Religion In Maharashtra
Religion in Maharashtra is characterised by the diversity of religious beliefs and practices. According to the 2011 census, Hinduism was the principal religion in the state at 79.83% of the total population, while Muslims constituted 11.54% of the total population. Maharashtra has the India's largest Buddhist and Jain populations. Buddhism accounted for 6% in Maharashtra's total population, with 6.53 million followers, which is 77% of all Buddhists in India. Jains, Christians and Sikhs constituted 1.2%, 1.0%, 0.2% of the population respectively. Maharashtra also has a community of Jews known as Bene Israel. Hinduism Hindus form 79.83% of the state's total population as per 2011 census and Hinduism plays an important role in the lives of the Maharashtrian people in their day-to-day life. Ganesh, Vitthal, other incarnations of Vishnu such as Ramchandra and Krishna, Maruti, Dattatreya, and Shiva Family deities such as Shankar and Parvati are deities popular with Hindus of Mah ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
2011 Census Of India
The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information for National Population Register (NPR) was also collected in the first phase, which will be used to issue a 12-digit unique identification number to all registered Indian residents by Unique Identification Authority of India. The second population enumeration phase was conducted between 9 and 28 February 2011. Census has been conducted in India since 1872 and 2011 marks the first time biometric information was collected. According to the provisional reports released on 31 March 2011, the Indian population increased to 1.21 billion with a decadal growth of 17.70%. Adult literacy rate increased to 74.04% with a decadal growth of 9.21%. The motto of the census was 'Our Census, Our future'. Spread across 28 states and 8 union territories, t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Vitthal
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 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
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 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Janabai
Sant Janābāi was a Marāthi religious poet in the Hindu tradition in India, who was born likely in the seventh or the eighth decade of the 13th century. She died in 1350. Janabai was born in Gangākhed 1258-1350, Mahārāshtra to a couple with first names ''rand'' and ''Karand''. Under the caste system the couple belonged to the matang. After her mother died, her father took her to Pandharpur. Since her childhood, Janabai worked as a maid servant in the household of ''Dāmāsheti'', who lived in Pandharpur and who was the father of the prominent Marathi religious poet Nāmdev. Janabai was likely a little older than Namdev, and attended to him for many years. Pandharpur has high religious significance especially among Marathi-speaking Hindus. Janabai's employers, Damasheti and his wife, ''Gonāi'', were very religious. Through the influence of the religious environment around her and her innate inclination, Janabai was always an ardent devotee of Lord Vitthal. She was also a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Namdev
Shri Sant Namdev Maharaj (Pronunciation: aːmdeʋ, also transliterated as Nam Dayv, Namdeo, Namadeva, (traditionally, ) was a Marathi Bahujan saint from Narsi, Hingoli, Maharashtra, India within the Varkari tradition of Hinduism. He lived as a devotee of Lord Vitthal of Pandharpur. He is widely regarded as the founder of Varkari tradition. Namdev was influenced by Vaishnavism and became widely known in India for his devotional songs set to music (''bhajan-kirtans''). His philosophy contains both ''nirguna'' and ''saguna'' Brahman elements, with monistic themes. Namdev's legacy is remembered in modern times in the ''Varkari'' tradition, along with those of other ''gurus'', with masses of people walking together in biannual pilgrimages to Pandharpur in Maharashtra. He is also recognised in the North Indian traditions of the Dadu Panthis, Kabir Panthis and Sikhs. Some hymns of Shri Sant Namdev are included in the Guru Granth Sahib. Life Details of the life of Namdev are ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Tukaram
Sant Tukaram Maharaj (Marathi pronunciation: ̪ukaːɾam was a 17th-century Marathi poet, Hindu ''sant'' (saint), popularly known as Tuka, Tukobaraya, Tukoba in Maharashtra. He was a Sant of Varkari sampradaya (Marathi-Vaishnav tradition) - that venerates the god Vitthal - in Maharashtra, India. He was part of the egalitarian, personalized Varkari devotionalism tradition. Tukaram is best known for his devotional poetry called Abhanga and community-oriented worship with spiritual songs known as kirtan.Anna Schultz (2012), Singing a Hindu Nation: Marathi Devotional Performance and Nationalism, Oxford University Press, , page 62 Biography Early life Tukaram was born in modern-day Maharashtra state of India. His complete name was Tukaram Bolhoba Ambile . The year of birth and death of sant Tukaram has been a subject of research and dispute among 20th-century scholars.Richard M. Eaton (2005), A Social History of the Deccan, 1300–1761: Eight bji kg b Indian Lives, Cambridg ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Savata Mali
Savata Mali was a 12th-century Hindu saint. He was a contemporary of Namdev, and a devotee of Vithoba. For financial reasons, his grandfather, Devu Mali, moved to the Arangaon/Aran-behndi, which is near the Modnimb, Solapur district. Devu Mali had two sons, namely, Parasu (Savata's father) and Dongre. Parasu married Nangitabai; they lived in poverty, but remained devoted Bhagwat followers. Dongre died at young age. In 1250, Parasu and Nangitabai had a son, whom they named Savata Mali. Having grown up in a religious family, Savata married a very religious and devoted Hindu from a nearby village named Janabai. While working in his fields in the village of Aran, Savata Mali used to sing about the glory of Vithoba. They believed that Vithoba came to him since Savata Mali was unable to make a pilgrimage to the temple of Vithoba. He angered his wife once when he ignored his visiting in-laws because he was so busy in his bhakti, but Janabai's anger was swiftly cooled down because ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Dnyaneshwar
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 was bo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Bal Gangadhar Tilak (; born Keshav Gangadhar Tilak (pronunciation: eʃəʋ ɡəŋɡaːd̪ʱəɾ ʈiɭək; 23 July 1856 – 1 August 1920), endeared as Lokmanya (IAST: ''Lokmānya''), was an Indian nationalist, teacher, and an independence activist. He was one third of the Lal Bal Pal triumvirate. Tilak was the first leader of the Indian independence movement. The British colonial authorities called him "The father of the Indian unrest". He was also conferred with the title of " Lokmanya", which means "accepted by the people as their leader". Mahatma Gandhi called him "The Maker of Modern India". Tilak was one of the first and strongest advocates of Swaraj ('self-rule') and a strong radical in Indian consciousness. He is known for his quote in Marathi: "Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it!". He formed a close alliance with many Indian National Congress leaders including Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai, Aurobindo Ghose, V. O. Chidambaram Pillai and Muhammad Ali J ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Varkari
Warkari (Marathi: वारकरी; Pronunciation: aːɾkəɾiː Meaning: 'The one who performs the ''Wari''') is a sampradaya (religious movement) within the bhakti spiritual tradition of Hinduism, geographically associated with the Indian state of Maharashtra. Warkaris worship Vitthal (also known as Vithoba), the presiding deity of Pandharpur, regarded as a form of Krishna. Saints and gurus of the bhakti movement associated with the Warkaris include Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Chokhamela, Eknath, and Tukaram, Gadge Maharaj all of whom are accorded the title of Sant. Recent research has suggested that the Varkaris were historically the followers of VITHHAL & RAKHUMAI(विठ्ठल आणि रखुमाई). Influence The Warkari tradition has been part of Hindu culture in Maharashtra since the thirteenth-century CE, when it formed as a ''panth'' (community of people with shared spiritual beliefs and practices) during the Bhakti movement. Warkaris recognise around ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Dattatreya
Dattatreya ( sa, दत्तात्रेय, ), Dattā or Dattaguru, is a paradigmatic Sannyasi (monk) and one of the lords of yoga, venerated as a Hindu god. In Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh he is a syncretic deity, In Bengal he is known as 'Trinath', avatar of the three Hindu gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, who are also collectively known as the Trimurti. In other regions, and some versions of texts such as Garuda Purana, Brahma Purana and Sattvata Samhita, he is an avatar of Vishnu only. Several Upanishads are dedicated to him, as are texts of the Vedanta-Yoga tradition in Hinduism. One of the most important texts of Hinduism, namely Avadhuta Gita (literally, "song of the free soul") is attributed to Dattatreya. Over time, Dattatreya has inspired many monastic movements in Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism, particularly in the Deccan region of India, south India, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himalayan regi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Hanuman
Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and one of the Chiranjivis. Hanuman is regarded to be the son of the wind-god Vayu, who in several stories played a direct role in Hanuman's birth, and considered to be an incarnation or son of Shiva in Shaivism. Hanuman is mentioned in several other texts, such as the epic ''Mahabharata'' and the various Puranas. Evidence of devotional worship to Hanuman is largely absent in these texts, as well as in most archeological sites. According to Philip Lutgendorf, an American Indologist, the theological significance of Hanuman and devotional dedication to him emerged about 1,000 years after the composition of the ''Ramayana'', in the 2nd millennium CE, after the arrival of Islamic rule in the Indian subcontinent.Paula Richman (2010), ''Review: Lut ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |