What is "braj bhasha"

Braj Bhāshā ( Devanagari: ब्रज भाषा; Gurmukhi: ਬ੍ਰਜ ਭਾਸ਼ਾ), also called Brij Bhāshā (बृज भाषा, ਬ੍ਰਿਜ ਭਾਸ਼ਾਾ), Braj Bhākhā (ब्रज भाखा, ਬ੍ਰਜ ਭਾਖ), or Dehaatī Zabaan (देहाती ज़बान, ਦੇਹਾਤੀ ਜ਼ਬਾਨ, 'country tongue'), is a Western Hindi language closely related to Hindustani. In fact, it is usually considered to be a dialect of Hindi, and along with Awadhi (a variety of Eastern Hindi) was one of the two predominant literary languages of North-Central India before the switch to Hindustani ( Khariboli) in the 19th century.

Brij Bhasha is spoken by people in the nebulously defined region of Vraja Bhoomi, which was a political state in the era of the Mahabharata wars. According to ancient Hindu texts such as the Bhagavata Purana, the kingdom of King Kamsa is described as spreading through the Brij (also known as Vrija or Vraja), where the incarnation of Krishna was born and spent his childhood days. This region lies in the Agra- Mathura- Aligarh area, and stretches as far as the environs of Delhi. In modern India, this area lies mostly in northwestern Uttar Pradesh, the eastern extremities of Rajasthan i.e. Bharatpur & Dholpur and the southern extremities of Haryana. 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. It is the vernacular of the region and boasts a rich culture and literature by famous poets like Surdas, Bhai Gurdas and Amir Khusro. Brij Bhasha is very close to Avadhi, spoken in neighbouring Avadh region.

Much of the Hindi literature was developed in Braj in the medieval period. However, today Khariboli dialect has taken its place as the predominant standard dialect of Hindi.

In modern India, Braj Bhasha exists as an unofficial dialect spoken colloquially by natives of the region of Braj Bhoomi, with great cultural and religious significance. Much of Hindi poetry, especially that of ' Bhakti' or devotional poetry is in this language. Some devotional poems for Krishna are also composed in Braj Bhasha. The pioneering Hindi poet Aamir Khusro, also spoke and composed poetry in this language. Famous Braj Bhasha folk songs or poems include Chhaap Tilak Sab Chheeni by Amir Khusro, and the popular devotional song, Main Naahin Maakhan Khaayo by Surdas. Braj Bhasha is also the main language of Hindustani classical music compositions. Braj Bhasha is not to be confused with Brajabuli, an artificial literary language developed by Bengali medieval poets under the influence of Maithili love poems of Radha and Krishna by the poet Vidyapati. Rabindranath Tagore wrote his first substantial poems titled Bhanusimha Thakurer Padabali in Brajabuli under the pseudonym Bhānusiṃha ("Sun Lion") at age sixteen. Similarly, Braj Bhasha is distinct from the Brajavali dialect of Assamese which is also related to Maithili.