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XIII.—Gleanings from the Bhakta-Mala

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2011

George A. Grierson
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Extract

In the series of papers of which this is the first, I hope to give, as opportunity allows, as full as account as possible of the contents of the Bhakta-māla of Nābhādāsa, a work of which the importance has long been recognized, but the difficulties of which have hitherto repelled serious students. It is acknowledged as the great authority in regard to the history of the saints of the Bhāgavata reformation started by Rāmānuja, Madhva, and other, in the twelfth century A.D., and also, incidentally, as a compendium of the tenets of that religion. Indeed, a somewhat minute study of the work has convinced me that it is impossible to understand the various phases of modern Hinduism as professed by the Vaiṣṇava sects without a knowledge of its contents.

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Articles
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Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , Volume 41 , Issue 3 , July 1909 , pp. 607 - 644
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 1909

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References

page 607 note 1 According to Bh., the Bhakta-māla takes us down to Sambat 1696, or 1639 A.D.

page 610 note 1 Mana-harana. This is also a side allusion to the author's own Guru, Manōhara-dāsa.

page 610 note 2 The famous Vaiṣṇava apostle (1485–1527 A.D.) who converted Bengal. He was disciple and son-in-law of Vallabhācārya.

page 610 note 3 The story of Śuka is given later on (verse 7). The allusion here is to the legend that when his father Vyāsa searched for him, lamenting, in the forest, the trees whispered consolation to him, and explained to him the mystery that there was really no distinction between “I” and “thou”, “father” and “son” and so on.

page 611 note 1 See, for instance, my edition of the Lāla-candrikā, p. 45.Google Scholar

page 614 note 1 Śraddhā, defined as loving delight (prīti-pratīti-sahita spṛhā) in the Scriptures and in the words of the Teacher (guru).

page 614 note 2 Śravaṇa kathā.

page 614 note 3 Manana.

page 614 note 4 Abhimāna.

page 614 note 5 Dayā.

page 614 note 6 Navani.

page 614 note 7 Pana.

page 614 note 8 Nāma Hari.

page 614 note 9 Hari-sādhu-sēvā. The word Hari is here what is called dēhalī-dīpaka, referring both to what precedes and to what follows. The Commentator says that devotion to the LORD is the right ear-pendant and devotion to His saints the left one.

page 614 note 10 Mānasī pūjā.

page 614 note 11 Sat-saṅga.

page 614 note 12 Cāha.

page 614 note 13 Literally, “the roll of betel.” Indian women's lips, reddened by betel-chewing, are much admired.

page 614 note 14 i.e. with Rāma and his spouse Sīā. The essence of bhakti is love devoted to the Supreme. Cf. Śāṇḍilya, I, i, 2, sā parā ’nuraktir Iśvarē, in its highest form it is affection directed to the Supreme, and Nārada, I, i, 2, sā Kasmai parama-prēma-rūpā, its form is a supreme love devoted to KA.

The word bhakti is not easy to represent by one word in English. “Faith” is its best equivalent, but in the sense of “devotional faith”, not of “belief”. Just as St. James said that “the devils also believe, and tremble ”, so Svapnēśvara in his commentary to the above sūtra of Śāṇḍilya says “knowledge of God can be found even in those that hated Him”. It, together with bhakta, which I translate by “faithful”, and Bhagavat, the name, of the Supreme Deity, which I represent by the ADORABLE, is derived from the root bhaj, in the meaning of “love”, “adore”.

page 615 note 1 i.e. the five Dominant Emotions (sthāyī bhāva), from which spring the five Flavours.

page 615 note 2 The Vaijayantī māla is a garland of victory, worn specially by Visnu.

page 615 note 3 A name of Kṛṣṇa.

page 615 note 4 There are five garlands, each representing one of five Flavours. The one which represents the highest Flavour—that of Passionate Love (Śṛṅgāra-rasa)—is the most humble of all, and seeks not the place of honour over the LORD'S heart, but is happy and content when lying at His feet.

page 616 note 1 i.e., the elephants of Knowledge, Freedom from Desire, and other virtues. It is worthy of note that P. here admits the comparatively modern expansion of the belief in the Bhakti-mārga.

page 616 note 2 There is here an elaborate series of double meanings. Agara, the Braj form both of Agra and of aguru, means not only Agra-dāsa, the famous teacher of Nābhā, but also the fragrant aloe (aguru). Cōā is a fragrant unguent made up of this aloe, musk, and other ingredients. Nābhā is either the proper name or else the equivalent of nāfa, musk. Nābhā, the writer, is therefore cōā, as containing fragrant aloes through his spiritual descent from Agra (aguru), and also as being himself musk (nāfa). This cōā, or Nāfa, gives forth the Bhakta-māla as its sweet odour.

page 618 note 1 Examples, the Vulture Jatāyu, the Śavarī, the Niṣāda, the Pāṇḍavas, all of whom are duly dealt with in the Bhakta-māla. The inclusion of the Pāndavas in this list is remarkable, but they are the only example given by Priyā-dāsa. The other examples are taken from other commentaries. The whole idea is a remarkable echo of St. Paul's famous passage in his Epistle to the Philippians (ii, 6, 7):

page 618 note 2 Kṛṣṇa-dāsa Paihārl, a most famous Bhakti-Teacher. He is dealt with at length in the Bhakta-māla, in his proper place.

page 619 note 1 According to the Bhakti-prēmākara, Nābhā was 12 years old when this occurred.

page 620 note 1 According to the Bhakti-prēmākara, he became blind at 5 years of age as the result of an attack of smallpox.

page 620 note 2 A town in Rajputana, near Jaipur. Said to be the site of the hermitage of Gālava Muni.

According to tradition, the founder of the Hanumān family was a Māhārāstra Brāhman named Śrīrāma-dāsa. He lived in the Telugu country near the Gōdāvarī River, and was a partial incarnation of Hanumān, the monkey hero and follower of Rama-candra. In proof of this he is said to have been honoured with the possession of a short tail. He was a devout worshipper of Rāma, and all his descendants are believed to have followed in his footsteps. They are also said to have been exceptionally skilful singers.

According to the ordinary story, Nābhā was by caste a Dōm, or scavenger. His commentators maintain that this is a mistake due to ignorance of the fact that in Rajputana the word ḍōm signifies a professional singer, or, according to others, a monkey. Similarly, Lākhā Bhakta (see Bhakta-māla, 107) was a Dōm and also a member of the Hanumān family.

According to another tradition, Nābhā had no caste, and was not born of a human parent. He was really a drop of Hanumān's sweat, thrown down from the clouds by Śiva for the benefit of mankind, which took the form of a man on reaching the earth. Hence he was called Nabhabhū-ja, or born from a cloud, which name became corrupted to Nābhā-jū or Nābhā-jī.

PriyĀ-DĀsa, the author of the Bhakti-rasa-bōdhinī, the earliest commentary on the Bhakta-māla, was a Vaiṣṇava of the Madhva Saṁpradāya, and lived in Vṛndāvana. As he tells us in the introductory verses, he wrote it under the direct orders of Nābhā-dāsa. He finished it in the year 1712 A.D. (Sambat 1769Google Scholar). This must have been a considerable time after Nābhā's death, but we have the authority of the concluding verses of his commentary for the fact.

page 622 note 1 But not co-equal, see below. The eternal existence of an incarnation is a capital point in Bhāgavata doctrine. When an incarnation has carried out its mission it is not again absorbed into the ADORABLE, but retains its personal existence for ever. Thus, Rāma-candra, though he has long left this earth, is still Rāma in heaven, looking down upon his people, guiding them, and keeping them from harm and sin. The importance of such teaching is obvious.

page 622 note 2 This is the answer of Agra-dāsa, Nābhā's teacher, to the objection that the Adorable should not have become incarnate in crooked and mean forms such as the fish or the tortoise. Crookedness is not necessarily an imperfection, as witness the charming effect of curly hair. There is really a great lesson to be learnt from the fact that the Adorable did take these mean forms. It shows that in His sight all men are equal, and that He regards not caste or tribe. It is for this reason that Nābhā, unlike the Bhg. P. (see below), gives prominence to these forms by mentioning them first.

page 623 note 1 References to the Bhakta-māla must be taken as including Priyādāsa's commentary, which is really part of the “work.

page 624 note 1 The Bhāgavata theology, although philosophically allied to the dualistic Sānkhya-Yōga, is monist. Prakṛti, or indiscrete primal matter, does not exist independently, but proceeds from the Supreme.

page 626 note 1 Regarding Aṁśa and Kalā Avatāras, see Śrīdhara, and Jīva-Gōsvāmin, on Bhg. P., I, iii, 28.Google Scholar

page 627 note 1 Note the subordinate classification of Paraśu-Rāma. The Bhāgavata religion was originally propounded and professed by Ksatriyas (cf. Bhg. G., iv, 1 ff.Google Scholar). Paraśu-Rāma was a Brāhmana hero, who, according to Brāhmanas, exterminated the whole Ksatriya race. He was a Brahmanical incarnation, and the Bhāgavatas, while not able to deny the fact of his being an incarnate God, did not hesitate to put him very low down in their scheme of incarnations.

page 629 note 1 The Bhg. P. list professes to give these incarnations in order of occurrence. That order is as follows:—(1) Kaumāra, (2) Boar, (3) Nārada, (4) Nara-Nārāyaṇa, (5) Kapila, (6) Datta, (7) Sacrifice, (8) Ṛṣabha, (9) Pṛthu, (10) Fish, (11) Tortoise, (12) Dhanvantari, (13) Mōhini, (14) Man-lion, (15) Dwarf, (16) Paraśu-rāma, (17) Vyāsa, (18) Rāmacandra, (19) Bala-rāma, (20) Kṛṣṇa, (21) the Buddha, (22) Kalki. Much could be written about this curious order. With the exception of the Boar, the earlier ones are all said by legend to have been intimately connected with the origins of the Bhāgavata religion. The Boar incarnation was peculiarly consonant with the Bhāgavata theory of a God of grace; for, as the Bhg. P. says, it was assumed for the protection of the world.

page 636 note 1 The M Bh. story makes this ugliness the result of a curse pronounced by Parvata, his sister's son, and says nothing about any incarnation.

page 637 note 1 Bhakta-kalpadruma, p. 34Google Scholar of the Luoknow ed.

page 640 note 1 See, for instance, Hariścandra, , Vaisnava Sarvasva, p. 5.Google Scholar

page 640 note 2 A parallel to “He saved others, Himself He cannot save”.

page 641 note 1 Most Vaiṣṇava sects worship Sītā as an incarnation of the Adorable, as well as Rāma.

page 641 note 2 According to the usual account Satī killed herself because Daksa abused Śiva, her husband, whom he had not invited to the sacrifice. See Bhy. P., IV, iv.Google Scholar

page 642 note 1 I may, however, mention, without wishing in any way to find fault with one to whose writings I owe so much, that the list of Rāmānanda's twelve chief disciples given by Wilson on p. 56 is incorrect, and depends upon a faulty reading of the difficult text of the Bhakta-māla, 31.Google Scholar The correct list is: (1) Anantānanda, (2) Kabīr, (3) Sukhānanda, (4) Surasurānanda, (5) Padmāvati, (6) Naraharyānanda, (7) Pīpā, (8) Bhāvānanda, (9) Raidāsa, (10) Dhanā, (11) Sēnā, (12) Surasurī (wife of Surasurānanda).

page 644 note 1 Very similarly, both Śrīdhara and Jīva-Gōsvāmin, in their commentaries on Bhg. P.,, I, iii 27,Google Scholar say that Ṛṣis, Manus, Dēvas, sons of Manu, and Prajāpatis are all vibhūtis of the Adorable.