The Forgotten Story of Narayan Bhatt

Abstract

The article "The Forgotten Story of Narayan Bhatt" by Leena Taneja revisits the neglected yet pivotal figure of Narayan Bhatt, a 16th-century Vaiṣṇava priest credited with reviving and reorganizing the sacred geography of Vṛndāvana. Taneja explores how Bhatt’s work in systematizing pilgrimage circuits (parikramā) and identifying key līlā-sthalas (sites of Kṛṣṇa’s divine play) served to re-inscribe Vṛndāvana’s divine aura for a new generation of devotees in the aftermath of Muslim political dominance. Drawing upon Bhatt’s own text, Vraja-bhakti-vilāsa, as well as Gauḍīya and local oral traditions, the article highlights how Bhatt’s priestly activism—through temple restoration, land negotiation, and narrative cartography—helped consolidate Vṛndāvana as a physical, emotional, and metaphysical homeland. Taneja also explores the tension between historical memory and living practice, proposing that Bhatt’s story—though obscured by dominant Caitanyaite narratives—exemplifies the resilient, place-making labor behind sacred Vaishnava topographies.