Hirkani

 

Hirkani

 

It is very true that god could not be everywhere so he made mothers so that we could experience his unconditional pure love. Without mother there is no life in the universe. That’s the reason even Bhagavan bows to motherhood.

Mothers are one of the most beautiful and precious creation of God. Being a Mother is one of the most important roles a women play. Mothers play huge role in their children’s lives, caring for them, loving them, and teaching them and so on. A mother is the first one to know and connect with her child. Even after birth, mother is the first care-giver to her children.

So much love and respect for the Mothers who shelter us from so much in life and keep imparting so much love into the world.  So ahead of mother’s day we celebrate our mothers and their stories. In this article I am sharing the story of one such great mother – Hirkani.

Hirkani was a brave woman and a mother who lived near the Raigad Fort in Maharashtra during the time of Shivaji Maharaj. The Raigad fort is near Pune and is in the Western Ghats or the Sahyadri mountain range in western India. . It was the capital of his empire, and his coronation took place in Raigad in 1674 and was very important to Shivaji’s kingdom.  The fort sits atop a hill in the Western Ghats and massive walls protect it from all sides. A sheer drop on one side seemed protection enough. They did not think any human could possibly scale the vertical drop to enter the Fort without notice. The villagers from the foothill came up to the fort with their wares to sell. They would stand by the main fort door when the man in charge (maval) would open it allowing the villagers inside. The gates were closed at sunset and would not open until the next morning. Those were the orders of Shivaji Maharaj.

 Hirakani was a poor milkmaid who brought fresh milk to sell in the fort. She lives in the foothills and maintains few cows. And selling milk is her only occupation. She had a small baby who was looked by her mother in law. Hira’s husband worked in the army of Shivaji Maharaj and used to be at his place of duty leaving Hira alone to manage house and the baby.

She came to the fort in each morning to sell milk through the main door and went home before sunset. This day wasn’t like any other day. She was running late. However, the she managed to make it to the daily market and sold milk to her regular customers. Unfortunately, she was late to reach the gates in the evening and the Mavla (soldier) in-charge had already shut them at sunset.

Since she had left her baby at home, not returning was not an option. Hirkani tried requesting the Mavla who where in charge at gate, but they were unable to help her and told her that they have to follow Chhatrapati’s orders at all cost. With the thought of her baby being alone and hungry, Hirkani did something she had never done before.

As she has no other option she thought of the vertical drop that had no wall. In the dark night she climbed down the steep mountain. The thorny bushes scratched her, but the thought of her baby hungry without her, kept her going. Hirkani reached the bottom of the mountain and to baby.

The next morning she was at the fort door as usual with her can of milk. The Mavala was surprised and suspicious to see her. He took her to Shivaji Maharaj. Shivaji heard her courageous story and looked at her scratched hands and torn clothes.

Shivaji Maharaj was impressed by her story. He ordered for a wall to be built at the unprotected vertical drop and named it “ हिरकणी बुरुज “. This Buruj still exists. This Buruj still exists, and so does the tale of Hirkani. While Hirkani did not have any magical powers, what she did have, was a mother’s will to get to her hungry child.