This is the tale of love, as old as time which blossomed in the desert of Rajasthan many years back, accommodating all pristine elements of a a true love story-pain, sacrifice, passion, sea of emotions, saga and at last, a smooth unison.
“Love is a single soul inhabiting two bodies” – Aristotle.
It’s a story of a Prince named Dhola who belonged to Narwar kingdom and a princess named Maru who was from Poogal (Bikaner).
King Nal of Narwar married his 3 year old son to Pawar King Pingal’s 1 year old daughter, but mutually they agreed to send the bride to Narwar when both grow up to adulthood.
Unknown to the concept of marriage, these children were destined to be together for life.
And this desert region of Rajputana was about to script a love story blossoming, which was to be seen as a milestone of true love with its tales being sung for centuries.
As seasons went by, months became years and the young royal bride and groom attained adulthood, the prince turned out to be a brave and handsome youth. Also, the stories of charming beauty and virtue of the princess reached far off lands. But they both had to stand the test of time. Prince Dhola forgot about his childhood bride Princess Maru and got him married to another princess named Malwani. Maru and her family were heartbroken by this new alliance but Maru didn’t give up hope and decided to make her dear Dhola remember her once again.
For the love of their daughter the good king and queen of Poogal sent many messengers to Narwar to meet Prince Dhola. But his second wife was a jealous lady and she killed every messenger before he was able to meet Dhola. Malwani feared if Dhola remembered Maru again, he would leave her and go back to Maru as she was more beautiful.
Dark clouds had overshadowed their love but the royals of Poogal didn’t lose hope. This time, King Pingal summoned a group of singers to go to the Narwar court and remind Dhola about this first marriage to princess Maru by their songs. Singers described the beauty of Maru that she has a
golden face with a glimmering sheen. The plan worked and Dhola set out to meet his princess and bring her back with him to his kingdom. But things did not stop here as then a tragedy struck on their way back.
Maru got bitten by a snake and she died and Dhola was about to give up his life too. It is said that Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati came and brought the princess back to life. Another huddle was a royal named Umar-Sumra who wanted the princess for himself. He too met them on their way but they tricked them cleverly.
All’s well that ends well! The royal couple rode on their royal decorated camel in the sunset and entered Narwar kingdom, where they were welcomed with the city in celebration. Maru became a wonderful queen loved by her people and the Love Saga of Dhola Maru became a wonderful episode in the history of Rajputana. Many folk songs and paintings are inspired by this heartwarming story.