Miscellaneous Topics

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-kami+Jul 6 2006, 07:51 PM-->QUOTE(kami @ Jul 6 2006, 07:51 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->hi i am a translator from Iran and i am searching for meaning of charan in this paragraph

“In medieval India, for example, traditions like pad paintings of Rajasthan combined with royal eulogies sung by the charans and their counterparts informed popular history and the hegemony of  the ruling orders…”


What is the meaning of charan in this paragraph? Leg and foot have no meaning here

thanks
[right][snapback]53209[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->


The word you are talking about is "chAraN" in ITRANS transliteration scheme. This is an old hindi/rajasthani word. The sanskrit word for foot is "charaNa" .

chAraN's were court poets who wrote their kings' eulogies and also sang them. One of the most famous chAraNs was "chand-bardAI" who wrote Delhi king PrithvIrAj chauhAn's life story and his fights with Muhammad Ghori in his famous "prithvIrAj rAso", a 12th century classic, also called first major epic in Hindi language.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prithviraj_Raso