________________
OF THE HINDUS.
61
Nábháji to their Math, where he was brought up, and received the initiatory Mantra from AGRADÁS: when arrived at maturity, he wrote the Bhakta Malá by desire of his Guru. The age of Nábháji must be about two centuries, or two and a half, as he is made cotemporary with Mán Sinh, the Rájá of Jaynagar, and with AKBAR. He should date much earlier, if one account of his spiritual descent which makes him the fourth from RÁMÁNAND' be admitted, but in the Bhakta Múlu, KRISHNA Dás, the second in that account, does not descend in a direct line from RÁMÁNAND, but derives his qualifications as teacher from the immediate instructions of VISHŇU himself: there is no necessity, therefore, to connect NÁBHÁJI with RÁMÁNAND. The same authority places him also something later, as it states that Tulasi Dás, who was contemporary with Shsh JEHÁn, visited NÁBHÁJI at Brindávan. It is probable, therefore, that this writer flourished at the end of AKBAR's reign, and in the commencement of that of his successor.
The notices we have of Súr Dás are very brief: he was blind, a great poet, and a devout worshipper of Vishỉu, in whose honour all his poems are written: they are songs and hymns of various lengths, but usually short, and the greater number are Padas, or simply stanzas of four lines, the first line forming a subject, which is repeated as the last and the burthen
1. RÁMÁNAND, 2. Áśánand, 3. Kúsuna Dás, 4. Kil and AGRADÁS, 5. Nábháji. See the next division of this section.
