ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to trace the reasons and ways of the deification of a prince of Orchha known as Hardaul or Lala Hardaul, who is said to have lived a short life. The legend of Hardaul includes two parts: about his earthly life and about his posthumous deeds. Tradition relates the Orchha royal family since the late seventeenth century directly to Hardaul because the Bundela rulers adopted several of his descendants, starting with Udot Simh, as successors to the throne. In the Hardaul temples the deity is represented by a mound of stones. As the patron of brides and the god of marriage, Hardaul is the first guest among gods and mortals, and the invitation ritual takes a form of a specific puja. Historical information about Hardaul is based on the local oral tradition and is highly contradictory. There is certain continuity between them rooted in the underlying ancestral character of the worship.
