>Mosesheron at 07:52, 17 March 2021

2021-03-17T07:52:21Z

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{{Other uses}}
'''''Bakhar''''' is a form of historical narrative written in [[Marathi language|Marathi]] [[prose]]. {{transl|mr|Bakhars}} are one of the earliest genres of medieval [[Marathi literature]].<ref name="Tulpule1979"/> More than 200 bakhars were written in the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, the most important of them chronicling the deeds of the Maratha ruler [[Shivaji]]. Bakhars are considered valuable resources depicting the Maratha view of history, but also criticised for falsification, embellishment and magnification of facts.<ref name="Prachi_Creative"/>

==Etymology==
Most scholars believe that the word {{transl|mr|bakhar}} is a [[metathesis (linguistics)|metathesis]] of the Arabic-origin word ''khabar'' ("information"). S N Joshi argues that the word is derived from the Persian word ''khair'' or ''bakhair'' ("all is well", the end salutation in a letter), since it appears at the end of most texts. Bapuji Sankpal argued that the word is derived from the Sanskrit-origin word ''akhyayika'' ("story").<ref name="Prachi_Creative">{{cite book|last=Deshpande|first=Prachi |title=Creative pasts: historical memory and identity in western India, 1700-1960|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U5FdJnnDhSwC&pg=PA78|accessdate=3 June 2011|year=2007|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-12486-7|pages=19–39}}</ref>

==Style==
The principal characteristics of {{transl|mr|bakhars}} are that they were written in prose, had a forceful style of writing, were of political historical nature which appealed to Maratha patriotism, were often commissioned by a patron, displayed an acceptance of tradition and also a belief in the supernatural.<ref name="Tulpule1979"/> Early {{transl|mr|bakhars}} were sparsely written and contained a number of words of Persian derivation, later works tended to be voluminous and contained Sanskritised prose.<ref name="Datta2006"/>

== History ==
The earliest dates associated with a {{transl|mr|bakhar}} are 1448 or 1455, by different authors, being considered as the year that the prose part of "Mahikavatichi Bakhar", comprising the second and third chapters, was written by Keshavacharya.<ref name="Tulpule1979">{{cite book|last=Tulpule|first=Shankar Gopal|title=Classical Marāṭhī literature: from the beginning to A.D. 1818|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hAQTcWmz5nUC&pg=PA443|accessdate=28 July 2011|year=1979|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-02047-3|pages=443–446}}</ref><ref name="Datta2006"/> The {{transl|mr|bakhar}}, which is the compilation of three authors of the 15th and 16th centuries - Bhagwan, Datta and Keshavacharya - is significant as the earliest attempt at uniting the Marathi-speaking populace against oppressive Bahmani rule.<ref name="Datta2006"/>

There are around 200 known {{transl|mr|bakhars}}, fifty or so of which are considered to be notable, while some others have not been published at all.<ref name="Prachi_Creative"/><ref name="Datta2006">{{cite book|last=Datta|first=Amaresh|title=The Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature (Volume One (A To Devo)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ObFCT5_taSgC&pg=PA330|accessdate=28 July 2011|date=1 January 2006|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=978-81-260-1803-1|pages=329–331}}</ref> All the {{transl|mr|bakhars}} except for the early works, such as ''[[Sabhasad Bakhar]]'', ''[[91 Kalami Bakhar|91 Kalmi Bakhar]]'' and the ''[[Ajnyapatra Bakhar]]'' besides others, are considered to be written between 1760 and 1850 during the heyday of the [[Peshwa]]s.<ref name="Datta2006"/>

At least eleven {{transl|mr|bakhars}} have been written principally about Shivaji's life and rule, of which ''Sabhasad Bakhar'', ''91 Kalmi Bakhar'' are the most important, some others being derivations of ''Sabhasad Bakhar'' of varying reliability. These have been valuable resource material for historians chronicling Shivali's life and achievements.<ref name="Datta2006"/>

== List of {{transl|mr|bakhars}} ==

Some of the {{transl|mr|bakhars}} include:

{| class="wikitable"
! Bakhar
! Date
! Writer
! Description
! Reference
|-
| [[Mahikavatichi Bakhar]]
| 15th and 16th centuries
| Bhagwan, Datta and Keshavacharya
| the earliest attempt at uniting the Marathi-speaking populace against oppressive Bahmani rule
| <ref name="Datta2006"/>
|-
| ''[[Sabhasad Bakhar]]''
| c. 1697
| Krishnaji Anant Sabhasad (official in [[Shivaji]]'s administration)
| One of the earliest biographical narratives on Shivaji Maharaj, written at fort Jinji in 1697 by a courier of Shivaji
| <ref name="Prachi_Creative"/><ref name="Datta2006"/>
|-
| ''[[91 Kalami Bakhar|91 Kalmi Bakhar]]''
| Written in the 18th century by unknown writer. Few scholars such as Jadunath sarkar treat it as contemporary work however Surendranath Sen assign this a late 1760 composition because of its inaccuracies and inconsistency.<ref name="Sen1993">{{cite book|last=Sen|first=Surendranath|title=Studies in Indian history: historical records at Goa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VLEo_DUL9XgC&pg=PA135|accessdate=17 March 2012|year=1993|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=978-81-206-0773-6|pages=135–136}}</ref>
| Author not known, multiple versions of book by various scholars.<ref name="">{{cite book |title=Shivaji the Great |last=Krishna |first=Bal |year=1940 |publisher=Arya Book depot |location=Kolhapur |url=https://archive.org/stream/shivajithegreat035466mbp/shivajithegreat035466mbp_djvu.txt |accessdate=17 March 2012}}</ref>
|
| <ref name="Datta2006"/>
|-
| ''[[Chitnis Bakhar]]''
| c. 1811
| Malhar Ramrao Chitnis (senior writer in the Satara court of [[Shahu II]]
|
| <ref name="Prachi_Creative"/>
|-
| [[Peshwyanchi Bakhar]]
| c. 1818
| An erstwhile [[Peshwa]] official (probably Krishnaji Vinayak Sohoni)
| Narrates the history of the Peshwas
| <ref name="Prachi_Creative"/>
|-
| [[Bhausahebanchi Bakhar]]
| 1761
|
| Account of the [[Battle of Panipat (1761)]]
| <ref name="Prachi_Creative"/>
|}

== Reliability ==

Most historians have long neglected as unreliable, due to their colourful literary style with elements of Marathi, Sanskrit aphorisms and Persian administrative jargon. However, {{transl|mr|bakhars}} are recently being investigated for their historical content.<ref name="Prachi_Creative"/>

[[James Grant Duff]] relied on {{transl|mr|bakhars}} in the making of his "History of the Marathas". Shankar Gopal Tulpule described the {{transl|mr|bakhars}} as a reliable source of history,<ref name="Tulpule1979"/> while the Indian nationalist historian [[Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade]] (1864–1926) described them as "full of meaningless verbosity" and "fragmented, contradictory, vague and unreliable".<ref name="Prachi_Creative"/> [[Jadunath Sarkar]] (1870–1958) also described them as "collections of gossip and tradition, sometimes no better than opium-eaters' tales".<ref name="Prachi_Creative"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Maratha Empire]]
[[Category:Literary genres]]
[[Category:Historiography of India]]

Bakhar - Revision history

>Mosesheron at 07:52, 17 March 2021