Mena was a beautiful woman from Gadh Mandav. She married Chandio, the chief of the shepherd warrior tribe. After marriage, she went to live in Gadh Gokul, her husband’s hometown. Hirio, her husband’s younger brother, escorted her to Gadh Gokul.
One morning, Mena went to the village well to fetch water with the other women from the neighborhood. Everyone felt excited when they learned that the Crown Prince had camped in the nearby village. Mena sought her in-laws’ permission to visit the Mughal camp to see its splendor in person. Considering the risky nature of the endeavor, Mena’s mother-in-law warned her against doing so. The Crown Prince was notorious for kidnapping women. Mena’s mother-in-law suspected that he might try to outrage her modesty.
Mena, however, did not listen to her. She was dead set on visiting the Mughal camp. Elegantly clad in a colorful dress, Mena put on rings on all ten fingers, a pearl necklace, and jingling anklets. She then walked over to the royal camp. On her head, she was carrying four pots of curd and milk placed one above the other. Her beauty and charm attracted everyone. The Crown Prince heard about her beauty and went over to see her. As soon as he saw Mena, he became infatuated with her.
The Crown Prince asked Mena to visit his palace and enjoy all pleasures of life with him. Mena replied that the luxurious palace didn’t hold as much appeal for her as the pleasure of wandering outside. He then told her that she should wear gold jewelry instead of tinsel ornaments. Mena curtly replied that she felt better in glass ornaments. He then asked her to put on luxurious garments. Once again, Mena declined the Crown Prince’s suggestion.
The Prince then asked her to come see the royal elephants in the palace. Mena replied that her milk-yielding buffalos looked far better than the Prince’s elephants. Unrelenting, the Prince invited her to see his sixteen hundred queens. Mena refused, adding that her maidservant looked better than his queens. The Prince then boasted about his mustache, to which Mena replied that it looked like her goat’s tail.
No matter how hard he tried to lure Mena, his efforts were in vain. The prince finally asked her where she was from and whose wife she was. Mena replied that Gadh Gokul was her in-laws’ place, and that she was the wife of Chandio. She added that her name was Mena Gurjari. The prince then inquired about the cost of the small pot with curd. Mena replied that the prince would lose his mind if he heard about the price of the pot.
The prince then asked the price of the second pot. Mena answered that he would need to stake all his sixteen hundred queens to pay for the second pot. When he checked the price of the third pot, she replied that he would have to forego all his elephants for it. Next, the prince inquired about the price of the fourth pot. Mena said that the whole of Delhi would fall into ruin if he learned the price of the pot.
The prince was in awe of her statuesque looks. Mena replied that God had blessed her with remarkable beauty and fortune. Frustrated with her bold answers, the prince now threatened to slap her.
‘Nine lakh Gurjars from my hometown will invade your kingdom,’ she retorted.
She further warned the prince that she would slap him so hard that his turban would go off his head. ‘I’ll even get your ponies, camels, shields, and swords sold for a penny.’
The enraged prince took Mena captive in his camp. Mena now recalled her mother-in-law’s warning about the Mughal camp. She desperately prayed for help. A cook at the camp helped her send out a letter to Hirio, her husband’s brother.
Hirio led the army of nine lakh Gurjars against the crown prince. Hirio and Chandio defeated the prince and rescued Mena. However, her mother-in-law refused to let her in, for she had been a captive of the crown prince. Pure and chaste, Mena left her home and walked to Pavagadh. To date, people believe she returned as Mahakali, the Hindu goddess of time and death.
Kalai is passionate about reading and reinterpreting folk tales from all over the country. Write to her at kalai.muse@gmail.com to know more about her.
Folk tale adopted and abridged from Internet Archive.