Shri Swami Samarth, also known as Swami of

Akkalkot Akkalkot () is a City and a municipal council in Solapur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is situated 38 km southeast of Solapur and close to the border of Karnataka state. City is the home to Shri Swami Samarth, a 19th ...

was an Indian spiritual master of the

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 ...

Tradition. He is a widely known spiritual figure in various Indian states including

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 ...

and

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. He lived during the nineteenth century. Shri Swami Samarth traveled all across the Indian subcontinent and eventually set his abode at

, a village in present-day

. He is thought to have initially arrived at

on a Wednesday, during either September or October in 1856. He resided at Akkalkot for close to 22 years. His parentage and origins remain obscure. According to legend, once when a disciple asked Swami a question about his birth, Swami responded that he had originated from a banyan tree (''vata-vriksha'' in Marathi). On another occasion, Swami had said that his earlier name was Nrusimha Bhan.

Legend

Shri Swami Samarth is widely considered to be the fourth (third in physical form) incarnation of

, the Lord Almighty. He is also believed to be a reincarnation of

Narasimha Saraswati Shree Narasimha Saraswati Swami Or Shree Nrusimha Saraswati Swami (1378−1459) was an Indian guru of Dattatreya tradition(sampradaya). According to the Shri GuruCharitra, he is the second avatar of Dattatreya in '' Kali Yuga'' after Sripa ...

, another earlier spiritual master of the Dattatreya sect.

Life

According to Shri Swami Samarth himself, he had originally appeared in the Kardali forests near Srisailam, a Hindu holy town in present-day Andhra Pradesh. He might have moved through

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

during his travels across the Himalayas and its adjacent regions. He is also believed to have visited various Indian regions such as

Puri Puri () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is als ...

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

(also Kashi),

Haridwar Haridwar (; ) is a city and municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. With a population of 228,832 in 2011, it is the second-largest city in the state and the largest in the district. The city is situated on the righ ...

Girnar Girnar is an ancient hill in Junagadh, Gujarat, India. Geology Mount Girnar is a major igneous plutonic complex which intruded into the basalts towards the close of the Deccan Trap period. The rock types identified in this complex are gab ...

Kathiawar Kathiawar () is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat (Gulf of Cambay) in the east. In the northeast, it is ...

and

Rameswaram Rameswaram (; also transliterated as Ramesvaram, Rameshwaram) is a municipality in the Ramanathapuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is on Pamban Island separated from mainland India by the Pamban channel and is about 40 kilo ...

. He might have also briefly lived at

Mangalvedha Mangalwedha is a town in the Solapur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the birthplace of Shri Jayatirtha, also called Teekacharya, one of the prominent saints of the Dvaita school of Vedanta. Geography The city of Mangalwe ...

, a town near

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, ...

in present-day

Solapur Solapur () is a city located in the south-western region of the Indian state of Maharashtra, close to its border with Karnataka. Solapur is located on major highway, rail routes between Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad, with a branch line ...

district,

. He finally settled at Akkalkot. Shri Swami Samarth is also believed to have visited Maniknagar, Karnataka to meet

Manik Prabhu Manik Prabhu Maharaj was an Indian Hindu saint, philosopher, poet and guru. He is also regarded as an incarnation of Dattatreya by the people of Datta Sampraday. Prabhu's philosophy, the Sakala mata Siddhanta rests on the principles of Advaita Ve ...

, an Indian saint and mystic considered to be another incarnation of Dattatreya. According to the ''Shree Manik Prabhu Charitra'' (biography), Swami resided at Maniknagar for around six months. During this period, Manik Prabhu and Swami Samarth often sat under a cluster fig tree (''Audumbar'' in Marathi'')'' and had conversations on profound spirituality. It is claimed that Swami Samarth regarded Manik Prabhu as a brother. Shri Swami Samarth probably arrived at Akkalkot in 1856 on receiving an invitation from Chintopant Tol and then stayed on the outskirts of the town for about 22 years. He usually lived at the residence of his disciple Cholappa, where his shrine is presently located. A common mantra commemorating Shri Swami Samarth is read as “''Aum Abhayadata Shree Swamisamarthaya Namaha''”. His biography known as ''Shree Guruleelamrut'' was authored by Sant Wamanbhau Maharaj. Swami Samarth Mandir Near Saras Bag

Sources

*''The Supreme Master'' (Swami Samartha's Comprehensive Biography). *''Shri

Dnyankosh'' by Dr. P. N. Joshi (Shri Dattateya Dnyankosh Prakashan, Pune, 2000). *"Shri Swami Samarth Nityakram aani Upasana"(in

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 * * ...

) by Dr. N.S. Kunte (Shri Vatvruksh

Swami Samarth Maharaj Shri Swami Samarth, also known as Swami of Akkalkot was an Indian spiritual master of the Dattatreya Tradition. He is a widely known spiritual figure in various Indian states including Maharashtra and Karnataka. He lived during the nineteenth ...

Devsthan,

, 2000). *''Datta-Sampradyacha Itihas'' (''History of Datta Sampradaya'') by Dr. R. C. Dhere (Padmagnadha Prakashan, Pune). *''Shri GuruCharitra'' (Sri Gurucharitra) (new, abbreviated version) *''Shri Akkalkotniwasi Swami Maharaj yanche Charitra'' by G. V. Mulekar *''Shri Akkalkot Swami Maharaj Charitra'' by R. S. Sahasrabuddhe *''"Pesum Deivam" - Akkalkot Maharaj Arulaatchi - Tamil Version'' by"Swamy Suthan" Dr.J.S.Sayikumar +91 86085 06816

Additional publications

* Hanumante, Mukund M. (1999, 2000). ''A Glimpse of Divinity: Shri Swami Samarth Maharaj of Akkalkot'', ' * Kulkarni, Shriram A. (2001). ''Shri Swami Samarth Maharaj of Akkalkot: Ashttotarshat Namavali: Vicharmanthan Sar'' (Marathi) * Kulkarni, Shriram A. (2000). ''Shri Swami Samarth Maharaj of Akkalkot: Bhagwat Chaitanyache Shalaka Darshan''(Marathi) * Oza, Kaushik (2007). ''Shri Swami Samarth Maharaj of Akkalkot: Bhagwat Chaitanyache Shalaka Darshan'' (Gujrati) * Patil,Rajgouda (2012) ''Shri Swami Samarth Maharaj of Akkalkot: Bhagwat Chaitanyada Kshana Darshan'' (

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

) * Patil,Rajgouda (2017) "Amrutada Anjali": Shri Swami Samarth Maharajar sanketi vakyagal vivrane (

) * Patil,Rajgouda (2021) "Sakh Nirantar": Shri Swami Samarth Maharajar, Akkalkot (

) * Kulkarni, Shriram A. "Amrutachi Wonzali" (Marathi) * Joshi, Vasant G. (2006). ''Sulabh Shri Dnyaneshwari''(Marathi) (Financial Sponsorship) * Kulkarni, Shriram A. (2007). ''Sarth Shrimat Gurucharitra: Sulabh Marathi Bhavarthasaha''(Financial Sponsorship) * ''Shri Gurucharitra, 14th Chapter in English & Marathi'', ''2009.'' * ''Swami Tava Charanam Sharanam'', ''Audio CD of Melodious Divine Songs'', ''2009.'' * Hanumante, Mukund M. (2010). ''Eternal Friend: Shri Swami Samarth Maharaj of Akkalkot'' *

Ekkirala Bharadwaja Sri Acharya Ekkirala Bharadwaj Swamy Varu (30 October 1938 – 12 April 1989), was a Dattatreya incarnation and who authored many Hindu spiritual books, primarily on the life and worship of Shirdi Sai Baba and Sri Dattatreya. He is well known as ...

* Kaliyugi Shri Swami Samarth Charitra Tatva Rahasya (Marathi Granth) * A short biography of Akkalkot Niwasi Shree Swami Samarth Maharaj by Shree Vitthalrao Joshi Charities Trust

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maharaj, Swami Samarth 19th-century Hindu religious leaders 1878 deaths People from Solapur district Year of birth missing