Narayana Bhatta

(1513–1570?) The most celebrated scholar and commentator on the dharma literature of his time, and the patriarch of
a scholarly family. Narayana’s father had
migrated from the city of Paithan, in
central India, to Benares, a center of
Sanskrit learning. Narayana’s work fell
mainly in the class of commentarial literature known as nibandhas (“collections”), which were compilations of
Hindu lore. Nibandha compilers collected references on a particular theme
from the Vedas, dharma literature,
puranas, and other authoritative religious texts, and then compiled these
excerpts into a single volume. Aside
from his unparalleled command of
these traditional texts, Narayana was
also noted for his learned interpretation
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Narasimha Jayanti
and commentary; to these texts, he
applied the rules that the Purva
Mimamsa philosophical school had
originally developed to interpret the
Vedas, the oldest Hindu religious texts.
According to tradition, he was a man
whose personal holiness was equal to
his great learning. He is reported to have
performed a miracle by causing rain to
fall out of season, convincing the
Muslim officials ruling Benares to allow
the Vishvanath temple to be rebuilt.