Introduction to Brajbhasha historical poetry
Session leader: Allison Busch, Columbia University
Brajbhasha and Rajasthani texts are an underutilized resource for Mughal-period
history. In these sessions we focus on selections from the Chatraprakāś of Lal Kavi,
undated (and perhaps ultimately left unfinished) but perhaps written around 1710.
“Light on Chatra[sal]” is written in the vein of a carita or idealized biography, one of
the most important genres of Hindi historical poetry. The work was quite popular
through the 19th century—an edition was even produced at Fort William College—
but it is barely known today. Lal celebrates the deeds of Chatrasal Bundela, a 17th century raja based (when he wasn’t fleeing the Mughal authorities) at the court of
Panna in central India. The work is centrally about the lives of Chatrasal and his
father Campat(i) Rai but we also glimpse regional perspectives on Mughal politics
during the reigns of Shah Jahan (r. 1628-57) and Aurangzeb (r. 1659-1707).
The Bundela kings, the patrons of Keshavdas of Orchha, had an important role to
play in the rise of Brajbhasha literary culture from the sixteenth century, which is
connected in important respects to both bhakti and Mughal-period political life. As
had been typical since Akbar’s period, Champat Rai and his son Chatrasal became
Mughal mansabdars or ranking officials and were expected to perform military
service on behalf of the empire. Bundela history is marked by both smooth and
rocky relationships with the Mughal state. In Lal Kavi’s Chatraprakāś the dominant
tone is deep political discontent.
Although I have provided a full scan of Mahendrapratap Singh’s edition of
Chatraprakāś we will only have time to read a few selections.
A “Viṣay-sūcī” or overview of the topics that Lal Kavi treats is to be found on p. 3 of
the PDF. The “bhūmikā” or introduction outlines some of the key historical events,
especially in the “kathāvastu” section. Look to pp. 6-8 for some basic information
about the sections that we will cover in our sessions.
(I have marked the text using Adobe Acrobat tools so look for the red markings to
help guide you since there aren’t any verse numbers).
Session 1
(The early chapters center on the history of the Bundelas and the life of Champat(i)
Rai, Chatrasal’s father. We skip those to focus on Chatrasal and Aurangzeb’s period.)
1. chapter 7, pp 62-63 (Chatrasal’s kīrti or fame)
2. chapter 8, pp. 69-72 (miraculous incident at the temple during his childhood)
Session 2
1. chapter 9, pp. 73-75 (still just a boy, Chatrasal learns of the death of his
parents—they had been traduced by regional rivals and committed suicide
when they ran out of options)
2. chapter 10, pp. 79-80 (Chatrasal and his brother Angad become mansabdars)
3. chapter 11, pp. 85-87 (political disillusionment)
Session 3
1. chapter 11, pp. 87-93 Chatrasal meets the Maratha leader Shivaji; critique of
Aurangzeb’s temple destruction
Bonus Round
This unit has been allotted an extra session in the schedule. If we still need to finish
some material from the first three sessions we may opt to do that. It would also be
interesting to read some complementary poems on Mughal politics written by one
of Shivaji’s court poets: Kavi Bhushan. Bhushan’s Śivrājbhūṣaṇ (1673) is a rītigranth
that explains the Indic system of alaṅkāras or figures of speech. In each of the
following sets you will first read the lakṣaṇ or definition verse; then turn to the
udāharaṇ or illustration. Bhushan typically used his udāharaṇ verses as a vehicle for
political commentary.
pp. 85-86, vv. 161; 163
pp. 123-24, vv. 285; 289
pp. 130-31, vv. 310-311