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{{Short description|A social group in India and Pakistan}}
{{Short description|Caste in South Asia}}
{{other uses}}
{{other uses}}
The '''Charans''' (IAST: Cāraṇ; [[Sanskrit]]: चारण; [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]: ચારણ; [[Urdu]]: ارڈ; IPA: cɑːrəɳə) are a South Asian community natively residing in the [[Rajasthan]], [[Gujarat]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], and [[Maharashtra]] states of [[India]], as well as the [[Sindh]] and [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]] provinces of [[Pakistan]]. Historically, Charans were poets & literateurs, as well as warriors and jagirdars. They specialised in diverse occupations as literateurs, warriors, agriculturalists, [[Trader_(finance)|traders]], and [[Merchant|merchants]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Palriwala|first=Rajni|date=1993|title=Economics and Patriliny: Consumption and Authority within the Household|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3520426|journal=Social Scientist|volume=21|issue=9/11|pages=47–73|doi=10.2307/3520426|jstor=3520426|issn=0970-0293|quote="In Rajasthan, they were bards and 'literateurs', but also warriors and jagirdars, holders of land and power over men; the dependents of Rajputs, their equals and their teachers. On my initial visit and subsequently, I was assured of this fact vis-a-vis Panchwas and introduced to the thakurs, who in life-style, the practice of female seclusion, and various reference points they alluded to appeared as Rajputs. While other villagers insisted that Rajputs and Charans were all the same to them, the Charans, were not trying to pass themselves off as Rajputs, but indicating that they were as good as Rajputs if not ritually superior....most of the ex-landlord households, the Charans and one Pathan, remained in the middle and upper ranks of village society"}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Paul|first=Kim|date=1993-01-01|title=Negotiating sacred space: The Mandirand the Oran as contested sites|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00856409308723191|journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies|volume=16|issue=sup001|pages=49–60|doi=10.1080/00856409308723191|issn=0085-6401|quote="In the past some Charans were agriculturalists, engaged in farming lands which were divided equally between male descendants of the lineage. Others were cowherds and caravan escorts...."}}</ref><ref name="Tambs-Lyche2017" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Marcus|first=George E.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TYK2AAAAIAAJ|title=Elites, Ethnographic Issues|date=1983|publisher=University of New Mexico Press|isbn=978-0-8263-0658-6|pages=219|language=en|quote="Charans were court poets and historians, "bards"."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Shah|first=P. R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGseAAAAMAAJ|title=Raj Marwar During British Paramountcy: A Study in Problems and Policies Up to 1923|date=1982|publisher=Sharda Publishing House|isbn=978-0-7855-1985-0|pages=194|language=en|quote="The Charans constituted a body of faithful companions of the Rajputs. They composed poems in praise of the heroic deeds of the Rajputs, and thus inspired them with courage and fortitude. They also guarded the mansions of their patrons, gave protection to their women and children during emergency and also acted as tutors for the young ones. In return land gifts and honours were conferred upon them. The Charans, who could not devote themselves to intellectual pursuits, took to trade. They also protected merchants and travellers passing through desolate regions and forests."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Gupta|first=Saurabh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vZyoCgAAQBAJ|title=Politics of Water Conservation: Delivering Development in Rural Rajasthan, India|date=2015-10-01|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-21392-7|pages=42|language=en|quote="Sharma (ibid) argues that the ex-Zamindars (or landlords) who own big landholdings even today are influential but those who do not retain it are not only less influential but have also slid down the scale of status hierarchy. The families most affected by this belong to the Rajputs, Jats, Charans and Brahmins (all traditionally powerful caste groups)."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Matheson|first=Sylvia A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dCVuAAAAMAAJ|title=Rajasthan, Land of Kings|date=1984|publisher=Vendome Press|isbn=978-0-86565-046-6|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Hastings|first=James M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nReHAAAAMAAJ|title=Poets, Sants, and Warriors: The Dadu Panth, Religious Change and Identity Formation in Jaipur State Circa 1562-1860 Ce|date=2002|publisher=University of Wisconsin--Madison|pages=23|language=en|quote="In Rajasthan, the Charans are a highly esteemed caste seen as occupying a social position slightly lower than that of Brahmins but above that of Rajputs, with whom they maintain a symbiotic relationship...Like Rajputs, with whom they often shared company, Charans would eat meat, drink liquor and engage in martial activities...Although, in a way, poetic composition and recitation was for them a “pastime” subordinate to the primary income producing occupations of military service, agriculture, and horse and cattle trading..."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Sharma|first=K. L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XyCBDwAAQBAJ&newbks=0&hl=en|title=Caste, Social Inequality and Mobility in Rural India: Reconceptualizing the Indian Village|date=2019-02-02|publisher=SAGE Publishing India|isbn=978-93-5328-202-8|pages=322-323|language=en|quote="Charans, a landowning caste (ex-zamindars), Brahmins and Banias were at the centre of the village...the upper castes, namely, Brahmins, Charans and Banias were dominant and grabbed new jobs and opportunities.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Patel|first=Tulsi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RiwTAQAAIAAJ|title=Fertility Behaviour: Population and Society in a Rajasthan Village|date=2006-11-30|publisher=OUP India|isbn=978-0-19-568706-4|language=en|quote="The jagir was held by members of the Charan caste...By this criterion most of the vegetarian castes enjoy a high rank while the non-vegetarian castes belong to the lower category, except Charan and Rajput who belong to the highest category, despite being non-vegetarian and non-teetotaler...While the abolition of feudal land tenures has led to downward mobility of Charans and Rajputs, it has helped upward mobility of Patels and Jats...Except for Charans and Rajputs, all others cultivate land as tenants and sharecroppers, especially if their own holding is small...However, Brahmins do take up wage labour in agriculture, unlike Banias, Charans and Rajputs...My entry into homes of higher castes, especially those of Charans and Rajputs, was not easy either."}}</ref>
{{pp|small=yes}}
== Historical Occupations ==
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
=== Traders & Merchants ===
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2022}}
Exercising their privilege to transport [[goods]] between various states with [[impunity]] and utilising the large wealth of [[cattle]] as pack animals, Charans were able to establish a “virtual monopoly of trade in North-Western India”. Many Charans are said to have become wealthy [[Merchant|merchants]] and [[Money lenders|money-lenders]]. Their caravans were considered to be insured against bandits. In Rajasthan, the Kachela Charans excelled as merchants. <ref>{{Cite book|last=Matheson|first=Sylvia A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dCVuAAAAMAAJ|title=Rajasthan, Land of Kings|date=1984|publisher=Vendome Press|isbn=978-0-86565-046-6|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" />


Utilizing their favourable position since they had “exemption from perpetual and harassing imposts...they gradually became chief carriers and [[Trade route|traders]]”.In Mallani, Charans were described as “large traders" possessing great privileges as a [[sacred]] race being exempted from local [[dues]] throughout [[Marwar]].<ref name=":2" />
{{Infobox caste|region=[[Rajasthan]] • [[Haryana]] • [[Gujarat]] • [[Madhya Pradesh]] • [[Maharashtra]] • [[Sindh]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Commissioner |first=Pakistan Office of the Census |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UKwZAAAAMAAJ |title=Population Census of Pakistan, 1961: West Pakistan: 1.Karachi. 2.Lahore. 3.Gujranwala. 4.Rawalpindi. 5.Lyallpur. 6.Multan. 7.Quetta. 8.Peshawar. 9.Hyderabad. 10.Sukkur. 11.Bahawalpur. 12.Hazara. 13.Sialkot. 14.Sargodha. 15.Mianwali. 16.Jhang. 17.Loralai. 18.Sibi. 19.Jacobabad. 20.Campbellpur. 21.Gujrat. 22.Bannu. 23.Jhelum. 24.Tharparker. 25.Larkana. 26.Thatta. 27.Mekran |date=1962 |language=en |quote=There are other castes of Hindus i.e. , Brahmans , Lohanas , Khatries , Sutars , Charans , Sonaras , Kalals etc.}}</ref> • [[Balochistan]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kothiyal |first=Tanuja |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IQS-DAAAQBAJ |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 |quote=Charan migratory history traces their movements between Baluchistan, Jaisalmer, Marwar, Gujarat and Kutch.}}</ref>|languages=[[Rajasthani language|Rajasthani]] • [[Marwari language|Marwari]] • [[Mewari language|Mewari]] • [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] • [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] • [[Marathi language|Marathi]]|religions=[[Hinduism]] • [[Islam]]|image=Chāran Gordhan Singh on a Terrace at Night ca. 1725.jpg|caption=A '''Charan''' in [[Bikaner state|Bikaner kingdom]], 1725 CE- ([[Metropolitan Museum of Art]])|country=[[India]] • [[Pakistan]]|image_size=250px}}'''Charan''' ([[International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration|IAST]]: Cāraṇ; [[Sanskrit]]: चारण; [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]: ચારણ; [[Urdu]]: چارڻ ; IPA: cɑːrəɳə) is a [[Caste system in India|caste]] in [[South Asia]] natively residing in the [[Rajasthan]] and [[Gujarat]] states of [[India]], as well as the [[Sindh]] and [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]] provinces of [[Pakistan]]. Historically, Charans have been engaged in diverse occupations like bards, [[poet]]s, [[historian]]s, [[Pastoralism|pastoralists]], [[Farmer|agriculturalists]] and also [[Administrator of the government|administrators]],  [[jagir]]dars and [[warrior]]s and some even as [[Trader (finance)|traders]].<ref>* {{Cite journal |last=Palriwala |first=Rajni |date=1993 |title=Economics and Patriliny: Consumption and Authority within the Household |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3520426 |journal=Social Scientist |volume=21 |issue=9/11 |pages=47–73 |doi=10.2307/3520426 |issn=0970-0293 |jstor=3520426 |quote="In Rajasthan, they were bards and 'literateurs', but also warriors and jagirdars, holders of land and power over men; the dependents of Rajputs, their equals and their teachers. On my initial visit and subsequently, I was assured of this fact vis-a-vis Panchwas and introduced to the thakurs, who in life-style, the practice of female seclusion, and various reference points they alluded to appeared as Rajputs. While other villagers insisted that Rajputs and Charans were all the same to them, the Charans, were not trying to pass themselves off as Rajputs, but indicating that they were as good as Rajputs if not ritually superior....most of the ex-landlord households, the Charans and one Pathan, remained in the middle and upper ranks of village society"}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Kapadia |first=Aparna |title=Imagining Region in Late Colonial India: Jhaverchand Meghani and the Construction of Saurashtra (1921–47) |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-asian-studies/article/abs/imagining-region-in-late-colonial-india-jhaverchand-meghani-and-the-construction-of-saurashtra-192147/B7073EE84202B3C8B6FB39CBDA58281F |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |year=2022 |volume=81 |issue=3 |language=en |pages=541–560 |doi=10.1017/S0021911822000080 |s2cid=248169878 |issn=0021-9118 |quote="Movement was also integral to the work of the Charans, who emerged as the preservers of Rajput culture and served various administrative and diplomatic functions...Historically, violence was fundamental to Charans’ preservation of their sacred and ethical authority. From about the thirteenth century, Charans had served various bureaucratic functions for their patrons, including as security for private or government transactions."}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Paul |first=Kim |date=1993-01-01 |title=Negotiating sacred space: The Mandirand the Oran as contested sites |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00856409308723191 |journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies |volume=16 |issue=sup001 |pages=49–60 |doi=10.1080/00856409308723191 |issn=0085-6401 |quote="In the past some Charans were agriculturalists, engaged in farming lands which were divided equally between male descendants of the lineage. Others were cowherds and caravan escorts...."}}
* {{Cite book |last=Marcus |first=George E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TYK2AAAAIAAJ |title=Elites, Ethnographic Issues |date=1983 |publisher=University of New Mexico Press |isbn=978-0-8263-0658-6 |pages=219 |language=en |quote=Charans were court poets and historians, "bards"...Prominent Charan (caste of bards) dewans or senior court servants included Kaviraj (court poet) Shyamaldas at Udaipur and Kaviraj Murardan at Jodhpur.}}
* {{Cite book |last=Shah |first=P. R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGseAAAAMAAJ |title=Raj Marwar During British Paramountcy: A Study in Problems and Policies Up to 1923 |date=1982 |publisher=Sharda Publishing House |isbn=978-0-7855-1985-0 |pages=194 |language=en |quote="The Charans constituted a body of faithful companions of the Rajputs. They composed poems in praise of the heroic deeds of the Rajputs, and thus inspired them with courage and fortitude. They also guarded the mansions of their patrons, gave protection to their women and children during emergency and also acted as tutors for the young ones. In return land gifts and honours were conferred upon them. The Charans, who could not devote themselves to intellectual pursuits, took to trade. They also protected merchants and travellers passing through desolate regions and forests."}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gupta |first=Saurabh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vZyoCgAAQBAJ |title=Politics of Water Conservation: Delivering Development in Rural Rajasthan, India |date=2015-10-01 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-21392-7 |pages=42 |language=en |quote="Sharma (ibid) argues that the ex-Zamindars (or landlords) who own big landholdings even today are influential but those who do not retain it are not only less influential but have also slid down the scale of status hierarchy. The families most affected by this belong to the Rajputs, Jats, Charans and Brahmins (all traditionally powerful caste groups)}}
* {{Cite book |last=Matheson |first=Sylvia A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dCVuAAAAMAAJ |title=Rajasthan, Land of Kings |date=1984 |publisher=Vendome Press |isbn=978-0-86565-046-6 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hastings |first=James M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nReHAAAAMAAJ |title=Poets, Sants, and Warriors: The Dadu Panth, Religious Change and Identity Formation in Jaipur State Circa 1562-1860 Ce |date=2002 |publisher=University of Wisconsin--Madison |pages=23 |language=en |quote="In Rajasthan, the Charans are a highly esteemed caste seen as occupying a social position slightly lower than that of Brahmins but above that of Rajputs, with whom they maintain a symbiotic relationship...Like Rajputs, with whom they often shared company, Charans would eat meat, drink liquor and engage in martial activities...Although, in a way, poetic composition and recitation was for them a “pastime” subordinate to the primary income producing occupations of military service, agriculture, and horse and cattle trading..."}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Jain |first1=Pratibha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dufZAAAAMAAJ |title=Honour, Status & Polity |last2=Śarmā |first2=Saṅgītā |date=2004 |publisher=Rawat Publications |isbn=978-81-7033-859-8 |language=en |quote="The Charans have also received applause and appreciation for their contribution as historians of medieval Rajasthan."}}
* {{Cite book |last=Vinay |first=Srivastava |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mq1HAAAAYAAJ |title=Methodology and Fieldwork |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-566727-1 |language=en |quote="They were the Rajputs' geneologists<!--sic-->, historians, and teachers; sometimes they were leading state servants, sometimes guides and protectors of trade. Killing a Charan, like killing a brahmin, was a mortal sin. It was the duty of powerful Rajput patrons to support and honour..."}}</ref>


Charan traders took large caravans of bullocks north to [[Marwar]] and [[Hindustan]], and east to [[Malwa]] through [[Gujarat]]. They traded in various commodities including [[ivory]], [[Coconut|coconuts]], [[alum]], and dry [[Date palm|dates]] which they take from [[Kutch district|Kutch]] while bringing back [[Maize|corn]] and [[tobacco]] from Marwar & Hindustan. Ivory, brought from [[Africa]] to [[Mandvi]] in [[Gujarat]], was bought by Charan traders in return for [[grain]] and coarse [[Textile|cloth]]. Then the Charan traders transported the ivory back to Marwar and sold it there.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Hooja|first=Rima|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tosMAQAAMAAJ|title=A History of Rajasthan|date=2006|publisher=Rupa & Company|isbn=978-81-291-0890-6|language=en}}</ref>
== Historical roles and occupations ==
 
=== Poets and historians ===
[[Rajasthani literature|Rajasthani]] & [[Gujarati literature]] from the early and medieval period, upto the 19th century, has been mainly composed by Charans. The relationship between Charans and [[Rajput]]s is deeprooted in history. As Charans used to partake in [[battle]]s alongside Rajputs, they were [[witness]]es not only to battles but also to many other occasions and episodes forming part of the contemporary Rajput life. The poems composed about such [[war]]s and incidents had two qualities: basic historical [[truth]] and vivid, realistic and pictorial [[description]]s, particularly of [[hero]]es, heroic deeds and battles.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Maheshwari |first=Hiralal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rK42AAAAIAAJ |title=History of Rajasthani Literature |date=1980 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |language=en}}</ref>
 
The Chāran [[poetry]] is mostly descriptive in style and can be categorized in two forms: [[narrative]] and stray. The narrative form of Charan poetry goes by various names viz., ''Rās'', ''Rāsau'', ''Rūpak'', ''Prakās'', ''[[Chhand]]'', ''Vilās'', ''Prabandh'', ''Āyan'', ''Sanvād'', etc. These poems are also named after metres such as, ''Kavitt'', ''Kundaliyā'', ''Jhūlaņā'', ''Nīsāṇī'', ''Jhamāl'' and ''Veli'' etc. Poems of stray form also use a variety of such metres.<ref name=":12" /> Written in [[Dingal]], the various sources, known as ''bata (vata), [[khyat]]a, vigata, pidhiavali,'' and ''vamsavali,'' form the most important body of [[Raw data|primary data]] for the study of the medieval period.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Ziegler |first=Norman P. |date=1976 |title=The Seventeenth Century Chronicles of Mārvāṛa: A Study in the Evolution and Use of Oral Traditions in Western India |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3171564 |journal=History in Africa |volume=3 |pages=127–153 |doi=10.2307/3171564 |jstor=3171564 |s2cid=156943079 |issn=0361-5413}}</ref>
 
Although, for Charans, poetic composition and [[recitation]] was only a hereditary '[[Hobby|pastime]]', subordinate to the primary income producing occupations of [[military service]], [[agriculture]], and [[Horse trading|horse]] and [[Cattle|cattle trading]]. Ambitious and talented boys, however, pursued [[traditional education]] from other learned Charans for comprehensive guidance. When accepted by them as students, they would receive training in the basics of poetic composition and narration as well as the specialized languages by precept and example, with emphasis on [[memorization]] and [[Recitation|oral recitation]]. Students would in turn recite the compositions, constantly improving their style. Knowledge of languages such as [[Dingal]], [[Sanskrit]], [[Urdu]], and [[Persian language|Persian]] was also acquired with the aid of specialized masters. Thus, subjects studied included not only [[history]] and [[literature]], but also [[religion]], [[music]], and [[astrology]].<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":22">{{Cite book |last1=Rao |first1=Velcheru Narayana |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X0RuAAAAMAAJ |title=Textures of Time: Writing History in South India 1600-1800 |last2=Nārāyaṇarāvu |first2=Vēlcēru |last3=Shulman |first3=David Dean |last4=Subrahmanyam |first4=Sanjay |date=2003 |publisher=Other Press |isbn=978-1-59051-044-5 |language=en}}</ref>
 
Renowned Charan poets of the time were part of the [[royal court]]s, attaining the rank of [[Kaviraj]]a or "court-laureate" and assuming positions of great influence.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":22" /> Such learned Charans were exceptionally honoured by the rulers. The rulers bestowed [[award]]s whose value amounted to lakh(a hundred thousand) or krore(in million), hence these were termed as ''Lakh Pasav'' or ''Krore Pasav''. These awards consisted of ''[[Sasan (land grant)|sasan]]'' lands, [[horse]]s, [[elephant]]s, and [[Ornament (art)|ornaments]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Paul|first=Kim|date=1993-01-01|title=Negotiating sacred space: The Mandirand the Oran as contested sites|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00856409308723191|journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies|volume=16|issue=sup001|pages=49–60|doi=10.1080/00856409308723191|issn=0085-6401|quote="In the past some Charans were agriculturalists, engaged in farming lands which were divided equally between male descendants of the lineage. Others were cowherds and caravan escorts...."}}</ref><gallery mode="packed" widths="200" heights="200">
File:Ummed Ram Bareth of Mahund, Alwar State (1810 CE).jpg|Ummeda Rāma Bāreṭha of Mahund, [[Alwar State]] (1810 CE)
File:Portrait of Ishwardas Barhath, c. 1830.jpg|Portrait of Iśvaradāsa Bārahaṭha of Marwar (1830 CE)
</gallery>
 
=== Administrators ===
As per their administrative and ritual positions, Charans were integral to numerous indigenous [[court]]s in the region including [[Rajputana]], [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]], [[Malwa]], [[Kutch district|Kutch]], [[Sindh]], and [[Gujarat]]. They served various [[Administration (government)|administrative]] and [[Diplomatics|diplomatic]] functions, sometimes as leading state dignitaries.<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last=Kapadia |first=Aparna |title=Imagining Region in Late Colonial India: Jhaverchand Meghani and the Construction of Saurashtra (1921–47) |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-asian-studies/article/abs/imagining-region-in-late-colonial-india-jhaverchand-meghani-and-the-construction-of-saurashtra-192147/B7073EE84202B3C8B6FB39CBDA58281F |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |year=2022 |volume=81 |issue=3 |language=en |pages=541–560 |doi=10.1017/S0021911822000080 |s2cid=248169878 |issn=0021-9118 |quote="Movement was also integral to the work of the Charans, who emerged as the preservers of Rajput culture and served various administrative and diplomatic functions...Historically, violence was fundamental to Charans’ preservation of their sacred and ethical authority. From about the thirteenth century, Charans had served various bureaucratic functions for their patrons, including as security for private or government transactions."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Development of social, religious and economic structure in medieval Rajasthan: A study with reference to conditions during 1201-1707 a.d {{!}} International Journal of Development Research (IJDR) |url=https://www.journalijdr.com/development-social-religious-and-economic-structure-medieval-rajasthan-study-reference-conditions |access-date=2022-07-01 |website=www.journalijdr.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Vinay |first=Srivastava |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mq1HAAAAYAAJ |title=Methodology and Fieldwork |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-566727-1 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7X23AAAAIAAJ |title=Mahārāṇā Pratāpa ke pramukha sahayogī |date=1997 |publisher=Rājasthānī Granthāgāra |language=hi}}</ref>
 
By nineteenth century, these formed major and minor [[Bureaucracy|bureaucratic]] lineages which played a significant role in the [[Power vacuum|power struggle]] and the [[policy]] formation in the princely states. [[Recruitment]] to positions in the political bureaucracy in the nineteenth century states of Rajputana was based on the community and the recognized and established lineages. Charan as an indigenous community with [[tradition]]s of literacy and service contributed significantly in the senior crown appointments. Persons belonging to such an administrative class, as a result of [[Public service|state service]], were also granted [[jagir]]s and [[Court of Honor|court honours]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last1=Rudolph |first1=Susanne Hoeber |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Djabj9gefZ0C |title=Essays on Rajputana: Reflections on History, Culture, and Administration |last2=Rudolph |first2=Lloyd I. |date=1984 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |language=en |quote="At the outer edge of qualification norms is standing in one of the respectable (usually twice-born) and traditionally literate castes or communities of Rajputana-such as Rajputs, Oswals, Maheshwaris, Kayasths, Charans, Brahmans, and Muslims....the bureaucratic lineages in and out of power, whether from within (mutsaddi, Rajput, Muslim, Charan etc.)...Prominent Charan Dewans or senior court servants included Kaviraj (court poet) Shyamaldas at Udaipur and Kaviraj Murardan at Jodhpur."}}</ref> During the medieval period, Charans along with Rajputs and [[Bania (caste)|Baniyas]] dominated the administration in [[princely state]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bhasin |first=Veena |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z0iBAAAAMAAJ |title=Medical Anthropology, Tribals of Rajasthan |date=2005 |publisher=Kamala-Raj Enterprises |isbn=978-81-85264-35-6 |language=en |quote="The states were divided into various categories of Jagirs. During medieval period, Rajputs, Charans and Baniyas dominated the princely states. The Rajputs had a dominant status either as central ruler or Jagirdar and Thikanedar though lower to the Brahmins in ritual hierarchy. Next to them in status were Baniyas, followed by clean artisans, peasants and service castes. Baniya , though in minority had skills to run the administration . The status of Brahmin was subordinate in administration; instead Charans were close to the Rajputs. Vidal ( 1997 ) portray a picture of society and kingship in Sirohi area of Rajasthan where bards appeared as the real ideologues"}}</ref> Charans enjoyed intimate relations with the [[ruler]]s who placed high [[confidence]] in them; consequently, they came to play the role of [[Mediation|mediators]] in most of the political matters in the medieval kingdoms prior to [[British Raj|British rule]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bhati |first=N. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r98tAAAAMAAJ |title=Studies in Marwar History |date=1979 |publisher=Rajasthani Shodh Sansthan |language=en |quote="The Charans acted as bards to the royal family but due to their intimate relations with the rulers they enjoyed their confidence and many times they acted as mediators in political affairs and enjoyed hereditry Jagir (Sasan) rights."}}</ref>
 
Some of the prominent Charan administrators holding positions such as of [[Dewan|Diwan]] (Prime Minister) in 19th & 20th century were [[Kaviraj Shyamaldas|Kaviraja Shyamaldas]] of [[Udaipur State|Mewar]], [[Kaviraja Muraridan]] of [[Jodhpur State|Marwar]], and Ramnathji Ratnu of [[Kishangarh State|Kishengarh]].<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Marcus |first=George E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TYK2AAAAIAAJ |title=Elites, Ethnographic Issues |date=1983 |publisher=University of New Mexico Press |isbn=978-0-8263-0658-6 |language=en}}</ref> The Ratnu family of Sikar formed one such bureaucratic lineage whose members were Diwans of [[Sikar district|Sikar]], [[Idar State|Idar]], [[Kishangarh State|Kishengarh]], and [[Jhalawar State|Jhalawad]].<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Śekhāvata |first=Raghunāthasiṃha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5jpuAAAAMAAJ |title=Shekhawati Pradesh ka rajnitik itihas |date=1998 |publisher=Ṭhā. Mallūsiṃha Smr̥ti Granthāgāra |language=hi |quote="दीवानजी का बास तेजमालजी नामक रत्नू चारण को सीकर ठिकाने की ओर से 1500 बीघा भूमि चंदपुरा गांव की सीमा में दी । तेजमालजी के तीन पुत्र रामनाथ , बद्रीदान व स्योबक्सजी बताये जाते हैं । रामनाथ किशनगढ़ राज्य के दीवान बने , स्योबक्स जी झालावाड़ व बद्रीदान माधोसिंह सीकर के दीवान थे । बद्रीदान को माधोसिंह ने बोदलासी ( नेछवा के पास ) की छः हजार बीघा भूमि प्रदान की । इनके पुत्र कुमेरदानजी सीकर ठिकाने में दीवान थे । चंदपुरा आज दीवानजी का बास के नाम से जाना जाता है । बद्रीदान के वंशज दीवानजी का बास व बोदलासी दोनों जगह रहते हैं ।"}}</ref><ref name=":6" />
 
=== Warriors and military role ===
Charans were an integral part of the [[military]] , administrative , [[Politics|political]] and [[social system]] of the medieval kingdoms.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yDVZDinCIzQC |title=Indica |date=2007 |publisher=Heras Institute of Indian History and Culture, St. Xavier's College. |language=en}}</ref> Similar to the Rajputs, with whom they were often associated, Charans would consume meat, alcohol, and participate in martial activities.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hastings |first=James M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nReHAAAAMAAJ |title=Poets, Sants, and Warriors: The Dadu Panth, Religious Change and Identity Formation in Jaipur State Circa 1562-1860 Ce |date=2002 |publisher=University of Wisconsin--Madison |language=en |quote=Like Rajputs, with whom they often shared company, Charans would eat meat, drink liquor and engage in martial activities.}}</ref> They were known for their [[loyalty]] and were respected by the rulers for their skills in [[chivalry]] and [[sacrifice]] on the [[battlefield]].<ref name=":11">{{Cite book |last1=Jain |first1=Pratibha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dufZAAAAMAAJ |title=Honour, Status & Polity |last2=Śarmā |first2=Saṅgītā |date=2004 |publisher=Rawat Publications |isbn=978-81-7033-859-8 |language=en |quote=Charans were known for their exemplary courage on the battlefield in Mewar . During Maharana Sanga's and Maharana Pratap's reigns , the roll of honour has names of prominent Charans.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Research |first=Rajasthan Institute of Historical |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lxhDAAAAYAAJ |title=Journal of the Rajasthan Institute of Historical Research |date=1968 |language=en |quote=Charanas also used to fight in the battle fields along the kings. They were equally rich in the use of sword, pen and voice. These people had no concern with the religious sermons, and even then they enjoyed a great respect in the royal courts as well as in the society. They used to receive many big Jagirs from the kings! We can find several instances in the history of Rajasthan where the king himself carried their palnquin on his own shoulders.}}</ref>
 
Numerous Charans have fought in the battles of Mewar.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Paliwal |first=D. L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bFdXAAAAMAAJ |title=Mewar Through the Ages |date=1970 |publisher=Sahitya Sansthan, Rajasthan Vidyapeeth |language=en |quote=In between the social order of the Rajputs and the Brahmins there is a caste of the Charans which exercised a great respectability and influence in Mewar. As an equal partner in war and peace his place was enviable. Many a charans fought to their last in the decisive battles of Mewar.}}</ref> The roll of honour during the reigns of various rulers such as [[Rana Sanga|Sanga]] and [[Maharana Pratap|Pratap]] contains the names of prominent Charans.<ref name=":11" /> Karamsi Ashiya fought in the [[Battle of Maholi]] in favour of [[Udai Singh II]] against [[Banvir]].<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last=Guptā |first=Mohanalāla |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RXtuAAAAMAAJ |title=Jālora kā rājanītika evaṃ sāṃskr̥tika itihāsa |date=1995 |publisher=Mātr̥chāyā Prakāśana |language=hi}}</ref> In the [[Battle of Haldighati]], many of them fought for Mewar including Charans of Sonyana led by Jaisaji and Keshavji Sauda,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sharma |first=Gopi Nath |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P409AAAAMAAJ |title=Glories of Mewar |date=1974 |publisher=Shiva Lal Agarwala & Company |language=en}}</ref>  as well as Ramaji and Kanhaji Sandu, Govardhan and Abhaychand Boksha, Ramdas Dharmawat, etc.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Girase |first=Jaypalsingh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=onH0DwAAQBAJ |title=Rashtragaurav Maharana Pratapsingh: Ek Aprajit Yoddha |date=2020-08-02 |publisher=Notion Press |isbn=978-1-64919-952-2 |language=hi}}</ref>
 
In the [[Alauddin Khalji's conquest of Jalore|Khilji's invasion of Jalore]] in 1311 CE, Sahaj Pal Gadan died fighting valiantly alongside [[Kanhadadeva]] against [[Alauddin Khalji|Alauddin Khilji]].<ref name=":13" /> Kanhaji Arha slained Sanga, the Raja of [[Kingdom of Amber|Amber]] and founder of [[Sanganer]], thus avenging the death of his friend Karamchand Naruka.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Agravāla |first=Govinda |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M0ZFAQAAIAAJ |title=Cūrū Maṇḍala kā śodhapūrṇa itihāsa |date=1974 |publisher=Loka Saṃskr̥ti Śodha Saṃsthāna |language=hi}}</ref> Hapaji Barhath of Marwar fought for the [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]] in the [[Akbar's conquest of Gujarat|Battle of Ahmedabad]], leading an army of one hundred elephants under his command.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Centre for Historical Studies |first=Jawaharlal Nehru University |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XAq2AAAAIAAJ |title=Studies in History |date=1980 |publisher=Sage |language=en}}</ref> Narupal Kavia was a commander in [[Man Singh I|Man Singh]]'s forces during the Mughal conquest of [[Odisha|Orissa]]. During an ambush by Sultan Qatlu Khan's large army, he, Bika Rathor, and Mahesh Das made a last stand and sacrificed their lives while the rest of the imperial force fled.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sarkar |first=Sir Jadunath |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DiUKAQAAIAAJ |title=The History of Bengal |date=1943 |publisher=University of Dacca |language=en |quote=On 21st May, near sunset, he was suddenly surprised by the enemy in over whelming force; the careless and disordered imperialists after a little fight fled away; Bikā Rathor, Mahesh Das and Naru Chāran bravely sacrificed their lives, but could not stem the rout.}}</ref>
 
In the Gujarat region, Charans served in the army in large numbers. The [[Tumbel]] clan was especially prominent, with many of its members serving in the army of [[Jam Rawal|Jam Raval]], the founder of [[Nawanagar State|Jamnagar State]]. Throughout history, the [[Jadeja]] rulers of [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]] sent troops under the leadership of Charans to fight on various occasions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singhji |first=Virbhadra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NYK7ZSpPzkUC |title=The Rajputs of Saurashtra |date=1994 |publisher=Popular Prakashan |isbn=978-81-7154-546-9 |language=en}}</ref>
 
In the famous [[Battle of Dharmat]] in 1658 CE, four renowned [[Warrior|warriors]] - Khidiya Jagmal Dharmawat, Barhath Jasraj Venidasot, Bhimajal Misran, and Dharmaji Charan - valiantly fought on the side of Maharaja [[Jaswant Singh of Marwar|Jaswant Singh]] and [[Ratan Singh Rathore]] and perished.<ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sinh |first=Raghubir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rg5AAAAAIAAJ |title=Ratalāma kā prathama rājya, usakī sthāpanā evaṃ anta: īsā kī 17 vīṃ śatābdī |date=1950 |publisher=Rājakamala Prakāśana |language=hi}}</ref> When [[Durgadas Rathore|Durgadas]] planned the rescue of [[Ajit Singh of Marwar|Ajit Singh]], the [[Rajput War (1679–1707)|Battle of Delhi]] saw Charan Samdan and Mishan Ratan become martyrs for their homeland in their fight against the Mughals. Charan Jogidas, Mishan Bharmal, Sarau, Asal Dhanu & Vithu Kanau were the chosen [[Warrior|warriors]] who escorted [[Muhammad Akbar (Mughal prince)|Prince Akbar]] to [[Sambhaji|Sambhaji's]] court.<ref name="sharma" />
 
Chandidas Charan of [[Alwar State|Alwar]] faced off against [[Mirza Najaf Khan|Nawab Najaf Khan]] at [[Thanagazi Assembly constituency|Thana Gazi]] for a month halting his march to a standstill until Chandidas was called back to Alwar by [[Pratap Singh Prabhakar|Pratap Singh]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nāgorī |first=Esa Ela |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P89AAAAAMAAJ |title=Alavara Rājaya kā itihāsa, 1775-1857 |date=1982 |publisher=Cinmaya Prakāśana |language=hi}}</ref> Bhupati Ram Charan was the [[General officer|General]] of the [[Hada Chauhan|Hada]] army of [[Kota State|Kota]] who made a strong stand in the [[Battle of Rajamahal]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gupta |first=Beni |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WIgeAAAAMAAJ |title=Maratha Penetration Into Rajasthan: Through the Mukandara Pass |date=1979 |publisher=Research |language=en}}</ref> Similarly, Kaviraja Bhairav Dan was the [[Commandant]] of the Army of [[Bikaner State]] in 19th-century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bayley |first=C. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7nwUqnwj4h4C |title=Chiefs and Leading Families in Rajputana |date=2004 |publisher=Asian Educational Services |isbn=978-81-206-1066-8 |language=en}}</ref>
 
At many places in Gujarat, Charans had revolted against the British during the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857|mutiny of 1857]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bond |first1=J. W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=47sfj8DUwNgC |title=Indian States: A Biographical, Historical, and Administrative Survey |last2=Wright |first2=Arnold |date=2006 |publisher=Asian Educational Services |isbn=978-81-206-1965-4 |language=en}}</ref> Kandas, the Charan [[Panchmahal district|Panchmahal]] chief, was a trusted ally of the [[Baroda Residency|Baroda Resident]] who sought Kandas' help to gain Charan support for the [[British Raj|British]]. However, Kandas raised [[Bahadur Shah Zafar]]'s banner, gathering [[Koli people|Koli]] chiefs and retired [[Sepoy|sepoys]] from Panchmahal to come to mutineers' aid.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dharaiya |first=Ramanlal Kakalbhai |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sqXZow1qdnwC |title=Gujarat in 1857 |date=1970 |publisher=Gujarat University |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":14" />
 
=== Arbitrators and diplomats ===
Charans fulfilled the crucial role of [[diplomat]]s, [[Surety|guarantors]], and [[Arbitral tribunal|arbitrators]] in [[Negotiation|political negotiations]] and [[financial transaction]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kapadia |first=Aparna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qrxsDwAAQBAJ |title=Gujarat: The Long Fifteenth Century and the Making of a Region |date=2018-05-16 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-15331-8 |language=en |quote=Charans accompanied these warriors in battles, sang of their glory in war, and, as late as the nineteenth century, served as guarantors and diplomats for their lieges on account of their sacred association with various forms of the mother goddess.}}</ref> No [[Treaty|treaties]] between [[king]]s after a [[war]] or [[contract]]s between [[Patronage|patrons]] and clients were considered valid without a Chāran acting as a guarantor.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Basu |first=Helene |date=2005 |title=Practices of Praise and Social Constructions of Identity: The Bards of North-West India |journal=Archives de sciences sociales des religions |volume=50 |issue=130 |pages=81–105 |doi=10.4000/assr.2795 |jstor=30116669 |s2cid=145362328 |issn=0335-5985 |quote=No contract between kings after a war, or between patrons and clients agreeing the terms whereby services be rendered, nor any other contract was considered valid without a Chāran guaranteeing on his own and/or the life of his family that the terms agreed upon would be fulfilled. They provided the same service for merchants and traders on their long treks through the desert up north, when they accompanied caravans for their protection against plundering bandits.|doi-access=free }}</ref> Since the Charans were deemed [[Sacrosanctity|sacrosanct]] and causing them harm was considered a [[sin]], they were chosen as [[Surety|sureties]] whenever a [[Law|legal]] guarantee was required. Therefore, important [[pact]]s, [[engagement]]s, transfers, [[Debt collection|recovery of debts]], [[Financial transaction|transactions]], and even the signing of [[Treaty|treaties]] were always presided by a Charan. Records indicate, they also served as sureties for the collection of land [[revenue]] from the sixteenth century down to 1816.<ref name=":10" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Schaflechner |first=Jürgen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=khBADwAAQBAJ |title=Hinglaj Devi: Identity, Change, and Solidification at a Hindu Temple in Pakistan |date=2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-085052-4 |language=en |quote=Charans were also warrantors for contracts, guaranteeing adherence to certain agreements between two parties with their lives.}}</ref>
 
In the cases when these contracts were not honoured or when the Charans themselves were subjected to an [[injustice]], they would [[wound]], even [[The Immolation|immolate]], or [[Mutilation|mutilate]] themselves, thus casting [[curse]] of the death of a Charan on the [[Crime|offender]]. The mark of the [[dagger]], signifying the threat of self-sacrifice, served as their [[signature]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rao |first1=Aparna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KmyqPwAACAAJ |title=Nomadism in South Asia |last2=Casimir |first2=Michael J. |date=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-569890-9 |language=en |quote=One of their functions was the witnessing and guaranteeing of important transactions. Their power of enforcement lay in the threat to kill themselves, if necessary, to bring supernatural forces to bear against the violator.}}</ref>
 
Morever, they were the traditional arbitrators of [[Conflict of interest|conflicts]] between the various Rajput clans or branches. Rajput clans would send their [[Family|families]] and [[child]]ren to the homes of Charans for [[safeguarding]] during times of [[violence]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Sabita |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0bSmDwAAQBAJ |title=The Politics of Marriage in India: Gender and Alliance in Rajasthan |date=2019-05-27 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-909828-6 |language=en |quote=The Charans were also used by the rulers for political negotiations as is evident from the fact that in the case of enmity between Rathore Rao Rinmal of Sojat (son of Rao Chuda) and Bhattis, the Bhattis sent Charan Sandhayach to plead with Rinmal not to trouble them. He succeeded in his task, which led to the establishment of matrimonial alliance between the two sides....Also, the importance of the Charans in the social structure of Rajasthan can be assessed from the fact that the Ranis (queens), who had young children, but had resolved to commit sati, would hand over their children to the care of the Charans, indicating the kind of trust that they enjoyed. There are examples of handing over children to the Brahmins also, but these examples are far less than those of the Charans.}}</ref> The role of messengers and mediators was taken over by Charans in [[negotiation]]s between [[Hostility|hostile]] or warring groups.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chatterji |first1=Anjali |last2=Chatterjee |first2=Anjali |date=2000 |title=Sectional President's Address: ASPECTS OF MEDIEVAL INDIAN SOCIETY: GLEANINGS FROM CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44148098 |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=61 |pages=196–241 |jstor=44148098 |issn=2249-1937 |quote=Due to their intimate relation with rulers charans enjoyed their confidence and often they acted as mediators in political affairs and also enjoy hereditary Jagirs i.e., Sasan rights.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Saran |first1=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=plP7DwAAQBAJ |title=The Mertiyo Rathors of Merto, Rajasthan: Select Translations Bearing on the History of a Rajput Family, 1462-1660, Volumes 1-2 |last2=Ziegler |first2=Norman P. |date=2001 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=978-0-472-03821-3 |language=en |quote=Caran Jhuto appears in this passage as a go-between. Carans in Rajasthan, because of their sacred status, often assumed this role in negotiations between hostile or warring groups.}}</ref> They acted as [[Diplomat|emissaries]] in times of war.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Allen |first1=Charles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BSNtEAAAQBAJ |title=Lives of the Indian Princes |last2=Dwivedi |first2=Sharada |date=1984 |publisher=BPI Publishing |isbn=978-81-86982-05-1 |language=en |quote=They also acted as intermediaries in negotiating marriages, in guaranteeing the settlement of debts and disputes and as emissaries in times of war.}}</ref> Even the [[British Raj|British]] called upon the Charans to mediate the [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]] peace agreements of the early nineteenth century.<ref name=":10" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Desert Frontier: A History of Travel and Nomadism |url=https://www.sahapedia.org/the-desert-frontier-history-of-travel-and-nomadism |access-date=2022-07-14 |website=Sahapedia |language=en |quote=The Charans acted as arbitrators and guarantors in dealings and agreements between Rajputs, once again resorting to taga if one party did not keep his end of the bargain. Such glorification of death worked in a society dominated by a Rajput community that set great store by dying in the battlefield for Rajput men and by self-immolation for their women.}}</ref>
 
The British colonial intervention in the administration of the [[princely state]]s, in time, brought decline in these functions of the Charans.<ref name=":9" /> However, well into the colonial period, Charans continued to perform this long-standing functions of theirs, to serve as [[witness]]es or guarantors in commercial transactions and financial contracts.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Snodgrass |first=Jeffrey G. |date=2004 |title=The Centre Cannot Hold: Tales of Hierarchy and Poetic Composition from Modern Rajasthan |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3804151 |journal=The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=261–285 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9655.2004.00189.x |jstor=3804151 |issn=1359-0987 |quote=Well into the colonial period, however, Charans continued to perform one of their other long-standing functions, which was to serve as witnesses or guarantors to commercial transactions and financial contracts. Some also carried on as providers of a related service, which was to act as guarantors of the security of caravans conveying goods in transit....Not least among these was the fact that the British might have seen royal bards – as arbitrators of disputes, witnesses to contracts and agreements, protectors of hostages, educators of kings and their offspring, composers of history, and indeed establishers of truth – as competitors of a kind and thus sought to eliminate them (Vidal 1997).}}</ref> Prior to the Charans revolting during the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]], they were part of the `loyal’ Central Gujrat British network, acting as mediators between princes and the [[people]], or [[prince]]s and the [[British Raj|British]].<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |date=2017-11-25 |title=Gujarat in 1857 – When Hindus and Muslims fought together |url=https://www.tribunehindi.com/gujarat-in-1857-when-hindus-and-muslims-fought-together/ |access-date=2022-07-14 |website=Tribunehindi.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
 
=== Traders and merchants ===
<blockquote>They took advantage of their sacred position by assuming the occupation of carriers and traders as they were exempted from the payment of customs duties in [[Rajputana]] and the adjacent regions of [[Malwa]] and [[Gujarat]] in the pre-colonial period.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vashishtha |first=Professor V.K. |date=2016 |title=Transformation in the Position of Charan Community in Rajputana States during Colonial Period |url=http://rajhisco.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Vol-31.pdf |journal=Rajasthan History Congress |volume=31 |pages=155–166 |via=RAJHISCO}}</ref></blockquote>Exercising their privilege to transport [[goods]] between various states with [[impunity]] and utilising the large wealth of [[cattle]] as pack animals, Charans were able to establish a "virtual [[monopoly]] of trade in North-Western India". Many Charans are said to have become wealthy [[merchant]]s and [[Money lenders|money-lenders]]. Their caravans were considered to be insured against [[Banditry|bandits]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Matheson|first=Sylvia A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dCVuAAAAMAAJ|title=Rajasthan, Land of Kings|date=1984|publisher=Vendome Press|isbn=978-0-86565-046-6|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> In Rajasthan, the Kachhela Charans excelled as merchants.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Choudhry |first=P. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5K-1AAAAIAAJ |title=Rajasthan Between the Two World Wars, 1919-1939 |date=1968 |publisher=Sri Ram Mehra |language=en |quote="The Kachela Charans were traders . They were shrewd merchants and lighter dues were levied on them than on others."}}</ref>
 
Utilizing their favourable position since they had "exemption from perpetual and harassing imposts...they gradually became chief carriers and [[Trade route|traders]]". In Mallani, Charans were described as "large traders" possessing great privileges as a [[sacred]] race being exempted from local [[tariff|dues]] throughout [[Marwar]].<ref name=":2" />
 
Charan traders took large caravans of bullocks north to [[Marwar]] and [[Hindustan]], and east to [[Malwa]] through [[Gujarat]]. They traded in various commodities including [[ivory]], [[coconut]]s, [[alum]], and dry [[Date palm|dates]] which they take from [[Kutch district|Kutch]] while bringing back [[Maize|corn]] and [[tobacco]] from Marwar & Hindustan. [[Ivory]], brought from [[Africa]] to [[Mandvi]] in [[Gujarat]], was bought by Charan traders in return for [[grain]] and coarse [[Textile|cloth]]. From there, they transported ivory to be sold in Marwar.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Hooja|first=Rima|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tosMAQAAMAAJ|title=A History of Rajasthan|date=2006|publisher=Rupa & Company|isbn=978-81-291-0890-6|language=en}}</ref>
 
By late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, they emerged as major [[Supply chain|suppliers]] of [[goods]] and [[weapon]]ry to the warring [[Army|armies]] of [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]], [[Rajput]], and other factions. They sold their goods in the markets ranging from [[Punjab]] to [[Maharashtra]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bagchi |first=Amiya Kumar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0wX1TW3MvhcC |title=Capital and Labour Redefined: India and the Third World |date=2002 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-1-84331-068-6 |language=en}}</ref>
 
The [[Salt road|Salt-Trade]] in Marwar involved thousands of people & pack animals like [[ox]]en & [[camel]]s. Charans along with Pushkarna [[Brahmin]]s and [[Bhil people|Bhils]] were engaged in salt-trade and exempted from the payment of custom duties. Kachhela Charans from [[Sindhari]] used to collect salt from [[Tilwara|Talwara]] & sell in other parts of [[Marwar]]. Charans were seen as, “great traders...who...paid no dues and in troubled times when [[Looting|plunder]] was rife...although trading with thousands of rupees worth of property were never molested”.<ref name=":2" />
 
The Charan traders made their encampments as fortified settlements whenever a long hault was required, either due to the long journey or as safeguard against lawless bandits and periodical rains. Sometimes, these fortified settlements evolved as [[Fortification|forts]] such as those of [[Bhainsrorgarh]]. Some of the Charan merchants were the privileged carriers of the Rajawaras (kingdoms) and thus had direct communication with the royal household. Their caravans also consisted of armies to safeguard their goods and encampments. Documents of princely states like [[Kota State|Kota]] records the names of several Charans as the affluent merchants of the region with their huge caravans trading with markets in western India.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last=Upadhyaya |first=Rashmi |date=2010 |title=The Position of Charans in Medieval Rajasthan |url=http://rajhisco.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/RAJHISCO-Vol-26A.pdf |journal=Rajasthan History Congress |volume=26 |pages=31–38 |via=rajhisco}}</ref>
 
The establishment of [[British Raj|British]] hegemony in northwestern India and subsequent colonial intervention on trade practices such as [[monopoly]] on [[salt]] and introduction of [[Rail transport|railways]] affected overall trading patterns leading to irreversible decline of communities in transportation business including Charans, [[Lohana]]s, and [[Banjara]]s. As a result, some of them settled as traders and [[Loan|money-lenders]] while others took to [[agriculture]].<ref name=":2" />
 
[[James Tod]] in the eighteenth century commented on the Kachhela Charans in [[Mewar]] who were traders by profession: <blockquote>It was a novel and interesting scene: the manly persons of the Charans, clad in the flowing white robe, with the high loose folded [[turban]] inclined on one side, from which the ''mala'', or chaplet, was gracefully suspended; the ''Naiks'', or leaders, with their massive [[necklace]]s of [[gold]], with the image of the ''pitresvaras'' (the ancestors) depending therefrom, gave the whole an air of opulence and dignity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Niyogi |first=Chandreyee |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xIFjDwAAQBAJ |title=Reorienting Orientalism |date=2006-04-05 |publisher=SAGE Publishing India |isbn=978-93-5280-548-8 |pages=78 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last=Weinberger-Thomas |first=Catherine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3wPthVcxWGkC |title=Ashes of Immortality: Widow-Burning in India |date=1999 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-88568-1 |language=en}}</ref></blockquote>
 
=== Protectors of mercantile trade ===
<blockquote>The Charans held the reputation of defending the merchandise entrusted to their charge through [[sword]] and shield if necessary; or else, if outnumbered, by threatening to take, or even taking, their own life.<ref name=":3" /></blockquote>Charans were described as "greatest carriers of goods" for delivery in important centres of [[Malpura]], [[Pali, Rajasthan|Pali]], [[Sojat]], [[Ajmer]], and [[Bhilwara]] by acting as escorts(bailers).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rajasthan, District Gazetteers: Pali|url=http://indianculture.gov.in/gazettes/rajasthan-district-gazetteers-pali-0|access-date=2022-01-14|website=INDIAN CULTURE|language=en}}</ref> Throughout Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Malwa (Madhya Pradesh), Charans acted as escorts and protectors of mercantile trade throughout the journey.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sato (Professor.) |first=Masanori |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JSxuAAAAMAAJ |title=Economy and Polity of Rajasthan: Study of Kota and Marwar, 17th-19th Centuries |date=1997 |publisher=Publication Scheme |isbn=978-81-86782-14-9 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Bhargava">{{Cite book |last=Bhargava |first=Hem Bala |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iFFuAAAAMAAJ |title=Royalty, Feudalism, and Gender: As Portrayed by Foreign Travellers |date=2000 |publisher=Rawat Publications |isbn=978-81-7033-616-7 |pages=192 |language=en |quote=Heber writes that not only in Rajputana but in the wilder districts of South-west more war-like Charans were found. In Gujarat and Malwa the merchants and travellers hired Charans to protect them through their journey.}}</ref> The route of the caravans was through [[Suigam]]([[Gujarat]]), [[Sanchore|Sanchor]], [[Bhinmal]], [[Jalore|Jalor]] to [[Pali, Rajasthan|Pali]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Rajput States and the East India Company|url=http://indianculture.gov.in/ebooks/rajput-states-and-east-india-company|access-date=2022-01-14|website=INDIAN CULTURE|language=en}}</ref> The inviolability of a Charan along with their knowledge of the [[trade route]]s distinguished them as ideal caravan escorts.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Living goddesses, past and present in North-west India, German Scholars on India – Global InCH- International Journal of Intangible Cultural Heritage|url=https://globalinch.org/bibliography/living-goddesses-past-and-present-in-north-west-india-german-scholars-onindia/|access-date=2022-01-14|language=en-US}}</ref> Caravans of [[horse]]s, [[camel]]s and pack [[ox]]en carrying various [[Commodity|commodities]] passed through desolate stretches of [[desert]] & forested hills which were always under threat of [[Banditry|bandits]] & dacoits. Charans acted as the protectors & escorts.  As caravan protectors, "[[sacred]] Charans" thwarted the attempts of bandits.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Chandra|first=Yashaswini|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VawSEAAAQBAJ|title=The Tale of the Horse: A History of India on Horseback|date=2021-01-22|publisher=Pan Macmillan|isbn=978-93-89109-92-4|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Paul|first=Kim|date=1993-01-01|title=Negotiating sacred space: The Mandirand the Oran as contested sites|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00856409308723191|journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies|volume=16|issue=sup001|pages=49–60|doi=10.1080/00856409308723191|issn=0085-6401}}</ref>
 
If not strong enough to defend their [[convoy]] with [[sword]] and [[shield]], they would threaten to kill themselves. Given the position of Charans in the socio-cultural system of the time, the wilful killing of a Charan was equivalent to equally abominable crime of killing a Brahmin. As such, if a Charan did commit suicide over any transgression of the caravans under his guardianship, the marauder-robbers responsible for the suicide were deemed to have "earned the sin of a Charan's death, with all its post-life connotations of hell-fire and damnation." Thus, under the safety of Charans, commodities were transported from one region to another.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hunter|first=William Wilson|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8tAOzgEACAAJ|title=The Imperial Gazetteer Of India (Volume Xxi) Pushkar To Salween|date=2020-11-19|publisher=Alpha Editions|isbn=978-93-5421-782-1|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Sahai|first=Nandita Prasad|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AttHAAAAMAAJ|title=Politics of Patronage and Protest: The State, Society, and Artisans in Early Modern Rajasthan|date=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-567896-3|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Kothiyal |first=Tanuja |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IQS-DAAAQBAJ |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 |quote="The genealogists for Charans were Brahmins from Ujjain who periodically inscribed their genealogies in their accounts."}}</ref><ref name=":3" />
 
=== Horse trade ===
[[Horse trading|Horse trade]] was one of the prominent occupations of Charans.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Jansen|first1=Jan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GLJkAAAAMAAJ|title=Epic Adventures: Heroic Narrative in the Oral Performance Traditions of Four Continents|last2=Maier|first2=Hendrik M. J.|date=2004|publisher=Lit|isbn=978-3-8258-6758-4|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Deva|first=B. Chaitanya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=11bjCwAAQBAJ|title=INTRODUCTION TO INDIAN MUSIC|date=1992|publisher=Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India|isbn=978-81-230-2103-4|language=en}}</ref> Some Charan sub-groups like Kachhela Charans(from [[Kutch district|Kutch]] & [[Sindh]]) and Sorathia Charans(from [[Kathiawar]]) were historically engaged in horse breeding & trading.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wtUSAQAAMAAJ|title=Social Scientist|date=2005|publisher=Indian School of Social Sciences.|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Dutson|first=Judith|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PS6zop4lVSUC|title=Storey's Illustrated Guide to 96 Horse Breeds of North America|date=2012-05-07|publisher=Storey Publishing|isbn=978-1-60342-918-4|language=en}}</ref> The common connection of horses also led to bonds between Charans & the [[Kathi people|Kathi]] tribe. Some Kuchela Charans settled around Mallani ([[Barmer district|Barmer]], Rajasthan) in western [[Rajasthan]] which was notable for its horse-breeding. [[Marwari horse]]s from this area came to be known as Mallani horses. By the 18th century, most of the horse trade business in the [[Bikaner State|Bikaner]] kingdom was controlled by Charans, besides [[Afghans]]. Charan horse dealers were considered to be very well networked. In another example of the clout of horse-trading Charans, a Charan from the Kachhela subgroup arrived at the court of [[Marwar]] ruler, [[Takht Singh|Maharaja Takhat Singh]], under the auspices of the sect leader of [[Nath|Nath Sampradaya]], and marketed his horses, with 10 horses being directly purchased by the ruler himself.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Kamphorst|first=Janet|url=http://site.ebrary.com/id/10314656|title=In praise of death: history and poetry in medieval Marwar (South Asia)|date=2008|publisher=Leiden University Press|isbn=978-90-485-0603-3|location=Leiden|oclc=614596834}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Saxena|first=Rajendra Kumar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RRbtAAAAMAAJ|title=Karkhanas of the Mughal Zamindars: A Study in the Economic Development of 18th Century Rajputana|date=2002|publisher=Publication Scheme|isbn=978-81-86782-75-0|language=en}}</ref>


The [[Salt road|Salt-Trade]] in Marwar involved thousands of people & pack animals like [[Ox|oxen]] & [[Camel|camels]]. Charans along with Pushkarna [[Brahmin|Brahmins]] and [[Bhil people|Bhils]] were engaged in salt-trade and exempted from the payment of custom duties. Kachela Charans from [[Sindhari]] used to collect salt from [[Tilwara|Talwara]] & sell in other parts of [[Marwar]].<ref name=":2" />
=== Caravan Protectors ===
<blockquote>The Charans held the reputation of defending the merchandise entrusted to their charge through sword and shield if necessary; or else, if outnumbered, by threatening to take, or even taking, their own life.<ref name=":3" /></blockquote>Charans were described as “greatest carriers of goods” for delivery in important centres of [[Malpura]], [[Pali, Rajasthan|Pali]], [[Sojat]], [[Ajmer]], and [[Bhilwara]] by acting as escorts(bailers).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rajasthan, District Gazetteers: Pali|url=http://indianculture.gov.in/gazettes/rajasthan-district-gazetteers-pali-0|access-date=2022-01-14|website=INDIAN CULTURE|language=en}}</ref> The route of the caravans was through [[Suigam]]([[Gujarat]]), [[Sanchore|Sanchor]], [[Bhinmal]], [[Jalore|Jalor]] to [[Pali, Rajasthan|Pali]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Rajput States and the East India Company|url=http://indianculture.gov.in/ebooks/rajput-states-and-east-india-company|access-date=2022-01-14|website=INDIAN CULTURE|language=en}}</ref> The inviolability of a Charan along with their knowledge of the [[Trade route|trade routes]] distinguished them as ideal caravan escorts.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Living goddesses, past and present in North-west India, German Scholars on India – Global InCH- International Journal of Intangible Cultural Heritage|url=https://globalinch.org/bibliography/living-goddesses-past-and-present-in-north-west-india-german-scholars-onindia/|access-date=2022-01-14|language=en-US}}</ref> Caravans of [[Horse|horses]], [[Camel|camels]] and pack [[Ox|oxen]] carrying various [[Commodity|commodities]] passed through desolate stretches of [[desert]] & forested hills which were always under threat of [[Banditry|bandits]] & dacoits. Charans acted as the protectors & escorts. As caravan protectors, "[[sacred]] Charans" thwarted the attempts of bandits.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Chandra|first=Yashaswini|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VawSEAAAQBAJ|title=The Tale of the Horse: A History of India on Horseback|date=2021-01-22|publisher=Pan Macmillan|isbn=978-93-89109-92-4|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Paul|first=Kim|date=1993-01-01|title=Negotiating sacred space: The Mandirand the Oran as contested sites|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00856409308723191|journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies|volume=16|issue=sup001|pages=49–60|doi=10.1080/00856409308723191|issn=0085-6401}}</ref> If not strong enough to defend their [[convoy]] with [[sword]] and [[shield]], they would threaten to kill themselves. Given the position of Charans in the socio-cultural system of the time, the wilful killing of a Charan was equivalent to equally abominable crime of killing a Brahmin. As such, if a Charan did commit suicide over any transgression of the caravans under his guardianship, the marauder-robbers responsible for the suicide were deemed to have "earned the sin of a Charan’s death, with all its post-life connotations of hell-fire and damnation." Thus, under the safety of Charans, commodities were transported from one region to another.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hunter|first=William Wilson|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8tAOzgEACAAJ|title=The Imperial Gazetteer Of India (Volume Xxi) Pushkar To Salween|date=2020-11-19|publisher=Alpha Editions|isbn=978-93-5421-782-1|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Sahai|first=Nandita Prasad|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AttHAAAAMAAJ|title=Politics of Patronage and Protest: The State, Society, and Artisans in Early Modern Rajasthan|date=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-567896-3|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Kothiyal|first=Tanuja|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IQS-DAAAQBAJ|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><ref name=":3" />
=== Horse Trade ===
[[Horse trading|Horse trade]] was one of the prominent occupations of Charans.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Jansen|first1=Jan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GLJkAAAAMAAJ|title=Epic Adventures: Heroic Narrative in the Oral Performance Traditions of Four Continents|last2=Maier|first2=Hendrik M. J.|date=2004|publisher=Lit|isbn=978-3-8258-6758-4|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Deva|first=B. Chaitanya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=11bjCwAAQBAJ|title=INTRODUCTION TO INDIAN MUSIC|date=1992|publisher=Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India|isbn=978-81-230-2103-4|language=en}}</ref> Some Charan sub-groups like Kachela Charans(from [[Kutch district|Kutch]] & [[Sindh]]) and Sorathia Charans(from [[Kathiawar]]) were historically engaged in horse breeding & trading.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wtUSAQAAMAAJ|title=Social Scientist|date=2005|publisher=Indian School of Social Sciences.|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Dutson|first=Judith|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PS6zop4lVSUC|title=Storey's Illustrated Guide to 96 Horse Breeds of North America|date=2012-05-07|publisher=Storey Publishing|isbn=978-1-60342-918-4|language=en}}</ref> The common connection of horses also led to bonds between Charans & the [[Kathi people|Kathi]] tribe. Some Kuchela Charans settled around Mallani([[Barmer district|Barmer]], Rajasthan) in western [[Rajasthan]] which was notable for its horse-breeding. [[Marwari horse|Marwari horses]] from this area came to be known as Mallani horses. By the 18th century, most of the horse trade business in the [[Bikaner State|Bikaner]] kingdom was controlled by Charans, besides [[Afghans]]. Charan horse dealers were considered to be very well networked. In another example of the clout of horse-trading Charans, a Charan from the Kachela subgroup arrived at the court of [[Marwar]] ruler, [[Takht Singh|Maharaja Takhat Singh]], under the auspices of the sect leader of [[Nath|Nath Sampradaya]], and marketed his horses, with 10 horses being directly purchased by the ruler himself. <ref>{{Cite book|last=Kamphorst|first=Janet|url=http://site.ebrary.com/id/10314656|title=In praise of death: history and poetry in medieval Marwar (South Asia)|date=2008|publisher=Leiden University Press|isbn=978-90-485-0603-3|location=Leiden|oclc=614596834}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Saxena|first=Rajendra Kumar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RRbtAAAAMAAJ|title=Karkhanas of the Mughal Zamindars: A Study in the Economic Development of 18th Century Rajputana|date=2002|publisher=Publication Scheme|isbn=978-81-86782-75-0|language=en}}</ref>
== Social structure ==
== Social structure ==
Traditionally, the Charans worked as [[Bards]] and [[Genealogists]].<ref name="Thapar2013">{{cite book | author = Romila Thapar | date = 14 October 2013 | title = The Past Before Us | publisher = Harvard University Press | pages = 81– | isbn = 978-0-674-72651-2 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=aei9AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA81}}</ref><ref name="Guha2019">{{cite book | author = Sumit Guha | date = 1 November 2019 | title = History and Collective Memory in South Asia, 1200–2000 | publisher = University of Washington Press | pages = 56– | isbn = 978-0-295-74623-4 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KHa7DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA56}}</ref><ref name="Talbot2016">{{cite book | author = Cynthia Talbot | date = 2016 | title = The Last Hindu Emperor: Prithviraj Cauhan and the Indian Past, 1200–2000 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | pages = 163– | isbn = 978-1-107-11856-0 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=m3DjCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA163}}</ref><ref name="Perez2004">{{cite book | author = Rosa Maria Perez | date = 2004 | title = Kings and Untouchables: A Study of the Caste System in Western India | publisher = Orient Blackswan | pages = 75– | isbn = 9788180280146 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GDRWAglUumEC&pg=PA75}}</ref><ref name="Tambs-Lyche2017">{{cite book|author=Harald Tambs-Lyche|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AOsrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT88|title=Transaction and Hierarchy: Elements for a Theory of Caste|date=9 August 2017|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-351-39396-6|pages=130|quote="Charans are affiliated, by their past history as buffalo herders, to the pastoralist estate. Some Charans, indeed, still herd buffaloes." "Their vegetarian, non-violent and economically puritan ethos conflicts with the Charan tradition, marked by the aristocratic values...Some Charan bards received lands in jagir for their services, and in parts of Marwar, certain Charan families were effectively Darbars."}}</ref>


Members of the caste are considered to be divine by a large section of society. Women of the caste are adored as mother goddesses by other major communities of this region including, [[Khatris]] and [[Rajput|Rajputs]].<ref name="Shah">{{cite journal|last1=Shah |first1=A. M. |last2=Shroff |first2=R. G. |title=The Vahivanca Barots of Gujarat: A Caste of Genealogists and Mythographers |journal=Journal of American Folk-Lore |volume=71 |issue=281 |pages=246–276 |year=1958| doi=10.2307/538561| jstor= 538561 }}</ref> For centuries, Charans were known for their reputation of preferring to die rather than break a promise.<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica">{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Caran |title=Cāraṇ, Hindu caste |website=Britannica.com}}</ref>
Members of the caste are considered to be divine by a large section of society. Women of the caste are adored as mother goddesses by other major communities of this region including, [[Khatris]] and [[Rajput]]s.<ref name="Shah">{{cite journal|last1=Shah |first1=A. M. |last2=Shroff |first2=R. G. |title=The Vahivanca Barots of Gujarat: A Caste of Genealogists and Mythographers |journal=Journal of American Folk-Lore |volume=71 |issue=281 |pages=246–276 |year=1958| doi=10.2307/538561| jstor= 538561 }}</ref> For centuries, Charans were known for their reputation of preferring to die rather than break a promise.<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica">{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Caran |title=Cāraṇ, Hindu caste |website=Britannica.com}}</ref> Charan society is based on written [[genealogy]]. A Charan will consider all the other Charans as equal even if they do not know each other and have radically different economic or geographic status.<ref name="Thomson">{{cite journal|author=Thomson, G. R.|title=Charans of Gujarat: Caste Identity, Music and Cultural Change|journal= Ethnomusicology| volume=35| issue=3| pages=381–391|year=1991|doi=10.2307/851968|jstor=851968}}</ref> Charan men are also known as the sacrosanct guides of camel and pack oxen and caravans through Thar desert and as traders in horses, wool and salts , suppliers of food and [[weapon]]ry to armies.<ref name=":5" />
 
Anil Chandra Banerjee, a professor of history, has said that {{blockquote|In them we have a combination of the traditional characteristics of the [[Brahmin]] and the [[Kshatriyas]]. Like the Brahmins, they adopted literary pursuits and accepted gifts. Like the [[Rajput]], they worshipped [[Shakti]] and engaged in [[military]] activities. They stood at the front gate of the fort to receive the first blow of the [[sword]].<ref name="Banerjee">{{cite book |last=Banerjee |first=Anil Chandra.|title=Aspects of Rajput State and Society |pages=124–125 |year=1983|oclc = 12236372}}</ref>}} Banerjee's opinion is shared by another historian, G. N. Sharma, who said that
 
{{blockquote|Charans exercise great respectability and [[Social influence|influence]] in [[Rajasthan]]. The speciality of the caste is that it combines in its character the characteristics of [[Rajputs]] and [[Brahmans]] in an adequate manner.<ref>{{cite book | last=Sharma |first=G. N. |title =Social Life in Medieval Rajasthan |publisher=Lakshmi Narayan Agarwal Educational Publisher |place=Agra |page=111 |year=1968 |url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.120777/2015.120777.Social-Life-In-Medieval-Rajasthan-1500-1800-A-D#page/n109/mode/2up}}</ref>}}
 
=== Clans and divisions ===
Based on regions inhabited and associated culture, there are multiple [[Endogamy|endogamous]] sections among the Charans such as Maru ([[Rajasthan]] & [[Sindh]]), Kachhela ([[Kutch district|Kutch]]), Sorath ([[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]]), Parajia, [[Malwa]] ([[Madhya Pradesh]]), etc. Clans among Maru-Charans are Roharia, [[Detha]], Ratnu, Ashiya, Mehru, Kiniya, [[Sauda (Charan clan)|Sauda]], Arha, etc. Kachhelas are divided into 7 main exogamous clans: Nara, Chorada, Chunva, Avsura, Maru, Bati, and Tumbel.<ref name=":16">{{Cite book |last1=Westphal-Hellbusch |first1=Sigrid |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zDof2aYhnP4C |title=Hinduistische Viehzüchter im nord-westlichen Indien |last2=Westphal |first2=Heinz |publisher=Duncker & Humblot |isbn=978-3-428-43745-0 |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gahlot |first1=Sukhvir Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DuAtAAAAMAAJ |title=Castes and Tribes of Rajasthan |last2=Dhar |first2=Banshi |date=1989 |publisher=Jain Brothers |isbn=978-81-85287-00-3 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=Choudhry |first=P. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5K-1AAAAIAAJ |title=Rajasthan Between the Two World Wars, 1919-1939 |date=1968 |publisher=Sri Ram Mehra |language=en |quote="Charans are mentioned even in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Though some of them are found even in Gujrat and Kathiawar, yet it is Rajputana with which they are mainly associated and thus require a special mention. Like the Rajputs they claim a divine origin and were always treated with the greatest respect by Rajputs."}}</ref>
 
== History ==
 
=== Etymology ===
The word ''chāraṇa'' is believed to originate from the [[Sanskrit]] root ''cāra'' signifying 'motion'.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Piliavsky |first=Anastasia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tbp2AQAACAAJ |title=Theft, Patronage & Society in Western India |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University |language=en}}</ref> This derivation relates to the Charanas as being the [[Persona|literary persons]], as poets and agents of devotion (''bhakti'') to the gods. As a root, ''cara'' may also imply their [[pastoral]] adaptation. As such, ''chāraṇa'' has been used to denote 'wanderer', 'eulogist of the gods', 'offspring of the [[goddess]]', etc. The meanings attributed to the name ''chāraṇa'' also reflect the various identities ascribed to the Charanas.<ref name=":5" />
 
===Mythological Origins ===
The Charana beliefs of origin vary in details but are similar in major aspects on being a ''ganas'' of [[Shiva]]. The ancestor of the Charanas is represented as the creation of Shiva and [[Shakti]] (sometimes [[Sati (Hindu goddess)|Sati]], [[Parvati]]) to shepherd the celestial bull, [[Nandi (Hinduism)|Nandi]]. According to an origin legend, Shiva created the Charana who had to tend to four animals of incompatible kinds, namely a [[lion]], a [[Snake|serpent]], a [[Cattle|cow]] and a [[goat]]. The lion attacked the cow and the serpent attacked the lion, but the Charana sacrificed [[flesh]] of his arm to pacify them and was thus able to keep them all safe. The legend is be understood allegorically, with the lion representing [[violence]] and Nandi, the bull of Shiva, symbolizing [[justice]]. So the Charana, being the [[Protection|guardian]], will not allow force to triumph over justice.<ref name=":16" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":17">{{Cite book |last=Tambs-Lyche |first=Harald |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ntuAAAAMAAJ |title=Power, Profit, and Poetry: Traditional Society in Kathiawar, Western India |date=1996-12-31 |publisher=Manohar Publishers & Distributors |isbn=978-81-7304-176-1 |language=en}}</ref>
 
As a progression of the legend, the Charana marries the [[Nāga]] maiden, ''Āvaḍ'' (or ''Āveri''), the daughter of [[Shesha|''Śeṣa Nāga'']], the chief of the Nāgas. From her, he gets two sons and a daughter. So, the divine Charanas are married to Nāga maidens, and Narā, either son or descendent of the first Charana descends to earth to become ancestor of the mortal Charanas.<ref name=":16" /><ref name=":17" />


Charan society is based on written [[genealogy]]. A Charan will consider all the other Charans as equal even if they do not know each other and have radically different economic or geographic status.<ref name="Thomson">{{cite journal|author=Thomson, G. R.|title=Charans of Gujarat: Caste Identity, Music and Cultural Change|journal= Ethnomusicology| volume=35| issue=3| pages=381–391|year=1991|doi=10.2307/851968|jstor=851968}}</ref>
Other major narratives allude to their historical function as royal poets and historians. The Charanas were originally divine beings ranking with the [[Gandharva|Gandharvas]] and [[Vidyadhara|Vidyadharas]]. In time, like certain other divine classes, the Charanas settled on [[earth]], and became the [[Bard|bards]] of kings. Multiple accounts describe the Charanas' transformation from celestial to human beings. These accounts concur that the divine predecessors of the Charanas resided in the [[Mount Meru|Sumeru]] mountains alongside celestial beings. Due to overpopulation, the Charanas relocated to Earth, establishing their initial human abode in the Himalayas.<ref name=":17" />


Charan men are also known as the sacrosanct guides of camel and pack oxen and carvans through Thar desert and as traders in horses, wool and salts , suppliers of food and [[Weapon|weaponry]] to armies
Renowned 19th-century scholar, [[Suryamal Misran|Suryamall]] in his text of history, ''Vaṃśa Bhāskara'', details another narrative in which ''Āryamitra'', last of the [[Sūta|Sūtas]] and descendent of sage [[Ugrashravas|Lomaharshana]], does a penance in [[Himalayas]] to please Lord Shiva and is rewarded by the epithet of the 'Chāraṇa' after he shepherds the celestial bull, Nandi. As a boon, Lord Shiva marries him with the Nāga maiden, ''Āvaḍ (Āvari)'', daughter of [[Vasuki|Vāsuki]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mehara |first=Jahūrakhām̐ |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mksFAAAAMAAJ |title=Dhara majalāṃ, Dhara kosāṃ |date=1984 |publisher=Rājasthānī Granthāgāra |language=hi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sāndū |first=Nārāyaṇa Siṃha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XKhjAAAAMAAJ |title=Kuṃbhakaraṇa Sāndū |date=1993 |publisher=Mahārājā Mānasiṃha Pustaka Prakāśa Śodha-Kendra |language=hi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bhāṭī |first=Nārāyaṇasiṃha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vrksAAAAIAAJ |title=Prācīna Ḍiṅgala Gīta Sāhitya: Rājasthāna ke Viśāla Ḍiṅgala Gīta Sāhitya kā Śāstrīya Adhyayana |date=1989 |publisher=Rājasthānī Granthāgāra |language=hi}}</ref>
[https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/12986]
 
The maternal ancestry of the Charanas from the Nāgas also factored into historical relationships with other communities. In regions of Gujarat, Charanas traditionally referred to the persons of [[Rajput]], [[Ahir]] and [[Kathi people|Kathi]] communties as ''māmā'' (MoBr) and were in-turn called as ''bhāṇej'' (SiSo). This was ascribed to the Charana belief of these communities emerging from the Nāgas, i.e., the [[Ahir|Ahirs]] are said to be descended from ''Ahi-nāga'' and [[Kathi people|Kathis]] from ''[[Karkotaka]]''.<ref name=":16" /><ref name=":1" />
 
As illustrated by the various narratives, the Charanas placed exalted importance on themselves and their origin.<ref name=":16" />
 
=== Emergence in Rajput polity ===
Charanas played a crucial role in Rajput society, occupying a position equivalent to Brahmins. As the Rajputs emerged as principal [[Ruler|rulers]] of the region, they needed a [[Value (ethics and social sciences)|value system]] and moral guidance that aligned with their [[warrior]] lifestyle. Charanas fulfilled this role, serving as [[Historian|historians]], literary figures, and genealogists. They composed [[prose]] and [[poetry]], including the famous [[Khyat|''khyātas'']] and ''batās''. Charanas enjoyed the freedom to express themselves and were considered immune from punishment, even when [[Criticism|criticizing]] rulers. Considered ''avadhya,'' to harm or kill a Charan was considered a [[sin]]. They validated the ancestry of Rajput rulers and connected them with legendary Indian rulers of [[Hindu mythology]], legitimizing their authority. In return for their services, Charanas received [[Sasan (land grant)|''sasan'']] or rent-free [[Jagir|jagirs]].<ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last1=Singhi |first1=Narendra Kumar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YEoKAQAAMAAJ |title=Religion, Ritual, and Royalty |last2=Joshi |first2=Rajendra |date=1999 |publisher=Rawat Publications |isbn=978-81-7033-488-0 |language=en |chapter=Charans : The Contextual Dynamics of Caste in the Rajput System}}</ref>
 
The emergence of Charanas as a distinct caste mirrored the change in society, where Brahmins took a back seat. Rajputs, being a [[Military personnel|military people]], required a different value system and [[Religion|religious practices]] and a 'new class of ''[[Pandit|pandits]]''' to legitimize their [[War|military actions]] and to encourage and inspire them for such activities. The conventional notions of [[salvation]] were replaced by the pursuit of a heroic death on the [[battlefield]]. The Rajputs did not adhere to brahminical norms, astrology, or literature, seeking a different type of education for their progeny.<ref name=":03" />
 
As the Rajputs formed a caste, they needed a caste to fulfill the roles Brahmins played under the Kshatriyas. Charanas took on these functions, developing a code of conduct known as ''rajputī'' or 'Rajput Dharma'. They were [[Teacher|teachers]], exponents of [[religion]], and [[Moral|moral guides]] for the ruling class. Their teachings were captured in the verses of Charan literature, emphasizing principles such as [[Courage|valor]], [[loyalty]], [[War|warfare]], and [[Charity (practice)|charity]].<ref name=":03" />
 
In contemporary polity, Charanas held precedence over all other castes inclusive of the brahmin in the customary law of the land.<ref name=":15" /> They were invited to the residences of Rajput [[Tribal chief|chiefs]] and played a vital role in [[Education|educating]] the younger generation about heroic [[Value (ethics and social sciences)|values]] and [[Tradition|traditions]]. Charanas were honored with high positions in the [[Royal court|court]], and the chief offered them the first palm of [[opium]] as a mark of respect. Rajputs prioritized castes that accompanied them in battle, and Charanas fulfilled this role, fighting alongside and making sacrifices.<ref name=":03" />
 
In conclusion, Charanas became the upholders of ''rajputi'' or rajput code of conduct, occupying a position in Rajput society similar to that of Brahmins under the [[Kshatriya|Kshatriyas]]. Their importance and influence were rooted in their pivotal role in shaping the values, educating the youth, and supporting the [[military]] and [[political system]] of the Rajputs.<ref name=":03" />
 
== Culture and ethos ==
Charans mainly worship various forms of [[Shakti]] and incarnations of [[Hinglaj Mata mandir|Hinglaj]]. They greet one another with '''Jai Mataji Ki''<nowiki/>' (Victory to the Mother Goddess).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rajasthan District Gazetteers: Nagaur |url=http://www.indianculture.gov.in/gazettes/rajasthan-district-gazetteers-nagaur |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=INDIAN CULTURE |language=en}}</ref> The women observed social customs such as ''[[purdah]]'' (women seclusion) and [[Women in Hinduism|widow remarriage]] was forbidden.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gaur |first=Meena |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0CmCAAAAMAAJ |title=Sati and Social Reforms in India |date=1989 |publisher=Publication Scheme |isbn=978-81-85263-57-1 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Motilal |first1=Shashi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8PhjajXFKXYC |title=Understanding Social Inequality: Concerns of Human Rights, Gender and Environment |last2=Nanda |first2=Bijayalaxmi |date=2010 |publisher=Macmillan Publishers India |isbn=978-0-230-32849-5 |language=en |quote="In Rajasthan, where the normal age of marriage of girls ranged between seven to sixteen years, most post-pubertal marriages were among the Charans and Brahmins whose daughters did not work outside the home and could be segregated and secluded."}}</ref> Before Indian independence in 1947, a [[sacrifice]] of a male buffalo constituted a major part of the celebration of [[Navratri]].<ref name="harlan">{{cite book |author=Harlan L |title=Goddesses' Henchmen - Gender in Hero Worship |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |place=USA |pages=258}}</ref> Such celebrations quite often used to be presided over by Charan women.<ref name="Matanamadh">{{cite web |year=2006 |title=Matanamadh, Desh Devi Ashapura |url=http://www.matanamadh.org/history.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070626054432/http://www.matanamadh.org/history.html |archive-date=2007-06-26 |access-date=2006-12-23 |publisher=Matanamadh Jagir, Kachchh, India}}</ref>
 
=== Patronized groups ===
There are seven categories of people who are historically patronized by the Charans:''—''<ref name=":15">{{Cite book |last1=Qanungo |first1=Kalika Ranjan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F149AAAAMAAJ |title=Studies in Rajput History |last2=Kānūnago |first2=Kālikā Rañjana |date=1960 |publisher=S. Chand |language=en |quote="there are seven categories of persons and communities, who in their turn have a hereditary claim on the Charan's bounty, and are not allowed to beg of any other community. Besides their kula-guru family of Brahmans living in Ujjain till today, and the purohit (family priest), these are: the Rao Bhat of Chandisa sept of Marwar (who are the Bhats of the Charans as of the Rathors of Marwar); the Rawal Brahmans, the Goind-pota and the Viram-pota (Bhats singing with dhol?) and the Motisar community."}}</ref>
 
# [[Guru|Kulguru]] [[Brahmin]]s: The ''kulguru'' ''brahmins'' of the Charans come from [[Ujjain]] and travel from village to village and register the names of their hosts after receiving [[donation]]s.<ref name=":2" />
# [[Purohita|Purohits]]: [[Priest]]s of Charans from [[Rajpurohit]] (Rajguru) community who also tie [[Raksha Bandhan|rakhi]] (''rakshasutra'') to the Charans.
# [[Rawal (caste)|Rawals]]: The Rawal Brahmins record their genealogy and also present various ''swang'' (forms of dance).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Vidyarthi |first1=Lalita Prasad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CaIiAAAAMAAJ |title=Applied Anthropology and Development in India |last2=Sahay |first2=B. N. |date=1980 |publisher=National |language=en |quote="The Rawals provide entertainment particularly for the people of Charan caste by arranging night long shows.}}</ref>
# [[Motisar (caste)|Motisars]]: Motisars compose [[Poetry|poems]] in honor of Charans.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Prabhākara |first=Manohara |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KXcSAAAAMAAJ |title=A Critical Study of Rajasthani Literature, with Exclusive Reference to the Contribution of Cāraṇas |date=1976 |publisher=Panchsheel Prakashan |language=en |quote="Motisar is a caste which keeps the genealogies of Carans, sings their praises and begs money of them. The Motisars themselves are often good composers."}}</ref>
# [[Bhāts|Bhats]] (Ravaji): They are professional [[Genealogy|genealogists]] of the Charans. They also receive ''neg'' (gifts) on [[marriage]]s. The genealogists of both the Charans and the [[Rathore]]s of [[Marwar]] are from the 'Chandisa' sept of Bhats.
# 3 types of [[Dhol]]is:
## Dhola
## Birampota
## Goyandpota
# [[Manganiar|Manganiyars]]: Hereditary professional [[Folk music|folk-musicians]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Neuman |first1=Daniel M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b30HAQAAMAAJ |title=Bards, Ballads and Boundaries: An Ethnographic Atlas of Music Traditions in West Rajasthan |last2=Chaudhuri |first2=Shubha |last3=Kothari |first3=Komal |date=2005 |publisher=Seagull |isbn=978-1-905422-07-4 |language=en}}</ref>
 
==== Opium usage ====
Charans used to enjoy consumption of [[opium]] (also known as ''Afeem'' or ''Amal'' in regional languages), practices which are also popular among the Rajputs of this region.<ref name="khushwantsingh">{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Khushwant|title=We Indians|publisher=Orient Paperbacks |location=Delhi |year=1982 |oclc=10710940}}</ref> The usage of opium by Charans was considered necessary for important ceremonies & social gatherings. At weddings, the bride and the bridegroom would take opium together in the presence of their kinsmen. Other occasions where it was suitable to take opium were [[Engagement|betrothals]], [[wedding]]s, the [[birth]] of a male child, parting of the [[beard]], reconciliations, at visit of a son-in law, after a death, and on [[festival]]s such as '''Akhatij''<nowiki/>'.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shah |first=P. R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGseAAAAMAAJ |title=Raj Marwar During British Paramountcy: A Study in Problems and Policies Up to 1923 |date=1982 |publisher=Sharda Publishing House |isbn=978-0-7855-1985-0 |language=en |quote="Among Rajputs and Charans the bride and the bridegroom took opium together in the presence of their kinsmen."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mathur |first=U. B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7jVuAAAAMAAJ |title=Treasure-trove of Rajasthan |date=2002 |publisher=Folklorists |isbn=978-81-85129-01-3 |language=en}}</ref> In [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]], during British rule, it was found that around a half of the total opium consumers were from Charan and Rajput communities.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tf-O1EGWbQIC |title=Bulletin on Narcotics |date=1994 |publisher=United Nations, Department of Social Affairs |language=en}}</ref>


Anil Chandra Banerjee, a professor of history, has said that {{quote|In them we have a combination of the traditional characteristics of the Brahmin and the Kshatriyas. Like the Brahmins, they adopted literary pursuits and accepted gifts. Like the Rajput, they worshipped Shakti and engaged in military activities. They stood at the front gate of the fort to receive the first blow of the sword.<ref name="Banerjee">{{cite book |last=Banerjee |first=Anil Chandra.|title=Aspects of Rajput State and Society |pages=124–125 |year=1983|oclc = 12236372}}</ref>}} Banerjee's opinion is shared by another historian, G. N. Sharma, who said that {{quote|Charans exercise great respectability and influence in Rajasthan. The speciality of the caste is that it combines in its character the characteristics of Rajputs and Brahmans in an adequate manner.<ref>{{cite book | last=Sharma |first=G. N. |title =Social Life in Medieval Rajasthan |publisher=Lakshmi Narayan Agarwal Educational Publisher |place=Agra |page=111 |year=1968 |url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.120777/2015.120777.Social-Life-In-Medieval-Rajasthan-1500-1800-A-D#page/n109/mode/2up}}</ref>}}
=== Food and drink ===
Charans used to enjoy consumption of [[opium]] (also known as Afeem in regional languages), practices which are also popular among the Rajputs of this region. But unlike Rajputs, Charan women do not consume liquor. <ref name="khushwantsingh">{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Khushwant|title=We Indians|publisher=Orient Paperbacks |location=Delhi |year=1982 |oclc=10710940}}</ref> Charans do not eat the flesh of cows, and hold those who do in utter disregard. Cows are respected like mothers. Before Indian independence in 1947, a sacrifice of a male buffalo constituted a major part of the celebration of [[Navratri]].<ref name="harlan">{{cite book | author = Harlan L |title =Goddesses' Henchmen - Gender in Hero Worship |publisher = Oxford University Press |place = USA |pages =258| year = 2003}}</ref> Such celebrations quite often used to be presided over by Charan woman.<ref name=Matanamadh>{{cite web
|url=http://www.matanamadh.org/history.html
|title=Matanamadh, Desh Devi Ashapura
|access-date=2006-12-23
|publisher=Matanamadh Jagir, Kachchh, India
|year=2006
|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5QwfGajJD?url=http://www.matanamadh.org/history.html
|archive-date=2007-08-08}}</ref>
== Contributions to Indian literature ==
== Contributions to Indian literature ==
A whole genre of literature is known as Charan literature.<ref name="meghani"/> The [[Dingal]] language and literature exist largely due to this caste.<ref name="sharma">{{cite book | last=Sharma |first=G. N. |title =Social Life in Medieval Rajasthan |publisher = Lakshmi Narayan Agarwal Educational Publisher |place = Agra |pages = 94–96 |year = 1968 |url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.120777/2015.120777.Social-Life-In-Medieval-Rajasthan-1500-1800-A-D#page/n109/mode/2up}}</ref><ref name="smith">{{cite journal | author = Smith, J. D. | title = An introduction to language of the historical documents from Rajasthan | journal = Modern Asian Studies | volume = 9 | issue =4 | pages = 433–464 | year = 1974 | doi = 10.1017/S0026749X00012841| s2cid = 145590691 }}</ref> [[Jhaverchand Meghani|Zaverchand Meghani]] divides Charani sahitya (literature) into thirteen subgenres:<ref name="meghani">{{cite book | author = Meghani, Z. |title = Charano and Charani Sahitya | place = Ahmedabad |year = 1943}}</ref>
A whole genre of literature is known as Charan literature.<ref name="meghani"/> The [[Dingal]] language and literature exist largely due to this caste.<ref name="sharma">{{cite book | last=Sharma |first=G. N. |title =Social Life in Medieval Rajasthan |publisher = Lakshmi Narayan Agarwal Educational Publisher |place = Agra |pages = 94–96 |year = 1968 |url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.120777/2015.120777.Social-Life-In-Medieval-Rajasthan-1500-1800-A-D#page/n109/mode/2up}}</ref><ref name="smith">{{cite journal | author = Smith, J. D. | title = An introduction to language of the historical documents from Rajasthan | journal = Modern Asian Studies | volume = 9 | issue =4 | pages = 433–464 | year = 1974 | doi = 10.1017/S0026749X00012841| s2cid = 145590691 }}</ref> [[Jhaverchand Meghani|Zaverchand Meghani]] divides Charani sahitya (literature) into thirteen subgenres:<ref name="meghani">{{cite book | author = Meghani, Z. |title = Charano and Charani Sahitya | place = Ahmedabad |year = 1943}}</ref>
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* Ancient epics
* Ancient epics
* Songs describing the anguish of people in times of famine and adversity
* Songs describing the anguish of people in times of famine and adversity
Other classifications of Charani sahitya are Khyatas (chronicles), Vartas and Vatas (stories), Raso (martial epics), Veli - ''Veli Krishan Rukman ri'', Doha-Chhand (verses).<ref name="sharma"/><ref name="smith"/>
Other classifications of Charani sahitya are Khyatas (chronicles), Vartas and Vatas (stories), Raso (martial epics), Veli - ''Veli Krishan Rukman ri'', Doha-Chhand (verses).<ref name="sharma"/><ref name="smith"/>
== See also ==
* [[List of Charans]]
* [[Gadhavi (title)|Gadhavi]]
* [[Barhath]]
* [[Kaviraj|Kaviraja]]
== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
== Further reading ==
 
== Bibliography ==
*{{cite book |title=In Praise of Death: History and Poetry in Medieval Marwar |first=Janet |last=Kamphorst |publisher=Leiden University Press |isbn=978-90-8728-044-4 |year=2008 |url=https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/12986}}
*{{cite book |title=In Praise of Death: History and Poetry in Medieval Marwar |first=Janet |last=Kamphorst |publisher=Leiden University Press |isbn=978-90-8728-044-4 |year=2008 |url=https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/12986}}
*{{cite book |last=Kothiyal |first=Tanuja |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=be-7CwAAQBAJ |title=Nomadic Narratives: A History of Mobility and Identity in the Great Indian Desert |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-1107080317 |edition=illustrated, reprint |place=Delhi, India |lccn=2015014741 |oclc=1003137945}}
{{Commons category|Charan}}
{{Social groups of Rajasthan}}
{{Social groups of Maharashtra}}
{{Sindhi tribes}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Charan]]
[[Category:Indian castes]]
[[Category:Indian surnames]]
[[Category:Indian surnames]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in India]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in India]]
[[Category:Indian castes]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in South Asia]]
[[Category:Social groups of Haryana]]
[[Category:Social groups of Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Social groups of Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Social groups of Gujarat]]
[[Category:Social groups of Gujarat]]
[[Category:Social groups of Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Social groups of Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Social groups of Sindh]]
[[Category:Social groups of Balochistan, Pakistan]]
[[Category:Social groups of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Tribes of Kutch]]
[[Category:Tribes of Kutch]]
[[Category:Charan]]
[[Category:Sindhi tribes]]
[[Category:Maldhari communities]]
[[Category:Hindu communities]]
[[Category:Hindu communities of Pakistan]]
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