<br />
*{{Cite book |last=Mishra |first=Pt. Lalita Prasad |title=Alhakhand |language=hi |edition=15 |year=2007 |publisher=Tejkumar Book Depot (Pvt) Ltd |location=[[Lucknow]] (India) |pages=614}}<br />
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[[Category:12th-century Indian monarchs]]<br />
[[Category:Chandelas of Jejakabhukti]]<br />
[[Category:Rajputs]]<br />
[[Category:Indian legendary characters]]<br />
[[Category:Ahir]]</div>Dr. Editor