Veer Lorik

The legend of Veer Lorik, sometimes known as the Lorikayan, is part of the Bhojpuri folklore of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, India. According to S.M. Pandey, it is considered to be the Ramayana by people of the Ahir caste.[1] Veer Lorik is a divine character of the legend of the Ahir caste of eastern Uttar Pradesh.[2][3][4] Lorikayan,or the legend of Lorik, is a policy tale of the Bhojpuri language. It is given the status of Ramayana of Ahir caste. Veer Lorik Stone, standing on the banks of the Son River in the Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh, contains a love story.

Story

The story is that there was a kingdom named Agori on the banks of this river. The king of that kingdom was named Molagat. Molagat was not a very good king but he did not like a Yadav youth named Mehra who lived in his own kingdom. Because Mehra was powerful.

He did not care about the rule of the king and he used to run his own rule in his area. Raja was always looking for ways to trap Mehra. One day he offered Mehra a gambling feast. It was proposed that whoever wins in gambling will rule this state.

Mehra accepted the king's proposal. Gambling began. The king hoped that he would win. But this does not happen. One by one the king starts losing everything. And there comes a time when kings lose everything. According to the condition, the king has to leave his kingdom.

Leaving the Raj Pats, they move towards the west. Seeing such a plight of the king, Lord Brahma comes to him in disguise as a monk and gives some coins and says that once you gamble your throne will be returned.

Kings do this. This time Mehra starts losing. He loses six times. Now he has nothing left to lose. Has also lost his wife. But his wife is pregnant. And for the seventh time he also loses his wife's womb. It is very strange. But kings show leniency. It is said that if a son is born then he will work in the stables. If she has a daughter, she will be appointed to the service of the queen. Defeated Mehra is unable to do anything. But the story comes at a strange turn here.

A very amazing baby girl is born as the seventh child of Mehra. The name is called Manjari. When the king comes to know, he sends the soldier to get Manjari. But Manjari's mother refuses to send her. Manjari's mother sends a message to Raja that when Manjari gets married, killing her husband and taking him to Manjari. The king accepts this. Manjari also becomes a young woman on seeing this. Then the parents start worrying about his marriage.

Manjari knows who her groom is. Who is the one who can defeat the king after marriage? Manjari tells her parents that you go to a place called Ballia. A young man named Yadav Lorik will be found there. My life is related to him and he will be able to beat the king. Manjari's father goes to Lorik's house and their relationship is fixed. Lorik goes to marry Manjari with one and a half lakh baraatis. He comes to this side of the Son River, but the king arrives to fight him with his soldiers.

Lorik starts losing in battle. Manjari is an extraordinary girl. She goes to Lorik. It tells him that there is a village named Gothani near this fort of Agori. There is a temple of Lord Shiva. You go worship God. You will win in this war. Lorik wins.They both get married. Manjari farewell. But before leaving the village threshold, she tells Lorik to do something that the people here remember that Lorik and Manjari once loved to this extent.

Lorik says tell me what to do if we become a token of our love, no loving couple returns from here. Manjari showed Lorik a stone and asked him to cut it with a single sword. Lorik did the same. But a new problem occurred. The stone was broken into two pieces. But a part of it fell down the mountain. Manjari said that cut the stone such that both its parts stand at the same place. Lorik did the same. And they have been standing here since the time of stone . SM Pandey has called it the national epic of the Ahir cultivators of India.[5]

Legacy
  • Veer Lorik Statue, Bandihuli, Baheri (Darbhanga)[6]
  • In 1970, a caste-based militia named "Lorik Sena" was also established in Lorik's name and operated in Bihar.[7]
  • Veer Lorik Stone in Sonbhadra,had cut by Veer Lorik as the symbol of his and manjiri's love.
  • A stadium in Ballia is named after Veer Lorik.
  • Veer Ahir, a 1924 Indian silent film directed by Homi Master.[8]

See also

References
  1. "बलिया के वीर ने पत्थर के सीने में जड़ा प्रेम". Jagran.
  2. Singh, Shankar Dayal. Bihar : Ek Sanstkritik Vaibhav, from..._Shankar Dayal Singh – Google Books. ISBN 81-7182-294-0. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  3. Bihar :BIHAR SAMANYA GYAN, from..._Dr. Manish Ranjan, IAS – Google Books. ISBN 9789353227722. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  4. Kala ka Saundrya-1– Google Books. ISBN 978-81-8143-888-1. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  5. Pandey, Shyam Manohar (1987). The Hindi oral epic Lorikayan, from ... –Shyam Manohar Pandey– Google Books. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  6. "नंदकिशोर ने वीर लोरिक की प्रतिमा का किया अनावरण". Prabhat Khabar (daily). Prabhat Khabar. Prabhat Khabar. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  7. Smita Tewari Jassal (2012). Unearthing Gender: Folksongs of North India. Duke University Press. p. 267. ISBN 9780822351306.
  8. Ashish Rajadhyaksha; Paul Willemen (10 July 2014). Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema. Taylor & Francis. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-135-94325-7.

Further reading
  • Grierson, George A. “The Birth of Lōrik (Magahi Text).” Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London, vol. 5, no. 3, 1929, pp. 591–599. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/607355. Accessed 8 Jan. 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.