Why Akshay Tritiya is a day of remembrance for a town in Bundelkhand
It is a day for joy, a day when Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, is celebrated by all of the Hindu faith. It is a day marked by the Jain community as ‘Varshi Tapa’, the occasion when Rishabhdeva ended a year of fasting and penance. From a contemporary perspective, Akshay Tritiya, which falls on May 10 this year, sees a surge in the purchase of gold and jewellery and is a retailer’s dream.
However, in a small corner of the state of Uttar Pradesh, the festival was not commemorated for centuries and is still subdued. Talbehat lies south of Jhansi, in Lalitpur district. It is located in the heart of the Bundelkhand region which straddles Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
The town is an ordinary-looking place, one of many such small towns that dot north India. What distinguishes it from others is the presence of a fort, which stands as one of the few reminders of the place’s past. Today, the entrance to the fort is hidden away by growing congestion of the town’s marketplace. In the medieval era, it would have been central to the town’s existence.
In the early 19th century, a Bundela ruler called Mor Prahalad held sway in the fort. One day, some of his men found a group of young women out collecting foliage for a ritual related to Akshay Tritiya. The women were forcefully taken into the fort and raped, shattering the calm of the place. The event seems to have triggered massive public outrage and as a result, Akshay Tritiya ceased to be a celebratory event for Talbehat. Instead, it became a day of remembrance and for seeking forgiveness. A new ritual came into being – of the men in the town paying their respect to women, across castes, by touching their feet. The ritual lives on even today. It is a lesson that other places in India would do well to learn.
Battlemented walls of Talbehat Fort with the lake beyond
The place’s history goes back a long way before the Bundelas arrived. It was first held by the Gonds, who were followed by the Pratiharas and then the Chandellas. The last dynasty left their mark in the form of three temples in the fort’s vicinity, two dedicated to Vishnu and one to Shiva. The outcrop on which the fort stands is called Narsinghpuri, named after the temple of Narsingh, an incarnation of Vishnu. The Shiva temple within has an impressive ‘Sahasralinga’ – a single linga with a thousand miniature lingas carved on it.
The Sahasralinga inside the Shiva temple near the fort
Behind the fort is a large lake, which is either a Gond or a Chandella creation – both dynasties were known for encouraging agriculture by building elaborate water bodies. A legend about the origin of the lake holds that the area was once severely impacted by drought. Elaborate prayers were held, followed by human sacrifice leading to water sprouting and a lake forming. Spread over many acres, the lake is still in use by farmers. Seems the prayers really worked!
The Bundelas were a minor dynasty in the region until Jahangir ascended the Mughal throne in 1605. Bir Singh of the Bundelas had been firmly on Jahangir’s side during the time that the Mughal prince flirted with rebellion against Akbar, even eliminating Abul Fazl who had been sent after the prince. Bir Singh’s loyalty was rewarded by Jahangir and the Bundela capital of Orchha was given to him. His brother Ram Shah moved from Orchha to Talbehat where he and his descendants built the fort that currently stands. As long as the Mughals were firmly in the saddle, the Bundela rulers of Talbehat were secure. Once Mughal central authority weakened, a long period of rivalry began with the Scindias of Gwalior.
In 1811, Colonel Jean Baptiste, the French commander of the Scindia army, used his artillery to good effect to breach entry into the fort. The garrison he left in charge was soon besieged by a Bundela force. The British, ever keen to avail an opportunity to put their foot in the door, entered the scene and forced a negotiated settlement. The peace that was created lasted only till the revolt of 1857-58. Savage fighting broke out with Talbehat changing hands more than once, Eventually, Hugh Rose captured the fort in March 1858 and finally, the guns fell silent.
The fort today is a quiet place, with no scars of either the dastardly deed of Mor Prahalad’s men or of the violence it saw over time. If a visitor wanders in, he may see a group of Indian Army soldiers in a learning session under a tree, a priest humming a bhajan in the Shiva temple, local children running up and down the fort steps. A few fishermen will be trying their luck in the lake while boys from the village will be diving in for a refreshing swim. It is just like any other tiny town in India, except that once every year – on Akshay Tritiya – it remembers the past and vows to avoid any such repeat in the future. Perhaps there can be no better way to worship Goddess Lakshmi!
The author is a heritage explorer by inclination with a penchant for seeking obscure sites. A brand consultant by profession, he tweets @HiddenHeritage. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.