The Sources of the Nām Ghosā

The Nām Ghosā is not derived from any single source. It is not a complete translation of any Sanskrit scripture. It is sarva-sāstra-sāra, the essence of all principal scriptures. Of the 1001 verses contained in the Nām Ghosā, the origin of about 500 verses can be traced to the holiest of the holy texts like:

• the Bhāgavata (61 verses)
• Sridhara’s commentary, the Bhāvārtha-dipikā (9)
• the Bhagavad Gitā (19)
• the Bhakti-Ratnākara of Sankaradeva (10)
• the Brihadnāradiya Purāna (6)
• Padma Purāna (8)
• Brahma Purāna (6)
• Skanda Purāna (3)
• the Pāndavi Gitā (7)

besides other works such as:

• the Vishnu Purāna
• Garuda Purāna
• Narasimha Purāna
• Bhavishya Purāna
• Vāmana Purāna
• Kurma Purāna
• Brahmānda Purāna
• Vrhadvisnu Purāna
• Vrhadvāmana Purāna
• the Sānti Sataka
• Vaisnavāmrtalahari
• Vishnu-rahasya
• Udyoga-Parva of the Mahābhārata
• Yogavasistha-Rāmāyana
• the Nārada-samhitā
• the Bhārata-vibhāga
• the Mahābhārta-sravana-māhātmya
• the Gitā-māhātmya
• the Sarpatamanjarikāstotra
• the Moha-mudgara
• the Bhakti-Ratnāvali
• Kāntimālā commentary of Visnupuri, etc.

Madhavadeva's intimacy with the subject and his genius for poetic expression have made every rendering as good as an original work.