Saadu Maata Gurjari With her son Shri
Devnarayan Bhagwan when he incarnated in
lotus leaf at Maalasheri. The oral-epic of Devnarayan consists of a
number of episodes related to the narrative
of Devnarayan. This epic is sung by the Bhopas,
the traditional priest-singers of Devnarayan
during the nights of the months, November to
July in the villages of Rajasthan and Malwa.
The narrative of Devnarayan begins with an
invocation of a number of deities, whose
images are depicted in the phads.The deities
invoked are Sharada, Ganesha, Sarasvati,
Maccha, Kacchap, Varaha, Narasimha, Vaman,
Parashuram, Ram and Krishna Avatars of
Vishnu, Bhairunath, Ramdev, Shani, Surya and
Chandrama. The first part called the
Bagaravat bharat is about the heroic deeds of
24 Gurjar brothers,who are born as the
sons of the man-lion, Bagh Simh. The 24
brothers die after a preordained period of 12
years in a battle against a chieftain of Ran
city. The second part is about Bhagavan's
incarnation as Devnarayan, the miracles he
performs and the revenge he and his cousins
ultimately take on the Ran city chieftain.
Devnarayan's mother is Sadu Mata and his
father Savai Bhoj, the most courageous of the
24 Bagaravats. Whereas the first part is
generally said to be marked by suffering
(dukh), pain, and death, the second is marked
by reunion, miracles and divine testimony
(parcyo). The second part, thus entails a
reversal of the first part: death and defeat
are followed by birth and creation, finally
resulting in the establishment of Devnarayan's
cult amongst his followers.
