Narsi Mehta is a (16th c.) Gujarati poet-saint
who was a well-known figure in religious life in northern India.
Narsi was a devotee of the deity Krishna (bhakta).
Krishna's love connection with his consort Radha is depicted
in his poetry.
Narsi's poetry was inspired by a vision of Krishna's ras
lila, or grand circle dance, in which he was honored to stand as an attendant
carrying a torch to light the lila, according to legend.
Narsi is one of the devotees highlighted in the Bhaktamal, a
literature that provides brief biographical portraits of over 200 devotional
(bhakti) saints; in the text, Narsi is presented as a model of generosity, an
earthly replica of Krishna himself.
For further detail, read John Stratton Hawley's
"Morality Beyond Morality in the Lives of Three Hindu Saints," in
Saints and Virtues, edited by John Stratton Hawley, 1987.
