Nabhadas

(c. 1600) Author of the Bhaktamal
(“Garland of Devotees”). In this hagiographic text, he gives short (six line)
accounts of the lives of more than two
hundred contemporary bhakti (devotional) figures, some from personal
experience. Although Nabhadas identifies himself as a Ramanandi—a devotee
(bhakta) of the god Rama—his work
includes devotees of all sectarian persuasions. The text is notably free of marvelous 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 definitively dated, although internal evidence
suggests that it was completed early in
the seventeenth century.