Sant Nirmala (
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
: संत निर्मळा) was a poet in 14th-century
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. As the younger sister of
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 o ...
, she was deemed equally holy with her brother and thus is also deemed a
Hindu saint There is no formal canonization process in Hinduism, but over time many men and women have reached the status of saints among their followers and among Hindus in general. Hindu saints have often renounced the world, and are variously called Gurus, s ...
.
[
] Nirmala was married to
Banka, of the
Untouchable Mahar
Mahar, meaning "original inhabitants of Maharashtra" (in various languages), is an Indian caste found largely in the state of Maharashtra and neighbouring areas. Most of the Mahar community followed B. R. Ambedkar in converting to Buddhism in ...
caste.
[
] Her writings consist largely of
abhang Abhanga () is a form of devotional poetry sung in praise of the Hindu god Vitthal, also known as Vithoba. The word "abhang" comes from ''a'' for "non-" and ''bhang'' for "ending" or "interrupting", in other words, a flawless, continuous process, in ...
s that describe the injustice and inequalities she suffered as a result of the
caste system
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
.
[
]
Nirmala regretted worldly married life and reveled in the god of
Pandharpur
Pandharpur (Pronunciation: əɳɖʱəɾpuːɾ is a well known pilgrimage town, on the banks of Candrabhagā River, near Solapur city in Solapur District, Maharashtra, India. Its administrative area is one of eleven tehsils in the District, ...
. She never mentions her husband, Banka, in her poems.
[
]
References
{{authority control
Warkari
14th-century Indian women writers
14th-century Indian writers
Marathi-language poets
Indian women religious leaders
Dalit literature
Hindu female religious leaders
14th-century Indian scholars
14th-century Indian poets
Women writers from Maharashtra
Hindu poets
Dalit saints
Dalit women writers
Dalit writers
Scholars from Maharashtra
Women educators from Maharashtra
Educators from Maharashtra
Dalit Hindu saints