HINDI, WESTERN, the Indo-Aryan language of the middle and upper Gangetic Doab, and of the country to the north and south. Its standard dialect is Braj Bhasha, spoken near Muttra, which has a considerable literature mainly devoted to the religion founded on devotion to Krishna. Another dialect spoken near Delhi and in the upper Gangetic Doab is the original from which Hindostani, the great lingua franca of India, has developed (see HINDOsTANI) . Western Hindi is descended from the Apabhrarimsa form of Sauraseni Prakrit (see PRAKRIT) and represents the language of the Madhyadesa or Midland, as distinct from the Intermediate and Outer Indo-Aryan languages. Western Hindi has four main dialects, Bundeli of Bundelkhand, Braj Bhasha (properly "Braj Bhasa") of the country round Mathura (Mut tra), Kanauji of the central Doab and the country to its north, and vernacular Hindostani of Delhi and the Upper Doab. West of the Upper Doab, across the Jumna, another dialect, Bangaru, is also found. It possesses no literature. Kanauji is very closely allied to Braj Bhasha, and these two share with Awadhi the honour of being the great literary speeches of northern India. Nearly all the classical literature of India is religious in character, and, as a broad rule, Awadhi literature is devoted to the Ramaite religion and the epic poetry connected with it, while that of Braj Bhasha is concerned with the religion of Krishna.