The Braj language, ''Braj Bhasha'', also known as Vraj Bhasha or Vrij Bhasha or Braj Bhāṣā or Braji or Brij Bhasha or Braj Boli, is a Western Hindi language. Along with

Awadhi Awadhi (; ), also known as Audhi (), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in northern India and Nepal. It is primarily spoken in the Awadh region of present-day Uttar Pradesh, India. The name ''Awadh'' is connected to Ayodhya, the ancient city ...

(a variety of Eastern Hindi), it was one of the two predominant literary languages of North-Central India before the switch to Hindustani in the 19th century. Braj is spoken by people in the vaguely defined region of

Braj Braj, also known as Vraj, Vraja, Brij or Brijbhoomi, is a region in India on both sides of the Yamuna river with its centre at Mathura-Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh state encompassing the area which also includes Palwal and Ballabhgarh in Hary ...

(Braj Bhoomi) in northern India, which was a political state in the era of the ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...

'' wars. According to ancient

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

texts such as the

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in S ...

, the Kingdom of Surasena is described as spreading through Braj (also known as Brij, Vrija or Vraja), where the incarnation of

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

was born and spent his childhood days, according to tradition. This region lies in the

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra ...

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...

Hathras Hathras is a historical city in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the headquarters of Hathras district, formed on 3 May 1997 by merging parts of Aligarh, Mathura and Agra. It is a part of the Aligarh Division. The primary spoken language is ...

- Firozabad- Aligarh area &

Etawah Etawah also known as Ishtikapuri is a city on the banks of Yamuna River in the state of Western Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Etawah District. Etawah's population of 256,838 (as per 2011 population census) ...

- Mainpuri- Auraiya area, and stretches as far as the environs of

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. In modern India, this area lies mostly in central western

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...

, the eastern extremities of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...

i.e. Bharatpur &

Dholpur Dholpur is a city in the Dholpur district in Rajasthan state of India. It is situated on the left bank of the famous Chambal river. The city is the administrative headquarters of Dholpur District and was formerly seat of the Dholpur pri ...

and the southern extremities of

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...

. Northern regions of Madhya Pradesh like Morena are also included. Today Braj Bhoomi can be seen as a cultural-geographical entity rather than a proper state. Braj Bhasha is the

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

of the region, and is very close to

, spoken in the neighbouring Awadh region. Much of the Hindi literature was developed in Braj in the medieval period, and a substantial amount of Bhakti or devotional poetry is in this language. Some devotional poems for Krishna are also composed in Braj. Braj is also the main language of

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sit ...

compositions. The Hindavi poet

Amir Khusrau Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253–1325 AD), better known as Amīr Khusrau was an Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar who lived under the Delhi Sultanate. He is an iconic figure in the cultural history of the Indian sub ...

(1253 – 1325) wrote some of his poetry in Braj Bhasha, as did the Sikh scribe

Bhai Gurdas Bhai Gurdas ( pa, ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ; 1551 – 25 August 1636) was a Sikh writer, historian and preacher who served as the Jathedar of the Akal Takht from 1606 to his death in 1636. He was the original scribe of the early version o ...

(1551-1636). Braj folk songs and poems include Chhaap Tilak Sab Chheeni by Amir Khusrau, and the devotional song

Main Naahin Maakhan Khaayo ''Main Naahin Maakhan Khaayo'' is a popular Indian bhajan, a Hindu devotional song written by 15th-century mystic-poet, Surdas set to Raga Ramkali. It is written in Braj Bhasha, a dialect of Hindi native to Braja, and epitomizes Vātsalya (Par ...

by Surdas.

Geographical distribution

Braj Bhasha is spoken in the nebulous

region centred on

and Bharatpur &

. It is the predominant language in the central stretch of the Ganges-Yamuna Doab in the following districts: *

* Aligarh * Firozabad * Auraiya * Etah * Mainpuri *

* Farrukhabad *

Kasganj Kasganj is a city and the district headquarters of Kasganj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The district was formed by grouping three Tehsils at 17 April 2008 . History Kasganj, which lies in the historical region of Braj, was al ...

* Badaun * Palwal * Bharatpur It is also spoken in the western areas of

, mainly in Mathura district and southern areas of Faridabad district In Madhya Pradesh it is spoken in the districts of : * Bhind *

Morena Morena is the headquarter city of Morena district, in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is governed by a municipality corporation. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Chambal division. It is from Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. G ...

, *

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

* Shivpuri. It is spoken in several villages of

, specially in

Vrindavan Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance in Hinduism as Krishna spent most of his childho ...

, Madhuvan, Kaman,

Kosi Kalan KOSI (101.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in Denver, Colorado. KOSI is owned by Salt Lake City–based Bonneville International and airs an adult contemporary music format. Its studios and offices are located on East Orchard Road in Green ...

Chhata Chhata is a town and a nagar panchayat in Mathura district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Earlier this town was known as Chhatravan. Geography Chhata is located at . It has an average elevation of 186 metres (610 feet). Dem ...

, Baldeo, and all other villages belongs to Braj Area with Bajna,

Surir Surir is a town located in Mant Tehsil of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Bhidauni is a nearby village on the Yamuna river. Surir kalan is a residential place and Surir Vijau is a marketplace. Now Surir is known as Bri ...

Bhidauni Bhidauni is a village and Gram panchayat of two villages, Kewat Nagla and Bhidauni officially known as Bhidauni Bangar located between the Yamuna river and Yamuna Expressway in the Mat Tehsil of Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh, India. The ...

Literature

Most Braj literature is of a mystical nature, related to the spiritual union of people with God, because almost all of the Braj Bhasha poets were considered God-realised saints and their words are thus considered as directly emanating from a divine source. Much of the traditional Northern Indian literature shares this trait. All traditional Punjabi literature is similarly written by saints and is of a metaphysical and philosophical nature. Another peculiar feature of Northern Indian literature is that the literature is mostly written from a female point of view, even by male poets. This is because the saints were in a state of transcendental, spiritual love, where they were metaphorically women reuniting with their beloved. (In its inversion of the conventional genders of worshipper and worshippee, Maulana Da’ud's

Chandayan Chandayan is a village in Baghpat district in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, around 100 kilometers from Delhi. In 2014 archeologists discovered that the village could once be a site belonging to late Indus Valley civilization period. If ...

departs from this tradition.) Important works in Braj Bhasha are: * “ pushtimargiya kiratan of ashtachhap. * ''Yugala Shataka'' by Swami Sri Sribhatta Devacarya; known as the first 'Vani' book in Vraja Bhasha composed in the 14th Century AD as a part of Nimbarka Sampradaya tradition of Radha

worship. * '' Vinaya Patrika'' by Tulsidas * ''Sur Sagar'' by Surdas * ''Buddha Charit'' by

Acharya Ram Chandra Shukla Ram Chandra Shukla (4 October 1884 – 2 February 1941), better known as Acharya Shukla, was an Indian historian of Hindi literature. He is regarded as the first codifier of the history of Hindi literature in a scientific system by using wide, e ...

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

poetry by Amir Khusro * Eulogies by

Kavi Bhushan Kavi Bhushan (c. 1613–1715) was an Indian poet in the courts of the Bundeli king Chhatrasal and the Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He mainly wrote in Brajbhasha interspersed with words from Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian languages. He ...

* Nayikabhed, Nakhshikh and satasattak by Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. * ''Vrind Satsai'' by

Vrind Vrind (1643–1723) was an Indian saint and poet in Hindi language from Marwar, in present Rajasthan. He was an important poet of the Ritikal period of Hindi literature, known for his poems on ethics (Niti), and most known for his work ''Nitisat ...

(1643 - 1723), court poet of ruler of

Kishangarh Kishangarh is a city and a Municipal Council in Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. History Kishangarh State was founded by the Jodhpur prince Kishan Singh in 1609. Prior to the rule of Kishan Singh this area was ruled by ...

Basic Phrases of the Brij Bhasha (Sample sentences)

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20070524104936/http://www.ciil.org/Main/Languages/indian.htm {{Authority control Languages of India Hindi languages Languages of Uttar Pradesh Languages of Rajasthan Brij

Geographical distribution

Literature

Basic Phrases of the Brij Bhasha (Sample sentences)

See also

References

Further reading

External links