History of Hindi Literature: Periods, Poets, and Languages
What the exam tests
Items test periodization, major poets and texts, and the language choices - Braj, Awadhi, Khari Boli - of each phase.
Periodization
The standard four-part scheme is Adikal (c. 1000–1500), Bhaktikal (c. 1500–1700), Ritikal (c. 1700–1850), and Adhunik kal (after 1850). Some add a Mughal-court phase and a modern Dwivedi yug (c. 1900–1918).
Adikal
Siddha and Nath poets, Jain narratives, and the Prithviraj Raso attributed to Chandbardai, whose date and historicity are debated. Amir Khusrau is often cited for early Hindavi.
Bhaktikal
Sant poets (Kabir, Raidas, Dadu), Sufi poets (Jayasi's Padmavat), Krishna bhakti (Surdas, Mirabai, Nanddas), Ram bhakti (Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas in Awadhi), and gyanashrayi poets.
Ritikal
Keshavdas's Rasikpriya and Kavipriya, Bihari's Satsai, Matiram, Bhushan, Dev, and Ghananand. Courtly shringar and riti manuals dominate.
Adhunik
Bharatendu Harishchandra (Khari Boli prose and drama), Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi's standardization drive, Chhayavad (Pant, Nirala, Prasad, Mahadevi), then Pragativad, Prayogvad, Nai Kavita, and Dalit and stri writing.
Worked example
An item places Ramcharitmanas in Braj. Reject: it is Awadhi, chosen for the Ram-katha, while Surdas's Sursagar is Braj. The reasoning is the language of composition, not the subject matter.
Traps
Kabir's language is not standard Khari Boli; Chhayavad is not simply escapist; Ritikal is a courtly mode, not one poet; and Tulsidas belongs to the 16th–17th centuries, not the 14th.