Chāraṇ (plural Charans; Hindi:चारण; Gujarati:ચારણ) is a name of a caste living in Gujarat and Rajasthan states of India. They are highly revered for their unflinching readiness for martyrdom, bravery in war, high literary sense and deep loyalty to patrons[1]. They are also known with surname Gadhavi (also spelled Gadhvi) and Barot (or Barath). Community is considered to be divine by large section of society[2]. Women of them are adored as mother goddesses by other major communities of this region[2][3], goddesses Karani, Bahuchra, Hinglaj (main temple is now in Baluchistan), Khodiyar and Sonal are well-known examples of it. This is one of the reasons Charan men are often addressed as Deviputra which literally means "son of goddess". In medieval age, presence of Charan in royal court was matter of prestige and pride for kings[4]. While they are considered great warrior and extremely loyal, they equally revered by kings for high literary sense and love for poem. Because of their ability to form poems instantaneously, another popular way of addressing them is "Kaviraj" which literally means what king is for public, addressee is for poets. Historian G. N. Sharma writes about Charans "In between social order of the Rajputs and the status of the Brahmans there is a caste of Charans which exercises a great respectability and influence in Rajasthan. The speciality of the caste is that it combines in its characteristics of Rajputs and Brahmans in an adequate manner". Further he notes that charan was an equal partner of his Rajput chief both in war and peace[5].
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