The Sanskrit campū Nīlakaṇṭhavijaya is arguably the most popular literary work of Nīlakaṇṭha Dīkṣita. It narrates the mythical story of the churning of the Ocean of Milk, with an emphasis on the part played by Dīkṣita’s personal god—Śiva. A close reading reveals that this text is preoccupied with themes of agency and subjectivity. The multiple characters of the story are not conventional archetypes. Rather, they inhabit shared worlds and come across as having distinct yet intersecting identities. Gods, demons, snakes and even Venom are given very human biographies and social milieux. And all these biographies flow into that of the titular Nīlakaṇṭha, presenting an implicit model of the self. But who is the Nīlakaṇṭha of the title?

Nīlakaṇṭha Dīkṣita is widely recognised as one of the leading figures of early modern Sanskrit literature. He is also remembered—in popular narratives and in academic circles alike—as a minister at Tirumalai Nāyaka’s court in Madurai. This essay offers a corrective to this story and reflects on the historiographical mishaps that shaped it. I show that Nīlakaṇṭha lived most of his life around Thanjavur in the Kaveri delta and left no trace of an affiliation with a court or a patron. Rather, he took pride in being an independent author and teacher. I then take the opportunity to propose a forgotten model of authorship that Nīlakaṇṭha embodied. I suggest thinking of Nīlakaṇṭha as a ‘genealogical poet’, committed exclusively to his lineage of male family members and teachers. His genealogical commitments go hand in hand with an active teaching career, a radical interpretation of an existing literary and economical ideal of writerly independence (sarvatantrasvatantra) and a confidence in the survival of his legacy through future generations of students and family members. The genealogical economy also gives rise to an aesthetics and ethics of intimacy that shape Nīlakaṇṭha’s distinctive authorial signature. While I would argue that Nīlakaṇṭha is a genealogical poet par excellence, this model may be applied in different measures and constellations to other figures and contribute to a better understanding of the social realities that shape literary and intellectual histories of early modern South Asia and beyond.