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Nabhadas

(c. 1600) Author of the Bhaktamal
(“Garland of Devotees”). In this hagio-
graphic text, he gives short (six line)
accounts of the lives of more than two
hundred contemporary bhakti(devo-
tional) figures, some from personal
experience. Although Nabhadas identi-
fies himself as a Ramanandi—a devotee
(bhakta) of the god Rama—his work
includes devotees of all sectarian per-
suasions. The text is notably free of mar-
velous and miraculous events, and
Nabhadas emphasizes the devotee’s
personal qualities, to serve as a model of
devotion for others. In many cases the
Bhaktamal gives the earliest reliable
account for these figures, making it an
important source for northern Indian
literary and religious history. Despite its
importance the text cannot be defini-
tively dated, although internal evidence
suggests that it was completed early in
the seventeenth century.

Nacciyar Tirumoli

One of two collections of poetry com-
posed by the poet-saint Andal(9th c.),
the other being the Tirruppava i. Andal
was the only woman among the Alvars,
a group of twelve poet-saints who lived
in southern India between the seventh
and tenth centuries. All the Alvars were
devotees (bhakta) of the god Vishnu.
Their emphasis on passionate devotion
(bhakti) to a personal god, conveyed
through hymns sung in the Tamil lan-
guage, transformed and revitalized
Hindu religious life. Andal’s chosen
deity was Ranganatha, the form of
Vishnu presiding at the temple of
Shrirangam. Yet both collections of her

poetry are dedicated to Krishna, a dif-

ferent form of Vishnu. This seeming

divergence may reflect her conviction

that all manifestations of Vishnu are

ultimately the same or indicate the dif-

ference between personal devotion and

literary expression.

The thirty poems in the Nacciyar

Tirumoliare told by a group of unmar-

ried girls, who have taken a vow to bathe

in the river at dawn during the coldest

month of the year. This vow has a long

history in southern India, where young

girls would take the oath to gain a good

husband and a happy married life. In the

poem, the girls have taken the vow to

gain Krishna as their husband. The

poems in the cycle describe various fea-

tures of the natural world at dawn, the

girls’ hopes in performing the vow, and

their return to Krishna’s house to awaken

him and beg for his grace. The final

poem in the series describes the benefits

gained by one who chants the text.

Nachiketas

A primary character in the Kathka

Upanishad, a speculative philosophical

text considered one of the later upan-

ishads. In the text, the boy Nachiketas is

the seeker of ultimate wisdom. In a fit of

anger his father curses him to be given

to Death; Nachiketas obediently goes to

the house of Death to give himself up.

He waits for three days at Death’s door,

but receives none of the hospitality due

to a brahminguest. When Death returns

he is disturbed to discover that his guest

has been neglected. To atone for the

lapse, Death offers Nachiketas three

boons. With his first two, Nachiketas

wishes to return to his father and to

understand the meaning of a particular

sacrificial ritual. With the final boon he

asks what happens to a person after the

death of the body. Death first tries to

evade the question, then tries to bribe

Nachiketas with other gifts. When the

boy holds firm in his resolve, Death

begins to reveal his secrets. This dis-

course makes up the bulk of the text.

Death’s secrets focus mainly on the

Nachiketas