What is "namtar"

Namtar \Namtar\, Namtaru \Namtaru\prop. n. (Sumerian and Akkadian mythology) A demon personifying death; messenger of the underworld goddess Ereshkigal bringing death to mankind.

Syn: Namtaru.

Namtar (or Namtaru, or Namtara; meaning destiny or fate), was a hellish minor deity in Mesopotamian mythology, god of death, and minister and messenger of An, Ereshkigal, and Nergal.

Namtar was the son of Enlil and Ereshkigal; he was born before his father raped the goddess Ninlil. Namtar was considered responsible for diseases and pests. It was said that he commanded sixty diseases in the form of demons that could penetrate different parts of the human body; offerings to him were made to prevent those illnesses. It is thought that the Assyrians and Babylonians took this belief from the Sumerians after conquering them. To some they were the spirit of fate, and therefore of great importance. Apparently they executed the instructions given him concerning the fate of men, and could also have power over certain of the gods. In other writings they were regarded as the personification of death, much like the modern concept of the Grim Reaper.

In the story of Ishtar's Descent to the underworld, acting as Ereshkigal's 'messenger', Namtar curses Ishtar with 60 diseases, naming five of the head, feet, side, eyes, and heart, after she arrives in the underworld.

Namtar was regarded as the beloved son of Bêl/Enlil, and was married to the underworld goddess Hušbišag.

A namtar , sometimes spelled namthar is a spiritual biography or hagiography in Tibetan Buddhism.

Namtar is a contraction of nampar tharpa , which literally means 'complete liberation'. This name refers to the fact that the texts tell stories of yogis or Indo-Tibetan Mahasiddha who attained complete enlightenment. Namtars do not focus on a literal chronology of events, but rather function as a kind of learning example that hits the key points of the yogi's sprititual life. Such a text would serve as an example of buddhahood for any practitioner of Vajrayana and complement the tantras in imparting instructions on specific tantric spiritual practices. According to Janice D. Willis, the focus on spiritual practice forms an essential difference between Christian and Tibetan hagiography. In her book Women of Wisdom, Tsultrim Allione voices it thus:

The sacred biography is called 'rNam.thar' in Tibetan, which literally means 'complete liberation.' The 'rNam.thar' are specially geared to provide records for those on a spiritual quest, in much the same way that someone about to climb a high mountain would seek out the chronicles of those who had made the climb before. The sacred biographer is primarily concerned with providing information which will be helpful and inspirational for someone following in the footsteps of the spiritual adept or 'saint.' Establishing a mythical ideal and the communication of the sacred teachings takes precedence over providing a narrative portrait or "likeness" of the subject as a personality. The personality is stressed only in so far as it relates to the spiritual process of the individual.

Western academic tradition often portrays this type of text in an unfavourable light. It mainly criticizes the Tibetan hagiography for its inclusion of miraculous events and repetition of the protagonist's sanctity. Some scholars have therefore proposed that the Namtar has no historical value whatsoever.