Thread by @virendrarathore

This chhanda (#613) is from the large recension of Raso completed in the early 18th century. The copy it belongs to was edited by Mohanlal Vishnulal Pandya Ji and published by Nāgari Pracharini Sabha. 1/n

https://twitter.com/IGDRajasthan/status/1394955611318652929

The chhanda doesn’t exist in another well-circulated large recension copy edited by Kaviraj Mohan Singh. It doesn’t exist in the smaller recensions either. The less said about large recension’s credibility, the better. 2/n

The line actually says– Brave Someshwara held sway over
Gurjara territory as its King (claiming Chauhan influence in south Rajasthan territories of original Gurjaradesha). It then says that Someshwara’s sword (khagga) cuts the Mālwā King’s head. 3/n

Followed by a wedding with the Delhi Tomara princess. The lines basically conduct a geographic round of mini digvijaya showing Someshwara’s triumph in - Gurjara in the southwest, Mālwā in the southeast, Bhatis in the west, and Delhi in the north. 4/n

However, even the author of Raso hasn’t forgotten who held sway on most of the Gurjara territory. Raso calls the Chaulukya ruler as Chalukka Rai Gujjar Pati (small recension chapter 5 verse 59). So, Chaulukya indicates the lineage & Gujjar the geography even according to Raso.5/n

A better example of how Raso really talks of the lineage of a person would be the following dohā from both the large recension’s Ādi Parva & the small recension’s 2nd chapter. In the clearest terms, it talks of Prithviraj Chauhan’s birth among the 36 Rajput clans.
6/n

सोमेसुर तोंवरि घरि, अनगपाल पुत्तीय।
तिहि गर्भ पृथिराज धरि, दान कुली छत्तीय।।३०
Now let's settle this with a clincher from the Raso itself. A supposedly more archaic and bit acceptable recension of Raso is the short one. 7/n

Chapter 19 of that short recension shows Prithviraj and Chandvardai’s in action at Ghazni after the poet succeeds in convincing Ghori to watch blind Prithviraj’s archery demonstration. 8/n

The verse number 104 in its kavitta says the following of Prithviraj rising for the demonstration after much persuasion from Chandvardai:
इतनो कहत भुवपति चढ़्यो,
कहहि भले रजपूत सो।
This way the short recension also calls Prithviraj a Rajput. 9/n

These threads and the book's chapter were never intended for coaching Gujjar propagandists, for they're on a deliberate path beyond redemption. These are meant for others who can still call a spade a spade. I hope they will have better clarity. 🙏 10/n