Bhakta Ratnavali is a 16th century CE work on the devotees of God. A manuscript of Bhakta Ratnavali date 1773 CE (Vikram Samvat 1676) is available in the Dadu Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya, Jaipur, vide document No. 13, size 15” + 8”: brown color in bold characters. Its original manuscript is not available.
Bhakta Ratnavali was written by Anantdasa Vaishnava of
Rajasthan. He was the grandson of Pipa Bhakta, prince of Gangraungarh, an old
independent state in Rajasthan. The manuscript with 480 folios (960 pages) is
in poor condition as its paper is brittle.
Bhakta Ratnavali contains the hymns of 32 bhaktas such as
Namadeva, Ravidas, Kabir, Pipa, Guru Nanak, Dadu, Haridas and Madhodas. The colophon
of the manuscripts records that it was completed in 1588 CE at Kala Dahra near
Jaipur.
The manuscript was edited by Dr B.P. Sharma in 1974. In its
printed form it consists of 148 pages. In addition to the ‘Introduction’, it
gives biographical details about bhaktas (Chapters 4 to 10) and gives an
account of the contemporary social structure (Chapter 11).
All these bhaktas were disciples of Ramananda (1359 – 1467 CE)
who initiated bhaktas from all social classes into religious worship. They
ushered in a devotional movement for the amelioration of the socially marginalized
people and had a great impact on Indian society.