Alha Alha of the Banaphar Rajput clan was the famous general of the great Chandel king Paramdidev , or Parmal , who fought Prithviraj Chauhan in 1182 CE . Alha ' s mother , Devaki , was a member of the Ahir caste . In the " Puranas , " when Mahpati ( Mahil ) states that Ahlada ( Alsha ) has come to be of " low family " ( " kule hinatvamagatah " ) , it is because his mother is an Arya Abhiri ( aryabhiri : ans " Aryan " Ahir ) Here , however the story is foundational and told not at this point in Alhda ' s courtship but in connection with the girl ' s own marriage . The two maidens are indeed Ahiris , daughters of Gopalak ( cowherd ) king Dalvahana and accustomed to daily tethering of buffaloes . They seize two buffaloes not in forest but in front of many kings during great Chandika homa performed by their father , when the assembled kings themselves find the buffaloes too much to handle . Dalvahana , at the command of Durga , then gives the older daughter Devaki ( Devi ) to Desaraja ( Dasraj ) and the younger daughter Brahmi to Vatsaraja ( Bachraj . These buffaloes are indeed for sacrifice to the goddess . moreover , as we have seen , the Purana adds that it is not onl the " Banaphars " mothers who are Ahirs , but their paternal grandmother from Baksar are also Ahirs , who entered the family with a blessing of chandika that come not from wrestling buffaloes but from her nine - year vow to the nine Durgas ! Some of this checks out with the Elliot ' s Alha , where the gopalaka King Dalvahana is called Dalpat , King of Gwalior . he is still the two girl ' s father , but merely gives them to Dasraj and Bachraj when Parmal requested him ( To be noted that ) Ahirs are among the " older , pastoralist tradition " of peasants who used a rajputizing idioms to express their values , but who were regarded as " Spurious Rajputs " by those who stressed genealogical ascription over achievement The Queen Malhna insists that King Parmal reward Dashraj and Bachraj with brides from within the Chandel land . King Dalpat of Gwalior volunteers his daughters Devi ( Devaki , Alha ' s Mother ) and Birma . Queen Malhna welcomes Devi to Mahoba by placing the nine lakh chain ( Naulakha Haar ) around her neck and also gives Birma a necklace . King Parmal then gives new Banaphar families a village where they bear and raise their sons . Alha is one of the heroes of the " Alha - Khand " poem , popularly recited in the Bundelkhand region of India , a work that is also known as " Parmal Raso " . Folklore . " Alha Udal bade ladaiya jinse haar gayi talwar " ( meaning " Alha and Udal were such great fighters that even swords were defeated by them " ) , the folklore of Alha and Udal , is still sung in the heartland of Bundelkhand . According to folklore , Alha was invincible , made immortal by the goddess Sharda . The shrine of the goddess is at Maihar in Madhya Pradesh ( India ) . Alha gifted his head to Sharda afte cutting it off with a sword . The goddess , extremely pleased by the act , made him immortal . Alha also had two maternal brothers , Malkhan and Sulkhan . Malkhan had enormous strength , represented in the sentence , " das das haathi bhuj par taule " ( meaning " ten elephants were weighed by him on one hand " ) . Alha had a sword given to him by his uncle Parmal , the ruler of Mahoba . The sword was said to be from heaven and no weapon could match its fury . Authors still write versions of " Alha - Khand " , including Lumbardar Thakur Amol Singh Bhadauriya of Kanpur district . The people who listen to a recital of the " Alha - Khand " are filled with a warrior spirit and fearlessness . They honor the code of the Kshatriya warriors and the courage shown in the gruesome , difficult battles fought by them . " Aadi bhawani durga tose bada na koy aath khand nau dweep mei toy kare so hoy " ( meaning " oh great goddess of war , the oldest of old , the sole reason for evolution of the world , nobody is above you ; what is happening in this world is done by your power only . " ) . The warriors of Mahoba were unbeatable . They worshiped goddess and sword and hence were undefeated .