To understand folklore, we must first set the stage. Historians and Sakhis (historical accounts) place her during the late Mughal period in the Punjab region, around the time of Guru Arjan Dev Ji or Guru Hargobind Ji (late 16th to early 17th century).
The marriage was a sentence to a life of hardship. Rajni’s husband was incapacitated, unable to walk or care for himself. Rajni became his legs, his nurse, and his protector. She placed him in a large basket (or a earthen pot) and carried him on her head, wandering from place to place, begging for alms to sustain them. Bibi Rajni -Punjabi-
One day, as she lowered her manji (a traditional woven string cot) to let her husband drink water from the river, the cot strings snapped. The husband fell into the water. Furious, he struck Rajni, accusing her of trying to drown him. Rajni remained silent, helped him out, and gently rebuked the river: "If I have served my husband with a true heart, may the waters of this river heal him." To understand folklore, we must first set the stage