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'''Dingal''' is an [[History of India|ancient Indian]] language written in [[Devanagari|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 district|Kutch]], [[Malwa]], and [[Sindh]]. Most of Dingal literature is said to be composed by [[Charan|Charans]]. It was primarily used by [[Charan]]s to motivate the troops in [[Rajput]] armies by praising the martial exploits of [[Rajput]] and [[Charan]] war heroes.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Paniker|first=K. Ayyappa|url=https://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Indian-Literature-Anthology-Vol/dp/B005WDGJW8|title=Medieval Indian Literature - An Anthology - Vol. 3|date=2000-01-01|publisher=Sahitya Akademi}}</ref>

Dingal is a New [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] (NIA) poetic language or style. It is called by various names such as Maru-Bhasha, [[Marwari language|Marwari]], and [[Rajasthani language|Old Rajasthani]]. or Dingal is described as one of five “pre-modern [[Hindi]] literary dialects”, listed together with [[Braj Bhasha|Braj]], [[Awadhi language|Avadhi]], Sadhu Bhasa and [[Maithili language|Maithili]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Indo-Aryan Languages - Google Search|url=https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/g/12v_q69k2&hl=en-IN&q=the+indo-aryan+languages&kgs=e222152663201435&shndl=0&source=sh/x/kp&entrypoint=sh/x/kp|access-date=2021-05-23|website=www.google.com}}</ref> Dingal has also been called as the ancestor of [[Marwari language|Marwari]] and [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mayaram|first=Shail|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=zL-7m2MDp2EC&pg=PA43&dq=%22dingal%22+%22rajput%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwibgs-zm-DwAhUTgOYKHS9RATEQ6AEwAnoECAoQAg#v=onepage&q=%22dingal%22%20%22rajput%22&f=false|title=Against History, Against State: Counterperspectives from the Margins|date=2004|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-7824-096-1|language=en}}</ref>

Several [[Rajput]] kings wrote poems in Dingal, particularly [[Man Singh of Marwar|Maharaja Man Singh Rathore]] (reign 1803-1843) of [[Marwar]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sharma|first=Padmaja|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=WtkI7NNbbIIC&q=%22man+singh%22+%22dingal%22&dq=%22man+singh%22+%22dingal%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwji-NjFpeDwAhXk8XMBHVcsB7IQ6AEwCHoECAkQAg|title=Maharaja Man Singh of Jodhpur and His Times (1803-1843 A.D.)|date=1972|publisher=Shiva Lal Agarwala|language=en}}</ref>

== Origins and Antiquity of Dingal ==
The oldest mention of 'Dingal' is found in an 8th-century text Kuvalaya Mala, composed by Udhyotana Suri. Dingal is a western [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] language. According to Dingal scholar Kaviya, Dingal came into existence by the 9th-century, derived from the [[Apabhraṃśa|Apabhramsa]] of Western [[Rajasthan]], and became the literary language of the region and beyond. <ref>{{Cite web|title=In Praise of Death: History and Poetry in Medieval Marwar Janet Kamphorst - Google Search|url=https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/g/12bn2yvmw&hl=en-IN&q=In+Praise+of+Death:+History+and+Poetry+in+Medieval+Marwar+(South+Asia)+Janet+Kamphorst&kgs=5c3a810ec92bf027&shndl=0&source=sh/x/kp&entrypoint=sh/x/kp|access-date=2021-05-23|website=www.google.com}}</ref>

The usage of the word 'Dingal' is also found in 'Udingal Nam Mala' by the Jain poet Kushalabh and in 'Naga Daman' by the saint-poet Sayanji Jhula, both written at the beginning of the 15th-century.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Rawat Saraswat|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.347797|title=Dingal Geet|date=1960}}</ref>

An interesting feature of Dingal is that it preserves archaic words from the early medieval period which are not found anywhere else. Owing to its geographical origin at Western Rajasthan, Dingal vocabulary consists of a lot of [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]], [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], and [[Sanskrit]] words.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bardic and Historical Survey of Rajputana: A Descriptive Catalogue of Bardic and Historical Manuscripts Luigi Pio Tessitori - Google Search|url=https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/g/11bwytrhtw&hl=en-IN&q=Bardic+and+Historical+Survey+of+Rajputana:+A+Descriptive+Catalogue+of+Bardic+and+Historical+Manuscripts+Luigi+Pio+Tessitori&kgs=aab9a4c2dc1ff1f2&shndl=0&source=sh/x/kp&entrypoint=sh/x/kp|access-date=2021-05-23|website=www.google.com}}</ref>

According to [[Jhaverchand Meghani]], Dingal, the [[Charan]] tongue, was developed from [[Apabhraṃśa|Apbhramsha]] and [[Prakrit]]. Meghani considered Dingal both as a language and poetic medium which "flowed freely between [[Rajasthan]] and [[Saurashtra (region)|Suarashtra]] and conformed to the contours of other phonetic tongues like [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] and [[Kutchi language|Kutchi]]".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kothiyal|first=Tanuja|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=IQS-DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA228&dq=%22dingal%22+%22rajput%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwibgs-zm-DwAhUTgOYKHS9RATEQ6AEwAXoECAEQAg|title=Nomadic Narratives: A History of Mobility and Identity in the Great Indian Desert|date=2016-03-14|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-316-67389-8|language=en}}</ref>

== 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 language|Marwari Bhasha]], Marubhum Bhasha, etc.)<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Maheshwari|first=Hiralal|url=https://books.google.co.in/books/about/History_of_Rajasthani_Literature.html?id=rK42AAAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y|title=History of Rajasthani Literature|date=1980|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|language=en}}</ref>

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 the manuscripts says:<ref name=":1" /> <blockquote>‘The language of my poem is Dingal. It does not know any metre or continuity. It consists of only divine contemplation’.<ref name=":1" /> </blockquote>Charan saint [[Swarupadas|Swarupdas]] in his Pandav Yashendu Chandrika, early 19th-century, says:<ref name=":1" /> <blockquote>‘My language is a mixed one. It contains Dingal, [[Braj Bhasha|Braj]], and [[Sanskrit]], so that all may understand. I beg apology of greater poets for this.’ <ref name=":1" /></blockquote>

== Charans & Dingal ==
Although it is true that most of the Dingal literature was composed by the [[Charan|Charans]], other castes also adopted it and made great contributions. In addition to the [[Charan|Charans]], Dingal poetry is available in sufficient quantity by many poets of the [[Rajput]], Pancholi, Motisar, [[Brahmin]], [[Jainism|Jain]], Muhata, and [[Bhats|Bhat]] communities.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bhati|first=Dr Narayansingh|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.401053|title=Dingal Geet Sahitya|date=1961}}</ref>

== Dingal Git ==
Git is an unique feature of Dingal and is considered to be a invention of [[Charan|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 [[Vedas|Vedic]] hymns.<ref name=":0" />

==Dingal poetry==
Dingal Poetry<ref>Indian archives, Volume 25, page 49, 52</ref><ref>K. Ayyappapanicker, Medieval Indian literature: an anthology, Volume 3, page 141</ref> 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<ref>R.K. Gupta, S.R. Bakshi, Studies In Indian History: Rajasthan Through The Ages The Heritage ..., page 145</ref> was a prominent authority on [[Pingal]] language and was a close associate of Kaviraj [[Shyamaldas]]ji, 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<ref>K. Ayyappapanicker, Medieval Indian literature: an anthology, Volume 3, page 141</ref> is an ancient Indian language, a form of [[Prakrit]] popular in Sindh and nearby areas.

== Pingal ==
Pingal<ref>K. Ayyappapanicker, Medieval Indian literature: an anthology, Volume 3, page 143</ref> 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 ==
*[[Charan]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/regionalnews/story/2004/06/040609_dingal_bareth.shtml An article on BBC]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Languages of Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Charan]]

Dingal - Revision history

PATTABHI RAM TURLAPATI at 14:00, 18 March 2026

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