Barhath
{{Short description|Indian title & surname}}
Barhath (Devnagari: बारहठ; IAST: Bārahaṭha) (spelled variously as Barhat, Bareth) is an honorific title of the Charans.{{Cite book |last=Datta |first=Amaresh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ObFCT5_taSgC |title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: A-Devo |date=1987 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |isbn=978-81-260-1803-1 |language=en |quote="Some others are known by the surname Barahatha, essentially an honorific title, their sub-castes being separately counted along with others. Barahatha Kesarisinha (of Sauda sub caste); Barahatha Ummedarama (of Palhawata sub-caste) and Barahatha Narharidasa (of Rohadiya sub-caste) are some such names."}} The title was given to prominent Charans who displayed bravery in war and occupied significant positions in the royal courts in medieval India. It is used as a surname by Charans of Rohadia clan as well as other clans such as Sauda.{{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 who occupied significant positions in the courts of the rulers were known as Barhats. In Mewar, the descendants of Baru Charan, who came to be known as Sauda Barhats, acquired prominence on account of Baru's timely..."}}{{Cite book |last=Snodgrass |first=Jeffrey Gore |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0iPLf9Jhr2QC |title=Big Words, Little People: Cash and Ken in Modern Rajasthan |date=1997 |publisher=University of California, San Diego |language=en |quote="Bharat, which is a common name of the Charans, a high-caste bardic group."}}{{Cite book |last1=Mehta |first1=Balwant Sinha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nGk_AAAAMAAJ |title=Pratap, the Patriot: With a Concise History of Mewar and Its Missing Links |last2=Mehta |first2=Jodh Sinha |date=1971 |publisher=Pratap Institute of Historical Research |language=en |quote="Baru, too, accompanied Hamir and after independence of Mewar, he was made the Barhat (the premier Charan) whose descendants are known as Sauda Barahats of Mewar."}}
Etymology
Barhath is derived from "Dvar-pati" or "Dvar-hath". It translates as 'Guardian of the Gate'.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7X23AAAAIAAJ |title=Mahārāṇā Pratāpa ke pramukha sahayogī |date=1997 |publisher=Rājasthānī Granthāgāra |language=hi}}
History
The title 'Barhath' is a synonym of the older term 'Prolpat' or 'Paulpat' which also means 'Guardian of the Gate'. They were described as 'the guardians of Rajput codes of conduct whose poetry and history defined valour, loyalty, and honour'.{{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}} They oversaw the defense and safety of their Rajput rulers: under siege, they would be the first line of defense at the gate of the fort.{{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|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last=Ziegler |first=Norman P. |date=April 1976 |title=Marvari Historical Chronicles: Sources for the Social and Cultural History of Rajasthan |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/001946467601300204 |journal=The Indian Economic & Social History Review |language=en |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=219–250 |doi=10.1177/001946467601300204 |s2cid=144835701 |issn=0019-4646|url-access=subscription }}
Barhath, a title given to trusted Carans who, during times of siege, stood at the main gates (paul) of forts and were the first to fight and give their lives in its defense.{{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=August 2020 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=978-0-472-03821-3 |language=en}}
Notable people
- Narharidas Barhath (1591–1676), renowned 17th-century poet and author of vaishnavite text Avatara Charitra
- Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath (1872–1941), Indian revolutionary leader, freedom fighter, poet, writer and educator from Rajasthan
- Thakur Zorawar Singh Barhath (1883–1939), Indian revolutionary and independence activist; main accomplice in the Delhi conspiracy case, threw the bomb on Lord Hardinge
- Kunwar Pratap Singh Barhath (1893–1918), Indian revolutionary & anti-British activist, accomplice in the Delhi conspiracy case to assassinate Lord Hardinge
- Barhath Kriparam Khidiya (1743–1833), 18th-century Rajasthani poet and writer, known for his verses on ethics called Rajiya ra Soratha
- Suryadev Singh Bareth, Indian advocate, poet, and social worker from Alwar; recipient of Padma Shri (1971) for his contributions to progressive agriculture in the region during Green Revolution
- Narayan Bareth, veteran Indian journalist and political analyst; former State Information Commissioner of Rajasthan (2020–2022) and Professor of Journalism at University of Rajasthan (2016–2017) and Haridev Joshi University of Journalism and Mass Communication (2013–2016)