Bir Kuar or Birkuar (

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Brahmic family, Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that ...

: Bir-kuār), also known as Birnath, is a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

god worshipped by Yadavs of western

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

in India. He is considered to be a form of god

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

and was born in Krishnaut clan of Ahir. He is worshipped in form of wooden posts that depict him standing arms-akimbo. Bir Kuar is honoured as the protector of cattle.

Legend

Bir Kuar's legend deals with the opposition between the cattle and the tiger and also

impalement Impalement, as a method of torture and execution, is the penetrating trauma, penetration of a human by an object such as a stake, pole, spear, or hook, often by the complete or partial perforation of the torso. It was particularly used in respon ...

themes. Bir Kuar is also called to as "Lord of the Forest". Ballads narrate the story of Bir Kuar or Birnath, who rescued the princess Madhumati from

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

soldiers. Madhumati was on her way to a pilgrimage to the Hindu holy city of

Benaras Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of ...

, when she saw Mughal soldiers and cried. She requested a female-kite to inform her father that she was in danger, through a letter she wrote. When kite delivered the letter to the king - father of Madhumati, the king sent Madhumati's husband Birnath with his soldiers. Birnath rode a tiger and saved the princess. Ballads also narrate that Bir Kuar was born in the Hindu holy city of

Ayodhya Ayodhya () is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became th ...

and reared in Palamau.

Worship

Bir Kuar is often worshipped in form of wooden posts, made by carpenters from the mixed Ahir-

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

class. This wooden post is erected in open field to "fertilize she-buffaloes". In these posts, he is depicted in standing arms-akimbo. Bir Kuar is offered goat sacrifices. He is also offered clay horses, on the fulfilment of a vow. Bir Kuar is also worshipped in times of distress.Karan p. 67 He is worshipped in 16-day festival called ''Sohorai'' (in October), which corresponds to festival of

Diwali Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual v ...

, celebrated in honour of the Hindu goddess of prosperity -

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

. Ballads describing his exploits are sung during the festival. Bir Kuar is worshipped by offering of milk and erecting his icons in open fields.Karan pp. 62, 65

Associations

Bir Kuar is often associated with Krishna. Bir Kuar is depicted as flute-playing cowherd like Krishna. He acts like a ferryman like Krishna, helping milkmaids cross the river and having dalliance with them. Bir Kuar is sometimes associated with the god

Vithoba Vithoba (IAST: ''Viṭhobā''), also known as Vitthala (IAST: ''Viṭṭhala''), and Panduranga (IAST: ''Pāṇḍuraṅga''), is a Hindu deity predominantly worshipped in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is a form of the Hindu ...

of Maharashtra - who is believed to be a form of Krishna too and depicted in an arms-akimbo posture like Bir Kuar. Images similar to Bir Kuar are found in states of Maharashtra.

Notes

References

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Legend

Worship

Associations

Notes

References

Further reading