Munshi Maharaj Barq was born in a Kayastha family of Delhi in July 1884. His ancestors hailed from Sankat in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh. One of his earliest ancestors, Rai Jug Roop Bahadur, was considered as one of the most respectable persons of his time.  Barq’s ancestors, who had lived in Delhi for long, worked on high positions in the Mughal court. His father, Munshi Har Narayan Das, was a poet of considerable merit and his maternal grandfather, Daulat Ram ‘Ibrat’, had a diwan to his credit and happened to be one of the distinguished disciples of Zauq, the court poet. Barq received counselling on his poetry from Agha Shair Qazalbash.

Barq’s collections of poems include Krishna Darpan, Matla-i-Anwar, and Harf-e-Natamaam. Apart from poetry, he also wrote some plays in his early days. His plays Krishna Avatar and Savitri were staged several times. He passed away in February 1936.