Discuss the literature written in Hindi in Mughal India.

Answer:

Although Persian was the language of the Mughal court, the Mughal centuries were the golden age of Hindi literature. Braj and Awadhi in particular produced devotional and courtly poetry of the highest order, sustained by Bhakti sentiment and by both Mughal and Rajput patronage.

The devotional (Bhakti) tradition

• Tulsidas composed the Ramcharitmanas in Awadhi, the most influential of all Hindi works.
• Surdas's Sursagar in Braj celebrated the childhood and love of Krishna.
• Mirabai's padas expressed intense personal devotion to Krishna.
• Keshavdas wrote the Rasikapriya and Kavipriya, founding the riti tradition of poetics.
• Raskhan, a Muslim poet, wrote celebrated Krishna verse in Braj.

Patronage and courtly writing

• Akbar patronised Hindi poets, and Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khanan wrote admired Hindi dohas.
• Todar Mal, Birbal and other nobles encouraged Hindi composition.
• Rajput courts at Orchha, Amber and elsewhere were major centres of patronage.
• The riti school of ornate court poetry flourished under Bihari and others.

Hindi literature in Mughal India thus attained a richness unmatched before, carried by the Bhakti impulse and supported by courts both Mughal and Rajput. As literary historians observe, works such as the Ramcharitmanas reached far beyond the elite and shaped the religious imagination of northern India for centuries.