Awadhi literature

Padmavat (or Padmawat) is an epic poem written in 1540 by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi, who wrote it in the Awadhi language, and originally in the Persian Nastaʿlīq script. It is the oldest extant text among the important works in Awadhi. A famous piece of Sufi literature from the period, it relates an allegorical fictional story about Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khalji's desire for the titular Padmavati, the Queen of Chittor based on historic conquest of chittor. Alauddin Khalji and Padmavati's husband Ratan Sen are historical figures, whereas Padmavati may have been a fictional character.

thumb|Lovers shoot at a tiger in the jungle. Illustration to the mystical Sufi text Madhumalati. "Madhumalati" or 'night flowering jasmine' is an Indian Sufi love poem, written in 1545 by Mir Sayyid Manjhan Shattari Rajgiri. The poem is written in Awadhi dialect.

thumb|right|250px|The Sonva Mandap in the Chunar fort, the place, where according to a popular belief, [[Alha married Sonva]] The term Alha Khand is used to refer to poetic works in Bhojpuri and Bagheli and other regional languages which consists of a number of ballads describing the brave acts of two 12th-century commanders in chief from rajput clan ( Alha and Udal ), generals working for king Paramardi-Deva (Parmal) of Mahoba (1163–1202 CE) against Prithviraj Chauhan (1166–1192 CE) of Ajmer. The works have been entirely handed down by oral tradition and presently exist in many recensions, wh