​HINDĪ, EASTERN, one of the “intermediate” Indo-Aryan languages (see Hindostani). It is spoken in Oudh, Baghelkhand and Chhattisgarh by over 22,000,000 people. It is derived from the Apabhraṁśa form of Ardhamāgadhī Prakrit (see Prakrit), and possesses a large and important literature. Its most famous writer was Tulsī Dās, the poet and reformer, who died early in the 17th century, and since his time it has been the North-Indian language employed for epic poetry.