Khyat

{{Short description|Collection of events or continuous history}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}

{{Use Indian English|date=May 2022}}

Khyat (IAST: Khyāta) is a form of bardic historical prose that was prevalent in the western Indian states of Rajasthan and Gujarat.{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12220|title=Historical Biography in Indian Literature|last=Sen|first=S. P.|date=1979|publisher=Institute of Historical Studies|isbn=|location=Calcutta|pages=}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0bSmDwAAQBAJ|title=The Politics of Marriage in India: Gender and Alliance in Rajasthan|last=Singh|first=Sabita|date=2019-05-27|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-909828-6|language=en}} It is a collection of events or continuous history.{{Cite book |last=Paniker |first=K. Ayyappa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KYLpvaKJIMEC |title=Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections |date=1997 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |isbn=978-81-260-0365-5 |pages=467 |language=en}} Khyats generally contained histories of a ruling dynasty or a person. In the former states that now constitute Rajasthan, Khyatas were written by the Charans under the patronage of rulers who wished to perpetuate their exploits. These accounts contained histories of battles, sacrifices, valour, and chivalry, values that came to be associated with Rajputs.{{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}} Khyatas are often known by the name of their authors; e.g., Bankidās-ri-Khyāt (Khyat by Kaviraja Bankidas). Nainsi-ri-Khyat written by Nainsi is considered to be the most prominent of khyats.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KYLpvaKJIMEC|title=Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections|last=Paniker|first=K. Ayyappa|date=1997|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=978-81-260-0365-5|language=en}}