RASKHÅN, A MUSLIM VAISHNAVA: Journal of Vaishnava Studies

Abstract

One of the most frequently quoted poets of the golden age of Braj Bhåßå poetry is Raskhån (sometimes said to have flourished ca.1614, but see below). He was most likely a Muslim devotee of Child Krishna of the Vallabha Sampradåya. As Professor Ram Awadh Dwiwedi says in his, A Critical Survey of Hindi Literature, 2 “His [Raskhån’s] poetry has a powerful popular appeal and a number of his verses are widely remembered and recited. This is due to the sweet and easy flow of his lines and also to the theme of love of Krishna which finds a simple and fascinating treatment at his hands. His Brajbhasha has a rare purity and liquid movement and the diction is without the unnecessary ornaments that often hamper the easy flow of verse”