Raja Rasalu

Raja Rasalu is a legendary prince and protagonist of the Adventures of Raja Rasalu, a Punjabi folktale. According to the story, he is son of Raja Sálbán, the king of Sialkot, and a younger brother of Puran Bhagat.^[1]

Depiction of Raja Rasalu from a qissa

Sources

The Adventures of the Panjáb Hero Rájá Rasálu, by Charles Swynnerton, 1884

The story of Raja Salban and his two sons, Puran and Rasalu, has been popular in Punjab for several centuries. However, the earliest tales were written down in the 19th century, and display visible Islamic influences. They were first published by Charles Rev Swynnerton in his 1884 book "The Adventures of the Panjáb Hero Rájá Rasálu: And Other Folk-tales of the Panjáb".^[2] A slightly different version appears in Flora Annie Steel's "Tales of the Punjab: Told by the People" (1894).^[3]