The Braj language, also called Braj Bhasha, Braj Bhakha, or Daihaati Zabaan (country language), is a Central Indo-Aryan language closely related to Hindi. It is spoken by more than 42,000 people in the undefined region of Braj Bhoomi, which was a political state in the era of the Mahabharata wars. This knowledge is obtained through ancient Hindu texts such as the Shrimad Bhagvatam, which describes the kingdom of King Kans, spreading through the Braj (also known as Vrij or Vraj), where the incarnation of Krishna was born and spent his childhood days. This region lies in the Agra-Mathura region and stretches to the Delhi area. In modern India, this area lies mostly in northwestern Uttar Pradesh, the eastern extremities of Rajasthan and the southern extremities of Haryana. Today Braj Bhoomi can be seen as a cultural-geographical entity rather than a proper state. It is the vernacular of the region and boasts a rich culture and literature by famous poets like Surdas and Aamir Khusro. It is very close to Avadhi, spoken in neighbouring Avadh. Brajbhasa is spoken in Mathura, Vrindavana, Agra, Firozabad, Hathras, Etah, Aligarh, Bareli, Bulandhshahar,Bharatpur and Dhaulpur. Much of the Hindi literature was developed in Braj in the medieval period. However, today Khari dialect has taken its place as the predominant standard dialect of Hindi. ISO 639 is one of several international standards that lists short codes for language names. ... SIL International is a non-profit, Christian, scientific organization with the main purpose to study, develop and document lesser-known languages for the purpose of expanding linguistic knowledge, promoting world literacy and aiding minority language development. ... This list of languages is alphabetical by English name. ... The Central Indo-Aryan languages include some 67 (SIL estimate) languages and dialects spoken by many people in Asia; this language family is a part of the Indo-Aryan language family. ... Hindi (हिन्दी) is a language spoken mainly in North and Central India. ... The Mahabharata (Devanagari: महाभारत, phonetically Mahabharata - see note), sometimes just called Bharata, is one of the two major ancient Sanskrit epics of India, the other being the Ramayana. ... Hinduism (सनातन धर्म; also known as Sanātana Dharma, and Vaidika-Dharma) is a worldwide religious tradition that is based on teachings of the Veda scriptures. ... Lord Krishna Krishna (कृष्ण, Sanskrit for black or dark blue), is according to common Hindu tradition the eighth avatar of Vishnu. ... Taj Mahal Agra is an ancient city on the Yamuna River in India, within the state of Uttar Pradesh. ... Mathura (मथुरा) is a city in India, located approximately 50 km north of Agra, and south of Delhi. ... This article deals with the city of Delhi. ... Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: उत्तर प्रदेश, Urdu: اتر پردیش), also popularly known by its acronym UP, is the fifth largest and the most populous state in India. ... Rajasthan (राजस्थान) is the geographically largest state in northwestern India. ... Haryana (हरयाणा) is a state in north India. ... The vernacular is the native language of a country or locality. ... Surdas was a Hindu poet, saint and musician of India. ... Awadh (also known to the British as Oudh) is a region in the center of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... Mathura (मथुरा) is a city in India, located approximately 50 km north of Agra, and south of Delhi. ... Vrindavana is the name of a mythic forest or forested region in Northern India, in which the Hindu deity Krishna spent his childhood. ... Taj Mahal Agra is an ancient city on the Yamuna River in India, within the state of Uttar Pradesh. ... Firozabd is a city of in India, within the state of Uttar Pradesh. ... Hathras Hathras district is a new district made recently by taking some part of Aligarh, Mathura and Agra districts. ... Victoria gate, a part of Aligarh University campus Aligarh (Hindi: अलीगढ़) is a city in the Uttar Pradesh state of India. ... Bharatpur is a city in Rajasthan state of India. ... Dholpur (also Dhaulpur) is a city in eastern Rajasthan state of India. ... Khariboli (also Khadiboli or Khari dialect) is the variation of Urdu/Hindi language that is Indias national language, spoken in Western Uttar Pradesh. ...

External links

• Braj Bhasha at the Ethnologue