Rajasthani literature written in various genres starting from 1000 AD. But, it is generally agreed that modern Rajasthani literature began with the works of Surajmal Misrana. His most important works are the Vansa Bhaskara and the Vir Satsai. The Vans Bhaskar contains accounts of the Rajput princes who ruled in what was then Rajputana (at present the state of Rajasthan), during the lifetime of the poet (1872–1952). The Vir Satsai is a collection of hundreds of couplets.
Medieval Rajasthani literature is mostly poetry only and it is more about the heroic poetry mentioning of the great kings and fighters of the Rajasthan. as said by Ravindra Nath Tagore once, "The heroic sentiment which is the essence of every song and couplet of a Rajasthani is peculiar emotion of its own of which, however, the whole country may be proud".
Early Rajasthani literature is created by mostly Jain saints. Earlier Rajasthani was known as Maru Gurjar (or dingal), which was close to Gujarati.