Nainsi ri Khyat (or 'Khyat of Nainsi') is a late 17th-century Marwari &

Dingal Dingal (Devnagari: डिंगल; IAST: ''ḍiṁgala''; also spelled Dimgal), also known as Old Western Rajasthani, is an ancient Indian language written in Nagri script and having literature in prose as well as poetry. It is a language of ...

text chronicling the history of

Marwar Marwar (also called Jodhpur region) is a region of western Rajasthan state in North Western India. It lies partly in the Thar Desert. The word 'maru' is Sanskrit for desert. In Rajasthani languages, "wad" means a particular area. English tran ...

. It's author

Muhnot Nainsi Muhnot Nainsi (1610–1670) is known for his studies of the region now encompassed by the state of Rajasthan in India. He was a contemporary of Rathore ruler Jaswant Singh of Marwar. He was son of Jaimal Muhnot, who was senior office holder und ...

, an official of Marwar State, based the

Khyat Khyat (IAST: Khyāta) is a form of bardic historical prose that was prevalent in the western Indian states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. It is a collection of events or continuous history. Khyats generally contained histories of a ruling dynasty or a ...

(or chronicle) on the

Charan Charan ( IAST: Cāraṇ; Sanskrit: चारण; Gujarati: ચારણ; Urdu: ارڈ; IPA: cɑːrəɳə) is a caste in South Asia natively residing in the Rajasthan and Gujarat states of India, as well as the Sindh and Balochistan provinces ...

accounts and the traditional ''Rajasthani Vat(or bat)'' as well as local administrative records. ''Nainsi-ri-Khyat'' is considered to be the most prominent of khyats. The Khyat contains a collection of ''bats'' as well as ''kavitts'', ''dohas'', and ''vanshavallis'' (

genealogies Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinsh ...

). The Khyat includes a comprehensive account of the genealogies and histories of the various ruling

dynasties 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 d ...

in the regions 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 ...

including

Mewar Mewar or Mewad is a region in the south-central part of Rajasthan state of India. It includes the present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pirawa Tehsil of Jhalawar District of Rajasthan, Neemuch and Man ...

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed "The Golden city", is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone and is crowned by the ancient Jaisalmer Fort. This fort contains a ...

Sirohi Sirohi is a city, located in Sirohi district in southern Rajasthan state in western India. It is the administrative headquarters of Sirohi District and was formerly the capital of the princely state of Sirohi ruled by Deora Chauhan Rajput rul ...

Amer Amer may refer to: Places * Amer (river), a river in the Dutch province of North Brabant * Amer, Girona, a municipality in the province of Girona in Catalonia, Spain * Amber, India (also known as Amer, India), former city of Rajasthan state ** Am ...

Dhundhar Dhundhar, also known as ''Jaipur region'', is a historical region of Rajasthan state in western India. It includes the districts of Jaipur, parts of Sikar District lying to the east of the Aravalli Range, Dausa, Sawai Madhopur, and Tonk and t ...

, Kutch,

Tharparkar Tharparkar (Dhatki language, Dhatki/ sd, ٿرپارڪر, ur, ), also known as Thar, is a district in Sindh province in Pakistan headquartered at Mithi. Before Indian independence it was known as the Thar and Parkar district. The district is t ...

, and Saurashtra. The histories of the

Chauhan Chauhan, historically ''Chahamana'', is a clan name historically associated with the various ruling Rajput families during the Medieval India in Rajasthan. Subclans Khichi, Hada, Songara, Bhadauria, Devda etc. are the branches or subclan ...

Rathore The Rathore is a Rajput clan found in Northern India. Subclans Jodhana, Vadhel, Jaitawat, Kumpawat, Champawat, Meratiya, Udawat, Karamsot etc. are the branches or subclans of Rathore Rajputs. Coverage This article discusses the "Kanauji ...

Kachhwaha The Kachhwaha or Kachawa is a Rajput clan found primarily in India. Sometimes families within the clan ruled a number of kingdoms and princely states, such as Jaipur State, Jaipur, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Alwar State, Alwar and M ...

s and

Bhati Bhati is a clan of Rajputs History The Bhatis reportedly originated in Mathura through a common ancestor named Bhati, who was a descendant of Pradyumn. According to the seventeenth-century Nainsi ri Khyat, the Bhatis after losing Mathura ...

s are dealt with in great detail. The Khyat extensively mentions the

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

s fought and men who died fighting; along with the names of

forts A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct Summit (topography), summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally con ...

s and

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

s. The present day ''Nainsi ri Khyat'' is based on the 1843 version by ''Panna Vithu'', who rediscovered the lost text and updated it with the information & events of the 18th & 19th century.

Author

, the author of this Khyat, was however not a

, but an

Oswal The Oswal (sometimes spelled Oshwal or Osval) are a Jain community with origins in the Marwar region of Rajasthan and Tharparkar district in Sindh. They claim to be of Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large ...

''mutsaddi'' in the court of

Jaswant Singh of Marwar Jaswant Singh Rathore (26 December 1626 – 28 December 1678) was a Maharaja of Marwar in the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan. He was a distinguished man of letters and author of "Siddhant-bodh", "Anand Vilas" and "Bhasa-bhusan". Early l ...

. Early in his professional career, Nainsi was appointed successively as the hakim (administrative head) of various

pargana Pargana ( bn, পরগনা, , hi, परगना, ur, پرگنہ) or parganah, also spelt pergunnah during the time of the Sultanate period, Mughal times and British Raj, is a former administrative unit of the Indian subcontinent and each ...

s in Marwar. He remained the Diwan of Marwar from 1658 till he lost favour with Jaswant Singh in 1666 following which he was imprisoned. After the death of Muhnot Nainsi, his son Karamsi left the service of Maharaja Jaswant Singh and he, along with his family, joined the service under Rao Raisingh in

Nagaur Nagaur is a city and municipal council in Nagaur district of the state of Rajasthan in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Nagaur District. The Nagaur city lies about midway between Jodhpur and Bikaner. Nagaur is famous for spices ...

. Raisingh died suddenly on May 29, 1676, after being ill for two-three days in Solapur village. On Raisingh's sudden death, his officers asked ''

vaidya Vaidya (Sanskrit: ), or vaid is a Sanskrit word meaning "traditional practitioner of Ayurveda", an indigenous Indian system of alternative medicine. Senior practitioners or teachers were called ''Vaidyarāja'' ("physician-king") as a mark of resp ...

'' (

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

) the reason for his death. The physician, from

, replied in

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

that Karmano Dosh Hai''' implying that it is fault of ''

Karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

'' (

destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

). But the chieftains of Raisingh interpreted that Karamsi (son of Nainsi) had

poisoned A poison can be any substance that is harmful to the body. It can be swallowed, inhaled, injected or absorbed through the skin. Poisoning is the harmful effect that occurs when too much of that substance has been taken. Poisoning is not t ...

their master. Due to this, Karamsi was executed and orders were sent Nagaur to kill rest of his family. Thus, most of Nainsi's family was killed and only 2 young sons of Karamsi were able to escape to Bikaner with the help of servants.

Redicovery

Source: The credit for the rediscovery and revival as well as systematic re-organization of ''Nainsi ri Khyat'' goes to Panna Vithu. Vithu Panna was a 19th-century

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

from Bikaner who rediscovered the text and prepared a copy in 1843. After the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

of Muhnot Nainsi and his entire family, his entire property and belongings were captured by ''Indra Singh''. Since then, the

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

changed many hands. It is said there were copies made of the original text but none have survived. Many of the ''Vats'' in ''Nainsi ri Khyat'' were added into the ''Rajasthani Vat'' literature collection when it was being prepared in the latter half of the 18th century. Therefore, some portions of ''Nainsi ri Khyat'', were circulated and its popularity had spread in the region including

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. Bikaner city is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Formerly the capital of ...

. Though uncertain of when and how, ''Nainsi ri Khyat'' somehow reached Bikaner. In Bikaner, Panna Vithu found the Khyat and prepared its copy in 1843, while also adding his own contributions wherever he felt necessary. Due to these additions, there are mentions of events or lists related to rulers, chieftains etc. even after 1666 AD at some places. Thus, whatever systematic form this khyat gets today is the result of Panna Vithu's reorganisation of the text. And all

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

copies of the Khyat available today are the copies of Panna Vithu's version.

Sources

This

khyat Khyat (IAST: Khyāta) is a form of bardic historical prose that was prevalent in the western Indian states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. It is a collection of events or continuous history. Khyats generally contained histories of a ruling dynasty or a ...

depends upon the

accounts in order to put together a comprehensive history of the Rajput clans. At places, Nainsi acknowledges the individual Charans who authored these compositions and elsewhere refers to the anonymous source as '..aa bat suni hai' (this has been heard).

Period of authorship

The Khyat was compiled from 1650 through 1665 during which period Nainsi served as the Dewan of

Events chronicled in the Khyat

Source: The book opens with a description of the

jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

s held by

Maharaja Jaswant Singh Jaswant Singh Rathore (26 December 1626 – 28 December 1678) was a Maharaja of Marwar in the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan. He was a distinguished man of letters and author of "Siddhant-bodh", "Anand Vilas" and "Bhasa-bhusan". Early l ...

in 1664 A.D. Then the history of Marwar is narrated from beginning, with the

Pratihar The Gurjara-Pratihara was a dynasty that ruled much of Northern India from the mid-8th to the 11th century. They ruled first at Ujjain and later at Kannauj. The Gurjara-Pratiharas were instrumental in containing Arab armies moving east of the ...

rule in

Mandore Mandore is a suburb Historical town located 9 km north of Jodhpur city, in the Indian state of Rajasthan. History Mandore is an ancient town, and was the seat of the Pratiharas of Mandavyapura, who ruled the region in the 6th century CE ...

and the arrival of Rao Siha Setramot whose descendents laid the foundation of the

kingdom. The earliest date mentioned is the year 1427 of the Vikram era. The dated history begins with the accession of Rao Jodha (1453 AD). The first 20 reigns of the Marwar rulers covering a period of 260 years are very briefly dealt with, with comparatively few pages being devoted to them. However, the five reigns from

Rao Maldeo __NOTOC__ Rao may refer to: Geography * Rao, West Sumatra, one of the districts of West Sumatra, Indonesia * Råö, a locality in Kungsbacka Municipality, Halland County, Sweden Transport * Dr. Leite Lopes–Ribeirão Preto State Airport , IA ...

(1532 AD) to Raja Sur Singh (died 1619) occupies a larger portion of the khyat while the last two reigns-a period of 45 years-occupies the largest part. After the history, a description of the various

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

s of the Marwar State is given, arranged by respective

s. It starts with a historical introduction of each Pargana, then the average

revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive reven ...

of every village in the pargana compared with the actual income for the years 1716, 1717, and 1718, of the Vikram era. In the description of

s, a list of the killed and the wounded is provided, while the names of others that took part in the battles are also sometimes mentioned. The Khyat traces the origins of various

Rajput clans 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 Raj ...

to celestial sources as well as older

Kshatriya Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...

clans like Gahadwalas of

Kannauj Kannauj ( Hindustani pronunciation: ənːɔːd͡ʒ is a city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city's name is a corrupted form of the class ...

. It contains the genealogies of various Rajput groups including

Sisodiya Kingdom of Mewar, sometimes known as Udaipur State, was ruled by the Sisodia dynasty. It was an independent kingdom in Rajputana region of India. It was established around the 7th century as minor rulers of the Nagada-Ahar region of Udaipur a ...

Jadeja The Jadeja (also spelled Jarejo) (Gujarati: ) is a Rajput clan that inhabits the Indian state of Gujarat. They claim to be descended from the legendary Jamshed of Iran. They also claim descent from Krishna. They originated from pastoral communi ...

Gohil Gohil may refer to: * Gohil dynasty, 12th-century rulers of Saurashtra in modern Gujarat * Gohil, a Gujarati'rajsthani clan * Gahlot, a clan of rajputs * Dinita Gohil, British actress * Gigabhai Gohil (died 2020), Indian politician * Manav Gohil (b ...

Solanki Solanki may refer to: * Solanki (name), surname and given name *Solanki (clan), Indian clan associated with the Rajputs *Solanki dynasty, alternate name for the Chaulukya dynasty The Chaulukya dynasty (), also Solanki dynasty, was a dynasty th ...

Sodha Sodha are a Hindu Rajput clan residing in Pakistan and India. History They are off-shoot of Parmara Rajputs, who once controlled regions of Malwa and later North-West parts of Rajasthan. The area around Suratgarh was called 'Sodhawati' and sout ...

, and

List of ''khyats'' & ''vats'' in the text

# Sisodiyāṃ rī khyāta # Būṃdī rā dhaṇiyāṃ rī khyāta # Vāgaḍaḍiyā cahūvāṃṇā rī pīḍhī # Vāta dahiyāṃ rī # Būṃdelāṃ rī vāta # Vāratā gaḍhabaṃdhava rā dhaṇiyāṃ rī # Bāta sīrohī rā dhaṇiyāṃ rī # Bhāyalāṃ rajapūtāṃ rī khyāta # Vāta cahuvāṃṇāṃ sonagarāṃ rī # Vāta sācora rī, boḍaāṃ rī, khociyāṃ rī # Bāta aṁahalavāḍaā pāṭanrī # Vāta solaṃkiyāṃ pāṭaṇa āyāṃ rī # Vāta rudramālo prāsāda siddharāva karāyo tiṇa rī # Vāta solaṃkiyāṃ khairāāṃ rī, desūrī rā dhaṇiyāṃ rī # Kachavāhāṃ rī khyāta # Vāta gohilāṃ kheḍarā dhaṇiyāṃ rī # Paṃvārāṃ rī utapata, Vāta paṃvārāṃ rī # Aāṃkhalā jāgalavā, rāyasī mahipālota # Soḍhāṃrī khyāta Vāta pārakara soḍhāṃ rī

References

{{reflist 17th-century books Dingal language texts Marwari language texts Indian chronicles