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 * * ...

Bhakti ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

yogi A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 Th ...

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 ...

Nath Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.mentor (guru) of

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 first Varkari saint.

Family and early life

Nivruttinath was born in Apegaon village on the bank of

Godavari The Godavari ( IAST: ''Godāvarī'' �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga river and drains into the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakesh ...

river near

Paithan Paithan pəɪ.ʈʰaɳ(), historically Pratiṣṭhāna ɾə'tɪʂʈʰana is a town with municipal council in Aurangabad district, Maharashtra, India. Paithan is located south of present-day Aurangabad on the Godavari River. It was the cap ...

in Maharashtra into a

Deshastha Brahmin Deshastha Brahmin is a Hindu Brahmin subcaste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra and northern area of the state of Karnataka. Other than these states, according to authors K. S. Singh, Gregory Naik and Pran Nath Chopra, Deshastha Br ...

family during the reign of the

Yadava The Yadava (literally, descended from Yadu) were an ancient Indian people who believed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the Abhira, Andhaka, Vrishni, and Sat ...

King Ramadevarava. Nivruttinath was one of the four children, and the eldest son, of Vitthalapant, a

kulkarni Kulkarni is a family name native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. The name "Kulkarni" is a combination of two words (''kula'' and ''karni''). ''Kula'' means "family", and ''Karanika'' means "archivist". Historically, Kulkarni was the title g ...

(hereditary accountant), and Rakhumabai. Vitthalapant and his wife gave up their lives, within a year of each other by jumping into the

Indrayani River The Indrayani River originates in Kurvande village near Lonavla, a hill station in the Sahyadri mountains of Maharashtra, India. Fed by rain, it flows east from there to meet the Bhima river, through the Hindu pilgrimage centers of Dehu and Al ...

, leaving two sons,

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 ...

and

Sopan Sant Sopandeo was a sant of the Varkari and also the younger brother of Dnyaneshwar. Sopan(19 November 1277 A.D- 29 December 1296 A.D), attained samadhi at Saswad near Pune. He wrote a book, the ''Sopandevi'' based on the Marathi translation of ...

, and a daughter,

Muktabai Muktabai or Mukta was a saint in the Varkari Movement. She was born in a Deshastha Brahmin family and was the younger sister of Dnyaneshwar, the first Varkari saint. She wrote forty-one abhangs throughout her life. Early life Muktabai's fa ...

, to be taken care of by Nivruttinath.

Nath Tradition

At around the age of 10, Nivruttinath's family moved to

Nashik Nashik (, Marathi: aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Godavari, Nashik is the third largest city in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune. Nashik ...

. During a pilgrimage trip, Vitthalapant along with his family was confronted by a tiger. The family escaped while Nivruttinath got separated from the family. He hid in a cave on the Anjani mountain where he met Gahaninath, who initiated Nivruttinath into the wisdom of the

Nath Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India. The Natha Tradition is an initiatory

Guru–shishya tradition The ''guru–shishya'' tradition, or ''parampara'' ("lineage"), denotes a succession of teachers and disciples in Indian-origin religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism (including Tibetan and Zen traditions). Each ''parampar ...

. After the death of their parents, Nivruttinath initiated Dnyaneshwar into the Nath tradition and become his teacher (Guru). Nivruttinath advised Dnyaneshwar to write an independent philosophical work. This work later came to be known as

Amrutanubhav Amrutanubhav or Amritanubhav is a composition by the Marathi saint and poet Jñāneśvar during the 13th century. It is considered to be a milestone in Marathi literature.Budkuley, K. I. R. A. N. (2005). Indo-European storytelling in translation ...

.

Death and Resting Place

After the Samadhi of Dnyaneshwar, Nivruttinath left

Alandi Alandi (Marathi pronunciation: ːɭən̪d̪iː is a town and a municipal council in the Pune district in the state of Maharashtra, India. The town is popular as a place of pilgrimage and the resting place of the 8th century Marathi saint Sa ...

with his sister,

Muktabai Muktabai or Mukta was a saint in the Varkari Movement. She was born in a Deshastha Brahmin family and was the younger sister of Dnyaneshwar, the first Varkari saint. She wrote forty-one abhangs throughout her life. Early life Muktabai's fa ...

for a pilgrimage. During a thunderstorm, Muktabai was lost. Nivruttinath then attained Samadhi. The Resting place is situated near Trimbakeshwar. At his resting place, a temple has been erected which is visited by numerous devotees.

References

Bibliography * * * * {{refend Marathi-language writers Warkari Hindu philosophers and theologians Marathi Hindu saints