Khyat (IAST: Khyāta) is a form of

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...

ic historical prose that was prevalent in the western Indian states of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

and

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. It is a collection of events or continuous history. Khyats generally contained histories of a ruling

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

or a person. In the former states that now constitute

, Khyatas were written by the Charans under the patronage of rulers who wished to perpetuate their exploits. These accounts contained histories of battles, sacrifices, valour, and chivalry, values that came to be associated with Rajputs. Khyatas are often known by the name of their authors; e.g., ''Bankidās-ri-Khyāt'' (Khyat by Kaviraja Bankidas). Nainsi-ri-Khyat written by Nainsi is considered to be the most prominent of khyats.

Types of Khyatas

Khyatas can be categorised into 2 types:- # Khyatas which contains a contiguous or continuous history, such as the ''Dayāldās ri Khyāt''. # Khyatas which contains a collection of different 'vatas', like the ''Nainsi ri Khyat''. Khyat and ''vat/bat'' were recited in Charan-Rajput gatherings and were meant to convey the magnificence of both the

Rajputs Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

and the composers that were the Charans. Khyatas were primarily oral accounts that were textualised by the seventeenth century.

List of Khyats

* Nainsi-ri-Khyat

References

{{Reflist Rajasthani literature bg:Шаблон:Индия-мъниче