Vaman Pandit (born Vaman Tanaji Sesha) ( mr, वामनपंडित) (1608–1695) was a

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 * * ...

scholar and poet of

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 ...

. Vaman Pandit from the house of Sesha was a great poet whose poetry made quite an impact on the whole

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 ...

. Vaman Pandit's narrative poem have been very popular with masses and the Kirtankars. His main contribution lies in the fact that he has given a sound metaphysical foundation to the concept of Bhakti.

Early life

Vaman Pandit was born into Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin (DRB) family of Madhva Sect. in

Dharwad Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the north western part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merge ...

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 ...

in a prominent Sesha family of poets and scholars. The family who hailed from

Nanded Nanded is a city in Maharashtra state, India. It is the tenth largest city in the state and the seventy-ninth most populous city in India. It is the second largest city in Marathwada region. It is the district headquarters of Nanded distric ...

had moved to

but still maintain roots in Nanded. Vaman Pandit was a follower of

Madhvacharya Madhvacharya (; ; CE 1199-1278 or CE 1238–1317), sometimes Anglicisation, anglicised as Madhva Acharya, and also known as Purna Prajna () and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the ''Dvaita'' ...

a prominent

Vaishnava Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

philosopher. He migrated to

Kashi Kashi or Kaashi may refer to: Places * Varanasi (historically known as "Kashi"), a holy city in India **Kingdom of Kashi, an ancient kingdom in the same place, one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas **Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi * Kashgar, a cit ...

for a significant period of his life. Vaman Pandit regards the Saguna brahman ( Personal God) as superior to the Nirguna Brahman (Impersonal God). He considers

Lord Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one of ...

as Saguna Brahman incarnate.

Literary works

His most significant work, the ''Yatharthadipika'' is a commentary on the

Bhagavadgita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c ...

. His book ''Nigamasara'' (1673) describes in detail the ''Vargavi Varuni Vidya'' (

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

). His other work includes ''Samashloki Gita'', ''Karmatatva'', ''Bhaminivilasa'', ''Radhavilasa'', ''Rasakrida'', ''Ahalyoddhara'', ''Vanasudha'', ''Venusudha'', ''Gajendramoksha'' and ''Sita Svayamvara''. The captivating style and religious instruction of his work have made them popular with all sections of readers. In 1695 after death, a

Samadhi ''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga ...

site is built on the banks of

Warana River Warana River is a river that flows through the Warana river valley of Sangli and Kolhapur districts in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. It is an important tributary of the Krishna river. Geography and course The river originates at a h ...

in Koregaon village of Sangali district. He has employed metres, figures of speech and other techniques of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

poetry in his works.Majumdar, R.C. (ed.)(2007). ''The Mughul Empire'', Mumbai:Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, , p.583 He was noted for his mastery of 'shlok' form: 'सुश्लोक वामनाचा'. And also for his mastery over long rhymes: 'यमक्या वामन'.

References

Bibliography

* * *Kusumawati Deshpande and M.V.Rajadhyaksha, ''A history of Marathi literature'' (New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 1988), pp31–33 *S.G.Kanhere, ‘Waman Pandit - scholar and Marathi poet’ ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London'' v4, 1926, pp305–314 {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaman Pandit 1608 births 1695 deaths Marathi-language poets People from Maharashtra People from Satara (city)