popular tradition, the court of the Mughal ruler Akbar had nine intellectuals called the Navaratnas or the nine gems. As in Vikramaditya's case, this tradition has no historical basis. According to historian G.S. Sardesai, Hindu pandits in the court of Shah Jahan or Dara Shikoh - Jagannathrai or Kavindracharya - may have started this tradition. Since this tradition is historically inaccurate, the names of the nine gems varies between sources. Some of the names included in various lists include: For example, a painting kept at the Lala Sri Ramdas Library (Delhi) in the 1940s depicts the following people as the nine gems: Abdul Rahim, Todar Mal, Man Singh, Birbal, Miyan Kokultash, Hakim Humam, Abul Hasan, Abu'l-Fazl, and Faizi. Raja Krishnachandra's Nabaratnas Raja Krishnachandra was a ruler of Bengal, who ruled over 1727 to 1772. According to legend, his court had 9 famous scholars, who are mentioned as ‘Nabaratnas’ (নবরত্ন). These included Gopal Bhar, Bharatchandra Raygunakor, Ramprasad Sen, Baneshwar Bidyalankar, Krishnananda Bachaspati, Rammohan Goswami, Madhusudan Nyayalankar, Jagannath Tarkapanchanan and Hariram Tarkasiddhanta. Similar groups Many famous emperors in India had courtiers labeled in similar ways. For example, the valuable members of the court of Krishna Deva Raya were termed Astadiggajas, the eight scholars. Lakshmana Sena the ruler of the Sena Empire had Pancharatnas (meaning 5 gems who were Govardhana, Sarana, Jayadeva(author of Gita govinda), umapati, Dhoyi in his court. Ashtapradhan mandal was the title given to the council of Shivaji. References Mughal Court Indian royalty