• Source: Bhaktamal

Bhaktamal (Hindi: भक्तमाल, IAST: Bhaktamāla), written c. 1585, is a poem in the Braj language that gives short biographies of more than 200 bhaktas. It was written by Nabha Dass, a saint belonging to the tradition of Ramananda.: 14 

Though considered a hagiography by some, the work recounts no miraculous events, and is widely believed to be an unbiased account of bhaktas across all sectarian paths. The Bhaktamal gives the earliest reliable account of many bhaktas, and hence is considered an important source for literary and devotional history of northern India. For example, Bhaktamal mentions about peity of Ramanandi saint Shri Bhagwanji of Gurdaspur (in Punjab) and miraculous powers of his disciple Shri Narainji, who founded the Ramanandi Vaishnav temple named Thakurdwara Bhagwan Narainji in Pandori dham in Gurdaspur, Punjab.

In Bhaktamal, Goswami Nabha Das ji explains the lineage of Goswami Tulasidas ji, the author of Ramacharitmanas, and makes a mention of Shri Krishnadas Payahari ji of Galtaji and indirectly quotes his lineage too.
Also in Bhaktamaal, Goswami Nabhadas has also mentions the four Vaiṣṇava Sampradaya in Chappay 28:




Authentic Edition


The most authentic edition of Bhaktamal was published by Jankidas Sri Vaishnav known as Bhaktamal Bhaskara from Varanasi in 1965, in that edition he has used oldest hand written manuscripts of Bhaktamal. Acharya Baldev Upadhyay (1899-1999), confirming it says in the very starting of this edition:

This translates to: The Bhaktamal edited by Shri Jaankidas Shree Vaishnav Ji is commendably crafted with great effort and spiritual dedication. While previously published with the renowned commentary of Priyadas Ji, this edition stands out due to several distinct aspects compared to earlier versions. The editor judiciously incorporated various ancient manuscripts for textual revisions and employed discretion in using descriptions from these manuscripts, especially regarding the accounts of revered personalities, where Shri Jaankidas Ji has provided detailed insights that were either silent or briefly mentioned by Priyadas Ji. This fresh edition not only presents the original text and the commentary by Priyadas Ji but also supplements it with additional elucidations. Shri Jaankidas Ji, the presenter of this exquisitely erudite, authentic, and refined edition, rightfully deserves the gratitude of devotees and enthusiasts of literature. I wish for extensive promotion and dissemination of this book.
Jankidas Sri Vaishnav has explained why there was a need of revision of Bhaktamal, he said, "when the narrator saints used to narrate the story of Bhaktamal, learned saints often questions the narrator, whether the errors in metrics, rhythm, interpolations, and historical misconceptions present in the Bhaktamal? producing poetic flaws and irrelevant meanings, were they part of Nabhadas composition? Or did they enter due to the ignorance or insistence of copyists later on?". As seeing all these things Jankidas Sri Vaishnav has started collecting all the old manuscripts of Bhaktamal and in accordance with that created the most authentic edition of Bhaktamal.




Commentaries, translations and adaptations


Hindi commentary titled Bhaktirasbodhini by Priyadas in 1712.
A Rajasthani adaptation, Dadupanthi Bhaktamal by Raghavdas in 1720. This work gives biographies of 1200 saints of the Dadupanthi order.
A Gurmukhi commentary, by Bhai Gurdas in the eighteenth century.
Hindi commentary Bhaktamalpradipan in Persian manuscript by Tulsiram in the eighteenth century.
A Bengali adaptation, Bhaktamal by Loldas in eighteenth century.
Hindi translation titled Bhaktakalpadruma by Pratap Sinha in the nineteenth century.
Hindi translation titled Shri Bhaktamal: Tika, Tilak, aur Namavali Sahit by Sitaramsharan Bhagavan Prasad in 1903.




See also


Tulsidas
Valmiki Samhita
Vaishnava Matabja Bhaskara
Maithili Maha Upanishad
Sri Ramarchan Paddati




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Bhaktamal
• Ramanandi Sampradaya
• Ravidas
• Surdas
• Namdev
• Nabha Dass
• Krishnadas Payahari
• Mirabai
• Ramananda
• Tulsidas