Bakhar
Encyclopedia
Bakhar is a form of historical narrative written in Marathi
prose
. Bakhars are one of the earliest genres of medieval Marathi literature
. 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.
of the Arabic-orign 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").
There are around 200 known bakhars, fifty or so of which are considered to be notable, while some others have not been published at all. All the bakhars except for the early works, such as Sabhasad bakhar, 91 Kalmi bakhar and the Ajnyapatra bakhar besides others, are considered to be written between 1760 and 1850 during the heydays of the Peshwa
s.
At least eleven 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.
in the making of his "History of the Marathas", due to their colourful literary style with elements of Marathi, Sanskrit aphorisms and Persian administrative jargon, bakhars are recently being investigated for their historical content.
Shankar Gopal Tulpule described the bakhars as a reliable source of history, while the Indian nationalist historian Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade
(1864-1926) described them as "full of meaningless verbosity" and "fragmented, contradictory, vague and unreliable". Jadunath Sarkar
(1850-1958) also described them as "collections of gossip and tradition, sometimes no better than opium-eaters' tales".
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
prose
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
. Bakhars are one of the earliest genres of medieval Marathi literature
Marathi literature
Marathi literature is the body of literature of Marathi, a Sanskrit-derived language spoken mainly in the Indian state of Maharashtra and written in the Devanagari script.-Early Marathi Literature :...
. 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.
Etymology
Most scholars believe that the word bakhar is a metathesisMetathesis (linguistics)
Metathesis is the re-arranging of sounds or syllables in a word, or of words in a sentence. Most commonly it refers to the switching of two or more contiguous sounds, known as adjacent metathesis or local metathesis:...
of the Arabic-orign 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").
Style
The principle characteristics of bakhar 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. Early bakhars were sparsel written and contained a number of words of Persian derivation, later works tended to be voluminous and contained Sanskritised prose.History
The earliest dates associated with a 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. The 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.There are around 200 known bakhars, fifty or so of which are considered to be notable, while some others have not been published at all. All the bakhars except for the early works, such as Sabhasad bakhar, 91 Kalmi bakhar and the Ajnyapatra bakhar besides others, are considered to be written between 1760 and 1850 during the heydays of the Peshwa
Peshwa
A Peshwa is the titular equivalent of a modern Prime Minister. Emporer Shivaji created the Peshwa designation in order to more effectively delegate administrative duties during the growth of the Maratha Empire. Prior to 1749, Peshwas held office for 8-9 years and controlled the Maratha army...
s.
At least eleven 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.
List of Bakhars
Some of the bakhars include:| 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 | |
| Sabhasad bakhar | c. 1694 | Krishnaji Anant Sabhasad (official in Shivaji's administration) | One of the earliest biographical narratives on Shivaji, written at fort Jinji in 1697 by a courier of Shivaji | |
| 91 Kalmi bakhar | written earlier in late seventeenth century, present records are from extracts made by Khando Annaji Malkare between 1720 and 1740 | Dattaji Trimal Waknis (Shivaji's chronicler and recorder) | ||
| Chitnis bakhar | c. 1811 | Malhar Ramrao Chitnis (senior writer in the Satara court of Shahu II Shahu II Shahu II is the present and titular Maharaja of Kolhapur.-Family:Shahu II married Her Highness Maharani Yagyaseniraje on 9 March 1970, the couple have two sons:1... |
||
| Peshwyanchi bakhar | c. 1818 | An erstwhile Peshwa Peshwa A Peshwa is the titular equivalent of a modern Prime Minister. Emporer Shivaji created the Peshwa designation in order to more effectively delegate administrative duties during the growth of the Maratha Empire. Prior to 1749, Peshwas held office for 8-9 years and controlled the Maratha army... official (probably Krishnaji Vinayak Sohoni) |
Narrates the history of the Peshwas | |
| Bhausahebanchi bakhar | late 18th century | Account of the Battle of Panipat (1761) |
Reliability
Long neglected for their historical merit by historians, except for James Grant DuffJames Grant Duff
James Grant Duff was a British Soldier, and historian.-Early Life:He was the eldest son of John Grant of Kincardine O'Neil and Margaret Miln Duff of Eden, who died 20 August 1824, was born in the town of Banff on 8 July 1789...
in the making of his "History of the Marathas", due to their colourful literary style with elements of Marathi, Sanskrit aphorisms and Persian administrative jargon, bakhars are recently being investigated for their historical content.
Shankar Gopal Tulpule described the bakhars as a reliable source of history, while the Indian nationalist historian Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade
Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade
Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade , popularly known as Itihasacharya Rajwade, was an eminent historian, scholar, writer, commentator and orator from Maharashtra...
(1864-1926) described them as "full of meaningless verbosity" and "fragmented, contradictory, vague and unreliable". Jadunath Sarkar
Jadunath Sarkar
Sir Jadunath Sarkar was a prominent Indian Bengali aristocrat and historian.-Background:Born in Singra, Natore. He was the son of Rajkumar Sarkar, the Zamindar of Karchamaria in Natore in Bengal.-Education:...
(1850-1958) also described them as "collections of gossip and tradition, sometimes no better than opium-eaters' tales".