| Braj | |
|---|---|
| Brij Bhasha | |
| ब्रजभाषा | |
| Native to | India |
| Region | Braj |
| Ethnicity | Brajwasi |
Native speakers | 1.56 million (2011 census)[1] Census results conflate some speakers with Hindi.[2] |
| Devanagari | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | bra |
| ISO 639-3 | bra |
| Glottolog | braj1242 |
 Braj-speaking region | |
Braj[a] is a language within theIndo-Aryan language family spoken in theBraj region in Western Uttar Pradesh centered onMathura. Along withAwadhi, it was one of the two predominant literary languages of North-Central India before gradually merging and contributing to the development of standardized Hindi in the 19th century. It is spoken today in its unique form in many districts ofWestern Uttar Pradesh, often referred to as 'Central Braj Bhasha'.
The language was historically used for Vaishnavite poetry dedicated to Krishna, whose life was associated with sites in the Braj region. There were also early prose works in terms of the hagiographicalvārtā literature of theVallabha sect.[3]
Braj is considered by scholars to be a more conservative example of the Central Indo-Aryan languages compared to theHindustani language, which has been influenced byPanjabi and intermediate dialects.[4]
Braj Bhasha is spoken in the nebulousBraj region centred onMathura,Agra,Aligarh,Hathras inUttar Pradesh andBharatpur,Deeg,Karauli,Gangapur &Dholpur inRajasthan. It is the predominant language in the central stretch of the Ganges-YamunaDoab in the following districts:
InRajasthan it is spoken in the districts of :
InWestern Uttar Pradesh spoken in the southern part of western Uttar Pradesh. Braj-speaking districts includeMathura,Hathras,Agra,Aligarh,Etah,Firozabad,Budaun,Mainpuri,Bareilly,Sambhal and some parts ofGautam Buddh Nagar (areas ofJewar andGreater Noida),Bulandshahr (areas ofKhurja,Shikarpur, Bulandshahr,Aurangabad, Bulandshahr,Anupshahr andSikandrabad) and Even Some communities still speaks Braj basha near southern part ofGhaziabad.
In Haryana it is spoken in the districts of :
The area of South Delhi, which is connected toFaridabad, still has some communities that speak Brajbhasha.
In Madhya Pradesh it is spoken in the districts of :
It is spoken in several villages ofMathura, specially inVrindavan,Madhuvan,Deeg,Kaman,Kosi Kalan,Chhata,Baldeo, and all other villages belongs to Braj Area withBajna,Surir,Bhidauni,
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'sChandayan departs from this tradition.)
Important works in Braj Bhasha are:
