Pabuji is one of the most famous folk-deity of Rajasthan. He was Rajput prince and was born in 14th century. His father was Dhadal Rathor of village kolu.
Pabuji is widely worshipped as a folk-deity capable of protecting against ill fortune.
Early Days
Pabuji lived in the remote desert village of Kolu. He was not born from the Dhadal wife but from a celestial nymph. It is said that when his mother died, she promised him to come again in the form of a mare for him to ride.
His First Exploit
When Khinchis were trying to cross the borders, Papuji fought with great bravery and won. It was his first exploit and in that battle, Jindrav khichi’s father was killed. To avoid further war, Pabuji and Buro gave their sister to Khinchis in marriage.
Even after this, Khinchis remained hostile, and this hostility was brought to a head when Pabuji secured Caran lady Deval (an incarnation of the Goddess) the fine black mare Kesar Kalami, on whom Khici had set his heart. The mare was in fact Pabuji’s mother. In exchange for the mare, Pabuji promised to protect Deval from Khinchi’s raids.
In later years, he overthrew Mirza Khan, the cow-killing king of Patan. It is said that Pabuji was saved by the snake God Gogo Chauhan when he went to bath in the holy lake of Pushkar to cleanse himself of the sin of bloodshed.
Priest Singers of Pabuji
Pabuji achieved sufficient prestige as god to warrant the constructions of pieces of architecture. People of Bhopa community are considered to be priest singers of Pabuji. They depict the story of Pabuji on canvas and recite it to public through religious songs. This painted canvas is called Phad.
The Phad is a 30 feet long sheet on which miniature scenes depicting the life of Pabuji are painted(or sewn) . All his adventures are narrated through these paintings.
