Article Written By EIH Researcher And Writer
Shamiksha Mallick
Braj Bhasha, the language of the Braj region that covers parts of Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, is a Western Hindi language spoken by many. When we think of Braj Bhasha it somehow evokes possible association of the language with lord Krishna. This language being developed from the Bhakti movement, the mythological and poetic association of Braj Bhasha with the Vaishnava movement and Krishna lores are considered to be one of the factors of popularity of the language at a particular point in time. However, it was also a court language during the Mughal period which suggests that it is much more relevant than just being a literature of the Krishna Worshippers.
Very less has been deliberated upon when it comes to the presence of Braj Bhasha during the Mughal era. However, it is undeniable that this language did have significant literary value among the Mughals and the nobility during the medieval period. The Mughal association with the Braj poets has been a centre of several legends among the locals. One such tale talks about the poetess Pravin Ray, courtesan of Raja Indrajit of Orchha and a student of the Braj scholar Keshavdas, for having refused Akbar’s summons to the court. A famous example from the Caurası Vaisnavan Kı Varta narrates how Surdas once impressed the emperor with his padas and then refused to perform at the Mughal court when asked to do so. These stories on one side show the demand of Braj poets in Mughal court and on the other side throw light upon the resistance shown towards Mughal rule.
Braj Bhasha poetry gained rapid recognition with the works of the famous Amir Khusro, Surdas and Kabir who took a deeper perspective into the life of a person. Sur Sagar is one such composition by Surdas in Braj. With the coming of Akbar’s reign, a significant presence of Braj Bhasha can be seen in the court along with Persian. The language was readily comprehensible for the Mughals and Akbar’s admiration for Dhrupad songs that Braj is closely associated with also gave it a push which led to patronizing of the Braj poets at court. According to Allison Busch in one of her articles, the other factors that contributed to rise of Braj Bhasha in the court was the relationship of Mughals with the Rajputs, engagement with the locals and Mughals’ early capital Agra being situated near the focal points of Vaishnavism i.e. Vrindavan and Mathura. The Braj dialect is also not much different from the Hindi spoken in Agra.
The Braj poetic style often favoured short muktak or free-standing poems that usually focused on devotional or royal themes, as well as treatises on classical Indian aesthetics known as ritigranth which were basically textbooks on poetry. Braj poets also wrote about nayikabheda in the rıtigranth genre, and provided both laksan (definitions) and udaharan (example verses) of key literary scenarios while writing. Another advantage of using Braj was that it allowed for the mixture of Perso-Arabic vocabulary that is forbidden in languages like Sanskrit.
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Akbar,_Todarmal,_Tansen_and_Abul_Fazal,_Faizi_and_Abdur_Rahim_Khan-i-Khana_in_a_court_scene_(16th_Century_A.D.).jpg
At Akbar’s court, not only the Braj poets, but their Finance Minister Todar Mal, Court historian Abul Fazl and even Birbal are known to have written verses in Braj. Gang poet was one of the firsts in the Mughal court to introduce Braj Bhasha whose several verses have survived till date. Keshavdas Mishra was another Braj poet who surprisingly belonged to the family of Sanskrit scholars. His work, Kavipriya also mentions his association with Birbal and his last work, Jahangırjascandrika which is set at Jahangir’s court contains a series of prashastis to Bairam Khan, Abdur Rahim Khan-i Khanan and Iraj Shah Newaz Khan. Abdur Rahim Khan-i Khanan was another Braj poet in itself. The language carried it’s popularity till the 20th century when it was taken over by Khari Boli, language from which Hindustani then emerged.
REFERENCES:
Hidden in Plain View: Brajbhasha Poets at the Mughal Court
ALLISON BUSCH
Allison Busch’s Immense Contributions Revitalised the Study of Brajbhasha
https://m.thewire.in/article/culture/allison-busch-tribute-brajbhasha/amp
BRAJ IN BRIEF: An introduction to literary Braj Bhāṣā
RUPERT SNELL
Poetry of kings: the classical Hindi literature of Mughal India
Allison Busch
