Navaratnas in the court of King Janaka, Vikramaditya and in Akbar's darbar

Navaratnas or Nauratan (Sanskrit dvigu nava-ratna- "nine gems") was a term applied to a group of nine extraordinary people in a king's court in India. Some well-known groups are in the court of King Janaka, Vikramaditya and in Akbar's darbar.

Navaratnas in the court of King Janaka
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*Yajnavalkya was a legendary sage of Vedic India, credited with the authorship of the Shatapatha Brahmana (including the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad), besides Yogayajnavalkya Samhita and the Yajnavalkya Smrti . He is also a major figure in the Upanishads.

*Maitreyi was a vedic philosopher from ancient India. She was the second wife of famous sage and philosopher, Yajnavalkya, the first being Katyaayanee.

Maitreyi was well-versed in Vedas and associated scriptures and was called brahmavadini or "an expounder of the Veda" by people of her time. About ten hymns in Rig Veda are accredited to Maitreyi.

According to legend, Maitreyi really did not want to marry Yajnavalkya, but she wanted to live with him as his disciple and a spiritual companion to do sadhana or spiritual development. She went to Yajnavalkya's wife, Katyaayanee and expressed her desire to live with her husband, and with Katyaayanee's consent, she became his companion

*Gargi was an ancient Indian female philosopher, daughter of sage Vachaknu and born in the family of Garga, circa 800 - 500 BCE.

Gargi is mentioned in the Sixth and the Eighth Brahmana of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, where the brahmayajna, a philosophic congress organized by King Janaka of Videha is described, she challenged the sage Yajnavalkya with perturbing questions on the atman (soul). In Vedic literature, she is honored as one of the great natural philosophers.

Gargi composed several hymns that questioned the origin of all existence. Yogayajnavalkya Samhita, a classical text on Yoga is a dialogue between sage Yajnavalkya and Gargi

Navaratnas in the court of King Vikramaditya/Chandragupta II
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*Kalidas: Author of the great epic, ‘Shakuntala’, great poet, dramatist and the most prominent scholar of Sanskrit language.

*Amarnath: Author of ‘Sanskrit Amarkosh’

*Shapanak: Prominent Astrologist who had achieved mastery in Astrology.

*Dhanvantri: A Doctor who had achieved mastery in the science of medicine; one who was an expert in diagnosis and one who could prescribe different treatments for a single disease.

*Varruchi: Expert Linguist and an expert in Grammar

*Varahmihir: Author of World famous epic, ‘Bruhatsahita’ and mastery in Astrology.

*Ghatakpar: Expert in sculpture and architecture.

*Shanku: Expert in Geography (This name is even well known today in the field of geography)

*Vetalbhadra : Expert in black magic & tantric sciences

Navaratnas In the court of King Akbar
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*Abul Fazl (1551-1602) was the chronicler of Akbar's rule. He authored the biographical Akbarnama. Abul Fazl documented the history meticulously, over seven years.

*Faizi (1547-1595) was Abul Fazl's brother. He was a poet that wrote verses in Persian. King Akbar appointed him tutor in mathematics for his son.

*Mian Tansen was a singer for King Akbar, born a Hindu in 1520, who was a poet himself. He was a student of music from Swami Haridas and later from Hazrat Mohammad Ghaus. He was a court musician with the prince of Mewar and later recruited by Akbar as his court musician. Tansen became a legendary name in India and was the composer of many classical ragas. He was buried in Gwaliar, where a tomb has been constructed for him. There is a tamarind tree next to the tomb, which is reputed to be as old as the tomb itself. It is believed that one who chews a leaf from this tree in earnest faith will be bestowed with musical talents. It is unclear if Tansen converted to Islam.

*Birbal (1528-1583) was a poor Brahmin who was appointed to the court of Akbar for his intelligence, and became a court jester. Born by the name Maheshdas, he was conferred the name Raja Birbal by the Emperor. There are many witty stories of exchanges and interactions between the monarch and his minister that are popular today. Birbal was also a poet and his collections under the pen name "Brahma" are preserved in Bharatpur Museum. Raja Birbal died in battle, attempting to quell unrest amongst Afghani tribes in Northwest India. Akbar was said to have mourned for a long time on hearing the news.

*Raja Todar Mal was Akbar's finance minister, who from 1560 onwards overhauled the revenue system in the kingdom. He introduced standard weights and measurements, revenue districts and officers. His systematic approach to revenue collection became a model for the future Mughals as well as the British. Raja Todar Mal was also a warrior who assisted Akbar in controlling the Afghan rebels in Bengal. Raja Todar Mal had learnt his craft from another able administrator Sher Shah. In 1582, Akbar bestowed on the raja the title Diwan-I-Ashraf.

*Raja Man Singh, the Kacchwaha rajput raja of Amber. (Later Kacchwahas built Jaipur, close to Amber). This trusted lieutenant of Akbar was the grandson of Akbar's father-in-law. His family had been inducted into Mughal hierarchy as amirs (nobles). Raja Man Singh assisted Akbar in many fronts including holding off advancing Hakim (Akbar's half-brother, a governor of Kabyul) in Lahore. He also led campaigns in Orissa.

*Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana, a poet was the son of Akbar's trusted protector and caretaker when he was a teenager, Bairam Khan. After Bairam Khan was murdered by treacherously, his wife became the second wife of Akbar.

*Fakir Aziao-Din who was a mystic, and an advisor.

*Mullah Do Piaza , an advisor to Akbar

*Haqeem Luqman, a medical practitioner