Narsinh Mehtā
15th century · Junāgaḍh, Gujarat · Kṛṣṇa bhakti
Narsinh Mehtā of Junāgaḍh is honoured as the Ādi Kavi, the first great poet, of Gujarati. A Nāgar Brāhmaṇ who lived in poverty, he sang of Kṛṣṇa with joy and freely mixed with people of every caste, which brought him scorn from his own community.
His prabhātiyā (morning songs) are still sung across Gujarat. His best-known song, “Vaiṣṇava jana to tene kahiye je pīḍ parāī jāṇe re” — “call him a true devotee who feels the pain of others” — was a favourite of Mahatma Gandhi and is sung across India.
Gujarati tradition tells many stories of Kṛṣṇa coming to the aid of his poor devotee — most famously at the ceremony of his daughter’s first pregnancy (māmeru), when Narsinh had nothing to give and the Lord himself, it is said, arrived with lavish gifts.
Ādi Kavi of Gujarati · Junāgaḍh · “Vaiṣṇava jana to…”