{{Short description|17th-century historian and Dewan of Marwar}} {{Use Indian English|date=May 2022}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}} {{Infobox writer | name = Muhnot Nainsi | honorific_prefix = | native_name_lang = Rajasthani | birth_date = 1610 | birth_place = Jodhpur State | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1670|1610}} | occupation = {{hlist|Writer|Historian}} | language = {{hlist|Dingal|Rajasthani}} | nationality = Jodhpur State | notable_works = Nainsi ri Khyat<br/> Marwar Re Paragana Ri Vigat | children = | native_name = | death_place = Jodhpur | image = | caption = }} '''Muhnot Nainsi''' (1610–1670)<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb16908368x|title=Notice de personne|website=BnF Catalogue Général|access-date=7 January 2020}}</ref> was a medieval historian and Dewan of Rathore ruler Jaswant Singh of Marwar. He is known for his studies of the region now encompassed by the state of Rajasthan in India.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Peabody|first=Norbert|date=2001|title=Cents, Sense, Census: Human Inventories in Late Precolonial and Early Colonial India|journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History|volume=43|issue=4|pages=819–850|issn=0010-4175|jstor=2696671|pmid=18646375}}</ref> He was son of Jaimal Muhnot, who was Senior Office holder under reign of Sur Singh and Gaj Singh<ref>Rajasthan History Congress, First Session Jodhpur 1967, p.122-123</ref> Early in his professional career, Nainsi was appointed successively as the hakim (administrative head) of various parganas in Marwar.<ref name=":0" /> The extensive, first-hand knowledge he collected of the region informed his later writings.<ref name=":0" /> In 1658, he was appointed dewan of Marwar, in which position he served until 1666.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_S7dCkiyLJ6EC|title=Studies In Indian History: Rajasthan Through The Ages The Heritage Of Rajputs (Set Of 5 Vols.)|last1=Gupta|first1=R. K.|last2=Bakshi|first2=S. R.|publisher=Sarup & Sons|year=2008|isbn=978-81-7625-841-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_S7dCkiyLJ6EC/page/n108 100]|access-date=28 September 2011}}</ref> The literary works he is most known for are ''Marwar Ra Pargana Ri Vigat'' and ''Nainsi Ri Khyat.''<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/EncyclopaediaOfArtAndCultureInIndiaRajasthan|title=Encyclopaedia Of Art And Culture In India Rajasthan Volume 9|publisher=Isha Books|year=2003|editor-last=Bhargava|editor-first=Gopal|location=Delhi|language=en}}</ref>
== Early life == thumb Muhnot Nainsi Jaimilota was born 1611 in the Oswal Jain community. He was the eldest among his 5 brothers. His father was Jaimal Muhnot, a civil servant.<ref>{{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 }}</ref>
== Nainsi ri Khyat == {{Main|Nainsi ri Khyat}} Khyat written by him, is famously known as ''Nainsi ri Khyat''. Gaurishankar Ojha wrote praising it that if this material had become available to Colonel Tod, his 'Rajasthan' would have been of some other way.<ref name="Ojha Nibandh Sangrah 1954, p75">Ojha Nibandh Sangrah, Sahitya Sansthan, Rajasthan Vidya Peeth, Udaipur 1954, p75</ref> This book was edited in two parts (Hindi translation) by Ramnarayan Dugad and published in 1982 by Kashi Nagari Pracharini Sabha. In the original Rajasthani, this book was edited by Badri Prasad Sakaria and published in four parts from Rajasthan Oriental Vidya Pratishthan Jodhpur till 1967. In this repute, Nainasi has written the history of the dynasties of almost all the princely states of Rajasthan.<ref>Ojha Nibandh Sangrah, Sahitya Sansthan, Rajasthan Vidya Peeth, Udaipur 1954, p74</ref> In it, the history of Sisodia, Rathores and Bhatis is written in greater detail. By giving the lineage of the first dynasty, later achievements of each ruler have been taken under the title 'Baat' like 'Baat Rao Jodha Ri' etc. Muhnot was alive till Vikram Samvat 1727, so only mention of events up to the early 18th century in Khyat. In this, the genealogy and culture up to the 13th century cannot be said to be so authentic, but the events and events after that are considered reliable.{{By whom|date=February 2021}}{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}} Nainasi has also given the names of the people with whose help he compiled the material. Khyat's language is Takshali Rajasthani.<ref name="Ojha Nibandh Sangrah 1954, p75"/>
== Marwar ra Pargana ri Vigat == Another notable text by Nainsi is ''Marwar ra Pargana ri Vigat'' (An Account of the Districts of Marwar), which describes in detail the seven parganas under Maharaja Jaswant Singh (I), a gazetteer<ref>{{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}}</ref> of Marwar. In which the history of each pargana is given at the beginning and then by summarising the different income etc. of the villages of Khalsa and Jagir, its line with the geographical location of each village under the pargana, income of five years and yield of the village Specific things etc. are also mentioned. It also mentions the population of villages and the means of drinking water, well and type of agricultural land. Dr. Narayan Singh Bhati, first edited this book in three parts (19–4) with a detailed role and published it from Rajasthani Oriental Research Institute, Jodhpur.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Khan |first=Yaqub Ali Ali |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=24YvEQAAQBAJ&dq=Marwar+ra+Pargana+ri+Vigat&pg=PA84 |title=Regional History of Medieval India: Society, Culture and Economy |date=2024-11-12 |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |isbn=978-1-83765-136-8 |language=en}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nainsi, Muhnot}} Category:Scholars from Rajputana Category:17th-century Indian historians Category:1610 births Category:1670 deaths Category:Rajasthani-language writers Category:People from the Kingdom of Marwar