The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1668 page)

BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
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Nasi
(Heb., ‘ruler’). Jewish leader. The failure of kings (
kingship
) led to their ‘demotion’ in the restoration after the
Exile
. The term ‘king’ was largely reserved for a future
messiah
, and Jewish rulers from the second
Temple
period used the term ‘nasi’. The title persisted in different communities through the post-
geonic
period, and the
Karaites
described their leader as ‘nasi’ until the 18th cent.
N
sik
.
The main city (pop.
c.
80,000) of the district by the same name in Mah
r
ra state and 20 miles from the famous Trymbakéshver temple built by the Peshw
s.
It is a holy city where one of the four Hindu orthodox Dharmagurus has a seat, the other three places being Sh
geri, Pur
, and Dw
rak
; it is also one of the four cities where a
ku
bha-mela
is held once every twelve years. The pious consider N
sik as the
K

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