The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c21.s1.4

v4.c21.s1.4

The most interesting products of the period, however, are the *pawādās* or ballads. Their most singular characteristic is that they are unwritten, being handed down from generation to generation by the *gondhālīs*, a tribe or caste of wandering bards who composed and recited them. The *gondhālīs* are devotees of the goddess Ambā Bhavānī, and the recitations are accompanied by an elaborate ritual, in which the goddess herself is supposed to descend upon the reciter. The ballads deal with the deeds of the Marāthā heroes in their struggles against the Muhammadans, such as the slaying of Afzal Khān, the taking of Sinhgarh by Tānājī Mālusre, the battle of Khardā, and the tragedy of Pānīpat. These ballads were intensely popular with the unlettered peasantry, and played a great part in arousing them against their Muhammadan rulers.¹