The Powada is a genre of Marathi Poetry that emerged during the late 17th century in India. The powadas are a kind of ballad written in an exciting style and narrate historical events in an inspiring way. The composer-cum-singers of the powadas are known as Shahirs.

Earlier, powadas were mostly composed by the eyewitnesses of the great events celebrated in those ballads. Powada is a dramatic narration by alternating reciting poetry and prosaic extract. Powada narrate great deeds of heroic men's and women's in very forcefull and inspiring style. Powada were used as a medium to create a awareness during Samyukta Maharashtra movement. They are important source to write about history.