Rai Parveen: Orchha's Courtesan Who Charmed Emperor Akbar

When visiting Orccha, you will come across Rai Parveen Mahal, one of the most visited places there. It was built by Maharaja Indrajit Singh in 1618 for his beloved courtesan Rai Praveen with intricate work in Mughal architecture. While visiting this place, I learned about this folklore with is definitely worth sharing.

Rai Parveen was famous for her enchanting beauty and poetic prowess. On top of that, she also was a great musician and dancer. Her fame reached such heights that even the Mughal emperor Akbar couldn’t resist summoning her to his durbar (court) to perform there. Yes, Akbar again, the same guy who was after Rani Roopmati. He didn’t seem to have any other hobbies.

Of course, Maharaja Indrajit wasn’t happy about it but couldn’t do anything against this emperor. As Mel Brooks already pointed out: “It’s good to be the king”. (Well, emperor in this case)

Now how to get out of this pickle? You can’t be direct and say no to an emperor, but you also don’t want to let him have his way with you. Rai Praveen found the perfect way in the form of a couplet which she asked to recite:

“Vinit Rai Praveen ki, suniye sah sujan.
Juthi patar bhakat hain, bari, bayas, swan.”

In English: “O’ good and intelligent! Please listen to the prayer of Rai Praveen. Only a low caste individual, barber, and scavengers ate from a plate partaken by someone else.”

In short: “This plate has already been eaten from, you wouldn’t want half-eaten food now, would you?”

Emperor Akbar got the hint and was actually impressed by her talent and conviction. He sent Rai Parveen back to Orchha with the utmost respect and dignity. In one version of the story I read she committed suicide after, others don’t mention it. Let’s pretend she didn’t and lived happily ever after.

Her story has been immortalized in Sudheer Maurya’s Hindi Novel, “Indrapriya.”