Explained: Who was Narsinh Mehta, and what is the controversy over naming a spider species after him?

Miracles in his life

Mehta used to spend time in Krishna-bhakti (devotion to Lord Krishna) even after his marriage to Manekba, paying little attention to family duties. Mehta is believed to have run away from home and done tapashcharya at a Shiva temple in Talaja for seven days. After that, Mehta relocated with his family to Junagadh. There too, he used to remain submerged in Krishna bhakti, writing and singing bhajan-kirtans and was a man of no means. Nonetheless, folklore has it that Lord Krishna, by impersonating as Mehta, helped the devout poet organise shradhha (a ritual performed post death of a family member) of his father, marriage of his son Shamaldas, mameru (gifts presented to a married woman and her in-laws by her parents on special occasions) of his daughter Kunvarbai as well as honoured a promissory note wrote by Mehta on one Shamlsha Sheth of Dwarka. One of his bhajans narrates how Ra Mandlik, the then ruler of Junagadh had imprisoned him, accusing the poet of not having seen Lord Krishna and yet claiming to have done so. The king had ordered that Mehta be released only if the Lord comes to the rescue of his devotee by presenting the poet with a garland. And the next morning, Mehta was found with a garland.

His poetry

Mehta penned more than 750 poems, called padd in Gujarat. They mainly deal with devotion to Lord Krishna, gyan (wisdom) vairagya (detachment from worldly affairs). Others like Shalmshano Vivah, Kunvarbainu Mameru, Hundi and Harmala are believed to be autobiographical accounts of different occasions in his life. Vaishanavajn to tene kahiye, Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite bhajan is Mehta’s creation.

Birds, creatures in his poetry

Padho re popat raja ramna, a Bhajan refers the mind of a person as parrot and urges him to worship and praise the god. Elsewhere, in bhajans like Vanla re vaya kanuda, he talks about calls of various birds. But as per Dr Urvish Vasavada, who has compiled more than 750 poems of Mehta in his book Shabdaved, Narsinh Mehtani Samagra Kavita says that spiders don’t occur anywhere in the poet’s work. However, in his bhajan entitled Akhil Brhmandma, ek tun shrihari, Mehta’s philosophises propose that there is one god but due to his various forms, he sounds different.

Mehta and Nagar community

Mehta is believed to have been declared an outcast by the Nagar community in Junagadh for going to harijanvas (Dalit locality) and singing bhajans and kirtans with harijans. “Nagars in those days were devotees of Hatkeshawar or Lord Shiva whereas Mehta declared himself a devotee of Lord Krishna. In his devotion to Krishna, he even wrote poems of shrungar- ras which bordered on eroticism and which apparently went against the norms of society of that day. He even dared to mingle with dalits. Therefore, he was declared an outcast by Nagars,” says Dr Vasavada. Shashin Nanavati, president of Narsinh Mehta Chora Trust, says Mehta has always been controversial. “He was no common man but a vibhuti (majestic person) who would not fit into societal norms. On the other hand, Nagars can be called an orthodox and conservative community. Therefore, Mehta remained controversial,” says Nanavati.

Mehta in popular culture

Mehta is regarded as adikavi (the first poet) and bhakta kavi (devout poet) in Gujarati literature. His bhajans are integral part of Gujarat’s cultural life even six centuries after they were written. The Junagadh university set up by the state government in 2017 is named after him. A lake in Vastrapur in Ahmedabad is also named after Mehta. The state government is funding a light-and-sound-show facility and a museum at Narsinh Mehtano Choro, a premises believed to be the bard’s home in Junagadh city. Narsinh Mehta Award, which was instituted at the initiative of Morari Bapu and peot Manoj Khanderia in 1999 recognises lifetime contribution of a poet is among the most prestigious awards in Gujarati literary worlds today. However, often Narsinh Mehta is used as an epithet for one who doesn’t earn and does little to support their families.

Giving names to new species

Researchers naming new species after a great personality is not new. A new spider species was named after Captain Vikram Batra, the Kargil War hero in 2016. Another spider species has been named after lord Jagannath. Sri Lankan researchers have named one spider species after Mahatma Gandhi. In the US, some species have been named after those who have served as American presidents. “Common people know very little about the importance of the spider, the role they play in controlling the insect population and thus maintaining ecological balance,” says a researcher.

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