Dingal

Dingal (Devnagari: डिंगल; IAST: ḍiṁgala; also spelled Dimgal), also known as Old Western Rajasthani,[2] is an ancient Indian language written in Nagri script and having literature in prose as well as poetry. It is a language of very high tone and requires a specific style of speaking. Dingal was used in Rajasthan and adjoining areas including Gujarat, Kutch, Malwa, and Sindh. Most of Dingal literature is said to be composed by Charans. It was also used by Charans to motivate the troops in Rajput armies by praising the martial exploits of Rajput and Charan war heroes.[3]

Dingal
डिंगल
ḍiṁgala
Native toIndia, Pakistan
Era8th century CE; Developed into Rajasthani and Gujarati languages by 13th century CE
Early forms
Language codes
ISO 639-3–

Dingal is a New Indo-Aryan (NIA) poetic language or style. It is called by various names such as Maru-Bhasha, Marwari, and Old Rajasthani. Dingal is also described as one of five “pre-modern Hindi literary dialects”, listed together with Braj, Avadhi, Sadhu Bhasa and Maithili.[4] Dingal has also been called as the ancestor of Marwari and Gujarati.[5]

Several Rajput kings wrote poems in Dingal, particularly Maharaja Man Singh Rathore (reign 1803-1843) of Marwar.[6]

Origins and Antiquity of Dingal

The oldest mention of 'Dingal' is found in an 8th-century text Kuvalayāmāl, composed by Udhyotana Suri. According to Dingal scholar Kaviya, Dingal came into existence by the 9th-century, derived from the Apabhramsa of Western Rajasthan, and became the literary language of the region and beyond.[7]

The usage of the word 'Dingal' is also found in 'Udingal Nam Mala' by the Jain poet Vachak Kushalabh and in 'Naga Daman' by the saint-poet Sayanji Jhula, both written at the beginning of the 15th-century.[8]

According to Jhaverchand Meghani, Dingal, the Charan tongue, was developed from Apbhramsha and Prakrit. Meghani considered Dingal both as a language and poetic medium which "flowed freely between Rajasthan and Suarashtra and conformed to the contours of other phonetic tongues like Sindhi and Kutchi".[9]

Vocabulary

An interesting feature of Dingal is that it preserves archaic words from the early medieval period which are not found anywhere else. Dingal distinguishes itself from other Northern Indo-Aryan languages since it contains older language forms and also incorporates novel grammatical and lexical constructs.[7] Owing to its geographical origin at Western Rajasthan, Dingal vocabulary also shares words common with Sindhi, Persian, Punjabi, and Sanskrit.[10]

Tessitori explains the archaic vocabulary of Dingal poets as follows: "The bards have been more conservative in the matter of lexicon than in the matter of grammar, and most of the poetical and archaic words which were used by them five hundred years ago, can still be used by the bards of the present day, though their meaning may be no longer intelligible to any of his hearers or readers, but the initiated. This fact of the preservation of archaic words in Ḍiṇgaḷa is easily explained by the existence of the poetical glossaries such as the Hamīranāmamālā and the Mānamañjarināmamālā, etc., and the large part they have been playing in the curriculum of the studies of the bards for the last three centuries or more. A great part of these obsolete words are borrowed from the vocabulary of the Sanskrit poetry, and it is chiefly to these that the extraordinary richness in synonyms of Ḍiṇgaḷa is ultimately due".[10]

Dingal & Maru Bhasha

Historically, the language of Western Rajasthan, was known as Dingal. The name Dingal was considered identical to Maru-Bhasha (otherwise called Marwari Bhasha, Marubhum Bhasha, etc.)[11]

There are numerous historical examples of statements by Dingal writers which confirm the view that the spoken language of the region is also called Dingal. In Rukamani Mangal or Haraji ro Vyanwalo, late 15th-century Akhyan Kavya text, composed by Padam Bhagat is in the spoken language. A couplet found in one of its manuscripts says:[11]

‘The language of my poem is Dingal. It does not know any metre or continuity. It consists of only divine contemplation’.[11]

Charan saint Swarupdas in his Pandav Yashendu Chandrika, early 19th-century, says:[11]

‘My language is a mixed one. It contains Dingal, Braj, and Sanskrit, so that all may understand. I beg apology of greater poets for this.’ [11]

Charans & Dingal

Although it is true that most of the Dingal literature was composed by the Charans, other castes also adopted it and made great contributions. In addition to the Charans, Dingal poetry is available in sufficient quantity by many poets of the Rajput, Pancholi, Motisar, Brahmin, Rawal, Jain, Muhata, and Bhat communities.[12]

Dingal Git

Git is a unique feature of Dingal and is considered to be a invention of Charans. There is an important distinction to be made about Dingal Gits. The notion that these songs were sung is misleading. Dingal Gits were recited by Charans in a way similar to Vedic hymns.[8]

Dictionaries of Dingal

Dingala Kosa by Murari Dan Misran

Murari Dan Misran, son of Suryamall Misran and Kaviraja of Bundi State, compiled one of the dictionaries of Dingal vocabulary, called Dingala Kosa. He began to write from the month of Chaitra of the Vikram Samvat 1943 (1886 AD).[13]

Dingal poetry

Dingal Poetry[14][15] incorporates heroic writing on the heroes of Rajasthan, such as Prithviraj Chauhan and Prince Khoman of Mewar. It is an admixture of inter-regional languages. In Rajasthan such languages formed Pingal language (see below).

Thakur Nathu Singh Mahiyariya

He was born in a Charan family in princely state of Mewar. He wrote many books such as Veer Satsai, Hari Rani Shatak etc.

Babu Ramnarayan Dugar

Born in 1857 A.D. in an Oswal family, Babu Ramnarayan Dugar[16] was a prominent authority on Pingal language and was a close associate of Kaviraj Shyamaldasji, the author or Vir Vinod, the official history of rulers of Mewar. In later days he was associated with M.M. Ojha. His most prominent work is Hindi translation of Nainsi's khyat from Dingal language to Hindi.

Ingal

Ingal[17] is an ancient Indian language, a form of Prakrit popular in Sindh and nearby areas.

Pingal

Pingal[18] is an ancient and now extinct Indian language, it was a form of Prakrit popular in Rajasthan and nearby areas. In contrast to Dingal, which was primarily a language of warlike tone, Pingal was a "language of love" and softspoken.

See also

References
  1. Ernst Kausen, 2006. Die Klassifikation der indogermanischen Sprachen (Microsoft Word, 133 KB)
  2. Jr, Dr Cecil Thomas Ault (2017-02-09). Folk Theatre of Rajasthan: Introducing Three Marwari Khyal Plays Translated into English. Partridge Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4828-8816-4.
  3. Paniker, K. Ayyappa (2000-01-01). Medieval Indian Literature - An Anthology - Vol. 3. Sahitya Akademi.
  4. "The Indo-Aryan Languages - Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 2021-05-23.
  5. Mayaram, Shail (2004). Against History, Against State: Counterperspectives from the Margins. Orient Blackswan. ISBN 978-81-7824-096-1.
  6. Sharma, Padmaja (1972). Maharaja Man Singh of Jodhpur and His Times (1803-1843 A.D.). Shiva Lal Agarwala.
  7. Kamphorst, Janet (2008). In Praise of Death: History and Poetry in Medieval Marwar (South Asia). Leiden University Press. ISBN 978-90-8728-044-4.
  8. Rawat Saraswat (1960). Dingal Geet.
  9. Kothiyal, Tanuja (2016-03-14). Nomadic Narratives: A History of Mobility and Identity in the Great Indian Desert. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-316-67389-8.
  10. Tessitori, Luigi Pio (2018-02-19). Bardic and Historical Survey of Rajputana: A Descriptive Catalogue of Bardic and Historical Manuscripts. Creative Media Partners, LLC. ISBN 978-1-378-04859-7.
  11. Maheshwari, Hiralal (1980). History of Rajasthani Literature. Sahitya Akademi.
  12. Bhati, Dr Narayansingh (1961). Dingal Geet Sahitya.
  13. Shastri, Hara Prasad (1913). Preliminary Report on the Operation in Search of Mss. of Bardic Chronicles. Asiatic Society of Bengal.
  14. Indian archives, Volume 25, page 49, 52
  15. K. Ayyappapanicker, Medieval Indian literature: an anthology, Volume 3, page 141
  16. R.K. Gupta, S.R. Bakshi, Studies In Indian History: Rajasthan Through The Ages The Heritage ..., page 145
  17. K. Ayyappapanicker, Medieval Indian literature: an anthology, Volume 3, page 141
  18. K. Ayyappapanicker, Medieval Indian literature: an anthology, Volume 3, page 143
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