Editing Navaratnas

{{short description|Group of nine extraordinary people in certain kings' courts in India}}
{{other uses|Navaratna (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Contains special characters|Indic}}
'''Navaratnāḥ'''  ([[Sanskrit]] [[dvigu]] ''nava-ratna'', {{IPA|sa|nɐʋɐrɐt̪nɐ}}, {{Translation|nine jewels}}) refers to a distinguished assembly of nine learned and virtuous individuals who adorned the royal [[sabhā]] (court) of certain illustrious [[List of Indian monarchs|bhūpati-s]] (kings) in [[History of India|Bhāratavarṣa]]. These ''navaratnāḥ'' were revered for their unparalleled proficiency in various [[Shastra|śāstra-s]] (sciences), [[Indian art|kalā-s]] (arts), and [[Rule of law|neeti]] (statecraft). Each ''ratna'' embodied excellence in a specific field—be it [[kāvya]] (poetry), [[Song|saṅgīta]] (music), [[Jyotiḥśāstra|jyotiṣa]] (astronomy), [[Baidya|vaidyaśāstra]] (medicine), [[Logic|tarka]] (logic), or [[dharmaśāstra]] (law and ethics). 

Though primarily known from ''[[Puranas|purāṇic]]'' and ''[[History of India|itihāsic]]'' traditions, the concept symbolizes the ideal of a king as a patron of [[jñāna]] (knowledge) and [[kalā]] (art). The most renowned ''navaratna'' councils are traditionally associated with [[Vikramaditya|Vikramāditya]] of [[Ujjain|Ujjayinī]], [[Akbar|Jalaluddin Akbar]] of [[Hindustan]], and [[Krishnachandra Roy|Rājā Kṛṣṇacandra]] of [[Nadia district|Nadīyā]].

== Vikramāditya's Navaratnāḥ ==

The court of [[Vikramaditya|Vikramāditya]], the legendary ruler of [[Ujjain|Ujjayinī]], is celebrated in traditional accounts for its assemblage of nine illustrious scholars, collectively known as the ''navaratnāḥ''. Their names are preserved in works such as the ''Jyotirvidābharaṇa'', attributed to [[Kalidasa|Kālidāsa]], though the text's authenticity is debated among scholars.

These ''ratna'' exemplified the zenith of classical Indian intellectual life, each representing mastery over a particular branch of [[śāstra]], [[kalā]], or [[Law|nīti]]. The most frequently cited names include:

* [[Kalidasa|Kālidāsa]] – master of [[kāvya]] (poetry) and [[Natya Shastra|nāṭya]] (drama)  
* [[Varahamihira|Varāhamihira]] – authority on [[jyotiṣa]] (astronomy and astrology)  
* [[Dhanvantari]] – revered figure in [[Ayurveda|vaidyaśāstra]] (medicine)  
* [[Amarasimha|Amarasiṃha]] – lexicographer known for the ''[[Amarakosha]]''  
* [[Śanku]] – expert in architectural sciences (''śilpaśāstra'')  
* [[Ghaṭakarpara]] – poet of epigrammatic verse  
* [[Vetala Bhatta|Vetālabaṭṭa]] – known for wit and political counsel  
* [[Kṣapaṇaka]] – philosopher and sage linked with [[tarka]] (logic)  
* [[Vararuci]] – grammarian associated with [[vyākaraṇa]]
Another popular tradition mentions the astronomer [[Brahmagupta]] and the magician Vaitālika, instead of Ghaṭakharapara and Vetāla-Bhaṭṭa, among the nine scholars.<ref name="GSS_Akbar"/>

These navaratnāḥ reflect an idealized vision of a sovereign as a patron of [[jñāna]] and [[kalā]], upholding dharma through the counsel of sages steeped in both learning and artistry.<ref name="MS_1974">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4dVRvVyHaiQC&pg=PA100 |title=History of Classical Sanskrit Literature |author=M. Srinivasachariar |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1974 |isbn=9788120802841 |pages=94–111 }}</ref> 

However, Jyotirvid-abharaṇa is a literary forgery of a date later than Kālidāsa,<ref name="MS_1974"/> and was probably attributed to Kālidāsa to popularize it.<ref name="AMS">{{cite book |author=A.M. Shastri |author-link=Ajay Mitra Shastri |title=Varāhamihira and His Times |year=1991 |publisher=Kusumanjali |oclc=28644897 |page=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mf0MAQAAMAAJ }}</ref> [[Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi|V. V. Mirashi]] dates the work to 12th century, and points out that it could not have been composed by Kālidāsa, because it contains grammatical faults.<ref name="VVM_1969">{{cite book |author1=Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi |author2=Narayan Raghunath Navlekar |title=Kalidasa: Date, Life And Works |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sueiThBrP4gC&pg=PA8 |publisher=Popular |year=1969 |isbn=978-81-7154-468-4 |pages=8–29 |author1-link=Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi }}</ref> Other scholars have variously dated the text to the 13th century ([[Sudhakara Dvivedi|Sudhākara Dvivedī]]), 16th century ([[Arthur Berriedale Keith|A.B. Keith]]), and 18th century ([[Johan Hendrik Caspar Kern|H. Kern]]).<ref name="AMS"/>

There is no mention of such "Nāvārāṭṇās" in earlier literature. [[Dinesh Chandra Sircar|D. C. Sircar]] calls this tradition "absolutely worthless for historical purposes".<ref name="DCS_1969">{{cite book |url=http://dli.serc.iisc.ernet.in:8080/handle/2015/131352 |title=Ancient Malwa And The Vikramaditya Tradition |author=D. C. Sircar |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |year=1969 |isbn=978-8121503488 |pages=120–123 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617064610/http://dli.serc.iisc.ernet.in:8080/handle/2015/131352 |archivedate=2016-06-17 }}</ref>

There is no historical evidence to show that these nine scholars were contemporary figures or proteges of the same king.<ref name="VVM_1969"/><ref name="KCJ_1972">{{cite book |author=Kailāśa Chandra Jain |title=Malwa Through the Ages, from the Earliest Times to 1305 A.D |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_3O7q7cU7k0C&pg=PA158 |year=1972 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0824-9 |pages=156–165 }}</ref> Varārucci is believed to have lived around 3rd or 4th century CE. The period of Kālidāsa is debated, but most historians place him around 5th century CE. Varāhamihira is known to have lived in 6th century CE. Dhanavantari was the author of a medical glossary ([[Nighantu]]); his period is uncertain. Amarasiṃha cannot be dated with certainty either, but his lexicon utilizes the works of Dhanavantari and Kālidāsa; therefore, he cannot be dated to 1st century BCE, when the legendary Vikramāditya is said to have established the [[Vikrama Samvat]] in 57 BCE. Not much is known about Śaṅku, Vetalabhatta, Kṣapanaka and Ghaṭakarpara. Some Jain writers identify [[Siddhasena Divakara]] as Kṣapanaka, but this claim is not accepted by historians.<ref name="DCS_1969"/>

Kālidāsa is the only figure whose association with Vikramāditya is mentioned in works earlier than ''Jyotirvidābharaṇa''. [[Rajashekhara (Sanskrit poet)|Rājashekhara]]'s ''Kāvyamimāṃsā'' (10th century), [[Bhoja]]'s ''Śṛṅgāra Prakāśa'' (11th century) and [[Kshemendra|Kṣhemendra]]'s ''Āucitya-Vicāra-Carcā'' (11th century) mention that Vikramāditya sent Kālidāsa as his ambassador to the Kuntala country (identified with present-day [[Uttara Kannada]]). The historicity of these legends is doubtful.<ref name="DCS_1969"/>

==Akbar's Nauratna==
[[File:Akbar,_Todarmal,_Tansen_and_Abul_Fazal,_Faizi_and_Abdur_Rahim_Khan-i-Khana_in_a_court_scene_(16th_Century_A.D.).jpg|center|thumb|520x520px|Some of the purported Navarāṭṇas in Emperor [[Akbar|Akbar's]] Court: [[Tānsen]], [[Todar Mal|Todarmal]], [[Abul Fazl|Abul Fazal]], [[Faizi|Fāʿizī]] and [[Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan|Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khana]]  c.16th century]]

According to popular tradition, the court of the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] ruler [[Akbar]] had nine intellectuals called the Navarāṭṇas or the nine gems. As in Vikramāditya's case, this tradition has no historical basis. According to historian [[Govind Sakharam Sardesai|G.S. Sardesai]], Hindu pāṇḍits in the court of [[Shah Jahan]] or [[Dara Shikoh]] - Jagannāthrai or Kavindrachārya - may have started this tradition.<ref name="GSS_Akbar">{{cite journal |author=G.S. Sardesai |author-link=Govind Sakharam Sardesai |title=The Nine Gems of Akbar's Court |editor1=Ramananda Chatterjee |editor2=Kedar Nath Chatterji |journal=The Modern Review |volume=74 |issue=1–6 |year=1943 |pages=129–133 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.170937/page/n153/mode/1up?view=theater }}</ref>

Since this tradition is historically inaccurate, the names of the nine gems varies between sources. Some of the names included in various lists include:<ref name="GSS_Akbar"/><ref name="ML_Din"/>

{{columns-list |colwidth=20em |
* [[Abul Fazl|Abu'l-Faẓl ibn Mubārak]]
* [[Faizi|Fāʿizī]]
* [[Todar Mal]]
* [[Mān Siṃha I]]
* [[Birbal|Rāja Bīrbal]]
* [[Mulla Do-Piyaza|Mulla Do-Pyaza]] (often depicted as mythical) 
* [[Tānsen]]
* [[Hakim Humam|Ḥakīm Ḥumām]]
* [[Bairam Khan|Bāiram Khān]]
* [[ʽAbd al-Qadir Badayuni|ʽAbd al-Qādir Badayūnī]]
}}

For example, a painting kept at the Lala Srī Rāmdās Library (Delhi) in the 1940s depicts the following people as the nine gems: ʽAbdul Raḥīm, Todar Mal, Mān Siṃha, Bīrbal, Miyan Kokultāsh, Ḥakīm Ḥumām, Abul Ḥasan, Abu'l-Faẓl, and Fāʿizī.<ref name="ML_Din">{{cite book |author=Makhanlal Roychoudhury |title=The Din-I-Ilahi or The Religion of Akbar |year=1941 |publisher=University of Calcutta |page=137 |url=https://archive.org/details/diniilahiorthere031361mbp/page/n198/mode/1up }}</ref>

==Rāja Kṛṣṇacandra's Nabaratnas==

[[Krishnachandra Roy|Rāja Kṛṣṇacandra]] was a ruler of Bengal, who ruled over 1727 to 1772. According to legend, his court had 9 famous scholars, who are mentioned as ‘Nabaratnas’ (নবরত্ন). These included

#[[Gopal Bhar|Gopāl Bhār]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.historyofbengal.com/rangan_datta/Shivniwas_Rangan_Datta.html|title=www.historyofbengal.com: Shivniwas|website=www.historyofbengal.com|access-date=2016-04-11}}</ref><ref>Siegel, Lee (1987). ''Laughing Matters: Comic Tradition in India''. {{ISBN|0-226-75691-2}}. pp. 314-318.</ref> 
#[[Bhāratchandra Rāygunākar]],<ref name="sen">Sen, Sukumar (1991, reprint 2007). ''Bangala Sahityer Itihās'', Vol.II, {{in lang|bn}}, Kolkata: Ananda Publishers, {{ISBN|81-7215-025-3}}, pp.424-32</ref> 
#[[Ramprasad Sen|Rāmprasād Sen]],<ref name="Harding_220">{{Harvnb|Harding|1998}}, p.220</ref> 
#[[Bāneśwar Bidyālankār]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2017-05-01 |title=kotha to bolar jonyei (কথা তো বলার জন্যেই): নবরত্ন -- সুস্মিতা |url=https://kothatobolarjonyei.blogspot.com/2017/05/noboratnsusmita.html |access-date=2022-04-05 |website=kotha to bolar jonyei (কথা তো বলার জন্যেই)}}</ref>
#[[Kṛṣṇādhana Rāy]],<ref name=":0" /> 
#[[Rāmmohan Goswāmī]],<ref name=":0" /> 
#[[Madhusūdana Nyāyālankār]],<ref name=":0" /> 
#[[Jagannath Tarka Panchanan|Jagannath Tarkapanchanan]]<ref name=":0" /> 
#[[Harirām Tarkasiddhānta]].<ref name=":0" />

==Similar groups==
Many famous emperors in India had courtiers labeled in similar ways. For example, the valuable members of the court of [[Krishnadevaraya|Kṛṣṇa Deva Rāya]] were termed [[Ashtadiggajas|Aṣṭadiggajas]], ''the eight scholars.'' [[Lakshmana Sena|Lakṣmaṇa Sena]] the ruler of the [[Sena Empire]] had ''Pañcaratnas'' (meaning 5 gems who were Govardhana, Śaraṇa, Jayadeva (author of ''Gīta Govinda''), Umapati, Dhoyi in his court). [[Ashta Pradhan|Aṣṭapradhān]] maṇḍal was the title given to the council of [[Shivaji|Chhatrapati Śivājī Mahārāj]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://magazines.odisha.gov.in/Orissareview/2011/may/engpdf/18-20.pdf|magazine=Orissa Review|access-date=2023-09-19|title=The Five Jewels of Laxmana Sena}}</ref>

==References==
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[[Category:Mughal court]]
[[Category:Indian royalty]]
[[Category:Chandragupta II]]