The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism (2 Vol Set)

themselves. Yet Damayanti has already
decided to choose Nala after being
advised by a swan who praises him. The
gods try to foil this by taking on the
physical appearance of Nala, so that
Damayanti will not be able to tell the
difference between them. As a last
resort, Damayanti makes an act of
truth, a ritual action whose efficacy is
based on the power of truth. In her act of
truth, Damayanti declares that she has
never loved anyone but Nala. To prove
that this statement is true, she directs
the gods to resume their true forms.
Compelled by the power of truth, the
gods immediately do as she commands.
Nala and Damayanti are married, and as
a reward for her fidelity, the gods give
Nala various divine gifts. Hearing of the
marriage, two of the rejected suitors
curse Nala to lose his kingdom. Because
of the curse, Nala and Damayanti are
separated and suffer long tribulations,
which include Nala having his body
magically changed so that no one is able
to recognize him. In the end Damayanti
recognizes him by his divine powers,
which cannot be hidden, and the lovers
are happily reunited. See also truth,
power of.

Naladiyar

One of the most important pieces of
early Tamil literature, along with its pre-
decessor, the Tirukkura l. The Naladiyar
is a collection of four hundred verses
that date from the fifth or sixth century.
Mainly concerned with moral and ethi-
cal life, the verses were written by a
group of Jain monks who found shelter
with a pious king in time of famine. In
gratitude each monk wrote one verse.
Despite the Naladiyar’s sectarian origin,
it has become the cultural property of
Tamils from all religious communities;
many of the verses have come into the
language as proverbial sayings.

Nalayira Divyaprabandham

(“The Four Thousand Divine
Compositions”) Title for the collected

hymns of the Alvars, compiled in the

tenth century by Nathamuni. The Alvars

were a group of twelve poet-saints who

lived in southern India between the sev-

enth and tenth centuries. All the Alvars

were devotees (bhakta) of the god

Vishnu and emphasized passionate

devotion (bhakti) to a personal god,

conveyed through hymns sung in the

Tamil language. Their collected hymns

were popularly known as the “Tamil

Veda.” They carry Vedic authority for

many southern Indian Vaishnavas, par-

ticularly the Shrivaishnava school,

which applied more developed philo-

sophical articulation to these devotional

ideas. See also Veda.

Namakarana

(“name-giving”) Samskara

The fifth of the traditional life-cycle

ceremonies (samskaras), during which

the newborn child is given a name.

Although some commentators believe

Namakarana (“name-giving”) Samskara

Namakarana samskara being performed on an

infant, who in this photo is wrapped in cloth for

protection from the evil eye.