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Bhaktavijaya
Maha Bhakta vijaya is a Marathi text by Mahipati around 1762 that extols the deeds of the saint-poets of the Varkari sect of Hinduism. It has been translated into various languages in India and is widely read. It forms an important part of the prayer for devotees of Vithoba at Pandharpur. An English translation was published under the provisions of the will of Justin E. Abbott in 1933. It gives a short biographic account of the various devotees from India: * Namdev * Tukaram * Meera * Jñāneśvar * Tulsidas * Eknath * Surdas * Kabir * Matsyendranath, Gorakhnath * Chokhamela * Rohidas * Narsinh Mehta Narsinh Mehta, also known as Narsinh Bhagat, was a 15th-century poet-saint of Gujarat, India, honored as the first poet, or ''Adi Kavi,'' of the Gujarati language. Narsinh Mehta is member of Nagar Brahman community. Narsinh became a devotee of K ... and many others. References Notes Citations Marathi-language literature {{hindu-stub ...
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Mahipati
Mahipati (1715 - 1790) was an 18th century Marathi language hagiographer who wrote biographies of prominent Hindu Vaishnava sants who had lived between the 13th and the 17th centuries in Maharashtra and other regions of India. Early life Mahipati was born in a Marathi Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin family of Shakala Shakha and Vasishta gotra to Dadopant Kamble who was the hereditary Kulkarni (record keeper) of Taharabad in present day Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra. Dadopant and his wife were devotees of Vithoba of Pandharpur. After his father's death, he inherited the job of Kulkarni for Taharabad. He also worked for a local Mughal landlord. After falling out with his landlord, Mahipati devoted the rest of his life to performing Kirtans on lives of saints, collecting information on these saints and writing their hagiographies. Works During his life, Mahipati played down his abilities, his hagiographies of the Varkari saints are considered to be the most authoritative. Mah ...
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Vithoba
Vithoba, also known as Vi(t)thal(a) and Panduranga, is a Hindu deity predominantly worshipped in the Indian state of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is generally considered as a manifestation of the god Vishnu, or his avatar Krishna. Vithoba is often depicted as a dark young boy, standing arms akimbo on a brick, sometimes accompanied by his consort Rakhumai. Vithoba is the focus of an essentially monotheistic, non-ritualistic bhakti-driven Varkari faith of Maharashtra and the Haridasa faith of Karnataka. Vithoba Temple, Pandharpur is his main temple. Vithoba legends revolve around his devotee Pundalik who is credited for bringing the deity to Pandharpur, and around Vithoba's role as a saviour to the poet-saints of the Varkari faith. The Varkari poet-saints are known for their unique genre of devotional lyric, the abhang, dedicated to Vithoba and composed in Marathi. Other devotional literature dedicated to Vithoba includes the Kannada hymns of the Haridasa and the Marathi versio ...
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Marathi Language
Marathi (; ''Marāṭhī'', ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the official language of Maharashtra, and additional official language in the state of Goa. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India, with 83 million speakers as of 2011. Marathi ranks 11th in the List of languages by number of native speakers, list of languages with most native speakers in the world. Marathi has the List of languages by number of native speakers in India, third largest number of native speakers in India, after Hindi Language, Hindi and Bengali language, Bengali. The language has some of the oldest literature of all modern Indian languages. The major dialects of Marathi are Standard Marathi and the Varhadi dialect. Marathi distinguishes Clusivity, inclusive and exclusive forms of 'we' and possesses a three-way Grammatical gender, gender system, that features the neuter in addition to the masculine ...
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Eknath
Eknath (IAST: Eka-nātha, Marathi language, Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, [eknath]) (1533–1599), commonly known as Sant (religion), Sant Eknath was an Indian Hindu saint, philosopher and poet. He was a devotee of the Hindu deity Vitthal and is a major figure of the Warkari movement. Eknath is often viewed as a spiritual successor to the prominent Marathi saints Dnyaneshwar and Namdev. Biography Precise details of his life remain obscure. It is generally believed that Eknath lived during the latter three-quarters of the 16th-century. He was born into a Deshastha Brahmin, Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin family of Vishwamitra gotra to Suryanarayan and Rukminibai at Paithan, present-day Maharashtra and was a follower of the Ashvalayana Sutra. His father probably held the title of Kulkarni and kept financial accounts. Their family deity is Ekvira Devi (or Renuka). His parents died while Eknath was young. He was then raised by his grandfather, Chakrapani. His great-grandfat ...
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Ravidas
Ravidas or Raidas, was an Indian mystic poet-saint of the bhakti movement during the 15th to 16th century CE. Venerated as a ''guru'' (teacher) in the modern regions of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, he was a poet, social reformer and spiritual figure. The life details of Ravidas are uncertain and contested. Scholars believe he was born in 1450 CE. But some Scholars believe he was born in 1377 CE and dead in 1528 CE. He taught removal of social divisions of caste and gender, and promoted unity in the pursuit of personal spiritual freedom. Ravidas's devotional verses were included in the Sikh scriptures known as ''Guru Granth Sahib''. The ''Panch Vani'' text of the Dadu Panthi tradition within Hinduism also includes numerous poems of Ravidas. He is also the central figure within the Ravidassia religious movement. Life The details of Guru Ravidas's life are not well known. Scholars state he was born in 1377 CE and d ...
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Chokhamela
Chokhamela was a Hindu saint in Maharashtra, India in the 14th century. He belonged to the Mahar caste, present day, which is considered one of the untouchable castes in India. He was born at Mehuna Raja, a village in Deulgaon Raja Taluka of Buldhana district. He lived at Mangalvedha in Maharashtra. He wrote many Abhangas. One of his famous Abhangas is 'Abir Gulal Udhlit Rang". He was one of the first low-cast poets in India. Chokhamela lived with his wife Soyarabai and son Karmamela in Mangalvedha. Chokhamela's task was to guard and work in farms of upper-caste people. His family also followed varkari sect. * Soyarabai - Wife * Nirmala - Sister and her husband Banka (who is brother of Soyarabai) * Karmamela - Son Chokhamela was initiated into bhakti (spirituality) by the poet-saint Namdev (1270-1350 CE). Once when he visited Pandharpur, he listened to Sant Namdev's kirtan. Already a devotee of Vitthal (Vithoba), Chokha was moved by Namdev's teachings. Later, he mo ...
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Gorakhnath
Gorakhnath (also known as Goraksanath, c. early 11th century) was a Hindu yogi, saint who was the influential founder of the Nath Hindu monastic movement in India He is considered one of the two notable disciples of Matsyendranath. His followers, found all over India, are called yogis, ''Gorakhnathi'', ''Darshani'' or ''Kanphata''. He was one of nine saints also known as Navnath and is widely popular in Maharashtra, India. Hagiographies describe him as more than a human teacher and someone outside the laws of time who appeared on earth in different ages. Historians state Gorakhnath lived sometime during the first half of the 2nd millennium CE, but they disagree in which century. Estimates based on archaeology and text range from Briggs' 15th to 12th century to Grierson's estimate of the 14th century. Gorakhnath is considered a ''Maha-yogi'' (or great yogi) in the Hindu tradition. He did not emphasise a specific metaphysical theory or a particular Truth, but emphasised that the ...
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Matsyendranath
Matsyendranātha, also known as Matsyendra, Macchindranāth, Mīnanātha and Minapa (early 10th century) was a saint and yogi in a number of Buddhist and Hindu traditions. He is traditionally considered the revivalist of hatha yoga as well as the author of some of its earliest texts. He is also seen as the founder of the natha ''sampradaya'', having received the teachings from Shiva. He is especially associated with Kaula Shaivism. He is also one of the eighty-four mahasiddhas and considered the guru of Gorakshanath, another important figure in early hatha yoga. He is revered by both Hindus and Buddhists and is sometimes regarded as an incarnation of Avalokiteśvara. Early life Little is known about the life of Matsyendra: he is also called Minanatha and he is also associated with Lui-pa, all of whose names translate as 'Lord of the Fishes'. Legends vary in describing his birthplace. Giuseppe Tucci states, on the authority of two Tibetan works - the ''Siddha'' () and Tarana ...
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Kabir
Kabir Das (1398–1518) was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Garib Das, and Kabir Sagar. Born in the city of Varanasi in what is now Uttar Pradesh, he is known for being critical of both organized religion and religions. He questioned what he regarded to be the meaningless and unethical practices of all religions, primarily what he considered to be the wrong practices in the Hindu and Muslim religions. During his lifetime, he was threatened by both Hindus and Muslims for his views. When he died, several Hindus and the Muslims he had inspired claimed him as theirs. Kabir suggested that "Truth" is with the person who is on the path of righteousness, considered everything, living and non living, as divine, and who is passively detached from the affairs of the world. To know the Truth, suggested Kabir, drop the " ...
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Surdas
Surdas (IAST: Sūr, Devanagari: सूर) was a 16th-century blind Hindu devotional poet and singer, who was known for his works written in praise of Krishna, the supreme lord. He was a Vaishnava devotee of Lord Krishna, and he was also a revered poet and singer. His compositions glorified and captured his devotion towards lord Krishna. Most of his poems were written in the Braj language, while some were also written in other dialects of medieval Hindi, like Awadhi. There are many theories about Surdas, but most popularly, he is said to have been blind from birth. During his time, lived another saint by the name of Vallabhacharya. Vallabhacharya was the founder of the Pushti Marg Sampraday, and his successor, Vithalnath, had selected eight poets who would help him to further spread the glory of lord Krishna, by composing works of music. These eight poets were known as the "Astachap", and Surdas is believed to be the foremost among them due to his outstanding devotion and po ...
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Jñāneśvar
Sant Dnyaneshwar (Marathi pronunciation: ̪ɲaːn̪eʃʋəɾ, also referred to as Jnaneshwar, Jnanadeva, Dnyandev or Mauli or Dnyaneshwar Vitthal Kulkarni (1275–1296), was a 13th-century Indian Marathi saint, poet, philosopher and yogi of the Nath Shaiva and Varkari tradition. In his short life of 21 years, he authored ''Dnyaneshwari'' (a commentary on the '' Bhagavad Gita'') and ''Amrutanubhav''. These are the oldest surviving literary works in the Marathi language, and considered to be milestones in Marathi literature. Sant Dnyaneshwar's ideas reflect the non-dualistic Advaita Vedanta philosophy and an emphasis on Yoga and bhakti towards Vithoba, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. His legacy inspired saint-poets such as Eknath and Tukaram, and he is one of the founders of the Varkari (Vithoba-Krishna) Bhakti movement tradition of Hinduism in Maharashtra. Dnyaneshwar undertook samadhi at Alandi in 1296 by entombing himself in an underground chamber. Biography Dnyaneshwar wa ...
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Tulsidas
Tulsidas (; born Rambola Dubey; also known as Goswami Tulsidas; c.1511pp. 23–34.–1623) was a Ramanandi Vaishnava Hindu saint and poet, renowned for his devotion to the deity Rama. He wrote several popular works in Sanskrit and Awadhi, but is best known as the author of the ''Hanuman Chalisa'' and of the epic '' '', a retelling of the Sanskrit ''Ramayana'' based on Rama's life in the vernacular Awadhi. Tulsidas spent most of his life in the city of Varanasi and Ayodhya. The Tulsi Ghat on the Ganges River in Varanasi is named after him. He founded the Sankatmochan Temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman in Varanasi, believed to stand at the place where he had the sight of the deity. Tulsidas started the Ramlila plays, a folk-theatre adaptation of the Ramayana.: ... this book ... is also a drama, because Goswami Tulasidasa started his ''Ram Lila'' on the basis of this book, which even now is performed in the same manner everywhere. He has been acclaimed as one of the greatest poet ...
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